“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” I muttered as it rang. And rang. When the call went to voicemail I hung up and called back immediately. He was an hour ahead, so it was after eight there. I knew he had to be awake.
Ville answered on the second ring this time. “Baby? Are you okay? Your mom? Everyone else?”
There was just a hint of panic in his tone and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Shit. Sorry, sugar. I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. I just realized how it must have seemed, me calling back immediately instead of leaving a voicemail. I’m sorry—”
Ville chuckled, the relief apparent. “As long as you’re good. What’s up?”
“I just had it out with Dr. Hastings,” I blurted, feeling nearly giddy. “Well, that might be too strong of a description but we had a conversation about everything.”
“Oh yeah? And what did Doctor fuckhead have to say?”
I laughed then, the sound bubbling up out of my throat. I blew out a breath and headed for my desk. “You can stop calling him that. Though he was a bit defensive at first, it went well in the end.”
“Good. Tell me everything,” he demanded.
So I did.
As much as I loved working, I cherished my day off as well. I needed the mental break as much as anyone, and Thursdays were my favorite day of the week. I was lounging on the couch, barefoot and in ratty sweats, trying to find something to watch on one of the streaming services and listening to Nick start lunch prep.
I was surprised as anyone when Bodhi asked Nick to stay and be the cook over at The Yellow Ribbon. In the meantime, he and Mom kept serving the rest of us meals. But Nick’s time here at the main house was just about done. Construction was finished, Bodhi had moved into the apartment he’d had built over the main building, and the horsey sleep away camp was set to officially open in just over a week. Was mid-October the best time to start offering seminars? Bodhi seemed to think so and that was all that mattered.
“I don’t know this code,” Nick said, breaking into my musings. I sat up and peered over at him where he was standing next to the island. He was staring at the laptop that was connected to the security system. The laptop was portable so whoever was in charge of the gate that day could keep an eye on things. You could also use it to flip through the camera feeds, though there was a second computer in Dad’s office here in the house dedicated to those as well.
“What’s that?” I asked even as I threw off the crocheted blanket I’d been snuggled under. I padded toward him, wishing now that I’d worn socks. Autumn was definitely in the air.
“This code,” he pointed at the screen with his knife. “I don’t recognize it.”
I made it to him, he used the handle to push the laptop closer to me. The camera feeds here were only live, so when I looked at the gate camera, I didn’t see a vehicle. It was a quick tap to open up the box that showed the history of codes or buzzes to open the gate.
It took a second, because I knew I recognized it but couldn’t figure out why. When it dawned, my stomach swooped, my heart started to pound, and I turned and ran for the front door.
“Emery!” Nick’s voice was grumpy as hell but I didn’t care. I wasn’t stopping for anyone or anything.
I shoved my feet into sneakers, tore the door open, and ran. It was stupid, I knew that. I could simply wait there on the porch. But I couldn’t.
The dogs joined me, Hades at the front, and his smaller—for now—cohort of Rotties following behind. Hades was undoubtedly the leader, a big Cane Corso who took over the moment the dogs had arrived. It had only been a couple of months and yet it seemed as though they’d always been there. They were amazing with the livestock and within days knew everyone who was supposed to be on the ranch.
The truck came into view and I didn’t stop running, but Ville slammed on the brakes just a few yards away and jumped out. Hades let out a warning bark, the rottweilers picked it up, and I had to stop or I’d trip over one of them as they all converged in front of me.
“Friend,” I said very firmly, loud enough to be heard over the booming barks. It took a second, but the barking ceased, though they all remained on guard. I waited a few seconds, knowing I had to do this the right way, even though all I wanted to do was run into Ville’s arms. “Break.”
Instantly, the dogs relaxed. A couple of the Rotties, I thought it was Apollo and Artemis though I wasn’t looking close enough to be sure, wandered away. They stayed close, but they were no longer interested in Ville.
“Come meet Hades,” I said, nearly vibrating out of my skin. I adored these dogs, and more than once they’d scared off wanna-be trespassers. They were worth their weight in gold and more. But right now, they were keeping me from getting to the man I loved.
Ville approached confidently but not aggressively, moving slowly but with purpose. When he got close enough, he stayed relaxed and let Hades sniff all around him.
“Friend,” I repeated, knowing that would get Hades to associate Ville with the words, and hopefully this wouldn’t happen again. I waited anxiously, shifting on my feet, until Hades was done. Then one more command, “Leave it.”
The dogs were exceptionally well trained, and we all had a day long lesson in what commands to use and how to treat them. With that final command, the dogs trotted off, back to their patrolling or sleeping in the sun. Whatever they normally did.
As soon as they were clear, I threw myself at Ville, climbing him like a tree, and he was quick to wrap me up in his arms, squeezing me so tightly I could finally breathe again. I buried my face in his neck, sucking in a lungful of his scent. I’d known I’d missed it as much as I’d missed him, but holy shit did he smell good.
“You’re here,” I said, the words muffled. I knew he understood me though. “How are you here?”
“Surprise,” he said, his voice sounding a bit thick.
I pulled back, tilting my head up and he hitched me higher on so that we could look into each other’s eyes. I chuckled, absolutely soaking him in. Fuck, he looked so good.
