by Alison Mello
Kenzie nods at him. “Make it up to me. Let’s go mingle with the family.”
Remy visibly cringes, because he’s not one to mingle. He would be perfectly happy sitting here for the remainder of the afternoon, but their wedding is approaching and Kenzie apparently has the need to get to know the people. He grumbles a “fine” and gets up to follow her. He adores Kenzie and would never disappoint her.
“Have fun.” I wave watching Remy follow Kenzie around the yard.
“She’s going to torture him, isn’t she?”
I laugh. “Nah, she just wants to get to know everyone more before the wedding, and this is a good chance for her to do that.” I cross my leg and lean in a bit closer to him. I want to apologize for blowing him off with the dog search. I feel like it hurt his feelings and that’s why he hasn’t touched base with me since the last text he sent me. “I want to apologize.” I place my hand on his arm.
“For what?” he questions, but if I’m reading him properly, he knows exactly what I’m apologizing for.
“I feel really bad that I had to push off helping you find a dog. I know you really wanted to do this and I need to explain.”
“You have no need to explain.” His voice a bit harsh.
I slip my chair closer to him. “Helping you find a dog is important to me, but I had to remember that finishing school was just as important. I wanted to be able to give you my undivided attention, you deserve it. When you asked me, I felt like I couldn’t do that, and that wouldn’t be fair to you.”
He looks at me with a small grin on his face. “Really?”
I nod. “Vaughn, I like you, and I didn’t want any distractions to be in the way of us not only finding you a dog, but maybe having dinner?” My voice rises a little, hopeful he won’t reject me.
He leans forward. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have gone silent. I guess I thought you really didn’t want to help me and just said you did to be nice.” He looks down for a minute and then his eyes come up to meet mine. “I like you too. I have for a while now, but never pursued an opportunity with you because of your brother.”
I laugh. “I knew it.” I shake my head. “Let me rephrase that. I had a feeling you liked me but weren’t saying anything because of my brother.”
He smiles brighter and his hazel eyes light up. “I’ve talked to him, and although he’s threatened my life if I ever hurt you, he’s cool with me asking you out.”
“He is, huh?” My left eyebrow raises. “And what if he wasn’t?”
He shrugs. “I would have figured it out, but he didn’t, so what do you say? Can I take you to dinner?”
“Under one condition.” I slip on a serious look.
He narrows his eyes. “What’s that?”
“You let me help you pick a dog.” My brows shoot up.
With a grin he stares into my eyes. “Why are you so intent on helping me pick a dog?”
Shit, do I tell him that I believe he needs it? Do I tell him I want to help train the dog to be more than a companion but a service dog as well? “I believe it would be good for you to have one. From what I’ve heard, you’ve been through a lot.” He breaks eye contact and suddenly looks really uncomfortable. “Please don’t shut me out.”
“I don’t exactly like discussing my past.” He pulls away sitting back in his chair.
“I’m sure. We went through it with Rem and I understand. I’m not asking you to talk about it. I’m asking you to let me help you pick a dog.” He finally looks back at me. “Please, I’ve already researched a few in the area for you and I have one I’d like you to meet.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “You’re not trying to get me to adopt some lap dog, are you?” I can see he’s trying to recover and I can tell from his reaction he’s glad I’m not forcing him to talk about it.
I laugh. “I would never do that. You’re not a lap dog kind of guy. You need a dog that’s smart, strong, and responsive. He’s young, but not a pup, which I think will be good for you.”
“Where did you find him?” He rests his chin in his hand.
“He’s at a shelter. His owner recently passed away and not one of the family members wanted to keep him, so they brought him in.” I don’t point out that he’s had some training in the area of responding to situations. I truly think he’ll be a good match for him.
“All right. When do I get to meet him?”
I clap my hands, excited that I’ve convinced him. “I’ll make us an appointment and text you the time. I’ll make sure it’s at night, so it doesn’t interfere with work.”
He shrugs. “I have plenty of leave time saved up, it won’t matter either way. If it’s a day appointment, I would need time to put in a slip.”
