Page 82 of No Man Left Behind

He swallowed again and took Elina’s hand. “I’ve been watching these guys fall for these amazing women over the past year. I’ve been happy for them, but I never expected it would happen to me. But it has because you were strong enough to do what I thought was impossible. Out of all the people in this huge country, you found us. You found me.”

Troy laughed. “All because of the great name of this town. I repeat, you’re welcome.”

He grinned and then lifted Elina’s hand to kiss it. “You’re amazing. I’m completely in love with you, and I’m going to spend the next bunch of decades proving it.”

Eyes misty, Elina stood and framed his face. “I love you so much.”

He kissed her but kept it far shorter than he wanted to. Not only were they in public, but Nina was watching every moment.

For the next while, they shared stories and laughed. Branna and Sean brought out appetizers, and they laughed some more.

Nina looked at them both. “So, when are you going to get married?”

Marcus laughed. “We were only engaged for about five minutes before we came here. Haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet.”

“Soon?”

He grinned at Elina. “As soon as we can.”

She nodded with a smile. “Agreed.”

Nina held up her phone. “You have to get a license and stuff, so you can’t do it tomorrow.”

He would if he could. He wanted this woman to be officially his at the first opportunity.

His phone beeped again, and Marcus pulled it out. His buddies were mostly here, so it might be an emergency.

He read the email twice before Elina nudged him. “Everything okay?”

He nodded and handed her the phone. Her eyes widened as she read the email, and then her smile did, too.

She reached up to kiss him. Then she turned to the group and lifted her glass. “I’d like to propose another toast.”

The group quieted, and everyone lifted their glass.

Elina smiled at him. “I’d like to announce a promotion. Everyone, welcome Police Chief Marcus Ramirez to his new position.”

The room exploded into more cheers and congratulations. He couldn’t stop his smile. Life was pretty damn perfect.

And it was only going to get better.

Elina grinned as she opened the back door of her Accord for Finch to fold himself into the back seat. “I may need to upgrade to an SUV for you, bud.”

She put the cat carriers onto the floor. The protesting yowls ceased when Finch lowered his head and softly woofed to his buddies. “Thanks, Finch. I’d hate to take the trio anywhere on my own.” The Great Dane was an amazing kitty-sitter.

Once they were on the road, she kept talking to Finch, a habit she couldn’t break as the dog appeared to not only enjoy it but he often seemed to understand. “We’re going to Kimi’s for a checkup. She wants to see how the four of you are doing.”

She didn’t mention any shots as she wasn’t sure if any were in the works for the day. Because they’d been abandoned, Kimi was assuming they’d had none of the regular shots, and was catching them up as quickly as she could. So far, none of the animals had bad associations with the vet. She and Marcus had taken them all out to the combined petting farm, vet office, and therapy center many times.

It was easier with Finch on his own as the dog loved tramping around the property with Olaf and the other dogs. The kittens generally got into more trouble, but it was still fun to watch them react to the other animals.

When Elina pulled into Kimi’s lot, Finch barked. His tongue lolled out as he waited for her to open the door. “You’re ready to go see your buddies? Be good.”

She laughed as the still-gangly puppy loped off, announcing his presence to the others. Snoops brayed in annoyance, and the goats bleated their welcome. “It’s such a happy place. Okay, kittens, let’s go.”

Marcus’s cruiser pulled into the lot beside her, making her grin. When he exited the car with a grin, she smiled. “Showing up after the hard work of wrangling kittens into carriers is done?”

He smiled and kissed her. Even though they’d been together for weeks and had made slow, sleepy love that morning, her body revved at his touch, and his nearness.

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