Chapter 1
"There, Mom, I think that's the last of them." A.J. looked at the stack of boxes in the U-Haul and shuddered. What remained of his life in San Diego was in those containers, what wasn't scorched or burned, that is. Cecilia stood in the doorway of her rental unit and just shook her head. "Honey, thank you for helping me with this, I know it can't be easy. Your brother had a bad time just salvaging his few mementos, let alone our everyday things. I'm just grateful that criminal will be spending the rest of his life in prison, if Rick every got a hold of him..."
A.J. bit back a cuss word and instead put an arm around his mother.
"Neither of those crooks will ever get out, Mom. At least the court was able to force that old jerk to fork out for all your expenses. I'm just glad we were able to save a few things. The place you rented to stay when you visit Auntie is really nice, but you'll love the condo Linda found. It's far enough away in the complex that you'll have some privacy, but near enough for you to come over anytime you want to see Ricky and Ceci!" her younger son added, giving her a hug.
"Just as long as I won't be the interfering mother-in-law, you two deserve the same privacy that
your brother and Laurie have had." Cecilia smiled.
"You've always given both of us space, Mom, but I don't know, it's funny how they managed to keep that honeymoon attitude going all these years. I guess with one or more of the kids around all the time, the two of them have had to squeeze their time in together. Now that Robbie and Robin aren't at the house all that much, I bet Rick's going to find the excuse to take off earlier more often!" he chuckled.
"A.J., that's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Cecilia took her son's arm after he closed the back of the truck. Waiting until he boosted her into the truck cab and they were underway, her youngest son looked at his mom. "What, Mom?" he wondered aloud.
"Something's bothering Rick, honey, he's been preoccupied the last couple of times I've seen him. He asked me yesterday as he dropped me at the airport what kind of work your father would have done if he'd lived until fifty." his Mom told him.
"Oh, so that's it, Mom, I know what's eating him!" A.J. felt a wave of relief tinged with sadness. "He and I were talking about Dad. I think it's the fact that he's turning 50 in a couple of weeks, the whole "getting old" business. Don't worry, I think the party that Laurie and Towne and I are planning will do the trick!"
"No, a party with black crepe and "over the hill" headstones is not my idea of fun, Towne!" Rick replied heatedly to his friend over the phone.
"Now, now, temper, temper, Rick. You know we wouldn't do that to you, besides I'm not giving you any grounds for payback for my turn, thank you very much!" the teasing voice said, bringing a reluctant smile to the older Simons' face.
"And don't you forget it!" Rick snickered, then heard a beep on the other office line.
"Sorry, Towne, I got to get that, what time will you be getting here for Robbie's party?"
"Temple and I should be at the office about noon, we'll follow you to the ranch from there." the former detective promised. "I'm just glad I was able to snag that Kevlar jacket, to think Phoenix P.D. pulled that "Budget" crap on your son!"
"Thanks, Towne, I didn't dare tell Laurie about this jacket business, she'd have been down on Walker's replacement in two seconds!" Rick answered, grateful for his friend's concern.
Saying his goodbyes, Rick picked up the business line only to find the object of his thoughts on the phone.
"Hey, darlin', sorry I had to stick you on hold, what's up?"
"Well I love you too, Rick!" she laughed, lifting his spirits. "A.J. just called, he and Mom are going over to the Condo association to sign her paperwork. Did you want to meet them for lunch?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I don't think we have any appointments after noon. You want to call A.J. and tell him I'll meet them at his house?" Rick flipped his calendar open as he spoke, then flinched as he saw the date.
It was the anniversary of the day his father died.
"Sure, I'll call him right now. Rick?" It took him a moment to realize she'd said his name.
"Sorry, Laurie, what?"
"Um, I was wondering, would you mind if I called Father Nick and had a Mass said for your dad. I was thinking about Uncle Jack this morning." Startled, he thought for a moment she'd picked up on his thoughts, then realized there was too much distance between them for that.
"I, yes, thank you, sweetheart. I just saw the date myself." He smiled wistfully, she would remember his dad. His father had tried to protect his girl just as he had from her horrible stepparents.
"I think with all the moving and everything, Mom and A.J. forgot too. I'm so glad she's going to be here, Rick. I've missed seeing her, I guess I'm just spoiled, I like having our family around." Rick heard a sadness in her voice. "Angel, I'm the one who's spoiled, you're who I love having around. Why don't you come up for lunch, then you and I can go home together."
