Page 9 of Falling for Fang

“We have Bethann, Lillian, Sophie, Katherine and Annie. They are all working on it along with some of the guys. We have a surprise for you when you get out of here tomorrow.” I told her watching her face light up. “Speaking of that, why don’t you and Annie visit for a few minutes while we talk outside.”

“Okay, thank you.” She whispered looking at me with those soft doe eyes of hers. She could get me to do just about anything when she looks at me like that.

Once we got outside, I turned and asked how the building was coming. I knew that we had hired a crew to come in and work as quickly as possible. We had done a lot of jobs for some very wealthy people, so we all had nice nest eggs put away. I had never had anything to spend mine on. I lived in a house that was paid for and now I am living in the clubhouse. I had very few living expenses, so all my money had been socked away earning interest. Gears made sure we were all invested in good stock options. I wanted the building finished this week. The weather was nice, and we had no problem getting the materials delivered. She was in for a huge surprise.

“Everything is coming along quickly. I feel like I’m watching an episode of that Extreme home makeover show that used to be on. It’s a great set up. The plans are amazing. The upstairs living space is sound proofed so that you don’t hear the animals and they don’t hear you. There looks to be enough kennels to hold forty animals. Gears set up a webpage with a donation link. It is currently listed as Liberty Animal Rescue. He said there is a nice chunk of money already donated. We set up an account that we will put her on as soon as she is able to go to the bank with me. There is a separate space for the clinic with four exam rooms, a storage unit and a small office space for her. There is a dog run attached to the back side where the shelter is and two playrooms for people to spend time with an animal to see if they are a good fit. It is coming together nicely. We reached out to a vet in the next county to find out what all we needed to stock the clinic with. He was very helpful. If she freaks out, tell her that we own the business and want her to run it.” He scratched his beard and turned to walk back to the room. I followed him grinning like an idiot.

We walked back into the room, and they were looking at pictures on Annie’s phone. Cara looked up and smiled at me. She seemed to be in better spirits. Annie gave her a hug and left with her old man. I went and sat down in the chair by her bed.

“Did you have a nice visit?” I looked around for a menu. “What do you want to eat?”

“I’d love some oatmeal with bananas and walnuts. It just sounds good today.” She looked like she could sleep some more.

“I’ll call in an order to the Diner. Why don’t you close your eyes and rest until I get back with it?” I suggested as her eyelids drooped. I heard her mumble okay and she was asleep again. I kissed her on the forehead and went to get her food.

Walking into the Diner I decided to order a sandwich for her lunch as well. I placed our food orders and sat at the counter to wait. Dani, our regular waitress, put a cup of coffee in front of me and fixed a mocha latte for Cara. I had been buying them for her for the last two months. I just smiled and put a fifty-dollar bill on the counter.

“No change, thanks for taking care of us.” I told her. She smiled and shook her head at me as she went on to wait on someone else. I got our food order and as I was leaving, I noticed Brandi sitting in the back watching me. Ugh, seriously. I told her I wasn’t interested. I walked out and put the food in my truck. I knew I would be bringing Cara home tomorrow, so I didn’t want to bring my bike. Her car was a total loss due to being too close to the building. I would have to break that to her later. She had not thought to ask, and I figured she had enough bad news.

10

Cara

I woke up to Fang coming back to my room with food. My stomach rumbled and I blushed. He just laughed and put one bag on the window seal and the other he put on my tray. I had my favorite coffee and the oatmeal I had asked for. I started on it as soon as he handed me the spoon. I fell asleep before dinner last night, so I had not eaten since lunch yesterday. He got himself one of the breakfast sandwiches. We ate in silence, and it was nice. I loved that we could spend time together and didn’t have to talk. When I finished my breakfast, I started to get up.

“Woah, where are you going?” Fang asked me as he took my arm to help me up.

“I just have to use the bathroom; I can do it myself.” I grumbled. I felt bad for snapping at him, but I was going crazy in this room, and I missed my dogs. He raised an eyebrow at me, and my shoulders sagged. I looked up at his handsome face and put my arms around him. “I’m sorry, I’m bored and cranky. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Let me go to the bathroom. I’ll be right out. I promise to call out if I feel weird.”

