“She’s had a rough day. No way am I going to scare her to death.” He tucked Gracie safely under one arm and bent his head, pecking her little nose. “Who’s a good girl? You ready for a nice warm bath?” His baby talk voice was kind of hot. I picked up his phone and accessed the camera, snapping a photo of my man in the bathtub with his puppy.
We managed to get most of the dirt scrubbed off Gracie, then got her towel dried and fed. She was snuggled in my lap snoozing when I remembered his reaction at his first sight of her.
Nate had a large hand on her, his fingers absently brushing her fur, as if he couldn’t bear to not touch her. I laid my hand on his. “Why’d you tell me no when you first saw her?”
Nate shrugged a shoulder, avoiding my gaze.
“Seriously, Nate. We don’t have to keep her. I didn’t even know if you like dogs or not. I just wanted her to be warm and safe tonight.” I didn’t know what I’d say if he told me she had to go.
Nate turned his hand over, linking our fingers, brushing his thumb across my wrist.
“I have always loved dogs, but never had one of my own.” His voice was low and soft, wistful almost, as he stared down at the sleeping baby. “My parents never wanted the hassle of a pet. Hell, most of the time they forgot they had a kid. So, every time I brought it up, they’d shoot me down, and tell me we didn’t have time for a dog.”
My heart squeezed at the longing in his voice. “Sounds like it might have done you some good to have a companion though.”
He nodded. “When I started working at the fire department, I never considered it because of the schedule. Hard to take care of an animal when you’re gone for twenty-four-hour shifts.”
I frowned. “So, when you said no earlier…”
He lifted his eyes to meet mine. “I wasn’t saying no to Gracie. I was saying no to her leaving, to you leaving.”
This sweet, soft-hearted man. He did so much for others. How had I never realized that one of the things missing in his life was the unconditional love of a pet?
He shifted in the seat to face me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close. “I had this excellent surprise planned out for tonight. I was going to surprise you by coming home, and sweeping you off your feet, and asking you to stay here, for good. To move in with me, Jordan. To be mine.” His eyes held no hesitation as he spoke the words.
“Nate…” I started, but he silenced me with a finger to my lips.
“You are everything to me. You make my life so much better in ways you aren’t even aware of. Even when you aren’t trying.” He leaned in to press a kiss to my lips. “I love you, Skippy. I want to make this permanent.”
My heart exploded with happiness. “Does this mean we get to keep Gracie?”
He cupped my cheek, tenderly. “We can even get her a friend.” Then his arms were around me, his face buried in my neck. “Say you’ll stay.”
Gracie squeaked in my lap at being squashed between us. I caressed the line of his jaw. This man. My man. “Always,” I whispered, and sealed the vow with a kiss.
Epilogue
Nate – Six months later
A low rumble of thunder crawling through the night woke me. Glancing at my clock, I found it was barely after midnight. At the foot of the bed, Gracie snored from her little doggie throne. Beside me, Jordan slept soundly with her back to me.
The thunder rumbled louder, the flashes of lightning illuminating my dark bedroom, and she never moved.
Not too long after my accident, she’d called a therapist, and had been to several sessions. I’d been with her on the first few visits. We’d come up with a plan of communication and actions to help us both learn to deal with all that we’d been through. It helped knowing that we were in this together. Knowing that no matter what either of us faced, we could lean on each other.
So much had changed since she’d come back. My side business continued to grow. The gratification I got from doing odds jobs that positively impacted my customers had filled the void I hadn’t even realized had been there.
Jordan’s business was taking off and she was booked out most of the year ahead.
The therapist had helped her create healthy boundaries with her mother, but she and Sandi had begun weekly calls that eventually led to video calls with both Sandi and Waylon.
My parents were even making more of an effort, though sometimes it felt like too little too late. Through it all though, I had my girl, and she had me.
I rolled to check on Jordan after a particularly loud crash of thunder. She turned to face me, sliding a hand over my waist. Slipping my arm around her back, loving the feel of her warm, soft body snuggled to mine, I closed my eyes.
Sometimes I worried that she’d wake frightened of the storms, like the time I’d found her in the van, curled into a little frantic ball. But the last few storms we’d had, she’d slept right through. When I asked about it, she’d told me it was because she knew she was safe.
Hopefully the ring hidden in my bedside table would remind her that I’d do my best to keep her safe for the rest of our lives. She sighed in her sleep, a precious sound that I cherished. Pressing my lips to her forehead, I closed my eyes and let the sound of the storm lull me back to sleep.
The End