He could almost feel the happiness in her voice. "Rick, I'd love to, darling. Rudy's going to be here in a few minutes to drop off some fish, I'll have him take me to A.J.'s on his way to the airport."
"I'll see you there, sweetheart, be careful." He paused, then whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too, Rick, I'll be there." His spirits lifted, Rick ended the call then looked again at the calendar page.
"We didn't forget you, dad." he thought.
A day later, Rick stood looking at a portrait of him and A.J. when they celebrated his 45th birthday. "Mom, where do you want this picture?" "On the mantle, Rick. It's one of my favorites."
"You're kidding, aren't you, we look so goofy in it", Rick shook his head.
"Yes, honey, but it's the most recent one I have of you two together, at least without food in your hair or torn shirts!" Cecilia teased.
Expecting a comeback, his mother instead watched him carefully place the picture on the mantle, then vanish amidst the boxes.
Deciding enough was enough, Cecilia followed Rick to the back bedroom which was acting as a storage room for the moment. Seeing her son standing, holding a stack of picture frames, she felt heartsick for whatever was bothering him.
"Rick?" She had to say his name twice before he blinked then turned around. "Uh, sorry, Mom, what did you say?"
"I want to talk to you, honey, please sit down." She replied, then took his hand and pulled him down onto the only cleared off place, their old sofa.
Startled, he looked at her with a puzzled look. "Mom, what is it, is anything wrong?"
"I don't know, you tell me. For the past couple of weeks you've been so, I'd don't know, sad or upset by something. Maybe it's none of your mother's business, but....." Cecilia saw a flicker of relief in his eyes, then he shook his head.
"It's nothing, Mom, as least nothing you can help with." He answered, then took a deep breath as she retorted, "how do you know I can't help you, unless you tell me what's wrong? If it's about Laurie or the kids...."
"No, Mom, nothing like that. It's, oh heck, it sounds so stupid." Rick blurted. "I keep wondering what my life would be like if I did something new, I mean retired from the business and helped Laurie with the ranch. Or worked with the Chief on stuff, or just went fishing and hunting, anything else but what I'm doing now."
Cecilia shook her head. "Honey, it's not stupid, what you're feeling is only natural. You have worked so hard all of your life, maybe it's time to take a break, or cut back on work. I think your brother's starting to feel the same way. I want you to be happy, Rick. More important, I want you to look past the whole "turning fifty", and see how very important you are to all of us. " Not able to stand his resigned look anymore, she put her arms around her older son and hugged him tightly.
"I love you, Mom. Thanks for listening. I want to think through what I'm going to do, but don't worry, I'll keep A.J. in mind when I make my decision." he sighed. Cecilia tried to smile up at him, "Thank you, son, remember, that's what mothers are for."
"Don't I know it!" Rick chuckled, feeling better. Taking his mother's arm, he helped her up, then a familiar voice called down the hall.
"Mom ,Rick?" "Coming, sweetheart!" he called back, then grinned at Cecilia. "Laurie's the most on-time woman I know, you can set your watch by her!"
"I wish I could take credit, honey, but it's like an inner clock she's always had." Cecilia replied.
As mother and son entered the condo' s living room, Rick let go of his mother and embraced his
wife. "There's my girl, always on time." "That's because I had two reasons to be on time for!"
she beamed, giving him a kiss then hugging Cecilia.
"Just for that, honey, I'm going to bake you some of my lemon bars for Robbie's party this weekend." she promised. Seeing the look of delight on Laurie's face, Rick shook his head. "Mom, you'll spoil her, she's worse than a teenager with anything lemon!"
"I can't help it, darling, Mom makes the best lemon treats, I used to dream about them, oh thank you Mom!" Laurie suddenly sniffed, then hugged Cecilia again.
"You're welcome, sweet. Now you two go on home before dark, A.J.'s going to walk over with my dinner and help me finish putting things away." she said, trying not to tear up herself.
Making sure Cecilia locked up, Rick held Laurie's hand as they walked to her jeep, having decided to leave his pickup for the rest of their mother's move in. As they climbed in, Rick impulsively asked "Laurie, would you mind if Sunday I took off for a few hours by myself."