“Okay baby. I understand. You are not used to being still this long.” He said as he sat back down. I went and took care of my needs and then came back out. “I thought tomorrow we could swing by your insurance office, and you can go ahead and see what you need to fill out or sign, after that I’d like to take you somewhere to show you the surprise I mentioned. I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love whatever it is. I’m just so ready for some sunshine on my face.” I said looking out the window. “I hate that we didn’t get to have our other date last night. You were sweet to stay here with me in this uncomfortable hospital bed.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. I actually got some sleep because you were safe in my arms. I think if I had tried to sleep at the clubhouse I would have had nightmares about you in the building.” He said as he kissed me gently. “I don’t want to let you out of my sight anytime soon.”

“I like the sound of that. I feel like we have moved really fast but at the same time it feels right.” I looked up at him wondering what he was thinking. He was grinning and I felt better.

“I’m really glad you feel that way too. I was worried that I was rushing things with us. The thing is, I have liked you for quite some time. I just wasn’t sure you would want to go out with someone almost ten years older than you.” He said, sounding a bit unsure of himself. “Now I don’t want to let you get away.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t think you would want to deal with my busy schedule. Most guys don’t understand why I’m always at the shelter and why I can’t just leave the animals to someone else to deal with.” I know my voice gave away my frustration with those thoughts. I love animals, more than most people.

“I think it’s sweet that you care so much. They are lucky to have you. I hope that you will let me help. I really enjoyed seeing you work with them, and I have always liked animals.” Fang sat on the bed beside me and handed me the remote. “Why don’t you find something for us to watch?”

We cuddled on the bed and watched some mindless show and I dozed on and off. I knew it was due to overworking myself and then the smoke inhalation. I was worried about the animals, but Fang had assured me that they were being taken care of and that Sophie was spoiling my pups. Knowing that really helped. I noticed he was texting back and forth with a few people, and I figured it was some of his brothers. I wasn’t nosy by nature, I had too much going on to worry about that. I also trusted him. I had no reason not to since he has been by my side throughout this mess. I had so much to do when I got released. That’s when I realized that I had not asked about my car and no one had mentioned it.

“Um, Fang?” I watched as he looked up from his phone, giving me his full attention. “Where is my car?”

He closed his eyes for a minute and then looked at me with a frown. “I’m sorry baby, it got caught in the fire. It’s totaled. Remy got pictures of everything for you when he took them for the fire investigation. He sent them to your work email.”

“I see. Well, I guess that is something else I’ll deal with tomorrow when you take me by the insurance office.” I closed my eyes and just laid there for a minute. I had my work email set up on my phone but really, I didn’t want to see those pictures right now. I will look at them tomorrow when I visit the insurance office. They would probably cancel my policy after this. One more thing to think about. “I don’t feel very good, I think I’m going to try to sleep some more.”

“Are you feeling sick or achy, should I get Doc?” he asked me, concerned.

“No, just queasy from all the bad news.” I said as I closed my eyes. I curled on my side facing away from him so he wouldn’t see the tears rolling down my face. He curled up behind me and just ran his fingers through my hair in a soothing manner. It felt good and soon I was asleep.

The next morning Doc came in and signed my release papers. Fang was going to stay at my place with me. We got my stuff together and left the hospital. Sophie had dropped off some fresh clothes for me to wear home and a pair of shoes since mine were ruined. He was taking me by the insurance company first so we could get that over with and then he wanted to show me my surprise. He was as giddy as a kid on Christmas.

Walking into the insurance office I was met by my agent who had already received a call from the Fire Chief and the police department. He had my claims all ready for me to sign and disperse. I was shocked that it was so easy. He said due to it being arson and the police clearing me of any wrongdoing they wanted to make sure I had what I needed to get things back up and running. I looked up at Fang in shock. He shrugged his shoulders. I knew they probably had something to do with this being facilitated so quickly but I decided to just shut up and be grateful.

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