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Epilogue
Rand
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going, boss?” Tess sits in the passenger seat of my truck grinning at me.
“For the third time, no. It’s a surprise.” I shake my head at her enthusiasm, but she knows I adore her. It’s part of what first drew me to her. Her genuine curiosity that she kept in the face of overwhelming trials.
It’s just one of the things about her that turns me on—that and things like breathing, eating, existing, etc. Which is why I’m sporting an erection on the drive to Fairview. “You know I’m only the boss in the bedroom, fighter.”
Her eyes widen and her breath quickens. She loves when my voice gets gravelly with desire. But this is not the time because I’ve just found a parking spot on Vincent Street in front of an old house.
“This is it?”
She hasn’t noticed the homemade sign in the window that says, “Penny’s Pups.”
“Let’s go inside.”
As we approach the front door, we hear the sound of puppies barking—lots of puppies. Tess turns to me, gray-blue eyes wide with hope.
The door opens as we reach it, and a curvy Latina greets us. “Welcome to Penny’s Pups. I’m Penny.” Her wide smile must be contagious because Tess wears a matching one.
“You must be Rand. And you must be Tess.” She welcomes us into the house. It’s been transformed into an animal shelter. Nothing fancy, but the care is obvious. “Let me show you the kittens.”
“The kittens?” Tess squeaks, shock bringing her to a halt in the hallway.
Penny stops to wait for her, smiling as she confirms, “You’ve got a good man. He called ahead to make sure we had some available.”
Tess jumps into my arms, squealing as she gives me a full-body hug. I nod to Penny, indicating that she should continue, following her while carrying Tess.
Of course, she leaps out of my hold as soon as she hears the chorus of tiny meows. “Oh my goodness. They’re so cute!”
She approaches each of the kennels one at a time, hand outstretched and ready to be sniffed. When she gets to a little gray calico kitten she stops. The kitten stares at her with big green eyes, a little patch of orange on its chest and one paw. As we watch, the kitten stretches out her little paw and pats at Tess’ fingers.
“I hear someone at the front.” Penny starts toward the door. “Sloane volunteers here regularly. She’ll take care of you.”
It’s not until Penny says something that I notice the quiet woman sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. She has straight black hair and pale white skin. She holds a tiny kitten in her lap, feeding it with a bottle.
Tess barely notices the woman, still enraptured with the kitten in front of her.
“This is the one.” Tess wiggles her fingers, keeping the kitten’s attention.
Sloane places the kitten into a cozy box, before opening the kennel with Tess’ kitten. Delicate hands take hold of the gray calico and pass the kitten to Tess. I swear both Tess and the kitten start purring as soon as they touch.
“This is a good match.” Sloane smiles, her voice soft and ethereal. “Penny will take care of your paperwork. Just go to the front whenever you’re ready.” She sits down in the chair. A bottle and a different kitten appear in her lap.
Tess turns to me, face glowing. Thank god she doesn’t know it, but I’d surprise her with a million kittens if I knew it would always put that look on her face.
“Do you know what you want to name her?”
“I’m naming her Eva.”
“Well, let’s get you and Eva home.” Tess moved in with me about a month after her stepfather passed away. She stayed with her mom until Mrs. Martone decided to go on a world cruise. Everyone understood that she couldn’t stay in the house where he passed away any longer.
Tess transferred her credits to a local university and is finishing her degree. When she isn’t doing homework, she helps me with some of my jobs. Thayer loves when she visits him at the Hawthorne project. Maxmillian’s house has had more than its fair share of problems, but we’re looking to finish it in the next couple months.
It’s been good. Living with Tess is everything I didn’t know I needed. Sometimes, I think she doesn’t really feel like the house belongs to her too. That’s one of the reasons I wanted her to get a kitten. To make it feel more like our home. Plus, she’s been reading all these books with cats, kittens, shifters, and magic. When I thought about what kind of surprise she would like, it wasn’t hard to come up with an idea.
We walk to the front of Penny’s Pups, Tess cooing the whole time. Only, someone came in while we were in the back.
