eyes and headed off
to the bathroom.
Jo was turning the page of the morning paper when she felt her wife approach from their
bedroom. The next second, she was enfolded from behind, Amy wrapping her arms around
Jo's shoulders as she kissed her cheek. Jo inhaled deeply, absorbing the just-awakened
scent of her beloved into her very being, adoring the familiar smell that came as a blend of
musk, citrus, and laundry detergent.
"Morning, sunshine," she said.
"Good morning, my love." Amy's voice was slightly scratchy, as it always was first thing.
"Sleep well?"
"That last hour.. .hoo. That was the best sleep ever."
Jo grinned knowingly. "A good orgasm always has that effect."
"Damn right." Amy let go of her partner and headed for the coffeepot. Noting its contents were at just above half, she glanced up and registered the empty couch. "Darby's up
already? What happened? Was there a fire?"
"She went for a walk."
"Seriously?"
"With Molly."
Amy pondered that information for several seconds before asking, "Should we be
worried?"
Jo turned to look at her pointedly. "I've been wondering the same thing."
"There's definitely the whole crush issue going on. That's painfully obvious." Amy lowered her voice. "But now that Kristin's here.. .I don't want things to get uncomfortable. There's enough trouble in that relationship without Darby tossing herself into the mix—which we
know she tends to do without thinking about the consequences."
"Maybe I should have a little heart-to-heart with my niece."
Amy held up a hand. "You know what? Let's leave it alone for now. Let's not create a
problem that may not even exist."
Jo nodded, and a subtly reluctant tone crept into her voice. "Okay. For now. But we need to keep a close eye on things."
"Agreed."
Laura sighed. It was the deep, God-I'm-comfortable sigh of a person snuggled in a warm
bed with no earthly reason to get up until she damn well felt like it. Absently, she thought
how much warmer the atmosphere seemed once Sophie left the room. Then she rolled her
eyes, disappointed in herself for thinking such unfriendly things. The terrier roused
himself from the crook of her knees and picked his way across the quilt to settle down
against her chest.
"I never thought the next time I spooned in bed, it would be with a dog," she said with amusement, burying her nose in the now-clean and soft fur at the top of his head.
She'd waited until late afternoon yesterday to be sure his system was sufficiently warm
and healthy before subjecting him to the much-needed bath. He surprised her by not
struggling or creating problems.
He just stood in the water, ears back flat against his head to express his disapproval, and
let her shampoo his wiry hair. Now, he smelled like peaches.
Laura didn't know a lot about dogs and there was a large part of her that was afraid to get
too attached to this one. It was the reason she hadn't given him any sort of name yet
other than "little guy" or "hey, buddy." He had to belong to somebody. Wouldn't his owner be missing him by now? At the same time, she hoped nobody ever came looking. She'd never
felt such unconditional love before and she was certain it was something she could get used
to pretty damn quickly. The thought of him inhabiting her half of the duplex with her was
not unpleasant.
"Be careful with the terriers," Jo had warned her, handing her one of the extra leashes and collars she'd found in the basement. "They're great dogs, but they tend to run." At Laura's questioning expression, Jo had elaborated. "They're bred to hunt
vermin...squirrels, chipmunks, moles, rabbits. They use their noses and their ears and when
they put that nose to the ground, they don't pay much attention to anything else. My uncle
raised Westies. They were damn adorable and loving, but they couldn't be trusted off the
leash. They'd be gone like little white shots."
Laura inhaled his cleanliness one last time before speaking to her newfound friend.
to the bathroom.
Jo was turning the page of the morning paper when she felt her wife approach from their
bedroom. The next second, she was enfolded from behind, Amy wrapping her arms around
Jo's shoulders as she kissed her cheek. Jo inhaled deeply, absorbing the just-awakened
scent of her beloved into her very being, adoring the familiar smell that came as a blend of
musk, citrus, and laundry detergent.
"Morning, sunshine," she said.
"Good morning, my love." Amy's voice was slightly scratchy, as it always was first thing.
"Sleep well?"
"That last hour.. .hoo. That was the best sleep ever."
Jo grinned knowingly. "A good orgasm always has that effect."
"Damn right." Amy let go of her partner and headed for the coffeepot. Noting its contents were at just above half, she glanced up and registered the empty couch. "Darby's up
already? What happened? Was there a fire?"
"She went for a walk."
"Seriously?"
"With Molly."
Amy pondered that information for several seconds before asking, "Should we be
worried?"
Jo turned to look at her pointedly. "I've been wondering the same thing."
"There's definitely the whole crush issue going on. That's painfully obvious." Amy lowered her voice. "But now that Kristin's here.. .I don't want things to get uncomfortable. There's enough trouble in that relationship without Darby tossing herself into the mix—which we
know she tends to do without thinking about the consequences."
"Maybe I should have a little heart-to-heart with my niece."
Amy held up a hand. "You know what? Let's leave it alone for now. Let's not create a
problem that may not even exist."
Jo nodded, and a subtly reluctant tone crept into her voice. "Okay. For now. But we need to keep a close eye on things."
"Agreed."
Laura sighed. It was the deep, God-I'm-comfortable sigh of a person snuggled in a warm
bed with no earthly reason to get up until she damn well felt like it. Absently, she thought
how much warmer the atmosphere seemed once Sophie left the room. Then she rolled her
eyes, disappointed in herself for thinking such unfriendly things. The terrier roused
himself from the crook of her knees and picked his way across the quilt to settle down
against her chest.
"I never thought the next time I spooned in bed, it would be with a dog," she said with amusement, burying her nose in the now-clean and soft fur at the top of his head.
She'd waited until late afternoon yesterday to be sure his system was sufficiently warm
and healthy before subjecting him to the much-needed bath. He surprised her by not
struggling or creating problems.
He just stood in the water, ears back flat against his head to express his disapproval, and
let her shampoo his wiry hair. Now, he smelled like peaches.
Laura didn't know a lot about dogs and there was a large part of her that was afraid to get
too attached to this one. It was the reason she hadn't given him any sort of name yet
other than "little guy" or "hey, buddy." He had to belong to somebody. Wouldn't his owner be missing him by now? At the same time, she hoped nobody ever came looking. She'd never
felt such unconditional love before and she was certain it was something she could get used
to pretty damn quickly. The thought of him inhabiting her half of the duplex with her was
not unpleasant.
"Be careful with the terriers," Jo had warned her, handing her one of the extra leashes and collars she'd found in the basement. "They're great dogs, but they tend to run." At Laura's questioning expression, Jo had elaborated. "They're bred to hunt
vermin...squirrels, chipmunks, moles, rabbits. They use their noses and their ears and when
they put that nose to the ground, they don't pay much attention to anything else. My uncle
raised Westies. They were damn adorable and loving, but they couldn't be trusted off the
leash. They'd be gone like little white shots."
Laura inhaled his cleanliness one last time before speaking to her newfound friend.
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