Page 66 of Housebroke

“But you didn’t back down and you kept Lucille for three weeks until we placed her in her forever home.”

“Andrew pouted that entire three weeks. I knew then we were not going to make it. Too bad I didn’t know about the money thing back then.”

“Yeah, that part’s too bad. But you’re rid of him, and looking back doesn’t do you any good. Besides, you learned a lot about yourself in the process, and now you’re on the right path.”

“Not yet, but I’m getting there. Since Linc is letting me live in the house rent-free, I’m putting away all the money he pays me so I’ll have first and last month’s rent saved up, plus be able to buy some essentials and get the dogs settled.”

“And how’s that going? The moving-on part?”

“Okay, I think. There are some rentals that could work, and the money Linc is paying me is decent, and since I don’t currently have any expenses, I’ve been able to save it all. I think once he’s done with the renovations and he’s ready to put the house on the market, I’ll have the money saved to do a lease on a house.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah.” Saying the words out loud made her feel calm, that first realization that she really could do this on her own. “It’ll be nice to have the dogs settled somewhere.”

“Speaking of the dogs, we’re doing an adoption event first of the month. You’ll bring yours?”

She cringed inwardly. Adoption events were typically well attended, and often resulted in animals being selected. The thought of losing any of her babies...

But they’re not really yours, are they, Hazel? The dogs, just like every other thing in your life that matters, are only temporary.

She shook it off, knowing it was the right thing to do for the pups. She offered Sandy a bright smile. “Sure. We’ll be there.”

She had to focus on the dogs’ futures. And her own. Because she was starting to think she needed some permanence in her life.

It was time to think about setting down roots. And, now that she had a plan in motion, she knew she could get there.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Linc was trying to finish up flooring in the dining room and kitchen today, so Hazel had taken the dogs out for the day so they wouldn’t be in the way. He’d told her they could just hang out outside, but she wanted to be sure to remove herself and the pups. He’d said that it wasn’t necessary, but, hell, when the woman got an idea in her head, there was no arguing with her.

Still, he had to admit flooring was coming along faster than he’d anticipated, especially since he’d hired a guy to assist him. As it was, it looked like they’d have the living, dining, and kitchen flooring in before the end of the day, which suited him because flooring was at the bottom of his list of fun activities.

By the time they laid the last board, his back and knees were screaming. He paid Miguel and thanked him for working his ass off alongside him, then cleaned up his tools and went into the house to wash up. Then he changed into his board shorts, sent a text to Hazel to let her know he was finished for the day, and tossed his phone on the table. After that he made a beeline for the pool and dived in. The cool water felt amazing on his hot and tiredbody and revived him considerably, though if he were honest, he could have just as easily face-planted in the bed and passed out for the night, even though it was only six p.m. or so.

After he swam a few laps to stretch out his cramped muscles, he got out, grabbed a towel to dry off, and checked his phone, frowning when he didn’t see a reply text from Hazel. Then again, she might be driving, so he figured it might take her a while to respond. Or she could be on her way home, which would be even better since he was starving. She’d fixed him both a breakfast and a lunch sandwich and put them in the fridge before she’d left this morning, but that had been hours ago. He decided he’d go upstairs and shower and then take her out to dinner.

The hot shower felt great on his sore muscles. He could have stood in that steamy water for hours, but he finally washed, rinsed, and dried off. He walked out of the bathroom, giving his bed a lingering, regretful look before getting dressed and going downstairs.

Penny greeted him at the foot of the steps, her tail whipping back and forth in her excitement.

Linc crouched down to pet her. “Hey, girl. Did you have a good day today?”

The back door opened and Hazel stepped in. “She did. We all did.”

“Where are the rest of the pups?”

“Upstairs passed out in my room. We went to the dog park, then stopped off at Sandy’s place where they ran amok with her dogs. It was hours of chaos.”

He rubbed Penny’s face. “But you’re ready for more, huh, Penny?”

Hazel laughed. “No, she smells french fries and doesn’t want to miss out on a chance for food.”

His brows lifted. “Fries? There are fries?”

“I figured since you were doing floors you’d have a full day, and I sure as hell had a busy one myself, so I picked up some chicken sandwiches and fries for dinner.”

His stomach grumbled at the description alone. “That sounds perfect. I’m so hungry right now.”

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