Page 62 of No Bones About It

Once Terese had gone, she tugged him back into her office. They unleashed the two new dogs and waited to see how they would react. Her office was animal-proofed, so she wasn’t worried about them getting into something dangerous or destroying anything.

The dogs’ personalities appeared to mesh well, but it was too soon to tell for sure. Sometimes, animals didn’t get along, just like people.

“Stay here. I’ll just be a minute. I have something to show you.”

She ignored his questions and opened the room to the storage area. This place was definitely not pet-friendly, so she closed the doorbehind her. It would only take curious dogs a few seconds to make a mess in here or to get into something dangerous.

At the back of the room, she grabbed the dolly holding her sign. She and Aisling had moved it together, but it was too heavy for Kimi to lift alone.

She maneuvered the dolly back to the main room and peeked out. Garrett sat on a visitor’s chair with Olaf beside him. Astro and Star sniffed around the edge of the room. Canuck perched on her desk and watched the new dogs.

She grinned at Garrett. “Close your eyes. It won’t be for long.”

His eyebrows shot up, but he complied and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. The sexy cowboy look almost had her abandoning her surprise in favor of straddling him, but she forced herself to move the dolly before the dogs tried to go through the door.

Once the door was closed, she angled the dolly so Garrett would see it as soon as he opened his eyes. Astro and Star moved over to inspect it, and Olaf cocked his head to study it.

“I need you to be honest. If you hate it, it’s perfectly fine. I mean that. My feelings won’t be hurt in the least.”

Garrett frowned slightly. “Okay.” He drew the word out into about five syllables, and Kimi figured she was making it harder than it needed to be.

She moved to the side so he wouldn’t focus on her first. She wanted to see his gut reaction. “Open your eyes.”

His face remained in that slight frown as he opened his eyes to see the sign she’d had Aisling make for the therapy program.

Garrett’s eyes widened, but for a long moment, he showed no other reaction. His fingers clenched for a moment, and her heart dropped. She’d wanted this to be a happy surprise for him, but she’d got it wrong.

She started to move, to speak, but he shook his head sharply and leaned forward to study the sign. His gaze tracked from one end to the other, tracing each letter with his eyes.

He stood from the chair, and Olaf kept to his side as he moved across the room. When he stopped about a foot from the sign, the frown remained.

He reached forward and touched the first letter, brushing hisfinger over the S. “Shaggy’s Place.” His gruff voice shook with emotion, and she wished she’d never had the idea.

“I’m sorry. I thought it would be a happy name. We’ll come up with something else.” This was exactly why she’d shown him in private.

He shook his head again, and she unglued her feet from the floor. She wished she’d brought in the drop cloth Aisling had wrapped it in so she could cover it back up again.

Kimi moved to go around the back of the sign, but Garrett was quicker. He stopped her with a touch on her arm and then he wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her hair.

“Thank you. It’s perfect.”

“No. It’s not. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you pain. I hoped the name would bring you joy, but I was wrong. We’ll get a new one after we find a new name.”

He shook his head, drew a deep breath, and then leaned back to look at her while keeping his hands on her shoulders. “It’s perfect, and we’re not changing it.”

“Garrett. I saw how it hit you.”

His hands moved to cup her face. “Then I didn’t show my feelings very well. Yes, it punched me in the heart, but in a good way. In a way that reminded me I can carry Shaggy with me every single day.”

He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping the tears she’d tried to keep back. Then he kissed her forehead and pulled her close again. “I love it. Honestly and truly. Shaggy would love this place. She’d love you and the menagerie you’re collecting.”

“We can change it.”

He laughed. “Nope. Not a chance.”

This time, she was the one to lean back to study him. “Are you sure?”

He let her look. “Positive. It fits, and it feels right. I know the guys will love it too. Shaggy spent almost a decade with our team, and everyone loved her.”

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