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She scrambled out of the tub and out of the bathroom holding her wet shirt in front of herself in search of Rayelle. She had gotten dangerously close to crossing a line. Who was she kidding? Lines had been crossed. And she wanted to cross the rest of them. He had been hard against her most sensitive spot while she clung to him in the bathtub, and all she wanted was more. She covered her mouth in shock even though she hadn’t admitted it out loud. Her husband had barely been in the ground a week and she was already thinking about another man. And it wasn’t just any man; it was his brother. Oh well. If she was going to hell anyway for feeling relieved by his death, she might as well see this through.
“What happened?” Rayelle asked, jolting her from her thoughts.
“Do you have any clothes Bryce can wear? Where do you keep your towels? Would you make some more hot chocolate?” Samantha asked in a rush.
Rayelle grabbed hold of Samantha’s arm and forced her to look at her. “Samantha. Calm down and tell me what happened.”
Samantha took a calming breath and quickly recounted the events from their walk. Just saying it out loud had her right back on the verge of panicking. He had been in the water much longer than was safe. Thinking about what could have happened brought on a wave of fresh tears.
“It’s okay. He’s okay, right?” Rayelle soothed.
“I don’t know. I think he’s okay. I hope he is.”
“So, take a few deep breaths with me,” Rayelle instructed before pausing to breathe. “Now. Towels are in that closet by the bathroom. I’ll turn on the fireplace and make us all some hot chocolate right after I grab some clothes for Bryce to wear and some dry clothes for you. The dog seems okay. He’s asleep on a blanket in the living room.”
“Okay. Right. Everything is okay.” She closed her eyes and willed herself to gain composure. “Thanks, Rayelle.”
Samantha returned to the bathroom to find Bryce sitting in the bathtub with the shower turned off. His shivering had slowed, and he looked even better than he did when she left him only moments ago. She had one towel wrapped around her shoulders and offered the other towel to Bryce. After unplugging the drain, he stood to get out of the bath. Water dripped down his nearly naked body and his wet boxer briefs clung to him, leaving nothing to the imagination.
He gave her a knowing smirk before reaching for the towel and wrapping it around himself. “You’re all wet.”
“I am,” she agreed, squeezing her thighs together. “Rayelle’s getting us some dry clothes. We should wait in the living room where the fireplace is going.”
Her nerves dissipated as soon as he took her hand and led the way to the living room. He really was okay. And whatever that was that happened in the bathtub hadn’t scared him away. Unless his brain had been damaged by the cold and he just didn’t know what he was doing. Or his brain wasn’t functioning when he kissed her, and he would remember everything that happened except for the kiss. She chuckled at that. It would be her luck.
“Here,” Rayelle said a few minutes later, holding out two different sets of clothing.
“I’ll get dressed in the bathroom,” Samantha offered. “With the fireplace going this is the warmest room of the house. You should get changed here.”
Samantha made her way back into the living room after putting on the dry clothes and giving herself a pep talk. She deserved to be happy. She was doing nothing wrong. In the end, whatever people thought was their problem, not hers. She repeated it to herself mentally as she took the seat on the couch beside Bryce.
He picked up a mug of hot chocolate from the coffee table and handed it to her. Wrapped in a blanket, he was holding his own mug of the steaming drink. He sat back and watched her carefully as if he was afraid she might run. Looking down, she saw the dog he rescued sleeping peacefully at his feet. His thick brown fur was mostly dry, and he didn’t look any worse for wear.
“I still can’t believe you did that,” Samantha commented. “But it’s pretty amazing.”
“What I did was stupid. But I couldn’t just watch him drown.”
“Well, now what?” she asked, looking down at the dog. “I hate to think of dumping him at the shelter.”
Bryce absently rubbed the dog with his foot. “I’m going to call the dog shelter in the morning in case someone is looking for him. But I am going to see about keeping him with me at least until an owner shows up. Today alone was tough; he doesn’t deserve to be thrown into a shelter with a bunch of other dogs he doesn’t know, and get ignored."
“He needs a name,” Rayelle interjected from the other side of the room.
“Asher,” Samantha said without hesitation.
“Why Asher?” Rayelle asked over her mug.
Samantha smiled wistfully at the dog. “It means blessed or fortunate. I’d say he’s pretty fortunate that Bryce was there tonight. And he’s blessed that he seems to have found his new home.”
When she looked up, Bryce was looking down at her. His eyes crinkled at the corners and faint smile lines peeked out beneath the stubble of his short beard. She couldn’t look away. After a long moment, he looked back down at the dog.
“So,” Samantha said before waiting to have his attention. “How do you feel? Are you still cold?”
“No, I’m okay. Just a little sore.”
“You should let me clean up those cuts for you,” she suggested.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
