need homes out at the pound. He's had his shots and been neutered and everything.”
Mary flicked a glance at Joe. “Listen, you two dog lovers, I've got to run.” She winked at Syl. “Remember what I said.” And then she was gone, the door shut firmly behind her.
“So what'd she say?” Joe asked, taking the puppy from her arms and setting him down on the floor.
Why don’t you just jump him? Syl hoped he wouldn't notice the color seeping into her cheeks. “Nothing. Just girl talk.”
Joe turned back to the dog. “We're going to need some newspapers. He's already trained to use them. That's the first step, I guess. We can spread them on the kitchen floor.”
Syl took care of the job while Joe went down to the car and got the dog food, water bowl, and bed he had bought.
“I've never had a dog,” Syl said, grinning at the darling puppy sniffing around her feet.
“I remembered you saying way back when that you'd always wanted one. I was hoping you'd like him.”
“I love him. Thank you, Joe.”
“So what are you going to name him?”
“I'll have to think about it.” The puppy wandered around the house, checking out his new home, then climbed into his cozy little basket bed, curled up on the pillow in the bottom, and went to sleep. “Maybe I'll call him Lucky. It's lucky for me you gave him to me.”
Joe chuckled. “It's luckier for him and I hope you're still saying that next week.” He gazed down at the dog. “Looks like he's already making himself at home. I envy the little guy ... getting to sleep in your apartment.”
Syl stared up at him, saw the warmth in his eyes, went up on her toes, and kissed him. It was a simple kiss, a thank-you. But the taste of him was heady and when she parted her lips, the kiss turned deep and yearning, a thorough exploration unlike any of his kisses before.
Suddenly Syl had more than a thank-you in mind. She felt hot all over as if she wanted to climb into his skin. When Joe tried to ease away, she slid her arms around his neck and wouldn't let him go.
“We're both adults,” she whispered between soft, nibbling kisses, the words he'd said to her before. “We can do whatever we want.”
Joe caught her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. She could read his hesitation and his hope. “Are you sure, Syl?”
“I'm not... not really sure of anything right now. But I want this, Joe. I want you. Make love to me ... please.”
She didn't have to ask him twice. While the puppy snoozed in its basket, Joe swept her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
“I want to see you,” he said, ignoring the curtains since the room was upstairs. “Watch your face when I'm inside you.”
“Joe ...” she whispered, reaching up to touch the hard line of his jaw, settling her mouth over his, and kissing him softly.
Joe helped her out of her clothes, and she helped him out of his, admiring his beautiful body, the muscles that were thicker now, the scars here and there that made him look even more masculine.
The wind blew outside, rattling the branches against the window panes, and the first flakes of snow began to fall. Winter would soon be upon them. Christmas was not far away. As Syl welcomed Joe into her body, felt the rightness of it, felt the powerful connection she knew she would never feel with another man, she thought that God had given her an early present that blustery November day.
Thanksgiving came but it wasn't the same as before. The family Teddy was staying with, the Macks, bought their Thanksgiving dinner down at King's Supermarket. The food tasted okay but he missed his gramma's turkey with raisin and walnut stuffing and her homemade punkin' pies.
Teddy got to stop by her house for a while that Thursday afternoon but the lady who lived with her had bought the same dinner from King's he'd already eaten. He guessed no one cooked much, anymore.
He wondered what Joe got to eat. He wondered if he'd had Thanksgiving with Miss Winters. Teddy knew Joe liked Miss Winters a lot and Teddy liked her, too. She was always so nice to him and when he talked, it seemed she really listened.
He hadn't seen Joe for a while. The Macks didn't think it was a good idea for an eight-year-old to work in an