Page 22 of A Much Younger Man
“He’s probably right. I’ve been bitten by a drowning dog.” I lifted my sleeve to show the lurid scar I’d gotten when I’d been young and dumb and hadn’t thought things through. “I accept it’s always a possibility that I’ll get hurt. That doesn’t stop me from pulling them out of the water.”
“Thank you.” He leaned his forehead against my chest. He had to be aware of my racing heart. “I need a hug.”
I put my arms around his shoulders, and he slid his around my waist.
“Thank you.” The words were a heavy sigh. “You smell good.”
“I’ve been in a car for close to five hours.”
“You smell like Popeye’s chicken.”
“Oh, yeah. I grabbed some on the way back.” I snorted. “Probably smell tasty, huh?”
He breathed in deeply and straightened. “Thank you again, Dr. Lindy.”
It wasn’t his gratitude I wanted but his smile. I’d have torn the world apart to see him smile.
You could call my rescues a compulsion. A lot of the animals I worked with were taught to fear humans by experience, and I wanted to show them that despite their pasts, people could be kind. I didn’t think I was some exception. Most people have goodness inside them.
My problem, obviously, was that even though Beck rang every bell and checked every tick box for me, he wasn’t a lost pet. I had a crap track record with humans. My past relationships littered the field behind me like broken hurdles, and my exes all agreed that I was too emotionally distant to form a connection with anything but the animals I loved so much.
But I’d be damned if I started looking for trusting, desperate humans to adopt.
What if this is real?The emotional side of my brain wanted to know.What if you’re experiencing bone-deep human chemistry for the first time in your life? What if you’ve fallen in love, and you don’t recognize it because that’s never happened before?
My rational mind shut that shit right down.What if you’re having a midlife crisis?
“Well.” I broke away. “I’ll just take off, then. You have a good night.”
“No.” Beck seemed reluctant to let me go. “You haven’t even finished your beer.”
“Oh. Okay.” I picked it up and chugged it.
“Who’s looking after the kittens?” Beck asked.
“Tonight? Probably April, unless she switched with Travis.” A cold nose burrowed into my hand, and I found Callie right beside me, angling for scratches. I knelt and dug my fingers into her fur. Her eyes drifted closed and she wiggled with pleasure. “Hey, sweet girl.”
“I could help with the kittens if you want,” Beck offered.
“You should get a good night’s sleep, don’t you think?”
“I had a cat nap.” The pun made me smile.
“April can handle things tonight. How about you and Callie stop by tomorrow morning? You can feed the kittens, and if you’re up for a little project, my supply room needs to be cleaned and inventoried. We’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to check expiration dates for a while. Job pays fifteen dollars an hour.”
He frowned. “I can’t take your money. You got my guitar back for me.”
“It’s okay—”
“No, it’s not.” Hands on his hips, he defied me. “I’m not a con artist, and I don’t want your charity.”
“It’s not charity. It’s a legit job.” I knew that guitar was going to come back and bite me. “Look, come or don’t come. I can find someone else to organize that space, or I can put in the extra time over the weekend. You should still find a job around here. Plenty of people need help.”
He glanced away. “You sound just like my stepdad.”
“Great. Wow. On that note—”
He caught my hand. “I was doing okay until Tug screwed me over.”
