The Hookup (Moonlight and Motor Oil #1)(60)

He took his tee off.

I took my dress and bra off and put it on.

Then I climbed into his bed and went right to sleep.

And having the day I’d had the day before with Addie and Brooks and Johnny, learning all I had about Johnny, I’d slept like a baby.

“I slept great,” I whispered.

He bent his head, brushed his lips against mine and lifted up.

“Did you?” I asked.

“I didn’t have the best nights’ sleep the last few nights so yeah. It was good to sleep solid.”

I nuzzled into him, turned my head, put my cheek to his chest and stared at the sun glinting off the creek.

I felt fur slide down my calf as Ranger slid down my leg to lie down at our feet.

Ranger had a lot going on, what with being back with Johnny then spending the day with new dogs, new people and a baby.

He didn’t seem to miss Shandra.

But once things settled down and he realized this was his permanent reality, he would.

I sighed.

“What’s on your mind?” Johnny asked, the tips of his fingers idly tracing the curve at the bottom of the cheek of my behind.

“Nothing.”

“We don’t do that, baby,” he admonished gently.

I left my check to his chest but still tipped my head back to catch his gaze.

“Don’t do what?” I asked.

“Especially not with a beginning like we had that was rocky,” he went on.

“What?”

“Something bothering you?” he asked.

“No,” I answered.

“You made a noise like something was on your mind,” he stated.

“It isn’t bothering me.”

“And I asked what was on your mind. You said nothing when it was something. And we gotta stay open and out there so we don’t fall into shit that might keep things rocky.”

I lifted my head, turned it back to him and put my hand on his chest.

“I was just thinking that Ranger probably doesn’t get that things have changed and he’ll miss Shandra when he does.”

His hand cupped my behind. “So you were thinking about her.”

“No, I was thinking about Ranger.”

“And Shandra.”

“Well, kind of,” I allowed.

“Not kind of,” he returned.

“A dog can’t communicate like we do, but they can communicate and they have feelings and change is rough for them just like it is for anyone.”

“He’ll be fine,” Johnny assured shortly.

“I know he will,” I replied, also shortly.

“You need to get her off your mind,” he ordered.

I felt cold penetrate and I pushed a little away, stopping only when the pads of his fingers started biting in, and retorted, “No. It seems to me you need to get her off your mind.”

“I didn’t bring her to the balcony, Izzy.”

“I didn’t either, Johnny.”

“We gotta make sure this doesn’t infect what we’ve got or what we got isn’t gonna stay good.”

“I’m all in for that, but just to say, you also need to let me worry about your dog because he’s cute and he’s sweet and he loves you, and he gets along with Dempsey and Swirl and he thinks Brooks is awesome and I like him and that’s me. I’m an animal freak. If I see a humane society commercial with pictures of animals that have been abused, I won’t be able to sleep. I once stole a neighbor’s cat and took her to the vet to be fixed because the neighbor kept letting her out and she’d get pregnant and have babies, and the neighbor would just take the kittens to the shelter every time and that’s not right.”

Johnny stared down at me.

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “I gave her back after she’d recovered. Said she got stuck in my garage. Her baby had her belly shaved and she probably figured it out but she never said anything. For her, free neutering. For me, I didn’t want to shoot her with BBs every time I saw her load a box full of kittens in her car.”

He kept staring down at me.

I kept blabbing.

“You know, it was better when you were being sweet and I could just think about how much I liked it that you don’t mind changing diapers. So can we have a nice morning, and to have that, can I ask that you stop annoying me?”

“Changing diapers?” he queried.

“Men don’t get it. If they knew how much women liked it when they took care of babies, the moms wouldn’t get anywhere near their child.”

His lips hitched. “You liked it when I changed Brooks’s diapers?”

I shrugged.

His hand still in my panties moved from my behind to my hip.

“What else did you like?” he murmured, his voice having changed entirely.

But I was still annoyed.

“I liked it that you didn’t let Addie give you any shit.”

“She’s fun,” he said.

“She’s a smart aleck.”

His hand shifted to my hipbone and my attention on our conversation stuttered.

He dipped his head closer and asked “What else did you like?”

I tried to stay focused at the same time wondering where his hand was going to go next.

“I . . . I, uh . . . like it that you’re easy to cook with.”