“I can’t wait for you to meet him. He’s adorable and fun. I think you two will be perfect together.”
“Now does this mean I can take you out? I can’t wait to explore how perfect we are together.” I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. He’s so dang sweet.
“Sure, I’d like that.” I bite my lip.
Our conversation is interrupted by some guests who are taking off but came over to congratulate me and wish me luck with my new job. I hug them and thank them again for coming. As I do, Dr. Kramer and Courtney come over to say goodbye as well. They both tell me they’ll see me at work on Monday, and that’s when I notice the yard emptied out. I hadn’t realized how long Vaughn and I have sat here chatting. I take my seat and he goes right back into our conversation. “Now that you’re done with school, is your schedule more flexible?”
“Yeah, Dr. Kramer is taking me on as a full time vet, but I’ll mainly work days. I’ll be on-call periodically to take care of emergencies for him, but that will only be a few nights a week. I’ll only have to go in if there’s an urgent need.”
“Great. Do you have plans for tomorrow night?”
I look up to the sky, trying to pretend like I need to think about my schedule. Tomorrow is Saturday and the clinic is closed. I have zero plans, but he doesn’t know that. When I look at him he’s staring at me with both eyebrows raised and I can’t help but laugh. “I’d love to go to dinner tomorrow night.”
He stands from the table, taking my plate along with his. He throws them in the barrel set up not too far from us. “I’ll pick you up at six,” he says when he returns. Taking my hand, he pulls me from my seat and kisses me on the cheek. “I’ve got to go, but text me later.” I nod, not having any words. He leaves, and as soon as he does, I miss him. I pull my phone from my back pocket and immediately text my friend, hoping the dog is still there. When she replies that he is, I tell her we’ll be by tomorrow.
Chapter 6
Vaughn
I keep thinking about the text message banter between Brooke and I last night. She’s so fun and easy to talk to, but I have a feeling she’s up to no good. Her final message to me last night was asking me if I can pick her up at four instead of six, and even after I told her that wasn’t a problem, she wouldn’t tell me why. I have a feeling she’s taking me to see this dog she’s so excited about, and I have to admit I’m nervous. What if I don’t think the dog is right for me? I don’t want to offend her. I feel like I’ll know when I see the right dog, and I hope she won’t be hurt if I say he’s not it. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down before I send myself into another panic attack. Once I have it under control, I check my watch. Shit. It’s three-fifteen.
I need to get going if I’m going to pick her up on time. I hate being late and I don’t want to give a bad first impression. I flip on the little lamp by my front door and grab my keys before locking up. There shouldn’t be a ton of traffic at this time of day, but I don’t want to chance it. When I start the car and turn on the radio, Charlie Puth rings out through the speakers, and it reminds me of the night we danced at the bar. She felt good swaying in my arms to the music, staring into each other’s eyes. My gut instinct kicks in, telling me this is going to be a great evening.
I arrive at her house t
en minutes early, and in Army time, that’s perfect. If you’re not ten minutes early, you’re late, is our motto. I climb out of the car and the door opens before I can even finish climbing the steps. I’m greeted by her father. “Good evening, Dr. Bennett.”
“Good evening, Vaughn. You do know that Remy no longer lives here.” He has a hint of a smile on his face, telling me he’s busting my balls.
“Yes, sir. If it’s okay with you, I’m here to take your daughter out.”
Before he can even answer, I hear Brooke’s voice. “Oh Dad, stop messing with him and let him in.”
He steps to the side and allows me in the house, but not before he looks me dead in the eye. “I like you, Vaughn. Please don’t make my opinion of you change.”
“No, sir. I won’t, I promise.” I maintain eye contact. He nods and steps out of the way.
“I’m sorry, Vaughn. Dad’s having some issues with his big girl growing up. Especially now that he knows I’m looking for a place of my own.”
Mrs. Bennett comes over and gives me a hug. I kiss her on the cheek and bid her good evening. I’m trying to be a perfect gentleman because I know this family well, and as her father said, the last thing I want is their opinion of me to change. “Are you ready?” I slip my hand into hers. She nods and tells her parents she’ll be home late.
