Page 25 of Smoky Mountain K-9
“True, but crime can happen anywhere.” He turned away, getting plates from the cupboard. “But enough about all that. How was your day?”
Mara let him change the subject, not pushing for more details about his morning, sensing his frustration with the situation. “It was good. I stayed busy between sessions and paperwork. I put out an ad for a new stable hand too.” She grabbed a serving spoon from the container on the counter by the stove and dished mac and cheese onto her plate.
“Yeah? That’s good.”
“Yep. The sooner I get someone hired, the happier we’ll all be. I’ve been able to cover his shift through the weekend by offering overtime to my other hands, but his duties will fall to my therapists if I can’t do that next week. And they have enough on their plates.”
“Well, I hope you find someone quickly. I can come help out some if you need an extra set of hands.” He took the mac and cheese she offered him, then nudged the pan of shredded pork toward her.
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Though I’m hoping it doesn’t come to me pleading for help from my friends.” She tossed a grin at him as she forked meat onto her plate.
Once they had their food dished out, they retreated to the table and sat. Conversation stayed light, and Mara watched Carter relax as they ate and talked. She was glad to put some of the sparkle back in his eyes. They’d been rather cloudy when she arrived.
With their bellies full, they cleaned up their mess. When the last utensil went in the dishwasher, Carter closed the door, then turned to lean a hip against the counter.
“So, considering how things went the last time we sat in the living room after dinner, I’ll leave it up to you what we do now. I have a few board games—somewhere. Or we can try watching a movie and see how that goes.” Fire lit in his eyes.
Mara swallowed, sorely tempted to pick the movie option. But she’d never been one to rush into anything, and she was enjoying this getting to know each other period of their relationship. She didn’t want to push things to a level they weren’t ready for yet. No matter how much her body—and his, from the look in his eyes—wanted that. “What kind of games do you have?”
Understanding banked the fire burning in his gaze. “Monopoly, Pictionary, probably a trivia game. I’m not a hundred percent certain. I haven’t played any of them since I moved here. And before that, game nights were few and far between.”
“Same. Any of them sound good, though.”
Maverick walked up and sat next to Carter, nudging his hand with his snout.
Carter glanced at Mara. “He needs to go out. I think all the games are piled in the spare bedroom closet—where my gym equipment is—if you want to go look.”
“Sure.”
They parted ways, and Mara wandered down the hall to the room he indicated, crossing to the small closet. She slid open the bifold door and glanced at the shelves. There were several boxes stacked across the top. Some of them were games, but others were just regular boxes.
A game she’d played before with Gemma and a couple of their other girlfriends caught her eye. It was fun. She remembered laughing a lot. Standing on her toes, she wrapped her fingers around its edges, working it free from the stack. She wasn’t careful enough, though, and it knocked another box off. A small squeak escaped her as it bounced off the top of her head, then fell to the floor, breaking open and spilling its contents.
“Crud.” Sighing, she stooped, setting the game down so she could clean up the mess she made. Mara did her best not to look at the pictures as she scooped them up. She didn’t want to invade Carter’s privacy.
“What are you doing?”
Mara squeaked again and glanced up. Carter stood in the doorway, that scowl from earlier back on his handsome face. “Sorry. I knocked this box off getting that game.” She pointed to the game she picked. “I was just putting everything back.”
“Oh.” He walked into the room and crouched beside her. His hands brushed hers away. “Let me do it. You can take the game out and set it up.”
She frowned at the edge to his voice. “Carter, is everything okay?”
“It’s fine. Go set up the game.”
Frowning, she hesitated only a moment before she picked up the box and stood, unsure what upset him. He couldn’t be angry that she made a mess, could he? She was cleaning it up. And it was just a bunch of photographs. She’d noticed a few military ribbons in the box too. His posture reminded her of how he looked on their Valentine’s date when he mentioned his military service. Something about his time in the Marines wasn’t something he wanted to remember.
She wasn’t going to pry, though. He’d tell her if and when he felt the time was right. Instead, she turned on her heel and left the room.
Thirteen
Carter let out a soft growl when Mara disappeared around the corner. Why didn’t he just help her pick things up and pretend like it wasn’t a big deal that his entire time in the Marines was splayed all over the floor for her to see? He’d forgotten this box was in here, or he wouldn’t have sent her to pick a game.
But now, she no doubt had questions. Ones he didn’t want to answer. He couldn’t let her think he was mad at her, though. She’d done nothing wrong.
Shoving the last of the memories back in the box, he put it on the shelf and closed the door. Feet feeling like bricks of lead, he went to find her and apologize.
He found her in the living room. She’d taken a throw pillow off the couch and sat on it on the floor in front of the coffee table. Game pieces littered the wood surface as she set up the board.