There were some lessons she didn’t need to learn twice.
“Where to, boss?” There was no use wasting time. She needed to deflect her nervous energy.
“Why don’t you take the left cabinet? You’ll be able to reach the pipe easier. I’ll take the right.”
Pulling free the elastic tie she kept on her wrist, she shoved her thick hair into a knot, then sank to her knees. “Am I going to be loosening or tightening?”
“Tightening,” he said, shifting to give her space. “See the new elbow joint? It’s PVC. Nothing in this house was PVC.”
“I’m not going to ask if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” She felt the wetness of the cabinet base as she crawled half in. “Was it leaking?” Suddenly he was cramming into the other half and sucking the air right out of her lungs. He smelled so good, and he was so close. Their hips and legs were only inches apart.
“It started dripping last night.” He passed her a pair of pliers and pointed with a pen-sized flashlight. “See where I’m pointing? Those are compression nuts. I can’t fit my hand into the crevice with the pliers to tighten them enough to seal it.”
Compression nuts. Hold it together, Kels. Thank goodness for the elbow joint separating them, though it did nothing to block out his smell. It took her a few inhalations to discern what it might be. Bar soap, like the basic kind her mom had bought when she was a kid; Axe deodorant, like her brothers wore; and a touch of sweat all blended into the perfect male potpourri.
Her skin was humming with energy. She felt like she was waking up from hibernation, and she was starving for… For what? she wondered. Him? His body? Sex? All of the above?
She dropped the pliers on the second half turn.
“Sorry if it’s uncomfortable,” he said, passing them back.
“It’s righty-tighty, isn’t it? It feels like I’m tightening it.”
“It is. A couple more turns, with a long twist on the last one, and you can move to the other nut.”
A burst of laughter escaped, and Kelsey pressed her forehead against the new elbow joint. “I’m sorry. We’re in too cramped a space to talk about nuts without me taking it wrong.”
“We’re in too cramped a space to not talk at all, so pick a topic.”
“How are the dogs?” she asked, choosing something familiar and safe.
“Nut-free, though a few of the females still have their ovaries.”
Kelsey giggled. “I think you’re delirious because you never sleep.”
“I got a full six hours last night. I never get more than that. If I’m delirious, it’s that intoxicating perfume you keep putting on.”
Kelsey jerked reflexively and banged the back of her head on the bottom of the sink. “Ow. And I’m not dosing myself in perfume to rehab dogs, thank you. It’s body wash, citrus mint, and it wakes me up better than coffee.”
“Citrus mint, huh? Any chance you’ll switch it for a bar of Ivory soap so I can work around you easier?”
She dropped the pliers again. Did he really just say that? Thank God for all those years of learning how to be snarky with her brothers when they were dishing out their endless jokes and pranks. “I think I got it on the last turn there. And I have this. I don’t need you in here for the last one. And no to the Ivory soap. I like my body wash. It makes me happy. You can spend the next couple minutes looking for nose plugs if you’d like.”
It was Kurt’s turn to laugh as he backed out of the cabinet and sank against the balls of his feet again. “No thanks. I’ll deal.”
“Or I could pick you up a bottle. If you start using it, it’ll be like we belong to the same citrus-mint tribe.”
“No thanks. Too girlie. If I used that stuff, the dogs might no longer recognize me as the alpha male.” He stood up and headed over to the toolbox, facing away from her. This made her a little less self-conscious about her rear end sticking up exactly like his had been. She forced her focus back to the job at hand. It was no use wishing for a tiny, petite body. Besides, her height came in handy often enough, and thanks to being so active, those extra pounds were mostly stuck to her curves.
After several turns, and sprouting a hand cramp, Kelsey managed to tighten the next nut till it no longer budged. She scooted out and left Kurt to test the faucet as she headed to the screened-in porch for Pepper. Kurt had given Kelsey the green light to handle the loyal Rottweiler whenever she wanted. This morning, Pepper could hang out in one of the runs while they started on the other dogs.
When she got to Pepper’s crate, Kelsey found it empty. A look out into the backyard proved the Rott had already been let out into the single run at the far edge. In one side of the double run, there was a quiet and calm hundred-and-twenty-pound bullmastiff. He was a striking brindled color and so easygoing that Kelsey had decided to name him Buddy.
With two dogs in the runs, it was time for the morning feeding routine. Kurt followed her into the main parlor where they’d been starting the lengthy process. Kelsey could hear the kitchen faucet running and figured he was testing it to be sure the leak was stopped.
“I thought this might help move things along,” he said, pointing to labels he’d stuck to the floor in front of
