touched her waist with one hand and reached for the ball with the other. “Perhaps I can help,” he offered, his voice huskier than he’d anticipated. Damn, her skin was incredibly soft!
She looked at him over her shoulder and he felt her surprise. For a long moment, she stood there, frozen in place and his hand slid around her waist more snugly, pulling her closer. It was another surprise when she allowed him to pull her back, so she leaned against his chest. Taking the ball, he paused, looking down at her. That’s when he felt it. Not really a sound or a movement, just the sensation that she was as intensely aware of him as he was of her.
A wet, slopping tongue slid up his hand, startling him. Looking down, he realized that Herbie was waiting, salivating, for the ball. Those dark, adoring eyes gazed up at Janus, then at the ball.
Janus threw the ball all the way to the back fence.
Herbie watched the ball fly for a long moment. It wasn’t until the ball bounced that he jerked into action, springing forward to chase the ball, delirious with excitement.
While Herbie galloped off, Stevie peeked up at Janus. He felt her shiver and his arm tightened around her waist.
“It’s still there, isn’t it?”
His words broke the spell and she jerked away. “I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, tugging her sweater down.
Herbie pranced back, nudging Janus’ hand. Janus took the slimy tennis ball and threw it again. As Herbie went off to save the world from the vicious tennis ball, Janus turned back to Stevie. “The attraction. It was there five years ago. It’s still there, isn’t it?”
Stevie shook her head. “No. It’s gone. We’re five years older and I’m a mother now. I don’t…I don’t do things like that anymore.”
Leaving the lie hanging in the air, Stevie turned on her heel and went inside, carefully closing the door.
“You two okay?” Stevie called out. She found the twins sitting in the middle of the living room, piling big, cardboard “bricks” on top of one another. They’d already taken all of the pillows off of the couch to make their fort and were now reinforcing it with the “bricks”.
“We’re fine,” Halley answered for both of them. She didn’t bother to look up.
“We’re hungry,” Harrison announced. Apparently, he didn’t need to even ask Halley. He just knew. As soon as the doctor had announced that Stevie was going to have twins, she’d done her research. This silent, almost telecommunication with each other was common among twins. They’d shared the womb. It was almost as if they now shared emotions. It was creepy at times. But also endearing.
“I’m about to make lunch. Did you both wash your hands?”
Stevie saw the look pass between them. “Yeah!” Halley lied.
“Let me check,” she called out, getting the cheddar out of the fridge.
“We’re fine!” Harrison claimed.
Stevie laughed. “I know that you’re fine. I just want to know if you’re clean.”
Halley’s shoulders drooped, but she stood up and shuffled into the bathroom. “Come on,” she grumbled.
Stevie sliced the cheese, laughing to herself as she heard Halley grumble about how “Mom always makes us wash our hands!”
The door to the kitchen opened up and an exhausted Herbie walked inside. He obviously wasn’t used to that kind of exercise because he barely made it to the middle of the kitchen floor before he kerplunked down, giving off a soft sigh as his eyes closed.
“Is he dead?” Janus asked, eyeing the enormous beast-turned-rug.
Stevie glanced over her shoulder at her dog. “Nope. Not dead. But he might as well be because he isn’t moving from that spot for a while.”
Halley and Harrison stepped into the kitchen, staring at the sleeping dog. “What happened to him?” Harrison asked.
“I tossed the ball for him. Apparently, he’s not used to catching the ball when it goes out to the fence line.”
Harrison’s eyes widened. “All the way to the fence?” he whispered in awe.
Janus shrugged, taking his jacket off and hanging it on one of the pegs by the door where the kids had hung their own coats. “Sure. How far can you throw the ball?”
Harrison blinked and turned to his mother. “How far can I throw the ball, Mom?”
Stevie smiled at her son over her shoulder. “I don’t know, honey. But I think that your father can show you how to throw it better. He used to play football.”
Harrison stepped closer, the awe in his eyes deepening. “You played football?”
Janus glanced over at