She had left a low light burning for him. He kept telling her there was no need, but since the (one) time he had tripped in the dark, breaking a pitcher and nearly destroying his mother's dressing table and generally setting the entire house to thinking they were under attack, she always left a light burning when she went to bed first. Joe shed his shirt, boots, and pants, blew out the light, and crawled into bed beside his wife.
Lina stirred, reaching back to pat his leg. "You are home late."
"Yeah. Took longer than we thought." Her cocoon beneath the blankets was warm, and Joe sighed gratefully. "How are you feelin'?"
His heavily pregnant wife shifted. "Well enough. My back is still sore, but I am not nearly so tired today as I have been." A tremendous yawn gave lie to those words. Joe chuckled, moved back, and went to massage the areas he knew would be knotted and tight. Lina sighed happily. For a long moment all was silent, and he thought maybe she had maybe fallen back asleep. Her voice, when she spoke, was heavy and thick. "Did you find the problem?"
"Think so. Shouldn't be too hard to fix. Adam says he found a good place for us to rig up a little dam. He's gonna go out with Pa and get started tomorrow, then Jamie can head out and give them a hand over the weekend."
"Not you?"
"Nah." Joe shifted closer again, stretching his body alongside her warm length. "Not with you so close to … you know."
Lina's voice was dry. "Yes, I do know."
"Well, we talked, and I'm gonna stick closer to home until the baby comes. I don't want to take the chance of bein' that far away when it happens."
"I have another month to go yet."
"Trust me, we got enough work around here to keep me occupied for the next year, at least."
She snorted softly. "Let's hope this does not last that long." She relaxed, though, and Joe knew he had made the right decision. "I will be glad to have you close."
Joe slid his arms around her, fitting her snugly against him. "Me too." He kissed her temple, then sighed and closed his eyes. "I love you."
Lina's hand fumbled for his, there beneath their blankets. "I love you too."
Fin