With his warm breath tickling her ear, he whispered, "I'm glad you're alright, Judy." And then he was gone.
Judy sat stunned on the bed as his tail disappeared around the corner, and then she saw the top of his fluffy head appear and disappear through the railing outside her door as he hurried down the stairs. Judy sniffled, then wiped the back of her paw across her cheeks. No one had ever said anything so simple and yet so intense and heartfelt. Nick had literally had his heart on his sleeve—which would explain why he disappeared so fast.
With another sniffle and a watery laugh, she muttered, "Yep, I was right last night—there is no buck alive who can beat my fox when it comes to treating me special." She sat there another minute as the warmth Nick's words evoked continued to flow through her.
At hearing Nick walking back up the stairs, Judy's mind remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "Right, clothes." Opening the bag up, she rifled through it once more. She'd looked at the top few pairs last night in the truck, but now she pulled them all out to get a better view. The other pair of sweats and the butterfly shirt she recognized from last night, along with the dress shirt and dark-blue slacks, and in the bright sunlight she saw just how well the slightly lighter shade of blue really complimented the darker navy.
Next came a pair of light blue jean shorts with little pink and purple flowers stitched around the hem of each leg and the same flowers stitched much larger onto each back pocket. Lifting the shorts closer to her face, she realized the pink flowers were a perfect match for the pink shirt she'd been wearing yesterday. And the purple flowers really matched the lighter highlights in her amethyst eyes.
Nick really had put a lot of thought and attention into the clothes he bought her. Even being tired, stressed out, and short on time, he still found something special for her. Another sniffle caught her as she felt her eyes start to tear up again. Scrunching her eyes shut tight, she willed herself not to cry again. Stop being so emotional! It's just Nick being Nick . . . again.
As Judy had been studying the flowers, Nick had returned to her room, but seeing her so focused, he didn't interrupt. Leaning against the doorframe, he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. After fiddling with it on his phone, he looked up to see Judy with her eyes scrunched up trying not to cry. It surprised him, but before he could move, she opened her eyes and smiled at the pair of shorts before going back to the bag.
Still watching, he saw her pull out the spandex workout clothes. A smile touched her mouth, along with a touch of puzzlement. With her leg the way it was, she probably didn't understand why he bought it. Nick grinned smugly while thinking of the punching bag.
As Judy set the slick, stretchy outfit aside, Nick pulled his camera up, ready to snap a candid picture. With his smug smirk firmly in place, he waited for her to pull out the last item.
Judy found the hot pink shirt and pulled it out, curious as to why Nick would pick it. Opening it up and turning it around so she could see the front, she immediately started laughing. "Nick!? Really?"
"What? You don't like it?" he asked from the doorway.
Glancing up, Judy flipped the shirt around to show a solid black silhouette of a fox's head with the words written in bold, stylized print: Feeling Foxy Tonight.
"What? I saw that and immediately thought of you. You are living in a fox's den right now, so you have to feel at least a little foxy to be comfortable being here."
His sly smirk just oozed smugness and Judy couldn't help but laugh. Studying the shirt again, she heard the click of a camera and looked up to see Nick with his phone up and angled towards her. "Are you taking pictures of me?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
"Absolutely. 100 percent."
His smug smile was contagious, so instead of being irritated, Judy giggled again. "Nick, you're such a goof."
With his smile brightening, Nick slid his phone into his back pocket and walked over to her. Leaning down, he planted his large, dark paws on the bed to either side of Judy and brought his face in close, so their noses nearly touched. "Well, Carrots, I'm your goof now."
With her nose twitching at his nearness, Judy took an unsteady breath while her ears flamed against her back. "Careful what you promise, Slick," she murmured huskily. "You're not the only one who can feel greedy."
Ears pricked forward, Nick's eyes burned a deeper emerald as he leaned in a fraction closer. "Hmm, a greedy Carrots. That might be fun to see." With a wider grin, he added, "You're so selfless all the time, that it'll be interesting to see when you're actually being greedy." Moving in so their noses were mere millimeters apart, and with his warm breath slightly ruffling the fur on her cheeks, he dropped his voice to a husky whisper. "I think I'd enjoy a greedy Judy."
Judy's nose continued twitching as her whole face turned bright red under her short, grey fur. My name. He said my name again. She didn't know what it was, but something about him saying her real name made it feel like her heart was being squeezed. Swallowing to try and moisten her suddenly dry throat, she was on the verge of closing the miniscule distance between them when her stomach suddenly let out a demanding growl.