"No, Rick, it's okay with me. You hardly ever take off anywhere for yourself. You know, it's too bad it's so cold, you could hike into the hills and bring back a wild turkey." she answered lightly, buckling up.
"Oh yeah, like you would want to pluck all those feathers, my silly girl." Rick told her, pulling her against him. "Oh yeah?" she giggled. "If I'm so silly, how come I married you, hmmm!"
"Just lucky, I guess!" he retorted, then laughed as Laurie tickled him with a kiss on his ear.
"Oh, just wait until I get you home!" he teased his wife, as she started nuzzling his neck.
Suddenly white flakes appeared in the headlights, prompting Rick to slow their speed. "Sweetheart, did you hear anything on the news about a snowstorm?" he asked, startled.
"No, Rick, this is crazy!" she said, shivering until the heater kicked in. "I've never seen this kind of weather this late in the spring! Maybe I should call Robin, she shouldn't be driving in this weather!"
"Darlin', that's a good idea, use my transmitter and get a hold of Robbie, he can call her from the office." Rick told her. Calling their son, Laurie found he was one step ahead of his parents.
"She's staying overnight with Ramona, Mom. I saw the weather report and got in touch with her before she left for work. You guys call me when you get home, all right?" Robbie asked, prompting his father to reassure him. "Don't worry, son, I'm glad we left my truck at Mom's, the jeep has better tires for this weather. We'll should be home in a few minutes."
Just as the two Simons pulled into their driveway, the wind suddenly started to whip around and rock the vehicle. Literally pulling his wife out the driver's side door, Rick ran them into the house and shut the door against the now driving snow.
"Rick, I have to feed the horses, you call Robbie and I'll make a dash for it." Laurie told him, not stopping to take off her coat. "No, sweetheart, it's snowing too hard, I'll do it!" he insisted. As he dialed the sheriff's office, she went to find Mike, then he heard the door slam.
"Oh, no, you didn't, Laurie!" he yelled, then put the phone down and ran to the back door.
Peering out into the snow, he barely saw his wife in the light of the porch light, then she vanished.
"Laurie!." Rick called again, then caught his breath as he saw her struggling through the snow already piled high. Putting a wool hat on, Rick opened the door and literally slid down the back steps, somehow ending up on his feet, then he realized that Laurie had fallen to her knees while holding on to their dog and was trying to get back up.
Bracing himself against the wind, he ran through the patio and grabbing her arm, pulled her up and led her back into the house. Winded, he felt his strength start to give as he lowered his wife into a seat at the kitchen table, then he collapsed, panting and wanting to swear a blue streak at her stubbornness.
"Laurie, what the....." Suddenly he saw her drop her head into her arms.
"Darlin', what's wrong, tell me." he asked, his anger dissipating. Laurie looked up at him, pale and trembling, then she flung herself into his embrace, crying.
Scared, Rick tried to comfort her. "Angel, what is it, please." he begged her. Laurie looked up at him, then taking a deep breath, said "Rick, I'm sorry, forgive me for rushing out there. I saw Mike was stuck in his dog house, it turned upside down in the wind. I didn't mean to fall apart like that, it was so vivid though,..."
"Sweetheart, it's alright, did you have a premonition?" he said, then she nodded against his
chest. "Darling, it was awful. You were laying on your back, half in, half out of a doorway, and
I was trying to drag you out. I couldn't move you, then I fell on top of your chest and I started
crying because I couldn't rouse you. I, I heard myself say, "we'll go together. I've never heard
a sound before in any of my visions."
"No, darlin', it's all right, nothing's going to happen like that, I won't let such a thing happen, my princess." Rick soothed her, then was relieved when he felt her shaking stop.
"Thank you, my love." Laurie sniffed, as he kissed her. "I'm okay now, and I promise not to go outside without you. Now, are you alright, your heart's racing!" she told him worriedly.
"I'm okay, darlin', now you just sit here and I'll look see what we have for supper." Rick told her, his energy coming back, then he felt her hands caress his face.
"I love you, Rick, thank you for taking such good care of me." she whispered, then kissed him
gently. "My love, I'll always be here for you, I promise!" he returned, meeting his lips
with hers again..
A whimper interrupted their embrace, and both Simons laughed at Mike's covering his eyes
with his paw. "All right, you're staying inside tonight, but no scratching!" Rick grinned.
