Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
My head whipped around, and I started scanning the room, heart in my throat.
I gasped when I saw the dog in front of me, practically sitting there waiting for me to see him.
“What have you done, Poppet?” I asked quietly, staring at the puppy that was staring back at me.
“Well,” Val said as she came up to me and threw her arms around my chest. “I was at my doctor’s appointment, and the nurses were talking about a dog they couldn’t get to come to them behind the hospital. Since I parked out there, I decided to try my hand at it. And he came right up to me. When I got a good look at his face, I knew I couldn’t leave him there.”
That’s because the dog was a mirror image of Gee.
From his pointy ears to the white dipped tail.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “It’s Gee 2.0.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I know it hasn’t been that long, but I just couldn’t leave him there.” She paused. “The vet said that he’s about two and a half months old.”
Even more significance.
Because Gee had died exactly two and a half months ago.
“Shit,” I breathed.
Why was my throat so choked up?
“So as you can see, he’s ours,” she teased, looking up at me.
I patted her ass, placed a kiss on her nose, then let her go to move toward the dog.
“Careful not to scare him,” Val said. “He’s pretty skittish.”
I went down onto one knee, then held out my hand.
The puppy wasted no time in launching himself at me, tail wagging, and tongue lolling.
“I thought you said that he was skittish?” I teased, pulling the playful puppy into my arms.
She blinked, sounding just as dumbfounded as she looked. “Because he is.”
“Well, maybe it’s just you,” I teased.
“And about thirty other doctors and nurses who tried to get that dog to come near them. You’re the first person besides me who’s actually touched him. I had to hold him down for the vet to give him a shot and check him out. And then he held a grudge for the next hour.” She shook her head. “I’m glad he likes you, though. It makes this all easier.”
It did, but my heart still ached a little bit.
“I’m not trying to replace Gee,” she said softly. “This was an ‘I’ll bring him home and see what you say’ kind of thing. Not ‘I’m bringing him home no matter what’ kind of thing. A few of the vet techs expressed interest in him.”
I was already shaking my head, excitement at having a puppy almost as great as having her get me this puppy.
“Thanks, baby,” I said as I pulled her into my arms.
She came easily, her head going to my chest, and her body practically melding into mine.
I’d missed her today, even though she’d been there most of the shift. Really, I’d gotten used to having her all to myself as I’d been off—on the days that she was off, anyway—and not having her where I wanted her—in my arms—sucked pretty bad.
She pushed back from me and frowned. “What is that?”
“What is what?”
She slipped her hand into my pocket and pulled out the box, and I immediately wanted to slap myself in the forehead.
Jesus.
“Umm…” I said quietly. “Well…”
She giggled and practically ripped it open. “You got it sized for me.”
In all the confusion and hecticness that’d followed the shooting, I’d downright forgotten all about the ring I’d dropped off to have resized to Val’s ring finger.
It was only after they’d called me for the fourth time in as many weeks to come pick it up that I did it.
Sure, I could’ve gotten Val to pick it up, but something inside me hated that idea.
I should be the one to do it.
I should be the one to put it on her finger.
“Hey!” she said as I snatched the ring out of her hand before she could slide it on her own finger.
I grinned, dropped to my knee in front of her, and then held the ring out. “Will you…”
“I already said yes!” she declared, shoving her hand at me. “Put it on!”
I did, sliding it on over her knuckle, then farther down to the base of her finger.
It looked great.
Too bad she wouldn’t be able to wear it while she was at work.
Which was where the second piece of jewelry that was in my pocket came in handy.
“Good,” I said as I stood up, then reached for the other pocket where the necklace lay. “Now this is for when you’re at work and you can’t wear the ring on your finger.”
She all but melted right in front of me. “Oh.”
Feeling ten feet tall at having gotten her something she would wear and love, I stood up and gestured for her to turn around.
She did, then lifted her hair up to present her neck to me.