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“Oh my god, she actually doesn’t recognize us. How refreshing.” Lauren giggles and Nic nudges her with her elbow.

“Answer her question.”

“Oh, right.” Lauren turns back to me. “We also both used to be actresses."

"Pretty famous actresses," Nic adds with a grin. “With amazing news outlets waiting for our next social media post to react to.”

In slow motion, I turn to Hannah. "You lied to me!"

"I didn't lie." She lifts her hands in defense, palms facing me, but can’t hide her grin. "Let's call it selective truth, which is just a taste of your own medicine. To be fair, I did hand you a stack of adoption applications for Luna and Bean two days ago. You were too busy to read them, though."

"Those were adoption applications?" My jaw drops and I slowly turn back to apparently the most famous woman of this bunch. "Wait. What exactly did you do?"

"Well, as I said, we took some videos and shared them on social media. I did an introduction for Luna and Bean, and we told our followers about your sanctuary dream and how well you’ve been caring for all the animals you have," Lauren explains. "Long story short, a bunch of people were kind enough to donate and..." She makes a vague motion around the room. "It's yours."

"Obviously, you'll still have to sign the paperwork yourself," Nic adds with a grin. "Thought we’d better leave you the easy part."

I stare at them one after the next. "Marjorie? How are you involved in this?"

"Oh, I'm not." She grins and shakes her head. "But without a husband to entertain, I have a bunch of free time, so consider this my early application if you need any help around here."

Tears sting in my eyes, and I drop my head, letting my hair fall in front of my face. Kieran bridges the gap between us and pulls me into a hug.

"I don't know what to say," I say against his chest, tears soaking into his jacket.

"How about thank you?" Lauren declares, from the sounds of it also making her way down the stairs.

"Also, baby cows," Nic reminds me, and I can hear a smile in her voice.

I let out a sobbing laugh and lift my face off Kieran’s chest, wiping tears off my cheeks. "All the baby cows you want, Nic. Oh my God." The weight has lifted off my shoulders, and emotions are almost paralyzing me.

"You guys, I can't accept this. I..."

"Brooke, can you do me a favor?" Lauren asks suddenly, eerily calm.

"Yes, of course."

"Shut the fuck up.” Now I could be offended, but somehow the words sound like the kindest thing coming from her. “You are amazing with animals, and I have no doubt you will change a lot of lives with this sanctuary, be they furry or human ones. So accept the dang money, and consider making this successful as your way to pay us back if you need to. Okay?"

"Okay." I nod, then throw my arms around her. "You guys are the best."

"Oh, we know." Nic joins the hug.

“Kieran, get in here,” Lauren demands, and he throws his arms around us three.

After he the group hug dissolves, I giggle and shoot Henry a glance.

"You are going to get so busy."

"That’s fine." He chuckles and softly shakes his head. "Bring it on."

Chapter 43

Kieran

I sit on the ground by my living room window, a blanket around my shoulders and stare outside. Dick is curled up next to me, calm for once, his head resting on my lap.

It is almost Christmas.