I can feel her father’s eyes staring at me as we walk down to my car. I’m trying hard not to turn around. I respect her father, but I don’t want to let on that he’s making me nervous. I open the door for Brooke and she slips herself inside. I run around the other side of the car and start it up, turning the air conditioning on to cool the car down. It’s quite warm today. “Okay, where to?”
She turns to me with a bashful smile. “You know where I want to go, don’t you?” She bites her lip to stifle her giggle.
“I have an idea, but I’m not sure which one.”
“Claremont Street.” She buckles her seatbelt and I pull out of her parents’ driveway. I knew it. She’s taking me to meet a dog. The shelter she’s referring to is well known in this area and has a great reputation. I know because when I started to investigate dogs, I did research on the local shelters. I glance over to see her staring out the window. “What’s wrong?” I place my hand on her knee and give it a gentle squeeze.
“You’re not mad that I set this up, are you?” she asks, her voice full of concern.
“No, not at all. I’m nervous, I’ll admit. I don’t want to hurt your feelings if I feel this dog isn’t right for me, but I’m not mad. Actually, I’m excited, and I appreciate the effort you’ve put in.” Her face lights up and I can see she visibly relaxes.
We pull up to the shelter and I can tell she’s excited because she jumps out of the car before I even take the keys from the ignition. She looks gorgeous in her white jean shorts. They hug her gorgeous round ass, and her pink top shows off her curves. She’s showing me just enough to make me want her. She takes my hand and pulls me into the shelter. There’s a counter in front of us where we’re greeted by a woman whose name tag tells me she’s Cindy. She clearly knows Brooke. “Brooke, how are you, darling?” She walks around the counter and gives Brooke a huge hug.
“I’m well, how are you?”
“I’m great.” She turns to me. “You must be Vaughn.” She holds her hand out to me.
“Yes, ma’am.” We shake and she tells me to follow her.
“Now listen, Brody is a great dog, and I think he’s the perfect age for a new dog owner, but you have to feel like he’s right for you. If he isn’t a good fit, don’t let guilt lead you to adopt him.” I nod and we walk through a room lined with kennels. There’s probably about twenty to twenty-five dogs in total here. She opens another door and says, “Wait here, I’ll bring him in.” She exits the room and we both sit quietly.
The door opens again a minute later and in comes this gorgeous Golden Retriever. He’s so happy and full of life. I squat down in front of him, hold my hand out for him to sniff, and he instantly jumps on me and starts licking my face, causing me to burst into laughter. I pet his face and body trying to calm him down. “Wow, he really likes you.” Brooke squats down beside me.
“Brody is being incredibly shy with those who have thought about adopting him. They say the pet chooses the owner, and I think he’s chosen you. I’ll leave you two to visit with him for a bit.”
“Thank you, Cindy,” Brooke tells the woman as she scoots out the door.
I’m sitting on the floor with the dog lying before me. “You want to come home with me?” My voice has gone from grown man to a silly baby voice in two seconds flat. Brody barks his answer and I’m already in love with him. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
We spend the next few minutes playing with him and getting to know him. “I want to thank you for asking me to help you with this. I know you think I was blowing you off when you first asked me, but I wasn’t. I truly wanted to help you and I’m sorry I had to ask you to wait.”
“Again, you don’t owe me an apology, Brooke.”
“Maybe not, but I need you to understand where I was coming from.” Brody puts his head on Brooke’s lap. “I dated a guy not too long ago. Remy didn’t like him and tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen. He became a distraction. He would get mad at me if I told him I couldn’t go out because I had to study. I had to work hard to get into vet school and I didn’t want to chance not getting in because of my grades. He didn’t take my decision to go to school seriously, and it caused problems between us. I didn’t want that for us. I really like you.”
I smile happily that she shared her past with me. “Thank you for that. I really like you too, and I’d like to see where things go between us, if you’re good with that.”
