Page 6 of Always My Love

“Right.” He turned off the Jeep and turned towards her. “I like keeping to myself now.” He leaned slightly towards her. “There are things in my past the last few years that I don’t necessarily want the whole town to know.” He saw her eyes change, soften a little. “Something tells me you know what I mean.”

She nodded. “Yes.” She glanced towards the house. “It’s why I bartend. No one really asks their bartender personal questions. They’re usually too busy talking about their own problems.”

He chuckled. “Cops too.”

She smiled and for the first time since he’d met her, she looked fully relaxed around him.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew from the moment he’d met her that she was uncomfortable around him because he was a cop. That didn’t necessarily mean she was a criminal. Lots of people who had never broken a single law were uncomfortable around cops. He understood that.

There was something about Harper that drew him in and made him want to make her feel comfortable around him. Maybe it was because he felt they had a lot in common, even though they hadn’t even broken through their outer shells.

That was why he’d invited her today. He wanted to know more about her without being too pushy. And he really did want her help picking a dog.

“Shall we?” he asked, motioning towards the house.

She nodded and, before he could open her door for her, she was out and waiting for him.

When they stepped up to the front door of the home, they heard barking. Happy barking.

“Yeah, yeah,” he heard Aaron say just before he opened the door.

To his and Harper’s surprise, two yellow labs sat just inside the door. Normally, when he was greeted by barking dogs at a door, the dogs rushed through the opened door towards him. But these two sat on their butts, tails wagging, watching them.

Dr. Aaron Stevens was Pride’s one and only doctor. He ran the local clinic in town and worked part time at the hospital in Edgeview, usually when his patients from Pride were there.

Nick grew up having the man as his doctor and had even gone to see him a few times since returning. Besides being his doctor, Nick considered him a friend.

He shook Aaron’s hand and motioned to Harper. “Have you two met yet?”

“Sure have. How are you Harper?” Aaron asked.

“Good, Dr. Stevens,” Harper answered.

Aaron nodded and opened the door. “These two are Danny and Sandy.”

“Like in Grease?” Harper asked after a beat.

Aaron chuckled. “Yeah, Lilly named them.” He rolled his eyes. “The puppies are in the backyard running around. We like to give the parents some time without the little buggers constantly needing attention. Come on back.” He motioned and then started walking through the house.

Nick had been to the Stevens house a few times over his lifetime. It was a nice place that Aaron had supposedly spent his first year in Pride remodeling. The place was gorgeous still. He’d had long conversations with Aaron about the work he’d done when he had been remodeling his own home.

In his youth, he had always loved the two-story home and used to tell himself that one day he’d live in it. When he’d found out it was for sale after returning, he’d snatched it up quickly. Now he spent every free day working on it.

So far he didn’t have an ounce of regret for leaving his military career behind and following his dreams to return home. It had been time.

The next step in fulfilling his goals was getting a dog. He’d just finished fencing in his backyard a few weeks ago, so he was ready.

They stepped out onto the back deck and saw a half dozen little yellow furballs rushing around the yard. His heart melted.

When one of the puppies tripped over his feet as he rushed towards him to say hi, Nick scooped the little fella up and instantly fell in love.

Puppy kisses were, in his opinion, better than any other kisses he’d ever had.

He laughed and hugged the little thing to his chest while Aaron and Harper talked and gave their attention to the other puppies.

“It looks like you didn’t need my help at all,” Harper joked. “I think the dog picked you first.”

He laughed. “I think you’re right,” he said, earning another kiss from the dog.