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The His of the His ‘n Hers team isn’t as polite as his wife. “Yeah, well the damned door’s locked so a fat lot of good a note telling us to get started without you is, huh?” he snaps.
That’s my cue to move over to Rachel. Valentine to the edge of my mind for just one moment.
I can see Rachel’s nerves unraveling and once I’m close enough, I can feel it radiating from her. She’s more worried about her dad coming out and finding me here than she is about dealing with a grouchy moving guy.
But hearing anyone even raise their voice at her, even a little is enough to have me put myself between him and her.
“Problem?” I hear myself ask him hoarsely, popping my neck without even meaning to.
He’s a big guy, but I’m bigger. And apart from that, I have more interest in finding my dog and getting out of here than dealing with his attitude.
“No problem,” he says, gulping a little and taking a step back. “We just couldn’t get in to do our job is all.”
I nod slowly, and Rachel hurries to open the front door.
She apologizes again, and practically drags me back to the car after giving them instructions on what to pack before the big move tomorrow.
“Please don’t, Conor. Can we just go before my dad wakes up?” she pleads.
Chapter Seventeen
Rachel
It’s an anxious few moments, and I’m not sure which is worse; Conor about to break the removal guy for snapping at me or the thought of my dad coming out and finding Conor here.
I somehow manage to get Conor back in the car, convinced Valentine isn’t here or he would’ve come to him straight away.
I watch the couple head inside and crane my neck as Conor reaches the end of our street to turn, I’m sure I see my dad coming out of the house.
But there’s nothing I can do now, I’ve made my choice and I’m sticking with it, I’m staying with Conor no matter what.
If he’ll still have me.
Oh no, you don’t. Don’t start thinking like that again. He’ll have you alright, and in more ways than one, I tell myself.
Reminding myself he didn’t just come out in the snow to look for Valentine either, I know he wanted to come and get me just as much as I wanted to go back with him.
It’s gonna hurt my dad, a lot. But I can’t deny my feelings anymore. It might be tough going for a while, but I don’t think I would have made it through today let alone this week if I’d tried to deny it a second longer.
Conor can sense my mood and once we’re clear of my street he slows down and we both strain to look for Valentine in the thickening snow as he drives.
We take the same route and every other I can think of at least a dozen times before the snow starts to get heavier.
“It never snows like this in February,” I murmur, voicing the growing hopelessness I know must be weighing on Conor.
“We should head home, I guess. If he’s not there by now I’ll start calling some animal shelters, let them know he’s missing in case he’s found.
I nod in agreement but I can see his heart’s not in the idea. The thought of his best friend not coming home on his own is too much for him to bear and I feel my own emotions start to take me over.
“We’ll find him, I know we will,” I finally say softly, trying to say something, anything to comfort Conor.
Conor stays silent right up until we reach his house again.
I look around once we pull up, waiting for the gate and garage to open.
“He’s not here,” he says with a heavy sigh, “I can feel it.”
“I’m here,” I tell him, waiting until he’s parked the car and the door rolls shut behind us, blocking out the cold as well as the life I know I’ve left behind somehow.
“I know you are,” Conor says tenderly, taking my hand and kissing it. “Let’s go inside and warm up a little, I have some calls to make.”
It’s only been a few hours, and the house looks exactly the same, but even I can feel the emptiness without Valentine in it.
“He’s all I’ve had for four years, the only company I mean,” Conor remarks, hanging his keys on a rack by the garage door in the kitchen as we step inside.
He glances outback, but I feel my heart sink lower when he doesn’t even open the door to go look outside.
We both know that if Valentine was anywhere near here, he’d be letting his master know.
“I didn’t mean to drag you into this,” Conor says, hooking his huge arms around my waist and pulling me closer.
He feels so warm, so good. His hard body under his clothes making my hands wander without me even willing them to.