A smile spreads across her gorgeous face and there’s a twinkle in her eye. “I’d really like that.” I lean in to give her a gentle kiss and our moment is interrupted by Cindy’s return. She starts telling us about the dog. He already knows basic commands and responds to my voice. “Brody, sit.” He sits and wags his tail against the floor. She tells me about Brody’s previous owner, an elderly man who was ill. His children couldn’t be around to care for him all the time, so they got him the dog, who they trained to press the button on an emergency machine if his owner was in distress. He did as he was taught, but his owner didn’t make it. He was too old and didn’t have any fight left. Cindy’s voice is a bit sad and Brody whimpers as if he knows we’re talking about the man.
“Come here, boy.” His ears perk up and he comes running to me, practically knocking me over. “What do you say we blow this joint?” Brody again barks his answer. “What paperwork do I need to fill out in order to take him home?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.” We all make our way out to the front. Brody is on his leash and Brooke takes care of him while I fill out the paperwork. I’m lucky I have the email on my phone stating I’m allowed to have a dog, or she wasn’t going to let me take him home today. I pay the adoption fee and turn to my new buddy with a smile on my face. “You’re all mine, buddy. Let’s go get you some stuff from the store.” I take his leash from Brooke and walk him out to the car. I open the back door and he jumps right in.
“The closest pet store is up around the corner on Coldwell Ave.” I pull out of the spot and she instructs me on how to get there. She’s right…it’s literally up the street.
I take his leash and walk him into the store. “Now, since he’s already pretty trained, you won’t need a crate for him, or puppy pads, or anything like that. We need to get good dog food, a dog bed, and maybe some toys for him.”
“What about treats?” I see a counter with dog bones, and it makes me realize I want to reward him for being a good boy.
“Oh yeah, you can get him some treats, but don’t overdo it or he’ll gain too much weight.” She pushes a cart through the store while I walk with the dog. He’s sniffing other dogs wagging his tail happily. I can’t stop smiling and I’ve only had him for ten minutes. We get to the d
og food aisle and Brody begins sniffing the bags while Brooke tells me about the different types of food available. Of course, knowing nothing about dogs or their food, I pick the one she recommends. I buy a small bag to start in case he doesn’t like it and refuses to eat it. If that’s the case, I’ll donate it to the clinic or the shelter and move onto another bag. She also makes treat recommendations. We let him pick a toy, and when I say we let him, I mean that we were in the aisle and he picked one up in his mouth, making it his. We both burst into laughter and agreed that he should get to pick, since it’s his.
Brooke’s stomach growls and I realize that between the shelter and being here, it’s starting to get late. “Well, I was going to take you out for dinner, but given this is his first night in my home, it’s probably not a good idea for me to simply leave him there. What do you say we take him to my place, get him settled, and we’ll order some takeout?”
“Sounds perfect. Trust me, I knew if you fell for him, we wouldn’t be going out tonight, so I’m perfectly fine with that.” She runs her hand down my chest.
When we get to the checkout, she takes the leash from me so I can take care of my purchase. We’ve bought a ton of stuff and I’m excited to get his bed set up in my room, along with all his other stuff. I haul all Brody’s stuff outside and load it into the trunk of my car while she gets Brody settled in the back. I can’t help but notice my car is already covered in dog hair. “I should have gotten a blanket for the back of the car.” I watch my new buddy snuggle up on the backseat.
“You can order them cheaper online. You have the necessities for today.” She pats my leg.
We pull up to my place about forty-five minutes later. “Can you grab Brody? I’ll get the bags from the trunk.” She nods and opens the back of the car, grabbing his leash. I open the door and he practically drags Brooke inside, excited to check out his new surroundings. I laugh at her reaction because she really didn’t expect it.
My place isn’t huge, but I have a two bedroom apartment with two bathrooms, one in the master, and one in the hallway. It’s a pretty open layout. My kitchen is a decent size with a small dining area off to the side, and the living room big enough to comfortably seat five people. The master bedroom is pretty big and has a large walk-in closet, where the second bedroom has a smaller double door closet. It’s not my ideal living conditions, but it’s home.
