AllFreeNovel
Share Us
However, work required their attention. Even though most of that week was spent exchanging texts and late night phone calls, there were a few times when they saw each other. Gavin knew that Ginny was in the middle of prepping for multiple events, so he didn’t guilt her about their time apart. But she continued to prove that she was the best by showing up at the shelter first thing in the morning to help him walk the dogs or let them into the Outdoors to stretch their legs. She’d be gone long before Bronte and the rest of the staff came in, but he’d get through the day with the feeling of her warm and snuggled into his arms. He’d charmed her assistant, Tiffany, enough to get regular updates about when Ginny was in the office, so on the days when he could sneak out of the shelter, Gavin would swing by with food.
He hadn’t been in a relationship in a while, so Gavin had happily forgotten what it meant to date when both parties had busy jobs. While his was a little less demanding, being at the shelter every day was important. Ginny’s job, on the other hand, kept her schedule full for the most part. Which was becoming an adjustment that he hadn’t expected, but leaned into anyway. Gavin wanted things to work out for them, because he hadn’t spent the last few years pining away for Ginny to just throw it all away.
Gavin loved her; he always had and always would. So he also knew that whatever happened and whatever the universe tossed their way, they would be able to navigate it. Together.
Even if Ginny was going away formultipledays for a work thing.
“The whole weekend?” Gavin pouted as he watched Ginny pack her suitcase. They’d spent the night at her house so he could take Copper home with him while Ginny was out of town. Except, he didn’t realize that she’d be gone for three whole days.
“Aw, are you going to miss me, sweetheart?”
Nodding, he scooted down from where he was leaning against the headboard to sit on the edge of the bed. “YouknowI’m going to miss you. And not just because of the mind-altering sex.”
Ginny laughed, pausing her packing to grab his face so she could kiss him. Gavin smiled against her mouth and squeezed her hip before releasing her. “I’ll be back Sunday night and if I’m not wrong, next week won’t be that busy. So maybe Copper and I can come stay with you for a few days?”
His eyes widened at her offer and Gavin stared at Ginny as she went back to packing, like she hadn’t just asked him the most amazing thing ever. “Yes. You can stay for however long you want.” And she could. Forever, if he had anything to say about it.
“Great.” She tapped his nose and then walked to her bathroom, leaving Gavin staring after her like a lovesick puppy. Ever since they’d started dating, Gavin and Cedar had been spending time at Ginny’s house. He wasn’t sure how they decided that, but he honestly didn’t care. His house was great and all, but he liked the open spaces of Ginny’s house more and apparently Cedar did too.
Now they were going to be spending three whole days without her and Gavin didn’t know if he would survive.Dramatic much, Little Rhodes?He startled when his inner voice went from being Graham’s gruff and blunt voice to Ginny’s sultry and playful tone.
Like she said, it was only until Sunday and he could totally survive that.
* * *
Except, Gavin spent all of Friday attached to his phone. He didn’t want to miss a single text or phone call because he was busy with work. But staring at his phone all day was really not helping and Bronte threatened to hide it if he didn’t get his shit together.
When he started to get bored and fidgety on Saturday, Gavin packed Cedar, Copper and a bag for himself and drove them up to Middletown. At least if he was around his family, he wouldn’t have to think about Ginny or miss her too much. That’s what he told himself anyway. But the minute Gavin walked into his childhood home, he knew that he had made a big mistake. Because his mother used his need for a distraction to enlist him to help clear out her store room.
The infamous Juniper Rhodes Store Room was practically the size of Gavin’s office at the shelter and it was filled wall-to-wall with things she’d collected over the years. Everything that she didn’t use anymore or believed she would use later went in there, including things that the five boys didn’t realize still existed—old clothes, magazines with pages missing, school textbooks and science equipment, sports things that had broken or run out of air.
Gavin and his brothers had attempted to clean it up as a birthday gift for their mother, but quickly discovered that the trip down memory lane was most unhelpful. That and the fact that Juniper had a place for everything and it was impossible to get rid of things without upsetting the balance.
So when she told him her plan for the day, Gavin didn’t even argue. Cedar and Copper made their escape as quickly as possible, curling up with his dad on the back porch while Gavin and his mother got to work.
They were two hours in when his phone started to buzz in his pocket. And all they’d done was rearrange boxes. Gavin knew—and his father reminded him of it as well—that they wouldnotbe throwing anything out or even really sorting through things, but he thought they’d be doing more than labeling and moving boxes around. His mother was bent over a box and cooing as she pulled out handmade Christmas decorations Gavin and his brothers had made for her when they were kids. So he used that excuse to check his phone and his heart raced at the sight of Ginny’s name.
Rushing out of the house and into the backyard, Gavin swiped to answer with a grin. “Hey you.” Cedar following him in excitement.
“You sound happy. And breathless.” Cedar barked once and twisted around his legs. Ginny laughed and said, “Aw, give my favorite girls a hug!”
“As soon as my dad stops hogging all of Copper’s attention.”
“Now I want photographic proof.”
Gavin laughed, turning to watch his father playing with Copper. “Consider it done. I don’t want to say I’ve been staring at my phone for hours, but I have.”
“Missing me, huh? Or missing my pussy, Little Rhodes?”
Growling at the way her voice dipped when she saidmy pussy, Gavin scrubbed a hand over his face. “You, mostly.” He heard her laugh and then sounds of other people talking, birds, animals and even cars came through. “Where are you?”
“Central Park. Meeting a friend for coffee in a bit, so just wanted to walk through the park before he gets here.”
Gavin frowned at the mention ofheand wanted to ask who it was without sounding like a jealous person. But hewasjealous. Someone else was getting to spend time with Ginny while he was inhaling years-old dust and sorting through sports junk that he and his brothers had abandoned many moons ago. Sure, he was spending time with his mother and that was always a good thing, but he wanted to be with Ginny.
“Sweetheart,” Ginny said, sounding amused, “it’s just Charlie. He’s an old friend, more like a little brother.”
Gavin huffed, not liking that she could tell he was jealous from miles away. “What does Charlie do?”
