To Grandma's House

Ears & Tail

Going down the bumpy dirt road, Xael gazed out the window into the woods. She was missing her boys and knew that given time, things would get easier. Now she just wanted to spend the rest of the evening with her Mate.  Adam felt her zoning out again.

"Skylar said building a fire was fine. Both the fireplace and woodstove are ready for winter."

"Yay!! I was thinking..." Xael leaned towards him, her arms resting on the center console. "Let's sleep in front of the fireplace tonight!"

"On the floor?"

"Yeah?"

Adam just gave her a strange look. Sleeping on the floor in front of the fireplace was not something he had ever done before.

"You mean you've never slept in front of a fire before?"

"No? Why would I?"

"Ohhh, hon. Me and Grams slept in front of her fireplace all the time when I was a kid, especially in winter. You use too much wood trying to heat the entire house. Plus it's so warm and cozy."

"I see. I'll give it a go."

"Woo!"

Much to Adam's surprise, Xael stayed awake the entire way home. Pulling into the town, it had already closed down for the night. Streets quite, store fronts dark, all that remained on were the street lights and lights from the above store apartments and homes. Xael had forgotten to check her phone after leaving the apartment earlier. Taking it out, Eli had messaged that they were staying overnight to finish packing. They would load up their trailer in the morning and head back to town. Xael decided to call them to let them know about the change in their living arrangements.

They were thrilled to have an apartment with a sleeping area separated from the main living space. Chris yelled in the background that they would call when they were almost in town. With that out of the way, Xael quietly enjoyed the remainder of the car ride home.

Entering the gravel drive, both noticed how dark it was surrounding the house. They had forgotten to leave the porch light on but it wasn't an issue since they could see in the dark with no problem. Adam's big city police training kicked in.

"We need to make sure we turn the porch light on when we leave."

"Okay." Xael wasn't even going to argue with him.

Jeep parked, the couple walked up the steps hand in hand. After rooting around in that wood pile at Ms. Emma's, Adam wanted another shower.

"I'm going to hop in the shower real quick."

"Okay, I'm going to get a fire going and set up a place to sleep!"

Adam kissed her on the forehead and headed to their bedroom. Xael went up to the loft for the futon mattress, they could sleep on that for the night. Xael swept the area below the hearth to make sure it was clean. Pillows more pillows and blankets, she set up their 'den' for the night. Giving it a test, it was comfy, cozy and perfect. The night was only chilly and not freezing so Xael kept the fire small, placing the safety screen in front to prevent anything from flying out. Everything taken care of, she got ready for bed. She would just sleep in her tshirt and undies, the rest of her clothes she tossed on the couch. With the comforting sound of the fire, Xael stood at the back patio door and gazed out into the night.  Soon, strong muscled arms wrapped around her midsection and a low growl was heard. Adam began caressing the crook of her neck with his nose. Xael relaxed against him as she held onto his arms, the warmth coming off of him was comforting