“No, that’s just a bonus.”
“That’s the good news.”
“Is there bad news?”
“I think my knee is stuck, I’m pretty sure my hip popped sometime between your orgasm and mine, and I’m not positive but I think you’re going to have to help me off your lap.”
Grinning, I kiss her hard, pulling back with a smile that stretches across my whole face. “Way better than high school.”
25
PEN
“What I was going to say before you wanted to fog up the windows in my truck was?—”
“They weredefinitelyfogged up,” I interrupt him, pointing my spoon at his handsome face before dipping it back into my bowl and pulling out another bite of ice cream. It’s well past midnight, but I needed sustenance after Lake made good on his promise to bend me over the couch once we got inside.
The tongue on that man…
“Anyway,” he deadpans and I grin, kicking my legs like a kid from my perch on the counter, “I was talking to Harlan. Dad asked him to work with Onyx, the new rescue, and there’s talk about expanding, maybe even giving space to make it a sanctuary.”
“Wow, that would be amazing.”
“It would,” Lake says carefully, “and I thought it might be something you’d like to help get off the ground seeing as you’re hitting a wall with your current job search.”
Pausing with the spoon hallway to my mouth, I stare at him. “Lake, I really don’t know anything about horses or running asanctuary. I mean, we had horses growing up and I rode with you but…”
But I had a healthy respect for horses and more often than not preferred to keep my distance.
“But you know money and funding and all that.” I open my mouth to argue but he just holds up a hand. “I heard you talking at Oma’s and I know you’re feeling a little lost about how you ended up at this exact moment. But don’t let that stop you from finding what you truly love.”
“I already found what I truly love,” I tease and he snorts.
“Just think about it. It’s not a handout; it’ll be a damn lot of work but I think you’d be great at it. I can talk to my dad and?—”
“No,” I say quickly before gentling my tone, “let me think about it for a little while, all right?”
“You got it, Baby. Now hurry so we can go to bed. I’ll probably die if I have to watch you lick that spoon for one more second.”
“Got something else I can lick then?”
“You know it.”
Despite the playfulnessthat followed our conversation in the kitchen, I couldn’t fall asleep, my thoughts whirling around horses and the kinds of things a business like that would need. The dismissiveness I’d felt in the moment had quickly melted away, replaced by a level of excitement I couldn’t remember ever feeling at my last job.
No surprise there.
Over the next several days, that excitement hadn’t waned. Diving in headfirst, I researched everything I could from grants and tax codes to therapeutic programs and licensing. Socialmedia provided another level of immersion, and I spent hours watching heartbreaking stories and some incredibly beautiful rehabilitations.
We could do that.
I could help make it happen.
Scribbling more notes onto the pad in front of me, I sigh, my lips curving up as I drop the pen and stretch. It’s after five, and Lake’s voice filters into the guest room, the one I’m currently using as an office.
Nota bedroom.
I’d been in Lake’s bed every night since that first one. It felt right and I decided I would stop trying to overthink everything, including the sanctuary. I still have several hours of work in front of me to get ready to pitch what I have to Winston, but I need a break.
