Page 32 of Almost Yours

“See you soon, Little Rhodes.”

And then she hung up, the dial tone ringing in his ear. Staring at his phone, Gavin realized that was the first civilized conversation they’d had since reconnecting, whether neither of them said anything mean or did anything stupid. Maybe they could work together and not kill each other.Maybe.

* * *

“Should I wait at the front desk if your boxers are still all twisted up?”

Gavin snorted and turned around to face Ginny as he leaned back against his desk. “My boxers are fine, just have to make sure not to go full asshole this time,” he said, eyes doing a quick sweep of her—baggy pants tucked into boots, a printed crop top that flashed a bit of her stomach and a rust cardigan draped over her shoulders.Stunning.

“You done?” she asked and he wasn’t sure if she was amused or annoyed by the way he checked her out.

It had been a day since their phone call, Gavin hadn’t expected to see her so soon. “I figured you’d be busy planning weddings and other fancy shit.”

“Blocked this as a work meeting. Plus, I have some new ideas and thought we could discuss them while we walk around.”

“All right, let’s get to it then.” Gavin grabbed his phone and two-way radio, clipping the latter onto his belt, and walked out of the office. He gestured down the hallway from his office, pointing out the other office spaces and the restroom. Then introduced her to the volunteers manning the front desk. He indicated the door leading to the Cages, stopping when she peered through the glass cut-out. “We’ll go there last, let’s start with Bronte’s favorite spot.”

Over the years, he and Bronte had drawn out a map of the shelter. They’d labeled each section, like it was part of some treasure hunt—The Outdoors, The Cages, The Stables, The Offices. It was useful when volunteers or new employees came in, because the map was a good guide. But they so rarely used it anymore.

Pushing through the door to the Outdoors, Gavin inhaled the fresh air of the day and stepped aside to let Ginny out before letting the door close behind them. Bronte was beyond the fencing, standing with one of their medical volunteers. Gavin whistled for his friend and snorted at the high beam smile she directed at Ginny.

“You came back!” Bronte called out and walked over to lean against the fence. “Good to know that the boss didn’t chase you away completely.”

Ginny laughed, the sound sending a long line of goosebumps over his arms. “I’m too stubborn to be affected by a scowly Rhodes man.”

“And this is why we’re going to be great friends.”

“God save us all.” Gavin groaned dramatically. Then he spread his arms out to gesture to the large fenced-in area. “We call this the Outdoors, it’s where the dogs are let out twice a day so they can stretch their legs, get some sun and interact with the others. We don’t force them to do anything, just keep an eye on them so if there’s any trouble, we can step in.” Pointing at slightly smaller fenced sections, he continued, “When we’ve got new animals, whether they’re abandoned or born into the shelter, we start them out on their own so they don’t get overwhelmed and hurt themselves or the other animals.”

“And beyond the Outdoors, we have the Stables,” Bronte offered with a wide grin. “The boss got that built when a horse stumbled onto the property a few years ago. We’ve got about six horses now, most of them are from old farms in the area, but we have a few that were abandoned.”

“The Stables is Bronte’s territory. She takes care of the horses, nurses them back to health and refuses to let them go.” Gavin smiled, but he was being honest. He’d been trying to find another farm or a ranch who would be able to give the horses a better home, but Bronte had been stubborn about it.

“I take it nobody wants to adopt a horse?” Ginny asked, shading her eyes with one hand.

Bronte sighed, shaking her head. “Sadly, no. The horses that were abandoned don’t want to be ridden, so they can’t go to a new home where that would be their purpose. We do invite kids to feed and brush them every now and then. But we don’t publicize the Stables too much, for fear of someone wanting to take them away.”

Gavin smiled at his friend, reaching over to give her arm a squeeze. For as long as she was alive, Bronte would always try to save every animal she crossed paths with. And he fucking loved that about her.

“All right, Vincent and I—” Bronte gestured to the medical volunteer with a smile “—are going to check on the horses, enjoy your tour. And boss, be nice.”

This time, Gavin flipped her off and turned to Ginny. “Any questions so far?”

“The horses are not part of this adoption drive or publicity round I take it.”

“Nope. I would love for them to get some attention, but I do not want to face Bronte’s wrath. Yet.”

Ginny looked out at the stables and sighed. “So horses and dogs. What else are you sheltering here?”

He smiled and nudged her back towards the main building. She glowered at him, but didn’t protest. Leading the way to the Cages, Gavin pushed open the main door and soft barks greeted them. Ginny’s eyes widened as she stepped through, taking in all the dogs peering at her through their freshly cleaned units. “We’ve got about eighty dogs and most of them are young, but we’ve got a few oldies and those are the ones I believe deserve homes. But getting people to adopt older dogs is the hardest thing.”

“I bet the old ones are cute too.”

“They’re the cutest, tamest and kindest,” he told her, sliding the door open to the second room where the cats were housed. A soft gasp escaped her lips and Gavin shut the door and leaned against it as Ginny moved from box to box slowly.

“I take it cats are adopted faster than dogs.” She glanced back at him and at his nod, turned to the box in front of her and smiled at the kitten. “Are theyallup for adoption?”

“You planning to adopt them all and become a cat lady?”

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