"There, Mom, I think that's the last of them." A.J. looked at the stack of boxes in the U-Haul and shuddered. What remained of his life in San Diego was in those containers, what wasn't scorched or burned, that is. Cecilia stood in the doorway of her rental unit and just shook her head. "Honey, thank you for helping me with this, I know it can't be easy. Your brother had a bad time just salvaging his few mementos, let alone our everyday things. I'm just grateful that criminal will be spending the rest of his life in prison, if Rick every got a hold of him..."
A.J. bit back a cuss word and instead put an arm around his mother.
"Neither of those crooks will ever get out, Mom. At least the court was able to force that old jerk to fork out for all your expenses. I'm just glad we were able to save a few things. The place you rented to stay when you visit Auntie is really nice, but you'll love the condo Linda found. It's far enough away in the complex that you'll have some privacy, but near enough for you to come over anytime you want to see Ricky and Ceci!" her younger son added, giving her a hug.
"Just as long as I won't be the interfering mother-in-law, you two deserve the same privacy that
your brother and Laurie have had." Cecilia smiled.
"You've always given both of us space, Mom, but I don't know, it's funny how they managed to keep that honeymoon attitude going all these years. I guess with one or more of the kids around all the time, the two of them have had to squeeze their time in together. Now that Robbie and Robin aren't at the house all that much, I bet Rick's going to find the excuse to take off earlier more often!" he chuckled.
"A.J., that's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Cecilia took her son's arm after he closed the back of the truck. Waiting until he boosted her into the truck cab and they were underway, her youngest son looked at his mom. "What, Mom?" he wondered aloud.
"Something's bothering Rick, honey, he's been preoccupied the last couple of times I've seen him. He asked me yesterday as he dropped me at the airport what kind of work your father would have done if he'd lived until fifty." his Mom told him.
"Oh, so that's it, Mom, I know what's eating him!" A.J. felt a wave of relief tinged with sadness. "He and I were talking about Dad. I think it's the fact that he's turning 50 in a couple of weeks, the whole "getting old" business. Don't worry, I think the party that Laurie and Towne and I are planning will do the trick!"
"No, a party with black crepe and "over the hill" headstones is not my idea of fun, Towne!" Rick replied heatedly to his friend over the phone.
"Now, now, temper, temper, Rick. You know we wouldn't do that to you, besides I'm not giving you any grounds for payback for my turn, thank you very much!" the teasing voice said, bringing a reluctant smile to the older Simons' face.
"And don't you forget it!" Rick snickered, then heard a beep on the other office line.
"Sorry, Towne, I got to get that, what time will you be getting here for Robbie's party?"
"Temple and I should be at the office about noon, we'll follow you to the ranch from there." the former detective promised. "I'm just glad I was able to snag that Kevlar jacket, to think Phoenix P.D. pulled that "Budget" crap on your son!"
"Thanks, Towne, I didn't dare tell Laurie about this jacket business, she'd have been down on Walker's replacement in two seconds!" Rick answered, grateful for his friend's concern.
Saying his goodbyes, Rick picked up the business line only to find the object of his thoughts on the phone.
"Hey, darlin', sorry I had to stick you on hold, what's up?"
"Well I love you too, Rick!" she laughed, lifting his spirits. "A.J. just called, he and Mom are going over to the Condo association to sign her paperwork. Did you want to meet them for lunch?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I don't think we have any appointments after noon. You want to call A.J. and tell him I'll meet them at his house?" Rick flipped his calendar open as he spoke, then flinched as he saw the date.
It was the anniversary of the day his father died.
"Sure, I'll call him right now. Rick?" It took him a moment to realize she'd said his name.
"Sorry, Laurie, what?"
"Um, I was wondering, would you mind if I called Father Nick and had a Mass said for your dad. I was thinking about Uncle Jack this morning." Startled, he thought for a moment she'd picked up on his thoughts, then realized there was too much distance between them for that.
"I, yes, thank you, sweetheart. I just saw the date myself." He smiled wistfully, she would remember his dad. His father had tried to protect his girl just as he had from her horrible stepparents.
"I think with all the moving and everything, Mom and A.J. forgot too. I'm so glad she's going to be here, Rick. I've missed seeing her, I guess I'm just spoiled, I like having our family around." Rick heard a sadness in her voice. "Angel, I'm the one who's spoiled, you're who I love having around. Why don't you come up for lunch, then you and I can go home together."
