Chapter46
The Tiny Creatures
Zinnia’s POV
Dash’s face when I told him he should just live in the house with me full time was actually hilarious. First he looked like he hadn’t heard me right. Then he stood up from the rocking chair, right before he sat back down. Hard. He opened his mouth then snapped it shut. The whole time, his eyes were on me, trying to gauge if I was yanking his chain, right before he started rambling.
“Of course, Zin. Yes, of course I’ll move in full time. Definitely. Absolutely yes. Yeah, that sounds
great.”
“So, I take it you need time to think about it?” I teased him.
He smiled sheepishly. “I’m kind of surprised you suggested it, Zinnie, so that’s why I’m accepting
your offer repeatedly — just to keep you from changing your mind.
“You don’t have to move in,” I teased him.
Dash looked surprised but took my question seriously.
“Zinnie, I never wanted to be away from you. I just want to make sure you’re ready, and that you’re asking for the right reasons, not because you’re scared your family will come back.”
“My family coming back plays into it to some extent, Dash. But If I really didn’t want you back, I’d take you up on the gate security, the guard dog and the alarm system on the house.”
Then I sighed, more upset about our families invading the commune than I realized.
“I hate thinking I’ve made that necessary, that I’ve brought the need to be watchful to Serenity.”
“You didn’t, baby. Our families did that themselves by refusing to accept when you and I both told them, on separate occasions, that they weren’t welcome here. So this is in no way on you.”
“Still,” I said.
“Still nothing,” he rolled right over me. “I don’t want you feeling that way because it’s not on you, Zin. They’ve done a consistent job of making you feel guilty all your life but that’s bullshit. They’re the guilty ones here.”
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Gripping the arms of the rocker, I let loose with a little anger.
“And what really pisses me off, Dash, is I know they don’t care one bit about Melitta. All they care about is making me miserable, and she’s one way to do that. It’s as if they can’t let me enjoy anything or be happy, like it’s a personal affront to them if I am.”
That moved him to his knees in front of me, his eyes imploring, his hands on my thighs.
“I swear to you, Zin, I’ll protect you from them, but you standing up to them was a beautiful thing, and I think they got the message. I called your father after they left and told him restraining orders and a call to his company were next up if he didn’t fix the fucking problem. I also reminded him I was a doctor.”
That confused me. My parents were well aware Dash was a doctor and always bragged about their son–in–law, the well–known pediatric intensivist.
“He knows you are, Dash.”
My husband grinned, and it wasn’t a nice grin.
“Never hurts to remind someone what your skills are.”
I figured it was some testosterone–based posturing, possibly related to income, and since Dash’s salary blew my father’s salary out of the water, maybe that’s what he was referring to. In fact, that could be the crux of the whole issue. I’d married a doctor while the golden Iris was still single. I had a baby, and Iris didn’t even have a goldfish. There was no way I should have been married to a successful doctor and have a baby with him while my sister couldn’t keep a boyfriend to save her
life.
Take the hint, Iris.
“I already talked to someone about putting in a security system, and I have some leads on guard dogs. Branch said he’d be open to putting a security guard on the gate during the day, and didn’t think it’d be necessary at night since the gates are locked.”
“And you’ll be here at night,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, Zinnie. I’ll be here every night.”
Somehow, that gave me more comfort than the gate guard, the alarm system and the dog
combined.
Chapter46
Dash may have moved back in, but he didn’t stop his campaign of showing me that he saw me and only me. One Saturday after Sunny and I attended a beekeeping class — she’d been delighted to take the class with me (The universe offers knowledge to us, and we need to gratefully take advantage of the gift.) — I found Dash in the backyard with three men and two women, and Melitta was sleeping outside in her stroller. They were working on putting together some galvanized metal rectangular beds that I’d seen in a number of backyards on the commune.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.