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“Eh, water under the bridge at this point, although, when they come back, don’t expect me to just lie down and take it.”
“Whenthey come back?” I ask incredulously. Her smart mouth makes me want to take her home and spank her. Or give her something else to do with it instead.
“Yeah. Those sorts of things don’t just go away, ya know. But I’m prepared now and will dole out my sass appropriately.”
“What if I spanked the sass out of you?”
A shiver moves through her. “Not possible. But you sure as hell can try.”
“Fuck. Okay, new topic before I scandalize the entire town with the raging hard-on I have in my pants right now.”
Sara’s eyes glint with something mischievous, but she nods her head. I hope that look means she’s planning something for later. “Do you ever miss Greensboro?”
Unprepared for her question, I have to take a moment to formulate my answer. “In some ways, yes, I do. I miss the frenetic energy of the city, although I’m getting used to the slower pace of Sonoma far quicker than I expected.” I pause, thinking back on my life there. “You know, I mostly miss going to this little bakery around the corner from my apartment. They were dog-friendly, so on the Sundays I woke up early enough, I’d take Sadie with me to get breakfast. They had these famous dog biscuits she loved, and we’d sit on their patio, eating our treats. It was always a great start to the day.”
If I’m honest, those moments were the only time I felt content. Everything was always about striving to reach the next goal. Working as hard as possible to meet these unachievable standards because I thought that’s what would make me a good vet, a good son. But being in Sonoma, being forced to slow down and take inventory of what I want, I know I wasn’t happy in Greensboro.
“I bet Sadie loved that.”
“She absolutely did. People-watching was always her favorite. That’s about it, though. My life there was hectic. Constantly moving from one thing to the next. It’s been an adjustment coming back to the slow pace of Sonoma, but it’s also been nice.”
“You talked before about finding someone else to run the clinic in your place. Are you still thinking about it?”
Ah, Sara’s questions don’t feel so out of the blue anymore. “I’m sticking around, Sara. For good. When I first took over, I stubbornly thought I could find someone else to run the clinic and it would be fine, but in all actuality, I would never have been able to let go of the reins. It was always going to be mine; I just needed a little push to see it that way.”
Her smile beams across the room, making me feel ten feet tall. It’s nice to know she wanted me to stay. That she was worried I wasn’t going to stick around.
When our food arrives, our conversation switches to something lighter, but her comments stay in the back of my mind as we eat. Does she not know how much she’s come to mean to me over the past few weeks? Even before the attack, I noticed her. How much she cared for the clinic, her willingness to put her own needs aside when someone else needs something. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever known.
We finish eating, pack up the leftover food into containers, and head back out to the car. With the food bag in one hand, I wrap my arm around Sara’s shoulders, leading her across the parking lot. I can feel the tension in her shoulders as we get close, her breaths coming quicker than before. I open the car door, helping her into the seat before jogging around the back to get in on the driver’s side.
Instead of trying to distract her, I just drive us out of the parking lot. I know being safe at home will be better than any distraction I can come up with.
I pull into her driveway, ready to head inside, when Sara stops me with a hand to my forearm.
“Thank you. For dinner, for fucking phenomenal sex,”—she laughs—“but most importantly, for being someone I can lean on. You’re a special guy, Benjamin Crawford, and I’m one lucky woman to have you.”
“I am the lucky one here. You’re everything a guy could ever hope for in a partner, Sara. I’m grateful you’re letting me be a part of your life when I know you don’t really need me around. You’re plenty capable of living a beautiful life without me. And you do, for the record. Have me, that is. I’m yours wholeheartedly until you tell me you don’t want me anymore. Which hopefully doesn’t happen. Ever.”
Sara grins, then leans in to press her lips against mine.
Naturally, the kiss turns indecent, our tongues dueling for dominance while my hands fist in her hair to remind her who is in control around here.
I groan, pulling away from her before things get too out of hand. “Get inside. I want you naked and lying on your bed by the time I get the dogs settled in for the night.”
With a whimper, Sara races into the house, me following closely behind her.
This woman is something else.
26
SARA
“Iwas able to get ahold of Margie at the animal shelter, and she’s in for August.”
Ben scribbles down my update on his legal pad, looking adorably scowly. “Fantastic. What about food?” he asks, keeping his eyes on the page. We’re in the middle of an impromptu planning meeting for our first fundraiser, and Ben has gone into intense planning mode. He’s been obsessive about the details, and if I didn’t understand why he’s been so serious about it, it would probably piss me off.
This fundraiser is his first attempt at doing something different from how his dad ran the clinic. I think he’s worried people are either going to scoff at his efforts or laugh at them. What he doesn’t realize is when one of our own is trying to make our town better, the entire community is going to show up to support it. Getting this city boy to understand that, though, has been a feat of epic proportions. I guess he can just be surprised when everyone shows up instead of believing they won’t.
