Page 11 of Dark Obsession

Cody told him about Gerald asking if he’d been bitten. “I wasn’t expecting it, you know?”

“Totally. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a surprise.”

“You’re allowed to say it upset you.”

“It didn’t upset me.” That came out faster and a bit harsher than he’d intended.

“Okay.”

Another couple of spins in the chair. Cody put his head back and stared at the ceiling. “It did bring some of it back though, you know?”

“I’m familiar with stuff like that.” Demmy’s voice was low and soft. “You going to be okay? It’s all right to cancel your appointment.”

“No, it’s not that bad. It…I don’t know what it did. And maybe that whole zombie scuffle last night put me on edge.”

“Zombies have a way of doing that. I’m a little edgy today myself.”

“You?”

Demmy huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, me. What you’re feeling is completely understandable.”

Cody grunted. “It feels like it’s all connected, you know?”

“What is?”

“All the people we’ve lost over the years. The way Felicia…” The hot sting of tears surprised him. He pressed fingers into the corners of his eyes.

“Oh, Cody. I’m sorry. You’ve been through so much.”

He cleared his throat. “We both have.”

“We have, but you having to work so hard to win back your grandmother’s trust after those vampires last year and that shape-shifting asshole of a nix. You’ve really been through it, and we haven’t had much time to process any of it. Either of us.”

Cody blew out a breath and got to his feet to start pacing. “I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

He tried on a big smile, but it felt too heavy for his face to support. “Hey, it’s me. I’m your big, tough husband.”

“Right. But you’re also my sweet and loving husband who is extremely protective of everyone he cares about, as well as his hometown.”

“Yeah, well.”

“Look, I need to get back to this job, but we’ll talk at home later.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

Cody had no idea why hearing those words brought more tears to his eyes. He nodded, the phone hot as he pressed it along the side of his face, and he was only a bit embarrassed when his voice broke as he said, “I love you, too.”

At home, he let himself in the side door and removed his work boots on the small landing. He descended the steps to the basement and peeled off his sweaty, dirty clothes by the washer and dryer, dropping them in a laundry basket. The cement floor was cold under his bare feet, and he stepped up and down, chafing his arms. Back upstairs, he took a cool shower, scrubbing up a generous lather and washing his hair twice. After drying off, he wiped the steam off the mirror and stood back as far as the tub allowed, turning left and right. More salads had been helping him lose a bit of gut. That and less beer.

“You ain’t what you used to be, but you’re not done yet,” he said to his reflection, then he grabbed his toothbrush.

A short time later, dressed in a royal blue three-button pullover shirt and black linen shorts, he locked the side door behind him, swinging the keys on his index finger as he rounded the truck. While he missed the multiple pockets of his cargo shorts, he liked how the shorts hugged his thighs.