Friends and Lovers...
"I couldn't stand the thought of you being here alone," he said. We were lying on the makeshift bed Owen made from sleeping bags and comforters in front of the fire. Owen suggested I shower so that it would warm me up, but I suspected he wanted to be naked next to me. After the shower, he had me lay before the fire while he got the food he'd prepared.
"The clinic was nice enough to let me go without working out my resignation. John brought his brood over to help me pack, and I left St. Paul at four this morning."
"Are you very tired?" I asked, kissing him lightly. I might have been lying on the floor in his arms, but I was also ten feet off the ground. Any thoughts that Owen was with Thomas were gone.
"I was here when I called you earlier. I did a little of this...a little of that...fed and bedded the animals...and got some rest. I'm energized just by being here with you. I've missed you." He was kissing me on my neck, working his way down to where the now-faded hickey had been. "Do you want to talk?" He whispered, licking the spot.
I shook my head. Talking was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment. As I looked at it, we had six days to spend together before the masses descended upon us again. There was plenty of time to talk.
"I like how you redecorated." He said, looking at the covered cameras.
"Yeah, I felt like I was being watched. It was creepy." I hugged myself closer to Owen.
"Can you act?" He asked the next morning. We were still in the living room. I'd stoked the fire, but we needed more wood, which meant getting up and going outside. We weren't ready to leave the warmth of the little world we'd created. There were still large embers and a thick comforter keeping us warm, and that's all that mattered. We spent the night holding each other, doing nothing more than kissing. We weren't under a microscope or expected to perform.
"I don't think I'd win a role in a movie, but if you need me not to tell the truth about something, I can probably do that."
He sat up and looked at me. "I hate that Thomas is controlling how we live our lives. I want our first time to be personal between you and me."
"Oh, I can do that, no problem," I said softly, rubbing my hand across his chest.
"Good. Then tonight, I want to take you on a date, so to speak. I want our first time to be special."
"How can it not be?" I said, smiling.
"Come on. Get up before I take you right now. We have work to do; you've slacked off enough. This is a farm you have running here; let's get to it." At that moment, I knew everything that Thomas said was a lie. I would never let Owen out of my life. I disobeyed his order by pulling him back in my arms and kissing him again.
An hour later, my cell rang as we walked out the door. It was Joshua. There was a sick cow at the dairy. He'd already called the vet but wanted me there if he needed to separate the herd. I hooked the horse trailer to my vehicle and loaded the horses, just in case, while Owen transferred his medical bags to my truck.
We made it to the dairy in thirty minutes, knowing it would take Charlie at least forty-five or more to get there. Owen grabbed one of his bags and was on the cow within minutes of arriving.
"Who's he?" Joshua asked. Strangers were suspects and outcasts until they proved themselves.
I gave him a truncated story, with the major point being I needed help with the expansion. He had three years of vet school but had to drop out due to a family emergency. He would be working at my farm for an unspecified amount of time while he saved money to finish school.
By the time Charlie arrived, Owen had already made his diagnosis and was treating the young cow. Charlie, who'd been complaining he wanted to cut back on his vet hours, was impressed with Owen's knowledge and abilities and didn't hesitate to ask if he'd be willing to help out on an on-call basis. Owen readily agreed.
The more veterinary work he could do, the better his resume would reflect when he applied back to school. The two of them disappeared into the office Charlie kept at the dairy.
Charlie took advantage of being called to the dairy to check on the cows, saving him a trip in the coming week. Owen worked at his side like he'd been doing it for years. Charlie was old school, and Owen knew the latest techniques. The two were feeding off each other, gaining valuable insights and information. Charlie was more than impressed with Owen and let Joshua know we were damn lucky to have someone like Owen living so close by.
Joshua's unfriendly manner melted.
"You married?" he asked Owen before we left.
"No, Sir."
"We got some lovely young women here ripe for marriage. A man has an obligation to bed a woman and bring children into this world. When you are ready to spawn those youngins, you come by here. I will fix you up good."
"I will do that, Sir," Owen said, shaking Joshua's hand. Boy, did he ever know how to play the game!
Joshua turned to me and shook my hand, too, a first.
"I thank you for always being there, neighbor. Just remember that being neighborly goes two ways. If you ever need anything. I'm your man."
"Thank you, Joshua," I said, shaking his hand again.
"God bless you, son," he said, thanking me again. Joshua was the friendliest he had ever been with me, and I wondered if it was because of Owen or because I was standing on my own for the first time, and it reflected in my demeanor.
By the time we returned, it was after two in the afternoon. We unloaded the horses, did some stuff around the barn, and showered, attempting to keep things as generic as possible. Our desires were silent but ever-present. With his strength of will intact, Owen dragged me to the kitchen, where he assigned me the task of fixing us a light lunch while he busily started dinner, which he put in the slow cooker.
"We will most likely be starving after I ravage you," he said, nuzzling his face into my neck. My bite mark was back again and bright as ever. "The stew should be ready sometime after eleven tonight."
"We'll still be awake?"
He shook his head. We would.