He could almost feel the happiness in her voice. "Rick, I'd love to, darling. Rudy's going to be here in a few minutes to drop off some fish, I'll have him take me to A.J.'s on his way to the airport."
"I'll see you there, sweetheart, be careful." He paused, then whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too, Rick, I'll be there." His spirits lifted, Rick ended the call then looked again at the calendar page.
"We didn't forget you, dad." he thought.
A day later, Rick stood looking at a portrait of him and A.J. when they celebrated his 45th birthday. "Mom, where do you want this picture?" "On the mantle, Rick. It's one of my favorites."
"You're kidding, aren't you, we look so goofy in it", Rick shook his head.
"Yes, honey, but it's the most recent one I have of you two together, at least without food in your hair or torn shirts!" Cecilia teased.
Expecting a comeback, his mother instead watched him carefully place the picture on the mantle, then vanish amidst the boxes.
Deciding enough was enough, Cecilia followed Rick to the back bedroom which was acting as a storage room for the moment. Seeing her son standing, holding a stack of picture frames, she felt heartsick for whatever was bothering him.
"Rick?" She had to say his name twice before he blinked then turned around. "Uh, sorry, Mom, what did you say?"
"I want to talk to you, honey, please sit down." She replied, then took his hand and pulled him down onto the only cleared off place, their old sofa.
Startled, he looked at her with a puzzled look. "Mom, what is it, is anything wrong?"
"I don't know, you tell me. For the past couple of weeks you've been so, I'd don't know, sad or upset by something. Maybe it's none of your mother's business, but....." Cecilia saw a flicker of relief in his eyes, then he shook his head.
"It's nothing, Mom, as least nothing you can help with." He answered, then took a deep breath as she retorted, "how do you know I can't help you, unless you tell me what's wrong? If it's about Laurie or the kids...."
"No, Mom, nothing like that. It's, oh heck, it sounds so stupid." Rick blurted. "I keep wondering what my life would be like if I did something new, I mean retired from the business and helped Laurie with the ranch. Or worked with the Chief on stuff, or just went fishing and hunting, anything else but what I'm doing now."
Cecilia shook her head. "Honey, it's not stupid, what you're feeling is only natural. You have worked so hard all of your life, maybe it's time to take a break, or cut back on work. I think your brother's starting to feel the same way. I want you to be happy, Rick. More important, I want you to look past the whole "turning fifty", and see how very important you are to all of us. " Not able to stand his resigned look anymore, she put her arms around her older son and hugged him tightly.
"I love you, Mom. Thanks for listening. I want to think through what I'm going to do, but don't worry, I'll keep A.J. in mind when I make my decision." he sighed. Cecilia tried to smile up at him, "Thank you, son, remember, that's what mothers are for."
"Don't I know it!" Rick chuckled, feeling better. Taking his mother's arm, he helped her up, then a familiar voice called down the hall.
"Mom ,Rick?" "Coming, sweetheart!" he called back, then grinned at Cecilia. "Laurie's the most on-time woman I know, you can set your watch by her!"
"I wish I could take credit, honey, but it's like an inner clock she's always had." Cecilia replied.
As mother and son entered the condo' s living room, Rick let go of his mother and embraced his
wife. "There's my girl, always on time." "That's because I had two reasons to be on time for!"
she beamed, giving him a kiss then hugging Cecilia.
"Just for that, honey, I'm going to bake you some of my lemon bars for Robbie's party this weekend." she promised. Seeing the look of delight on Laurie's face, Rick shook his head. "Mom, you'll spoil her, she's worse than a teenager with anything lemon!"
"I can't help it, darling, Mom makes the best lemon treats, I used to dream about them, oh thank you Mom!" Laurie suddenly sniffed, then hugged Cecilia again.
"You're welcome, sweet. Now you two go on home before dark, A.J.'s going to walk over with my dinner and help me finish putting things away." she said, trying not to tear up herself.
Making sure Cecilia locked up, Rick held Laurie's hand as they walked to her jeep, having decided to leave his pickup for the rest of their mother's move in. As they climbed in, Rick impulsively asked "Laurie, would you mind if Sunday I took off for a few hours by myself."
