Page 74 of Forever & Always You
I also can’t walk out on Buck, not after he gave me a second chance, so I agree to work two more weeks at the bar to allow him enough time to find a suitable replacement, which is no easy task, given I’m obviously the best employee he’s ever had. When I wrap up my final shift with Carly, we both get a touch emotional as we say our goodbyes. It took me a while to warm up to her, but we’ve had some fun times behind the bar together, and I’ll miss the way we communicated our thinning patience with certain boozers via eye rolls and hand signals.
My property manager is less understanding of my sudden desire to move. He won’t allow me to terminate my lease earlywithout penalty, so I suck up the fees and dip into my trust fund for the sake of an easy getaway. I pack up my belongings, gag at the cans of tuna on the communal stairs for one last time, then hop into my car and wave Duke University and Buck’s Tavern and Durham goodbye.
I drive a little too fast on the highway, because Austin Pierce is waiting for me in Wilmington.
When I pull up outside his house—ournew home together—he is leaning against the frame of the open front door, looking absolutely delicious in his ocean blue T-shirt that’s the same shade as his eyes. He’s taken the day off work today, and he’s taped balloons to the windows to mark the special occasion. He strides across the yard to meet me on the driveway, impatiently yanking open my car door.
“Welcome home!”
Home.The word feels warm and tingly.
“Hi, you,” I say. My grin is so wide, my cheeks ache. I’ve never felt as happy as I do in the exact moment I step out of the car and into his arms. “Are you ready for a lifetime of pancakes on Sundays?”
“Obviously. We signed a contract.”
“Not to be broken.”
“Neverto be broken,” he says, planting a kiss on the corner of my mouth.
We unload my car, full of giddy smiles and laughter as we carry all of my boxes and suitcases inside the house, and I can’t help but feel like perhaps this is the life I was meant to live all along. When Austin first moved in across the street when we were just eight years old, we were instantly drawn to one another like magnets with a pull that couldn’t be fought. My father knew Austin was a good kid, and there’s a certain peace that comes with knowing Austin would definitely have gotten his approval if he was still alive. I think I’m finally exactly where I need to be—I just took a very big detour getting here, but it’s one that taught me everything I needed to know about myself.
“Don’t unpack yet,” Austin says, plucking a box out of my arms before I can head upstairs with it. He furrows his eyebrows very seriously. “I have some bad news.”
“What?”
“Today is Teddy’s nine hundred and ninety-ninth day at the shelter,” he informs me, “and I think maybe we should head over there to visit him before they close for the day. We can bring him some new toys to cheer him up.”
“Thanks for ruining my day,” I say, pouting my lips, though I’m already halfway out the door. “Let’s bring him some treats, too.”
We hop into Austin’s car and head across town to Saving Paws Animal Rescue, stopping by the pet store en route to pick up some gifts for Teddy. He loves plushie toys, so we grab a couple of new ones and also some bully sticks, because although they smell like literal death and make me feel nauseous, they are his favorite treat in the world, and Teddy deserves all of his favorite things today.
As always, Fiona is thrilled to see us when we walk through the door. She’s very excited about our plans for monthly adoption events, and we’ve already started working together to organize September’s event taking place at the end of the month.
“Tomorrow will mark a thousand days of Teddy being here, right?” Austin asks, and when Fiona nods glumly, he brandishes the bag of toys and treats we picked out. “We’re here to give him lots of love.”
“He’ll be a happy boy!” she says, then straightens up from the front desk, spinning the keys to the kennel block around her index finger. “He’s actually already outside in the exercise pens, so you came at the right time.”
We follow Fiona into the kennel block as an eruption ofexcited barks shrills around us as it so often does whenever we show up to visit, and we give quick pats on heads through the kennel doors as we make our way down the corridor and through the door at the other end. One of the staff members is playing fetch with Teddy, and I’m surprised to see the lazy lump of fur actually participating in exercise for once.
“Teddy!” I call, and his ears instantly perk up in response to his name. He abandons his chase for the ball and barrels across the grass toward us, slamming into my legs at full force and nearly snapping my damn tibias. “Woah, someone’s full of energy today! Aww, look at your cute little bandana!”
I drop to my knees in front of Teddy as he slobbers kisses all over my cheeks and I pat my hands over his thick fur. He’s wearing a red bandana that makes him look extra handsome, and I grab his collar to hold him steady so I can take a proper look.
“Don’t you look so cute—”
My mouth falls open. The bandana says:Adopted!
“Wait,” I gasp, my eyes flying straight to Fiona as she boasts a cheesy, joyful grin. My pulse suddenly feels out of sync, like it just skipped ten beats at once. “Someone adopted him?”
Austin kneels down next to me, placing his hand over mine on Teddy’s collar. When I tear my eyes away from Fiona to gape at him, he smiles and says, “Weadopted him.”
“What?”
“I promised you we’d find him a home. Thebesthome.” Austin scratches Teddy beneath his chin, much to his satisfaction. “I hope you enjoy Marvel movies, buddy.”
“Are you .?.?. Are you kidding?” My legs feel numb as I stand up, turning to Fiona as my head swims with disbelief. “He’s screwing with me, isn’t he?”
“We finalized the adoption papers first thing this morning,” she says cheerfully, and I think there may actually be tears of joywelling in her eyes. “All I need is your signature, too. I’ll be right back!”
Fiona dashes inside with the other staff member, both of them ecstatic that Teddy won’t hit one thousand days in the shelter after all. He has a home.Our home.
Austin is still on the ground, a relaxed, easy smile on his face as he lets Teddy sniff around his ears. “He’ll be the Pierce Wealth Management mascot, and he can come to work with me and sleep in the corner of my office during the day when you’re attending your classes. Don’t people say a house isn’t a home without a dog? Well, I’d really like to build a home with you.”
My heart absolutely soars. Just when I thought I was at my happiest, somehow there’s an entire other level of joy I haven’t discovered yet, and it’s right here in front of me. I sink back onto the grass next to Austin and Teddy, grinning through the tears that are rolling down my face, because somehow everything has worked out better than I could have ever imagined and I am so, so unbelievably excited for what life has in store going forward with my two boys.My boys.
“He’s really ours?” I whisper.
“Ours,” Austin confirms. He brushes his fingertips over my cheeks, wiping away the tears before tilting my chin up toward him. His blue eyes settle on mine, sparkling with a joy as pure as mine. “If someone ever told me that one day I’d let Gabrielle McKinley talk me into adopting a dog,” he murmurs, leaning in close until his mouth delicately skims mine. He smiles against my lips, so perfectly, and whispers, “I wouldn’t have doubted them for even a second.”