Nick immediately stood and cocked his head while watching Judy curl in on herself from embarrassment. "Wow, Carrots, the vicious tiger is back. We better give it something to nibble on before getting you in that shower." Turning around, he grabbed her now empty water bottle and moved towards the door, saying, "Wait here, I got just the thing." Pausing at the door, he turned and said, "You might want to change into that foxy shirt. We'll need to cover your bandage in plastic before you shower and that shirt's long enough to cover all the important stuff."
Judy nodded as Nick shut her door, then quickly pulled off her sweatshirt and replaced it with the hot-pink shirt. Next, she shimmied out of her sweatpants and let them drop to the floor—or tried to. With the elastic band around each ankle, they stopped there. With her good leg, she was able to use her toes to push the fabric on her bad leg down past her foot but turning the foot of her injured leg to do the same on the other pant leg sent pins and needles through her torn muscles.
Sucking in a sharp breath, she slowly let it out once the pain lessened. She was hoping to at least get her pants off without Nick's help, but her leg had other ideas. Folding her arms across her chest, she glared at the uncooperative limb. "Traitor," she hissed at it. "You just want Nick to run his paws all over you." Once the words left her mouth, her ears turned beet red as she realized what she'd just said.
Moaning, she slapped her paws over her face and dropped back on the bed. Nick is a fox! Why am I so aware of him? My instincts should be warning me away, right? So why do I want to get closer?
A quick knock proceeded Nick's voice, as he asked, "Are you decent, Fluff?"
"Oh, um . . ." Judy sat back up and glanced down to see the hem of the shirt still resting around her waist. Scooting back so she was sitting on it, she pushed the long shirt down over her knees. "Okay, you can come in."
As he opened the door, he froze seeing Judy's glare, but then relaxed when her fierce gaze dropped to her foot where one of her pant legs was bunched up around her ankle.
"It's stuck."
Nick grinned as he sauntered over to her, his gaze appreciating how cute she looked in that hot-pink foxy shirt. Her scowl merely added to her charm. Setting the water bottle on the dresser, he held up two different variety packs of granola bars. "Before I get to that, which flavor do you want?"
Studying the two boxes, Judy's features brightened. "Ooh, that fudge-covered coconut bar looks really good."
"Chocolate coconut it is." Setting the other box down, he opened the one and pulled out the bar she wanted. As she hungrily tore into it, he set the box down next to the other and crouched down in front of her. Reaching over, he tugged the offending pant leg off and dropped the pants on the ground, then reached in his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag and a small roll of duct tape.
After covering her bandage in plastic and duct taping it securely in place (and yes, he made sure he didn't get any of her fur stuck in the tape), he gathered the pants and the sweatshirt off the bed and deposited them in the clothes' hamper at the foot of the bed, up against the wall.
Turning around, he found Judy had finished off her granola bar and was guzzling her water while studying his handywork with the plastic sack. "Are you going to survive a shower now?"
Judy nodded as she recapped her water bottle and set it back on the dresser. "Yeah, thanks." Grabbing the other sweats and the butterfly shirt, she hugged them to her as Nick picked her up. Usually she hated to be carried around unable to do hardly anything for herself. It irked her to no end to be dependent on someone else and forced to be waited on for even the simplest things.
So why was it, that when Nick was the one carrying her around and waiting on her, her normal irritation and embarrassment never surfaced? She just felt . . . warm and fuzzy inside. Was it because when Nick did something for her, he didn't make her feel like an invalid? He just seemed so happy being with her and having an excuse to carry her. He did say he was being selfish in helping her. That he did it to see her smile. Was that it?
Unaware of the fierce mental debate going on while carrying her to the bathroom, Nick explained, "I already put your fur shampoo and conditioner in the bathtub, along with a plastic fold-up stool so you can sit and bathe."
Judy nodded, then asked, "You had a plastic stool? There's stuff in this house you couldn't reach?"
"Yes, Carrots, even I need a stool to reach things off the highest shelves, but I'm not the one who bought it. Honey developed a bit of a hunch in her back, so she bought a bunch of stools and stashed them around the house—anywhere she needed one."
"So, she had one in the bathroom?"
"Not in the bathroom. She stored it in the laundry room attached to it."
Judy started to nod when it sunk in. "Wait just a minute!" Gripping his shirt, she pulled herself closer to his face and exclaimed, "You have your own laundry room?"
Nick flicked his ears out towards the side and gave her this 'dumb bunny' look, explaining, "Fluff, we're in a two-story house with one and a half baths, of course we have a laundry room." With ears pricking forward, he added, "Which reminds me, I washed your pink shirts last night with some sheets. Give me a second so I can throw them in the dryer."
