Gray set down his phone and wrote until midnight.
And he awoke at seven with a headache.
Headachewas really a euphemism. He awoke with a brain tumor. One that crowded his skull and turned rays of morning light into switchblades.
He reached past the bottle of Oxycodone on his bedside table, taking two Aleve instead, and pulling a pillow over his head. The pain would lose intensity in an hour, he knew, enough for him to be able to face the day.
A day with Meredith.
Even in his fog of pain, he remembered she was coming in a few hours. He’d probably be nervous if his head wasn’t killing him. He drifted off to sleep wondering which was better: agony or anxiety.
CHAPTER NINE
MEREDITH UNLOCKED THEfront door with one hand and balanced a searing Pyrex dish in the other. Juno and Vulcan greeted her, prancing and whimpering, and followed at her heels as she headed to the kitchen with the breakfast casserole.
“Gray? I’m here,” she called, opening the oven door and sliding the dish home. It smelled divine, and even though she’d eaten a bowl of cereal with Oscar after their walk, her stomach growled now.
The dogs sniffed her empty hands, and then both in turn bounced on their hind legs with excitement. Vulcan took off toward the pantry, and Juno executed a twirl, throwing her head over her shoulder as if to say,“Come on! This way!”
Vulcan reached the cabinet in the pantry Meredith knew held their food, and he swiped it with a paw.
“Are you hungry?”
At her question, their tails whipped back and forth in a frenzy, the black tips on each making a mad blur.
“Gray? Is it okay if I feed the dogs?”
The door to his bathroom stood wide open, and although the space lay in shadow, Meredith could see through to the other door that led to his room. It was closed, and no sound issued from behind it.
Was he still sleeping? Meredith looked back toward the kitchen for signs of life. The sink was free of dishes, and the coffee pot looked dry. Vulcan gave a low moan and scratched at the cabinet again. Clearly, Gray had not fed them.
“Okay, guys,” she said, speaking softly now. “Let’s have breakfast.”
Meredith fed the dogs, set the oven on warm, and looked for something to do. Flipping on the utility room light revealed a hamper full of towels. Meredith started a load of laundry in the hopes that the sound of the washing machine would eventually wake her boss.
Once that job was underway, she walked through the house and came to the conclusion that Gray Blakewood was incredibly tidy for a single guy. He certainly was a much better housekeeper than Jamie.
Who’ll be home in two weeks…
She shuddered at the thought. Meredith would have to make sure Gray gave her something to do to get her out of the house every day when he came back.
Although Gray’s home was clean and in order, Meredith could see little wisps of dog hair where sunlight touched the wood floors. Looking at the dogs’ full coats, she suspected that Gray had to sweep several times a week just to keep up. Meredith found a broom and dustpan in the utility room and started in on the job.
Half an hour later, she’d covered the foyer, kitchen, hall, and living room, and when she reached the French doors that led to the back yard, Juno and Vulcan sped toward them, bouncing and prancing. She let the dogs out, but instead of joining them right away, Meredith returned to the utility room. Next to their food bin, she’d noticed a pin bristle pet brush and a matt comb just like Zabby’s, and she grabbed both before heading outside.
As she stepped off the porch, Vulcan ran toward her with the tennis ball.
“In a minute. Let me brush you first.” He eyed the comb and brush and bounded away, but Juno put her head down in seeming defeat and moved toward Meredith. The dogs’ antics made her laugh. “Oh, I see how it is.”
She sat on the patio bench and patted her knee. Still looking sad, Juno edged closer, and Meredith gently applied the brush to her beautiful coat. “What a good girl you are, Juno,” she crooned. “And so much braver than Vulcan.”
At the sound of his name, Vulcan’s ears perked as he stood near the fence. Meredith worked in smooth, long strokes, moving through Juno’s coat and freeing clouds of dog hair. She praised the animal the whole time. At her words, Juno lifted her chin with what looked to Meredith like pride. The creamy scruff around her neck seemed to swallow the brush’s bristles, but as she worked, Juno’s coat smoothed out and shone in the sun.
“My goodness, Juno. This is a lot of fur,” she said as she brushed. Juno sat on her haunches and let go a sigh. “You can’t pretend this doesn’t feel good.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Meredith watched Vulcan. He never took his gaze from them, but it was clear he heard every word of praise Meredith heaped on his sister. As though he couldn’t stand it any longer, Vulcan trotted up to them and wedged himself between Meredith and Juno.
Again, she laughed. “Your turn, Vulcan. You’re a good boy.”