Page 87 of Beautiful Harmony

Rayna shrugged. “I knew what I was getting into when I started an animal rescue. Anyway, I cut it on something in the culvert. I have no idea what because it was pitch black, but Hal, Savina’s guy, looked at it when I dropped the dog off and said I would need stitches. I tried to convince him to do it since he’s a vet tech, but he said no.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, probably best you went to the hospital.”

A calico cat, her belly round and her purring loud, jumped into Emma’s lap. She headbutted her chin, and Emma scratched the sides of her face and petted along her spine. “Hey, mama. Still no babies yet, huh?”

“She still has a ways to go, despite the size of her belly. I’m worried she’s gonna have seventeen kittens in there,” Rayna said. “Although, if she doesn’t keep sneaking out of the damn house, she’ll be banished to the spare room for the rest of her pregnancy. I’ve had to climb trees to get her out of them twice now.”

“Bad girl,” Emma said before petting the cat again. The cat curled up in her lap, still purring loudly and giving Wilma the pit bull a friendly lick when she came over and snuffled her.

“These girls are super sweet.” Emma petted Wilma and then Betty.

“They are. Thankfully, Susan is picking them up tomorrow to foster. I love them, but they have a lot of energy, and I prefer Bea’s energy level.”

Emma studied the snoring beagle. “You mean a step above comatose?”

Rayna laughed. “Yep.”

“Seriously, though, don’t go out to Louis’s alone, okay? Call me, and I’ll go with you. I don’t care how late it is.”

“I figured you’d be with Lucas,” Rayna said.

“It was a Monday night,” Emma said.

“Were you with him?”

Emma paused. “Okay, yeah, I was.”

Rayna laughed. “Knew it. You have the look of a woman who had great sex last night.”

“Actually, this is the look of a woman who had every single student in her learn to knit class tonight kick ass at learning to knit,” Emma said.

“Nope,” Rayna said. “That’s an ‘I finally know what great sex is like’ look. Admit it.”

“Fine,” Emma said. “It’s true.”

“So, why aren’t you with Lucas right now having more amazing sex?” Rayna asked.

“Because we’re not glued at the hips,” Emma said. “And, also, he went to a football game with his dad in Willington.”

“Ah,” Rayna said. “You two decide to admit you’re dating yet?”

“We’re not dating,” Emma said. “We’re friends with benefits.”

“You should just date.”

“Yeah, and watch the entire town lose their collective minds?” Emma snorted. “No thanks.”

“Who gives a fuck what the gossips think?” Rayna said. “If you and Lucas know the truth, what does it matter?”

“It matters because… I don’t want Lucas to be embarrassed once he realizes that he’s the talk of the town for sleeping with me.”

“Shouldn’t he get to make that decision for himself?” Rayna asked gently.

“He doesn’t get what it’s like. He hasn’t spent his whole life being talked about behind his back.”

“I don’t know about that. I’ve heard more than a few people in town talking about how much he sleeps around. And one of my volunteers, Barb, is originally from Willington, and she says he had quite the reputation there for being a man whore.”

“What?” Emma said. “Are you kidding me?”

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