Page 67 of Operation: Integrity

She’d never heard of any therapy like that before. Maybe it would finally let her grandmother stay in thegrave. “Thank you. I’ll try that.” She reached for the bowl of sour lemon candies Brendon had added to his desk after she’d asked for something other than chocolate. “Now is as good a time as any.”

Brendon laughed. “I think you’re right.”

She stood and thanked him for his time then headed out into the cold day. In the two days since Thanksgiving, the temperature had dropped even more, and winter seemed to be there in every sense but on the calendar. On her way to the barn, she noticed a light on in Sam’s cabin.

He should’ve been out in the barn, so she headed over to see why he was there. She knocked twice, but there was no answer.

“Sam? Are you home?” She tested his door, and it was open.

Kelly bit her lip as she pushed the door open. She’d spent a little time in there, but not much. Sam’s cabin still felt too personal, like she was entering his space, and she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

“Sam?”

The silence in the cabin made her worried. Was there something wrong? Had Viceroy been angry and come after Sam? Nathan had said Viceroy would kill anyone who’d seen his face, though clearly that threat wasn’t meant for his inner circle.

“Sam?” Her voice trembled. “Please answer.”

Her steps faltered on the way down the short hall to the one bedroom in the cabin. His was the same as hers, so she knew just where the room had to be. His bedroom door was slightly ajar and she touched it without looking inside.

With a small shove, she opened the door.

His bed was made and everything was neat as a pin.He had a spare pair of boots lined up in front of his nightstand like slippers. She grinned at the sight, imagining Sam changing into his ‘comfy boots’ when he came home after a long day.

A slip of paper laid on his nightstand and was the only thing that stood out as out of place in the room. She held her breath as she took the few steps into the room. The paper was a printed receipt from Expert Services Dog Training, for $35,000.

“Oh, Sam.” She covered her mouth. He’d told her that he had nothing to spend his money on, but that didn’t make seeing the receipt any easier. He’d spent so much.

“I didn’t mean for you to see that,” Sam said from behind her.

She jumped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to look at something I wasn’t supposed to.” Now she’d ruined everything. How would he trust her if she went snooping in his room?

Immediate regret twisted her insides. He had a right to do things that she didn’t know about. They weren’t anything yet. Not really.

“Kelly, it’s okay. I just didn’t want to hurt you in case Zeus came back unsuccessful. But I’ve gotten a good report. He’s doing really well.”

Sam held back,wishing he could pull back the statement that had obviously caused her more grief than he’d intended. Words were arrows and even more when hearts were tender.

“I knew you wanted him as a real support animal, one who’d been trained to help you. The closest I could get with their normal training was PTSD. So, that’s the courseZeus is going through. He’ll have to work with a handler for a while. I wish it didn’t take so long, but he’ll be back soon.”

Kelly still didn’t speak, and Sam tried to remember all the things he’d learned about how to deal with emotional situations. He absolutely didn’t want to shame Kelly for having no resources to have the dog trained herself. Maybe he’d overstepped his bounds. “I should’ve asked you.”

Kelly shook her head and laid her hand over his heart. “I can’t fault you for a gift I asked for. I’m just . . . shocked. That was a lot of money. I don’t want you to think that anything I do is trying to compensate for this gift. It’s funny that something so generous actually makes our—whatever we’re in—more difficult.”

He certainly hadn’t wanted that. He’d hoped she would be happy with it, which was another reason he hadn’t told her. Let her feel the joy without expressly knowing the cost. “That’s why I didn’t want that receipt hanging between us. I did, however, agree to be honest. So, you could look at that as keeping things from you. Now you know. I sent Zeus away to get specialized training so he could be the dog you need. I didn’t do it for points or a way to get closer to you. I did it because it was the right thing to do, and because I could.” Man, that didn’t sound romantic at all. Which would mean Edwyn would be happy with the way he’d put it.

Kelly chuckled. “A gift that’s worth the same as a car. Yeah, I can totally forget that. Sam, you are so unlike anyone else.”

“I hope that’s a good thing.” Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure.

“It is. A very good thing.” She reached up on hertiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the mouth. “And I give you permission to kiss me once in a while.”

Yikes. That would be a tough call. He’d have to read a bunch of cues before he risked that, but he’d listen and be attentive. “I’m glad to hear it.” He took the opportunity just then to return the kiss. “Connor asked me to come up to the house for something urgent but not dangerous. Want to join me?”

He was pretty sure guests weren’t invited to Connor’s meeting, but he had invited the wives of the other men. In his mind, Kelly was the only woman he’d ever consider marrying making her his plus one.

They made their way over to the ranch as a steady stream of guys entered the building along with their wives. Dee strode in and he saw her duck down toward Brendon’s office instead of Connor’s.

Connor’s office was completely packed with people, making Kelly instantly grip his hand tighter. He led her through the group to two seats that were still open. Connor looked around the room. “We’re just waiting on Brendon and Dee.”

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