"No, Rick, it's okay with me. You hardly ever take off anywhere for yourself. You know, it's too bad it's so cold, you could hike into the hills and bring back a wild turkey." she answered lightly, buckling up.
"Oh yeah, like you would want to pluck all those feathers, my silly girl." Rick told her, pulling her against him. "Oh yeah?" she giggled. "If I'm so silly, how come I married you, hmmm!"
"Just lucky, I guess!" he retorted, then laughed as Laurie tickled him with a kiss on his ear.
"Oh, just wait until I get you home!" he teased his wife, as she started nuzzling his neck.
Suddenly white flakes appeared in the headlights, prompting Rick to slow their speed. "Sweetheart, did you hear anything on the news about a snowstorm?" he asked, startled.
"No, Rick, this is crazy!" she said, shivering until the heater kicked in. "I've never seen this kind of weather this late in the spring! Maybe I should call Robin, she shouldn't be driving in this weather!"
"Darlin', that's a good idea, use my transmitter and get a hold of Robbie, he can call her from the office." Rick told her. Calling their son, Laurie found he was one step ahead of his parents.
"She's staying overnight with Ramona, Mom. I saw the weather report and got in touch with her before she left for work. You guys call me when you get home, all right?" Robbie asked, prompting his father to reassure him. "Don't worry, son, I'm glad we left my truck at Mom's, the jeep has better tires for this weather. We'll should be home in a few minutes."
Just as the two Simons pulled into their driveway, the wind suddenly started to whip around and rock the vehicle. Literally pulling his wife out the driver's side door, Rick ran them into the house and shut the door against the now driving snow.
"Rick, I have to feed the horses, you call Robbie and I'll make a dash for it." Laurie told him, not stopping to take off her coat. "No, sweetheart, it's snowing too hard, I'll do it!" he insisted. As he dialed the sheriff's office, she went to find Mike, then he heard the door slam.
"Oh, no, you didn't, Laurie!" he yelled, then put the phone down and ran to the back door.
Peering out into the snow, he barely saw his wife in the light of the porch light, then she vanished.
"Laurie!." Rick called again, then caught his breath as he saw her struggling through the snow already piled high. Putting a wool hat on, Rick opened the door and literally slid down the back steps, somehow ending up on his feet, then he realized that Laurie had fallen to her knees while holding on to their dog and was trying to get back up.
Bracing himself against the wind, he ran through the patio and grabbing her arm, pulled her up and led her back into the house. Winded, he felt his strength start to give as he lowered his wife into a seat at the kitchen table, then he collapsed, panting and wanting to swear a blue streak at her stubbornness.
"Laurie, what the....." Suddenly he saw her drop her head into her arms.
"Darlin', what's wrong, tell me." he asked, his anger dissipating. Laurie looked up at him, pale and trembling, then she flung herself into his embrace, crying.
Scared, Rick tried to comfort her. "Angel, what is it, please." he begged her. Laurie looked up at him, then taking a deep breath, said "Rick, I'm sorry, forgive me for rushing out there. I saw Mike was stuck in his dog house, it turned upside down in the wind. I didn't mean to fall apart like that, it was so vivid though,..."
"Sweetheart, it's alright, did you have a premonition?" he said, then she nodded against his
chest. "Darling, it was awful. You were laying on your back, half in, half out of a doorway, and
I was trying to drag you out. I couldn't move you, then I fell on top of your chest and I started
crying because I couldn't rouse you. I, I heard myself say, "we'll go together. I've never heard
a sound before in any of my visions."
"No, darlin', it's all right, nothing's going to happen like that, I won't let such a thing happen, my princess." Rick soothed her, then was relieved when he felt her shaking stop.
"Thank you, my love." Laurie sniffed, as he kissed her. "I'm okay now, and I promise not to go outside without you. Now, are you alright, your heart's racing!" she told him worriedly.
"I'm okay, darlin', now you just sit here and I'll look see what we have for supper." Rick told her, his energy coming back, then he felt her hands caress his face.
"I love you, Rick, thank you for taking such good care of me." she whispered, then kissed him
gently. "My love, I'll always be here for you, I promise!" he returned, meeting his lips
with hers again..
A whimper interrupted their embrace, and both Simons laughed at Mike's covering his eyes
with his paw. "All right, you're staying inside tonight, but no scratching!" Rick grinned.