“Oh, thank God you’re here!” exclaimed Lenore as she emerged from behind the wheel.
It took him a single glance beneath the hood to discover that the negative cable on the battery had somehow been disconnected. He stared at the unhooked cable and stifled the powerful urge to start yelling at his ex-wife right there in the grocery store parking lot.
But no. He’d never been the kind of man who yelled at a woman—or at anyone, for that matter. And he wasn’t starting now. Instead, after a few deep, slow breaths, he hooked the cable back up and had Lenore start the car—problem solved.
Lenore gushed all over him and insisted that he follow her back to the house and have dinner with her and Shane.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve got some work I have to take care of at home. I’ll just give Shane a hug…”
Back at his place, he missed Roger and had to constantly restrain himself from reaching out to Riley.
The rest of the week dragged by at the speed of a dying snail. On Wednesday, Josh bought groceries. He made a stop at Medicine Creek Ranch Supply for dog food and bowls, a leash, doggy treats and toys. Because he really liked Roger and was damn well thinking positive about the possibility of adopting the dog.
When Friday final crawled around, he called the shelter right when they opened at noon.
Marina answered and said that no one had come to claim Roger. “He’s had his checkup and vaccinations, and he’s been chipped. You can pick him up any time today.”
Josh climbed in his crew cab and drove to the shelter, where Marina handed him his Founder’s Certificate. Roger let out a happy whine at the sight of him.
“Hey there, boy. Ready to go home?” He knelt to greet the dog—hisdog now.
After paying the bill and finishing up the paperwork, he took Roger to a couple of project sites with him. The dog was a dream, behaving perfectly on the leash and waiting patiently in the cab when Josh told him to stay.
Things were looking up, no doubt about it. He had a great dog he didn’t have to train—and tonight he would be with Riley. He couldn’t wait to see her. And he was eager to discuss what their next step should be.
Her text came through at 8:30.
Dillon’s in bed now.
He realized he didn’t want to leave Roger alone after five days at the shelter, so he hit the call button.
“Hi.” She sounded so good—a little nervous maybe. “Are you still coming over?”
“Of course. But here’s the thing. I now have a dog. His name is Roger. He’s calm and friendly. And I don’t want to leave him here alone. I just brought him home from the shelter today.”
“He’s calm, you said?”
He looked down at Roger, who wagged his tail and tipped his head from side to side as though trying to figureout what Josh wanted so that he could make it happen. “He’s great, I promise. No trouble so far.”
“Okay, then. Bring Roger with you. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”
* * *
Riley paced her living room floor as she waited for Josh.
She’d missed him over the past six days—missed him a whole lot. Was she getting too attached in a more-than-friends way? It felt like she might be. She had this…yearning. This ache in her heart. To see him. To hear his voice. To laugh with him. To feel his strong arms around her.
Maybe it was the baby coming. All those hormones taking over, bringing on the need to bond with her baby’s father. Just biology plain and simple.
Biology. Yeah. It had to be that.
Because anything more, anything that felt too much like the L-word…
Uh-uh. That couldn’t happen. Not ever again.
When his crew cab slid in at the curb, she was standing at the window, watching the street. He pushed open his door and got out of the truck.
His hat shadowed most of his face, but she would have known him anyway by the set of his broad shoulders, the hard, tapered shape of his torso. His body was tall, lean and strong. Watching him beneath the glow of the streetlight, she felt a tug somewhere under her breastbone, a lovely, breathtaking ache just to look at him.
