Erik pulled her into his arms and hugged her, his mouth close to her ear when he said. “I’m so sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to. I was never in any danger. Those guys are family, my brothers. They wouldn’t have fired without provocation.”
Chloe nodded against him but didn’t loosen the hold she had around his waist. She just wanted to hold him a little while longer. “I can’t shake this feeling that I’m going to lose you.”
Erik leaned back a bit, just enough to lightly grip her chin and lift her face to his. “The only way you’d lose me, Chloe, is if you told me to go. I love you. You are the best, most amazing thing that ever happened to me.” He stroked her hair back from her face. “I never thought anyone would ever love me, and then you came along, and…” He swallowed hard. “You changed everything. I won’t ever give you up if I don’t have to. I’m yours. For as long as you’ll have me.”
Chloe’s eyes welled with tears. “How about forever?” She shot him a watery smile. “Does forever work for you?”
Erik leaned his forehead against hers. “Forever sounds just about perfect.”
Bach was playing on the classical music station Erik preferred as he drove Chloe home, but right now, he couldn’t say what piece it was. He wasn’t paying attention; it was just background noise since he was deep in his thoughts. It was oh so tempting to manufacture some excuse to keep Chloe at Black Bay with him, but that wouldn’t be fair to her. She had a life to get back to. One that he was just glad she was willing to include him in. This wasn’tgoodbye, just see you later. They’d already set up their first date for the weekend. They were going to the beach, just like he and Chloe had talked about that night they’d gone for coffee. Not to mention, Kong had stopped them as they were leaving Black Bay to remind Chloe about game night. She was on the roster now, and Kong would be sure to harangue her to death if she didn’t show.
“Wait! Turn around!”
Erik’s senses came to high alert. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“I’d like to stop at that place back there,” she said, cranking around in her seat to look behind them as Erik eased the Jeep into a parking lot to turn around. “You can take a little more time, right? Do you have to get back?”
“There’s no hurry.” He’d happily jump on any and every chance he could get to spend more time with her. “Where are we going?”
Chloe pointed, and he saw the sign for an animal rescue shelter.
“I think I’d like to get a dog.”
Erik nodded. “A good idea. A well-trained dog will protect you, warn you of a potential threat, while making criminal elements less likely to approach you.”
“Well, I was thinking more about companionship, but that stuff’s good too.”
His name was Bruce. The two-year-old lab/shepherd mix leaned heavily into the labrador side of his breeding in his features, but had the traditional brown and black coat of a German shepherd. He had recently been taken in by the rescue after his owner passed away suddenly, and according to Judy, the woman on duty, he had attachment issues.
Bruce took immediately to Chloe and Erik, leaning against their legs as he sniffed them over, his tail wagging madly, reminding Erik so strongly of Blondie he couldn’t help but smile. If Chloe didn’t take him, Erik would. But it would seem Chloe had fallen in love, too. She looked to Judy and said, “When can I take him home?”
“Do you live together?”
“Not yet, but soon,” Chloe promptly volunteered, and another smile twitched at Erik’s lips. The thought of living together made his heart beat faster with excitement and anticipation.
The woman’s eyes traced over his scars. “We have an extensive vetting process.”
The old him might have taken offense, might have even snarled, but at the moment, he was too happy to care about what some random woman thought of him – unless his appearance somehow got in the way of Chloe adopting Bruce – then he’d take offense, and Judy wouldn’t like it.
“Are you military?”
Was it the pixelated camouflage pants cuffed into boots that gave him away? “Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, actually. Bruce’s previous owner was retired military.”
Erik’s shoulders eased, though he hadn’t realized he’d tensed them, and Bruce leaned harder against his leg, so he dropped his hand to scratch him behind the ear.
Chloe was all smiles and practically vibrating with excitement. “Let’s get started on the paperwork.”
As they left the building, with Chloe chatting happily about the list of things she needed to get for Bruce, Erik pulled her into his arms. “So we’ll be living together soon?”
The smile on her face made his heart race. “Yes. When we’re ready. You, me, and Bruce.”
Erik couldn’t imagine anything better.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
When they weren’t together,Erik and Chloe spoke every night on the phone, and texted each other frequently during the day – just little notes intended to make the other smile. She sent him pictures of the huge haul she’d brought home for Bruce – a giant dog bed, collars, harnesses, and leashes in assorted colors to coordinate with her outfits, and a veritable mountain of toys – despite not having heard back from the rescue yet; funny memes she found on the internet, GIFs, and cute stickers. He sent her memes too, as well as a video of Jayla, still in recovery, but smiling broadly, and a picture of his latest painting – a rattlesnake on a motorcycle made of bones with flames shooting out of the exhaust. Chloe had laughed so hard she’d spit tea all over her coffee table.
