Husbandry by Allie Ritch

was once again joined
by Charles. I had a moment of déjà vu, but he didn’t get amorous this time.
    “You look tired,” I remarked.
    His morning beard growth disrupted the clean lines of his
goatee, adding to his groggy image. He rinsed his hair and stood beneath the
warm spray massaging his neck.
    “I’m a little stiff from sitting up in bed half the night,”
he admitted.
    Now I knew he wasn’t at his best. Any other morning, he
would have teased me about something else being stiff.
    “You should have left me and Chad on wake-up duty. After
such a long day, you didn’t need more work.” I grabbed the bar of soap off the
shelf. “Here. Turn around.”
    He rallied enough to quirk one eyebrow at me before he
complied.
    I lathered him from head to toe and began kneading his
muscles. This way I could get him clean and work out the kinks in his neck and
back at the same time. Charles released a soft groan of appreciation and stood
still for me. The sound made me smile, and I enjoyed the feel of his body
beneath my fingers. His muscles were lean and tough—loosening by the minute—and
his skin was hotter than the water beating down on him. I took my time.
    When I was done, he rotated his neck and rolled his
shoulders. He turned, revealing the return of his energy in his devilish grin.
    “I’m tempted to return the favor, but there isn’t time.” He
lifted his hand to cup the side of my head and used his thumb to stroke my
cheek. “You’ll have to settle for a thank-you and a rain check.”
    His kiss, when it came, disarmed me with its unexpected
gentleness. There was no doubt who was in control of the embrace, but there was
no aggression behind it. He molded his lips to mine and danced the tip of his
tongue between them. I opened to him without hesitation, and he stole my
breath.
    A full minute passed before he stepped back. The loss of
contact left me feeling bereft, and I swayed toward him. Heat of a different
sort burst under my skin when he raked me with his hungry gaze, proving it was
really him in here with me and not one of the others. Then he got out to dry
off and get ready for work.
    Chad wasn’t in the bedroom when I came out, and I didn’t
find him down in the kitchen, either. I’d assumed he wasn’t avoiding me
anymore, but maybe I’d relaxed too quickly. The sooner we sat down and talked,
the better. There wasn’t time for that sort of discussion this morning, though.
There were more immediate issues we needed to tackle before I left.
    I finished breakfast and marched back upstairs, where I
caught Chad coming out of the spare bedroom. He looked like he was ready to
sprint off to work.
    “Do you think one of us should stay home with Chuck?” Since
Chad was the one who’d spoken to the doctor, I asked him this important
question.
    He adjusted the shoulder strap of his workbag. “Chuck should
be fine now. There are plenty of ice packs in the freezer, and if he needs us,
he can always call. I was just on my way to check on him.”
    We looked in on my sleeping husband together. I hated to
wake him, but I wanted to make sure he was all right with being left home
alone.
    Chuck’s answer was predictable. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
    “Are you sure?”
    He grumbled a yes, so I leaned down to give him a quick kiss
good-bye.
    Outside the bedroom, I turned to Chad. “That leaves the
question of who gets the second car today.”
    “You take it.” Chad moved ahead of me down the stairs.
“You’re the first one to get off work, and you can come home to him sooner if
you have the car.”
    That sounded reasonable to me. I was about to say as much
when he joined my other husband at the front door.
    “Charles can give me a ride to work,” Chad assured me.
“We’ll see you later.”
    He slipped out the door without another word.
    Charles hung back long enough to give me a kiss. “Don’t hold
dinner for me. I may be late tonight.”
    “But—”
    He gave me another quick peck to cut me off and