Page 20 of Barry
“You could have told me before I went in the bushes.” Barry stood up, opened his belt, toed off his boots, and peeled off his good jeans. His t-shirt was next, leaving him in body-hugging boxer briefs that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her eyes may have been watering, but even that couldn’t hide the muscled form of the man in front of her. He paid her no mind as he dropped back down and started soaping the dogs.
She grabbed his clothes and ran inside to the washer. Dropping the clothes in after she pulled out his wallet, keys, and change, she dumped half a bottle of the de-skunking solution into the washer and turned it on.
She grabbed a spray bottle of the solution and went outside, spraying down the outside of his cowboy boots. “Are they ready to rinse?”
“Just about,” he said as he lathered Honey’s ears. “Okay, give me the hose.”
He reached for it at the same time as Mitzi shook, sending foaming mounds of solution all over him. “I’m so sorry.” Kathy wanted to cry. That wasn’t the way the night was supposed to have gone.
Barry flicked off the soap and worked on the dogs. He washed them three times before she took Honey in a towel and wiped her off, setting her inside the house andreturning for Mitzi. Barry stood up. He was muddy from the knees down, and his boxer briefs were soaked.
She motioned to him. “Wipe off with this towel.” She pointed to the front step. “Then go get in the shower. I have the solution in there. Just don’t get it in your eyes.”
He nodded and walked past her to the towel. He got the majority of the mud off before trudging through the small house. She dried off both dogs after checking his clothes. They smelled okay. A bit of odor, but nothing like they were before she washed them. She dumped more solution in the washer and started it again.
Both dogs thought it was fun to zoom around the house while wet. She picked up the phone and called in reinforcements. “Kayla, can you do me a massive favor?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Can you bring me a pair of Alex’s jeans and a t-shirt?”
“Ah, yeah, but why?”
“Mitzi and Honey went after skunks. Barry reached into the bush for them, but they got skunked and transferred it to him. I’m washing his clothes.”
Kayla laughed. “On it. Be there in less than five.”
She went to the bathroom and knocked on the door, opened it a crack, and yelled in. “I have fresh clothes coming for you in less than five minutes!”
“Okay, thanks,” Barry said. She shut the door and went outside to start cleaning up.
Alex and Kayla pulled up, and Alex rolled down the window. “God Almighty, Kathy, it reeks around here.”
“Thanks, I know that.” She took off her rubber gloves. Alex held a plastic bag as far out the window as he could. “Tell Barry I don’t need them back.” He rolled up the window and laughed as they backed out of the driveway. Kayla laughed and waved goodbye. Kathy mouthed thank you and pointed to the bag. Kayla nodded, and both she and Alex laughed as they pulled out onto the road.
Kathy took the clothes inside, set them outside the bathroom door, and tapped on the door. When it opened, her jaw unhinged and dropped darn near to the floor. Wet hair on his head, chest, and um … legs dripped in fine rivulets. Her eyes caught on one that rolled slowly from his collarbone down the center of his chest to his stomach, where his happy trail rose from the small pink towel covering his?—
“Are those for me?”
Her eyes popped back up to his. A smile played at the corner of his lips. “Ah, yeah.” She lifted the bag, and he took it from her.
He lowered and dropped a kiss on her lips. She sighed into him and may have chased his lips as he pulled away. When she opened her eyes, he winked at her and said, “Thank you.”
Nodding was all she had. No words, no other intelligent communication was possible. He stood up straight and looked at her, lifting one eyebrow. Her brain finally kicked into some semblance of understanding. She blinked andthen jerked straight. “I’m going to go …” She pointed outside and powerwalked in that direction.
She put on the rubber gloves and cleaned as her mind raced. She knew he had a hard body. But boy, oh boy, oh boy, his big body was hard and cut with layers of muscles and that wet towel that covered his most personal parts … Boy, howdy, he was gorgeous, and by the bulge under that wet cotton, he was … well … Kathy stood up when the wash tub was clean and the gloves and de-skunking solution were placed in the bottom. As she looked across the unfettered vast expanse of land, a shiver raced up her spine. Longing for a more intimate relationship wasn’t something she had experience with. The relationships before Barry weren’t … well, that. She found herself wanting his touch, imagining what could be. What would be when he was ready. God, she prayed he was ready soon. No, that was selfish. Barry needed to heal. He needed to take care of himself. Still, she’d be ready whenever he was.
Into the distance, white clouds drifted across the endless blue sky. Strong arms wrapped around her, and she leaned back into him. “What are you staring at?” he asked as he started rocking.
With a smile, she answered, “My life, the future, everything.”
He chuckled. “All that is out there?”
“Yes and no.” She turned and smiled up at him. “You smell much better.”
“Thank God. I might have scrubbed a couple of layers of skin off with that stuff you gave me.”
“Mitzi is a great skunk hunter. I’m never without at least three or four bottles of it.” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think to warn you.”