Page 104 of Fury

Chuckling, Davis gently slid a hand behind her head and tugged her closer. He leaned down to press his lips to hers. The kiss was warm and completely mind-scrambling. When he pulled back, he slid his arms around her as well.Happyhardly began to describe how she felt right now. “I’m in love with you, Hollyn.”

Her eyes slid closed as she relished the words.

Thank You, Lord! Thank You for this incredible man!

Davis drew her closer, and Hollyn happily pressed her cheek against his chest. His heartbeat thundered almost as quickly as her own.

He loved her. He. Loved. Her.

A sound from the fence preceded Fury bumping her arm with his giant head. Hollyn dropped one hand from around Davis and held it out to the RMWD, who pressed his weight into her leg. He happily accepted the careful scratch of his head that Hollyn offered.

This, right here, was all she’d ever wanted. To be loved. To be part of a family. To be right where God wanted her to be. And she’d do her best to make the most of every moment they had together from here on out.

EPILOGUE

FIVE MONTHS LATER

“I think that’s it.”Hollyn locked the door to her massive childhood home.

Davis watched her from the bottom of the front porch steps. Wanted to make sure she didn’t feel pressured to wrap this up faster than necessary. A bug landed on his neck, and he swatted it away before wiping the back of his hand over his forehead. The forest of red oak and sugar maple trees surrounding the house rustled with a slight breeze. Wasn’t enough to do much, though. July was definitely one of the worst months in Tennessee, if you asked him. Too humid and hot if you couldn’t take a dip in the lake. Today was no exception. He preferred the drier heat.

As if in response to his thoughts about the heat, Fury whine-panted at his side.

Davis reached down to run a hand over the goon’s head, and the dog went silent.

Hollyn stepped back and stared at the log cabin for a little while.

He knew saying goodbye to the place had weighed heavily on her for the last couple months, but ultimately, she’d decided to sell. As soon as she was done here, they’d head to the title company so she could sign papers. Then she’d head back to Austin, where she was renting a small home, and he and Fury would head to Texas Hill Country.

Somehow, Crew had managed to reel Davis in as a handler for A Breed Apart. And truth be told, he loved the gig. Having Hollyn an hour away was great too—though not as close as he’d prefer. Or as close as he hoped she’d be soon.

Turning, she wiped her eyes. Descended the front stairs. Fury nudged her hand with his nose. Their hot-and-cold relationship had evened out, and lately the shepherd almost seemed to prefer her over him. Traitor.

“Hey, buddy,” she crooned in an even tone. Scratched the place behind his ear he loved best.

Davis appreciated that Hollyn didn’t use baby talk with him.

“Doing okay?” he asked.

Hollyn slipped her arms around his waist. Nodded against his chest as he held her close. “Yeah. This is for the best. That family is going to be very happy here. Besides.” She tilted her head up to meet his eyes. “My life is in Texas now. And you still have the cabin here, so it’s not goodbye forever.”

Just knock him down with a feather, why don’t ya? He kissed her temple. Didn’t deserve her or her resilience. She was one of the strongest women he knew.

After she’d left Abu Dhabi and he’d gotten hired on at ABA, Hollyn hadn’t wasted any time hiring an architect and crew to build an extension lab for Reinhardt Tech. It split the distance between ABA and Austin. If things went to plan, it’d be ready in about ten months. She was happy overseeing every aspect of her future lab, and that made him happy.

While she wasn’t part of the daily running of her father’s company, she still had monthly board meetings via telecommute and had plenty of say in the direction they were heading. It suited her. She’d told Davis more than once,“I’m a scientist. Not a CEO.I’m happiest in the lab.”

“Well.” She sighed. “You guys ready to go? If we leave now, we’ll make it over there on time.”

They’d be early. But that was good—gave him time for what was next. As far as Hollyn knew, selling the house was the only reason they were here, but he had other plans. Ones that right now were making him more nervous than he’d ever felt in his life.

He looked down at her. “Let’s take a quick walk.”

“A walk? Do we have time?”

“Always time for a walk. We have something to show you. Right, Fury?”

Fury barked and ran toward the tree line. Paused and looked back at them to bark, tail wagging. His tongue lolled out the side of his mouth.

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