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As if we’ve beckoned her, my mother appears beside us. “Hurry. Gabbie is panicking over her puppies. I can’t calm her down and deal with the other animals, too.” She takes off running again and Gabe and I whirl around, both of us falling into a jog behind her.
A few minutes later, we’re in a giant barn with horses and dogs, with Gabbie and her puppies in a stall meant for one of the horses. Gabbie is in the middle of the hay with her pups all around her. Well, all but the one in Gabe’s arms, because the man might be rough and tough with my ex-husband, and wild in bed, but he is sweet as can be with the animals. Grayson and Mia are here as well, both helping to unload the animals and a swarmof volunteers aid the efforts as well. It’s magical. It’s special. It’s a like a big family and it’s been a very long time since I felt a part of a family beyond the shelter. But this reaches so far beyond the shelter.
“Abbie.”
Gabe’s voice draws my attention and I look up to see him sitting against the wall, hay all around him and that puppy still in his arms.
“Yes?”
“What are you thinking?”
What am I thinking? It’s then that I realize how wrong I’ve been with Gabe in so many ways. I stand up and walk around Gabbie to sit next to him, my legs aligning with his. “That I’m very lucky to have your help, Gabe. I want you to know that all my pushback isn’t because I don’t know how lucky I am. I’m just worried about you and well, a little scared about depending on you. That hasn’t gone well for me with other men.”
He sets the puppy down next to her mom and the pup nestles close to Gabbie right away. He turns to me and strokes my cheek. “It will with me. Watch and see.”
A few hours of grueling labor later, getting all the dogs settled, Gabe and I are once more sitting with Gabbie and her puppies.
“Hey, you two.”
My mother enters the space and kneels next to Gabbie. “Ah, thank goodness she’s calmed down.” She strokes her head and looks at us. “You both did good.”
“I’m a virgin puppy pleaser,” Gabe says, “so that’s good to hear.”
My mother laughs. Gabe just does that to people. He makes them laugh and my mother looks at him with genuine warmth in her eyes when she never did so with Kenneth. “Well, we’ll make you a pro. Watch and see. Thank you, Gabe. You made this happen and it’s fabulous here. The owners of the ranch aregenerous. Your friends are generous.Youare generous. We’re lucky to have your help.”
“My absolute pleasure,” Gabe says. “And for the record, I’m in puppy love. I’m going to put in an application to adopt Dexter.”
My mother’s brow dips. “Dexter?”
“Right,” he says. “The killer dog I saved everyone from. He’s at my house now.”
My mother laughs again. “Killer dog. Okay. Well, whichever dog that is, is a lucky dog.” She stands up. “You two go get some rest. We’re all set here. Brandon, the ranch owner, is letting me stay at the house, and there’s a small cottage right next to the barn where we have volunteers. I don’t even want to think about what comes after tonight. I just want to be grateful for where we are now.” She winks at me. “Get some rest.”
I blush with the certainty that she’s not talking about rest at all and Gabe barks out laughter. My mother disappears and Gabe stands and helps me to my feet. “Let’s go get some rest,” he says, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
I’m still blushing as he leads me out of the door and we run into Grayson and Mia. “We’re headed home,” Grayson says, his arm around Mia. “You guys want to get breakfast early tomorrow and come back out and help?”
This billionaire and his wife want to come back out early and help. I’m blown away. “Thank you,” I say. “You both are wonderful and generous and—”
“Happy to help,” Mia says, smiling. “We had fun. We’re eager to be parents and this kind of satisfies that need in us.” She glances at Grayson. “We love it, right?”
Grayson kisses her. “We do.” He looks at us. “Breakfast?”
“Yes,” Gabe and I say at the same time, and then laugh as we look at each other, this kindred spirit between us that I can’t explain. The understanding that I will be with him tomorrow also with us. “Breakfast.”
A few minutes later we settle into the car, and I’m glad we no longer have a driver. I’m thankful that we took his car because we couldn’t speak freely otherwise. Gabe’s just turned on the engine when I watch my mother walk by, laughing with a man I don’t know, a good-looking man actually, about her age. “That’s the ranch owner,” Gabe tells me, reading my mind. “And he’s a good man, recently widowed.”
“She’s smiling,” I say. “After all that has happened, she’s smiling, and I have to tell her about the lawsuit.”
“It’s not real,” he says, taking my hand. “You don’t have to tell her anything unless we determine there’s a real problem.”
“Those men at the shelter threatened her with legal, as in criminal, investigations.”
“And I’m telling you that I will make this go away. Whatever I have to do, I’ll make this go away.”
“Gabe, you can’t—”
He leans in and kisses me. “I can. I will. Trust me. I need you to trust me, or at least give me the chance to earn that trust. Okay?”
