Page 63 of No Bones About It

Relief swamped her, and she hugged him tightly. “I’m glad, but anytime you want to change the name, we’ll do it.”

He hugged her back as Star stood on her hind legs to sniff at the sign. “Even a month ago, I wouldn’t have been ableto cope with the idea of naming this place after her. Now I can, and I love it. That’s thanks to you. You don’t just heal the animals, Kimi. You’ve taken my shattered heart and stitched it back together like you did Olaf’s body.”

Olaf yipped at the sound of his name, making them both laugh.

Garrett patted the dog and then turned those serious eyes on her. “If I hadn’t shown up in Phail and moved next door to you, I’d still be a mess of a human being. You’ve made me feel whole again. I love you so damn much.”

And those pesky tears started streaming again. “I think we’ve healed each other. I love you right back, Stetson.”

CHAPTER 21

Hot Diggity Dog

Shaggy’s Place.

The sign meant so damn much. Not only as a tribute to the best dog Garrett had ever known, but as a sign of how much Kimi understood him.

He knew she’d worried about his reaction, but he’d had to let the sign sink in. The guilt that had been his constant companion for years had settled into a soft ache of grief. Kimi was right. Shaggy would want him to leave the guilt behind and to move forward and really live.

He’d lost his parents, his grandparents, and his dog. And himself.

But he wasn’t lost anymore.

He’d found himself here in this town with the ridiculous name. Mostly because he’d lucked into buying the plot of land next to Kimi.

They left the two new dogs in the office, where there were dog beds if they needed a nap, and headed outside with Olaf. They crossed to his land and stopped to study the place. “I’m not sure whether to put the sign on the barn, or at the entrance to the backfield, or on one of the paddocks.”

They wandered the space, with Kimi holding his hand and checking him regularly to see how he was holding up. His small paddock had lower fence rails, and he finally lifted Kimi up to sit heron the rail. Then he moved between her legs, and she looped her arms around his neck.

When she started to speak, he tapped her lips with his finger. “Don’t you dare ask me again if I’m okay with it.”

She frowned, and he put his hands on her hips. “I’m more than okay with it. I’m thrilled with the sign. It took me a moment to absorb it all, but I love it. I think it’s perfect, and I want you to quit doubting it.”

She studied him with those serious eyes of hers for a long moment before she finally nodded. “Okay. Good. I’m glad I didn’t screw up.”

“Even if I hadn’t been ready for it emotionally, it wouldn’t have been a screwup. That would have been on me. But I’m not fragile.”

She snorted out a laugh and ran her hands over his biceps. “No kidding. And I’ve never thought of you as fragile. Grief takes its own path and time.”

He nodded. “It does. After my grandmother died, I was the only family member left. Meeting Shaggy and working with her helped me cope with it. When she died, I was alone again.”

Her hand came up and caressed his jaw. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t point out he’d been surrounded by good friends who loved him. She understood what he was trying to express.

“I’m not alone now.”

Her eyes lit up before the smile reached her lips. “Me neither.”

“So, you’re going to marry me, then?” Shit. He hadn’t meant it to pop out like that. “Damn. I was trying to think of a romantic way to ask.”

Kimi laughed and pressed a big, smacking kiss to his lips. “I absolutelyamgoing to marry you. And this is about as romantic as it gets. We had our first kiss on a fence not too far from here. We’re surrounded by our land and our animals and our future.”

Olaf barked, making them both laugh. She smiled down at the dog. “I believe Olaf approves. Now, why don’t you kiss me, and we’ll seal the deal?”

Garrett hung his Stetson on the nearby fence post. Then his lips crashed down on hers and he poured all the love he felt into the kiss. If they weren’t in the middle of his yard where anyone could drive in,he’d strip her naked right there, but he wasn’t taking chances with her.

Instead, he lifted her off the fence. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he filled his hands with her ass, covered in those sexy jeans.

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