“Rowan should be home at a decent hour.”
“It’s the middle of the day,” I exclaimed. Also, I had woken up that morning in Reid’s bed, so that ship had sailed. It wasn’t as if we were protecting my virtue.
“Exactly. So 5pm?”
Reid shook his head. “How about we let Rowan decide when he wants to come home from our date.”
Evan sized him up. “I suppose that’s a good response. Where are you going?”
“That is a surprise, but I can assure you, it is a public activity. We won’t be alone.”
Well, that was kind of disappointing. I rather liked the things that we did when we were alone.
“I suppose that’s appropriate. He didn’t have a proper lunch. Will you be feeding him?”
“Yes, I actually have a picnic lunch packed.”
“Impressive,” Evan said.
“Indeed. Now, if you don’t mind—”
Reid held out his hand to me, and I laced my fingers into his. Evan stayed there in the doorway until we got to the car.
“Use protection,” he called out.
My cheeks heated. Reid chuckled as he opened the door for me, and I slid into the passenger seat.
“I’m sorry,” I said once he got inside.
“Don’t be. I love how much the team loves you.”
“Yeah, they are something else.”
“They’re your family.”
“Exactly. That’s kind of all I really wanted, you know, being a part of a team like that.”
Reid nodded. “It’s a little different for me as coach. I’m a little more on the outside, but I like building that. I like seeing the trust and camaraderie build between the team. It’s a powerful thing.”
“That’s what you like about coaching?”
“Yeah,” he said.
We fell into a comfortable conversation as we drove out of town. I didn’t pay any attention to where we were going. I just trusted that wherever Reid was taking me would be fun. Still, I was surprised when we pulled in at the animal shelter.
“Have you been here before?” he asked.
“A few times,” I said. “We did an event here last year with the team. I was in costume, though, and the dogs did not like it. I’ve volunteered at shelters in the past. I can’t get an animal formyself since I’m traveling too much, but I’ve always wanted a dog.”
“They have a path here where we can take animals on walks, so I thought that was what we could do today. You’re not allergic, are you?”
I shook my head. “No. I love dogs.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
We got ourselves checked in and signed all the paperwork we needed to get authorized to be volunteers, then we were given a map and a crash course on what to do while we were out and about. Reid’s dog was a massive Doberman that was clearly overweight. He had been surrendered by his owner when they moved states and couldn’t take him with them. My dog was a rambunctious eighteen-month-old puppy that had been picked up off the street. He was all skin and bones, and feet that were way to big for his little body. He was a sweet little thing, although he did jump a lot.
My dog kept tugging on the leash. Meanwhile, Reid’s dog lagged behind, trotting along like he had all the time in the world. Still, we fell into a comfortable pace. When we got to the fenced-in area where the dogs could play, there was a bucket of tennis balls. I let my dog off the leash once we had the gate shut and threw a ball for him. The little guy raced around all over, getting the ball and bringing it back. The Doberman lay snoozing at Reid’s feet.
