“Is my hand the only thing that you like?” she asked in challenge.
“Nein.Look at you. Your smile always makes me feel good in here.” He thumped his chest.
She gave him a shy smile, and he fell in love with her all over again. “You arereallygood with words. Why don’t you use them more often?”
“I am trying with you.” He drew her to the passenger side and lifted her inside. “I love picking you up, holding you.”
“You make me feel like I’m light as a feather.”
She was in a teasing mode, so he answered in kind, “I wouldn’t say a feather.”
She laughed. “Okay, smarty-pants. What would you say?”
“More like a mound of gold.”
“Gold is heavy.” She frowned.
“Is it now?” He grinned.
Her lips curled, but she tried to hide it. “Well, you’re no Viking dreamboat.”
“Yes, I am. We should sail away together. You can be the sexy Valkyrie who brings me mead.”
“Well, I was a bartender.”
Enthralled with how much fun it was to spar with her, he said, “See? It fits. You should always wait on me.”
“You know what else fits? Your foot and your mouth.”
They teased each other all the way to the vet, and Axel felt like he could move mountains, high on life and laughter. On Rena.
She made him feel worthy, the way his mother had. With Rena, he could talk and smile. She never called him names or made him feel as if he didn’t matter, as if he’d never be or do anything of value in his life. His nightmares held no sway in the light of her smile.
That joy in life, that goodness, so reminded him of Ilse Heller, it was as if he could feel her with them in the truck, giving her approval for this woman he wanted to call his own.
“Hey, Axel, are you okay?” They’d been sitting in the vet’s parking lot while he stared at her. “What’s that look?” She stroked his hand gripping the steering wheel.
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I think my mother would like you very much.” His eyes felt scratchy, a ball of emotion suddenly making it hard to breathe. “I’ll get the dog and meet you in the lobby.” He tore out of the truck before he made a fool of himself.
By the time he met Rena inside, he’d put a lid on his emotions and ignored the questioning look she’d shot him. He waited while Rena signed some paperwork and explained the situation with the stray to one of the techs.
“Okay, we’ll have a look at him.” The vet started to take the dog away, and it started barking like crazy inside its cage.
In German, Axel said, “Calm down. We’ll be back. Relax, little fellow.”
And like that, the dog went quiet. The assistant grinned at Rena’s shock. “He’s magical. When he came in the other day with his cat, the minute he spoke, all the animals stopped talking and looked at him.”
Axel felt his cheeks heat. “She’s saying that to get me to volunteer with the animals.”
“You totally should,” Rena agreed.
“We must go.” He hurried her out of there before he said yes to make her happy. With so much else going on in his life, he just didn’t have the time to devote to anyone else. “And it’s not my cat.”
Rena buckled herself into the truck and gave him a smug look. “Uh-huh. Sure.”
Why does no one believe me when I say this?
He took her to breakfast at the NorthStar Diner in Greenwood, and she settled into the booth, looking pleased. “I haven’t been here in forever. Good choice.”
