Page 101 of Pulled Away

“Robbie would totally have done a runner.”

Robbie was one of Aspen’s first rescues, and he has the dubious honor of being the longest resident. We think he might have run away from home, but nobody claimed him. He’s a scruffy-looking mutt, not even reaching my knee, but he’s got a heart of gold.

Sobering, she looks at me, all the love she feels for me reflecting in her eyes.

“You know I don’t need huge declarations or flashy proposals. I just need you. Always just you.”

I’m not sure what I’ve done in my life to deserve her, but it’s not something I’m going to question. Ever. I’m going to love and cherish the shit out of this woman, and I show her exactly how much with my tongue and lips, with my restless hands roaming up and down her back. By the time we come up for air, we’re both out of breath, and I rest my forehead against hers, just breathing her in.

“Maybe once our house is built Robbie can come home with us.”

“You sure about that? He might be tiny, but he’s a destructive force of nature.”

I hum, looking around the empty piece of land we’re now proud owners of. “Maybe once we’ve fenced it all off.”

“This is perfect, Ryan,” she whispers, looking down at my ring. A ring that she’ll be wearing until we’re both no longer breathing, if I have any say in it.

“I did good?” I agonized for a long time, looking for the perfect ring. A ring that was uniquely Aspen. I finally found it in a little jewelry store three towns over and the moment I saw it, I knew it was the one. The same way I knew Aspen was the one when I saw her. I smile at her enthusiastic nod. “I hope you don’t plan on a long engagement, because I’m locking you down as soon as I can.”

She sighs a long-suffering sigh, but she can’t hide the slight curl of her lips. “I don’t know, Ryan. I’ve told you how I feel about dating a man still living with his parents. Now you want me to move in with them?”

Cheeky shit. Grinning, I get up, holding my hand out and pulling her up.

“I happen to know that Bailey’s tenants will be moving out sometime soon. I might have expressed my interest. You know, in case you said yes.”

“As if there was any question,” she scoffs, slapping at the dust on her legs.

Easy for her to say. She didn’t have to experience the stress of asking. And at one time, the months after what we’ve dubbed BH and AH—because we never mention her name—I thought this was a dream I had lost forever. “What did she say? Because that would be seriously perfect.”

Bailey will never sell the apartment she inherited from her grandparents. When she moved into Kallan’s house after they got married, she put it up for lease. It was snapped up real quick because of its location.

She falls back against me with a sigh of contentment when I wrap my arms around her again.

I don’t want to stop touching her.

I can’t stop touching her.

I have never been happier.

“She said it’s ours if we want it.”

We’re silent as we stare at the piece of land that we’re going to make ours. The piece of land where we’re going to build our dream home. Where we’re going to start our family. Raise our children. Live, love, fight, and laugh till the end of our days.

“We really could have used the money if we’re building a house.”

She sighs, and I hold her tighter. She never used the money I gave her for the rescue. So damn stubborn. And she’ll make a stubborn wife. Fuck, I can’t wait to finally call her wife.

“She needed it more.”

“I know. And I don’t regret it. I just wish, for her sake, that she didn’t need it.” She gives a little shake of her shoulders, as if she’s trying to shake off the sudden melancholy. “So why this piece of land? It’s far out of town.”

“But it’s close to the rescue. I work from home, so it doesn’t matter where I live. It’s you I worry about. Especially when it snows.”

I’m so proud of what she accomplished with the rescue. She might have started it with more heart than cash, but it’s been going from strength to strength. One of the first things she did was launch a website and create media accounts to raise awareness. It’s contributed to a lot of volunteers which she’s never short of. She’s also built an amazing network with other welfare organizations and fosters.

And yes, there’s been a few more fundraisers throughout the years which helps enormously.

She turns in my arms, looping her arms around my neck. “Tonight, when I get home, I want you naked in my bed. Future Mrs. Milligan wants to ravage Mr. Milligan and show him just how much she loves her ring.”

---