Setting her down on the edge of the tub, he then turned and walked through a door at the opposite end of the bathroom. Watching Nick through the open door, he pulled the sheets from washer to the dryer, and heard the dryer come on. He closed the door as he walked back through, and the sound was immediately muffled. Pulling a pair of scissors from his back pocket, he placed them on the counter next her. "You can cut through the duct tape with this when you're done." Waiting for Judy to nod, he then clapped his paws together and said, "Okay, Fluff, the bathroom is all yours. Let me know when you're done."
"I will, Nick. Thanks."
Leaving Judy to do her thing, Nick retreated back downstairs. There were a few things he needed to get ready before giving Judy the grand tour—starting with the punching bag. He'd left it and the exercise band on the little couch last night when he'd taken the rest of Judy's stuff upstairs. Now he picked them up and carried them down the hall to the spare room off from the half-bath.
Opening the door, he walked in and set them on the workout bench, then turned to the smaller window that was across from the door. After pushing the curtains aside and shimming it open wide, he stuck his head out and breathed in the fresh air while appreciating the towering snow-covered peaks seen in the distance. The house was situated on the edge of the Meadowlands, close to where it met with the Rainforest District and Tundratown, which gave it incredible hiking and running trails—which he couldn't wait to show Judy.
Turning back to the room, he glanced around, then walked over and opened the curtains of the larger window that faced the backyard and let the late morning sunshine stream in. With the curtains of both windows now open, the room was bright and dust motes could be seen dancing in the air.
Originally, this room was more of a music studio and is the place where Nick self-taught himself the guitar. When he started working for Mr. Big, though, half the room had been converted to a gym. Most of the equipment was too big for Judy to use, her arms and legs being much too short, but he did have a set of fox-sized adjustable dumbbells. They'd be a bit bulky for her, but he figured with her strength she wouldn't have a problem using them.
Picking up the small, tear-shaped punching bag, he set it down in the corner, its bar leaning against the wall. He'll put it up after bringing Judy in here, otherwise he'd be tripping over it. Glancing around the room, a wide smile spread across his muzzle as he pictured him and Judy working out together in here. Or maybe, now that he had someone to play for, he'd get back into his music.
With one last look around the room, Nick made his way to the kitchen. After wiping off the counters and the table of the little bit of dust that had accumulated in the last month and a half, he picked up the cereal boxes and set them on the table, then pulled out two bowls and two spoons and set them out. Next thing he did was run through the house resetting all the clocks.
Knowing Judy should be finishing soon, he grabbed a can of dusting spray from the hall closet and a rag, then entered her room and sprayed her dresser and desk before wiping them off. Leaving them with a nice shine, he exited the room and turned right. Hearing the water turn off, he hurried into the large open room that took up the whole rest of the second floor, with its three large windows that looked out over the front yard and towards the heart of the city.
Hurrying along, he sprayed and dusted the many shelves within the room, and then the large, black object that was the centerpiece of the room, which sat in front of the large central window. Glancing around the room, satisfied with his work, he then walked down the hall to his room and dusted in there, too. After throwing the dust rag in his hamper, he returned the can to the downstairs closet and was just making his way back up the stairs when he heard Judy calling to him.
"Okay, Nick, I'm done, but I need help with my pants again."
With ears pricked forward, he took the stairs two at a time. Stopping at the bathroom door directly at the top of the stairs, Nick rapped a catchy tune, then opened the door. "You called, Sweetheart?"
Judy grinned at him from where she sat on the toilet seat lid. "You know I did," she replied while handing him her sweatpants. She'd already taken off the plastic and was ready for Nick's help. As Nick crouched down in front of her, she felt grateful he'd thought to buy her longer shirts, allowing her to keep at least a little of her modesty.
Once her pants were on, Nick stood up and asked, "Are you ready for some breakfast?"
"You know I am," Judy answered as he picked her up, a wide grin spreading across her furry cheeks.
Carrying her downstairs, Nick watched her expression as he entered the kitchen that stood opposite of the living room. Her mouth formed a cute little "O" and her eyes grew big as saucers. Where the living room had a rustic cabin look, the kitchen was more modern and elegant. The countertops were black granite that sparkled with flecks of vibrant purple, deep ocean blue, and rich forest green. The cabinets were all black walnut with a stone backsplash of light tan tiles to break up the dark counters and cupboards. The floor was covered in stone tiles of varying shades of lighter brown and tan, with the appliances being shiny and black.
"This is your kitchen?" At Nick's smug grin, she exclaimed, "But it must have cost a fortune!"
