I narrow my eyes at the lying creature. “Don’t be cute. You know it’s hard for me to dislike you when you’re cute.”
Bear’s tail wags harder.
“Shepherd, do you want in?” I ask as I watch him toss his head back and forth like he has long and majestic hair—which he does not—and then pull his shirt up slowly to dab at his forehead while showing off his bare stomach.
I’m a little embarrassed when I nearly drive off the road watching him. “Nope, I like the burn in my muscles.”
“Good.”
“I’m just going to jog and recite my mantra to myself. You, Shepherd, are strong, manly, sexy, and a beast. Everyone is jealous of you and your grace. You are so much better than—”
I turn on the music, instantly cutting him off. It doesn’t deter him, he just starts shouting.
“You are god’s gift to mankind. You are there to make Killian jealous. He longs for you but he will never—”
I turn it to some heavy rock and blast it as I watch his mouth continue to move but no words are audible. It’s nice. Very nice.
“Jealousy is an ugly thing,” he shouts as he pulls his pants about halfway down his ass so I can just see his ass crack. Then, before I can enjoy any of it, he pulls his underwear up until they’re up to the small of his back and continues to run that way, looking like an idiot.
“Ew! There’s a perv on the side of the road,” I shout at him. As I see Dave’s driveway, I kill the music and speed off before pulling into it and leaving Shepherd behind. I get out and see Dave looking between me and Shepherd running.
“I see you’re letting Nick get some good exercise in!” Dave says before chuckling. He’s holding a birdhouse that he lowers to the ground that I’m sure we’ll be forced to put up at some point.
“He thought he could beat me here,” I explain as I get out.
“You two are so goofy. You’re like a breath of fresh air,” he says as he bends over to pet Bear. “And you’re a good boy too!”
His dog Buddy comes running out to play with Bear as Shepherd finally reaches us.
“Took you long enough,” I say.
“Ha, ha. Funny. Dave, did he tell you how well he cheats?” Shepherd asks.
Dave gives us a loud laugh as he smacks his leg even though we’re really not that funny. “He did!”
“So don’t listen to him.”
Dave gets a look of glee on his face. “Oh! Speaking of listening to people… I listened to your advice, and when I went into the library, I asked Esther if she’d like to get coffee sometime and she said yes! We’re going this afternoon, so we’ll have to cut our work time short. Or you guys can work without me.”
“Cutting it short works just fine,” Shepherd says. “But that’s amazing! See what happens when you take a chance?”
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Dave as excited as he is when he says, “I do! I do! Now let’s get to work!”
And with that, he ushers us into his truck where we head over to one of his other cabins to clean up a tree that had fallen down. Clearly, Dave assumes Shepherd and I know how to cut down trees. The thing is that Shepherd has never met a challenge he won’t try to accomplish. So, without hesitation, he grabs the chainsaw and starts butchering the tree in the messiest way possible. Or maybe he just loves weapons that have the potential of maiming things.
He swings it through the air, a grin on his face as the teeth chaw into the wood.
Yeah… I think it might be that one.
“I’m going to be quick, alright?” Shepherd asks.
“That’s not something to brag about,” I say.
He gives me a look that makes me beam at him in return. “You’re not funny… you’re slightly funny but mostly annoying.”
“Good,” I say. “I like it when you’re jealous of me.”
“This has nothing to do with jealousy. I’m jealous of Bear,” he says as he waves at the dog who’s lying on his back on the floor, legs spread, airing everything out.
“If you want to lie on the ground and air your balls out, be my guest. I’m not going to complain.”
He’s silent for a long minute and I’m not sure if he just thinks my joke was that stupid, if he was processing it, or considering it. “Nope,