Page 86 of Pulled Away

“In my defense, I was trying to keep my friend out of jail,” he says with a sheepish smile. “He was hell-bent on finding out, and you know Ryan, if he gets a fly up his ass, he’s like a dog with a bone. He’d do something stupid like try to hack into their systems to get a hold of their shift schedule.”

“I don’t understand why he just can’t let it go.”

Grumbling, I sit down, taking the beer Piper’s holding out to me.

“He cares about you.” His casual shrug says it’s as simple as that. But it’s not. What am I supposed to do now? Just allow Ryan to loiter outside the club every shift?

“So, you wanted to run something by me?” My words are tentative, and the look I give Piper is even more tentative. I’m not going to deny that curiosity has been eating at me. I don’t think I’m strong enough to survive another blow just yet.

To my surprise, it’s Carter who speaks up.

“Piper told me that it’s official. Your rescue is now a nonprofit. Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you,” I say, unable to hide my surprise. The rescue is the last thing I thought we were going to be talking about.

“So, we’ve been putting our heads together and we’ve come up with a plan.”

“Okay…”

“I want you to hear us out without interrupting. Do you think you can do that?”

I make a face at Piper, then nod for Carter to continue. He proceeds to lay out plans for a fundraiser where you buy tickets that get you a cruise around the harbor for you and your pet, dinner, and a raffle at Frosty Frogs.

“So instead of a bring your dog to work day, we do a bring your dog on a cruise day,” he says with a flourish, jazz hands and all.

“We’ll also be providing pup cups for the dogs at Frosty’s,” Rose says, wiggling around in excitement.

I stare at them in silence while they stare at me in expectation.

“So that’s what the secrecy was about?” I choke out and then burst into tears. I’m not a crier, I’m really not, but for the second time in a week, that’s what I’m doing.

“Aspen,” Rose coos, rubbing my back. “We wanted to surprise you.”

“I was so scared I was losing my friends,” I cry. “You were all acting so weird.”

“Never,” Piper proclaims, squeezing in beside me and pulling me into a hug. “You’re stuck with us for life.”

I drive home with a smile on my face. These last few days have been a whiplash of emotions, but tonight’s were the best ever. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such amazing friends.

We spent the rest of the time going over everything they’ve already organized, and I must say, wow. Just wow. I am incredibly amazed by all the thought and effort that’s gone into it so far, but mostly, I’m thankful. Thankful that I have such amazing friends. And excited. So damn excited. Renovating the rescue by myself has been rewarding, but it’s been incredibly slow going, and there are things I’m just not capable of doing myself. With this, I can see it opening way sooner than I ever dared to hope. I’m so tired of having to turn away unwanted litters and strays at the clinic.

Biting my lip, I make a spur-of-the-moment decision, and changing course, make the drive to Ryan’s house. I need to talk some sense into him. He can’t keep following me home.

I frown at the car parked in his drive. It’s not one I’ve seen before. Tapping the steering wheel, I debate whether I should knock or go home, but the front door opening makes my decision for me.

“Can I help you?” a man calls from the doorway.

“Yes,” I say, reluctantly getting out of my car. “I need to speak to Ryan. Is he here?”

“Ryan?” he asks, confused.

“Yes, Ryan.” Now I’m confused. I glance back at the house, double-checking that I didn’t somehow end up at the wrong house, but nope, it’s still the same.

A lady joins him, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Do you perhaps mean Mr. Milligan?”

“Yes, Ryan Milligan.”

“That’s the man we bought the house from, honey.”

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