"Oh, it did, believe me." At Judy's questioning look, he explained, "Honey's husband was an architect and built this whole house for her. She let him design the living room and the spare room back by the bathroom, which is why they have that rustic look. But the kitchen and dining room were hers and she wanted . . . hmm. How did she put it?" Nick paused in thought, then said, "That's right, Honey wanted these two rooms to have elegance and poise."
"Well, she succeeded." Judy couldn't get enough of the beautiful kitchen or large dining room as Nick sat her down at the large, antique mahogany table. Across the room from her sat a matching antique mahogany china hutch. There was a medium sized window on the left side of the room and a large window hiding behind a long curtain at the very back and center of the room.
"She did, didn't she?" Nick asked while looking back at the kitchen and remembering the many times he'd seen Honey cooking away in there. "It's actually kinda funny, really. If you had known her, you never would have guessed she was into this elegant sort of stuff. She had a wild side and was a bit of a thrill seeker, especially after she retired." With a wide grin spreading across his face, Nick added, "Wait till you see what she left me in the garage."
"Wait, you have a garage, too!"
Grabbing the almond milk from the fridge, Nick answered, "Yeah. It's a detached garage, there in the back." Seeing Judy open her mouth to demand he show her, Nick held up a finger, forestalling her. "Before you ask, yes, I will show you. But first—breakfast." He pointed to the empty bowl sitting before her and the two boxes of cereal.
"Oh, right, food," she murmured. Looking over the selection, she grabbed the shredded wheat and shook out just under half a bowl full. Next, she opened the oat clusters up and mixed them in with the shredded wheat. After pouring almond milk over the cereal, she dug her spoon in and looked up to see Nick's quizzical expression. "What? It's good this way. The shredded wheat gives me the fiber I need, and the oat clusters give it a better flavor."
"If you say so," Nick replied before fixing his own bowl.
With a bright smile, she added, "You should try it." At Nick's raised eyebrow, she pressed, "Really. It's good and gives you a more balanced breakfast."
Looking down at his bowl of oat clusters and almonds, Nick considered Judy's suggestion. He could use more fiber in his diet, and she was giving him the cutest expression. Not quite pleading, but close. It was cuteness overload, so how could he say no? "Fine, I will try it," he said, picking up the other cereal and adding some to his bowl.
With a wide grin, Judy dug into her cereal and they ate in silence for several minutes, but then she couldn't hold back her questions. "So what did Honey do? Was it her husband's money that paid for this house, or did she help?"
"Hmm? Oh, Daphyd was quite a bit younger than Honey and was just starting out his career when he and their son died, so he was only able to offer his expertise and labor. Honey had a very successful career and married late in life, so it was her money that paid for the house. She graduated high school early and went into mechanical and electrical engineering. She had a bachelor's in both and attended a lot of seminars for all the technological advances that came out, along with all the interesting gadgets her colleagues were inventing—and showing off her own."
Remembering all the interesting stories Honey told him, he continued, "She eventually landed some lucrative military contracts, and later some city and federal contracts. I think the current gear for the bomb squad and S.W.A.T team are her creations. She also improved some of the functions in the climate control wall."
"Wow. So what did she do after she retired?"
"Tinkered. A lot." With a grin, he remembered watching Honey modifying this and tinkering with that. "My toys out in the garage are all products of her tinkering." Meeting Judy's curious gaze, he added, "And once you see them, you'll be able to guess some of her wilder, thrill seeking ventures."
"Well, let's go. I'm done eating." Judy was nearly vibrating with excitement.
Nick chuckled as he pointed his spoon at her, "Well, I'm not. And besides, I still have to show you the rest of the house before we head outside. I think you'll be even more impressed with the upstairs."
"Really!? What's up there besides the bedrooms?"
Nick merely grinned. "Half the solution to your dreaded boredom." With a twinkle in his emerald eyes, he leaned over and said, "The room down the hall from the living room holds the other half of your boredom solution."
Judy clapped her paws together, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement. "Hurry up, slowpoke! Daylight is burning and I can't wait to see the rest of the house!"
Grinning smugly at the excited ball-of-cuteness, Nick quickly finished off his last few bites, then picked up his bowl and drank the milk. Standing up once he'd finished, he grabbed her bowl and added it to his own before carrying them to the sink and rinsing them off. After setting them aside, he returned for Judy. He couldn't wait to show her all the things he had in store for her.
….
*WingedKatt here!* The grand tour begins! What will Judy learn about Nick's past and how will it affect their burgeoning relationship?
Chapter 9: Lessons from the Past will post on Wednesday.
Any thoughts or comments? I'd love to hear from you.
