He frowned. “Yeah. You look really serious.”
“Because this is important. I know a counseling center. I want you to consider—just consider—going there for a session or two. So you have an unbiased opinion on whether you’re moving too quickly.”I hope the therapist doesn’t say that, but I’ll be respectful if they do.
“I’m certain I’m not moving too quickly.” He scratched my jaw, and I laughed. “But if it would make you feel better then yeah, I suppose I can go.”
“That’s great. The center is called Healing Horses Ranch, and I know it’s LGBTQ friendly. Several of the therapists are gay.”
He pursed his lips. “I feel like this is important. Not just for you, but for me as well.”
“Because you going is important. We’ll call tomorrow and set something up.”
“Sure. But can we look at rescue dogs now?” He offered an impish grin.
“Yes, pup, we can look.” As I did so often, I caressed his cheek.
He leaned into the touch. So clearly, he needed touch. If I had to guess, aside from his mother, he’d rarely received affection. He might not even know the benefits of touch. Well, I could show him every day—hell, multiple times a day—just how important contact was. I could show him how much I cared in deeds as well as words. I drew in a deep breath. “I think I could fall in love with you.”Oh my God, you did not just say that.
After a moment, he wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me close. He pressed our lips together for a long, lingering kiss. When he pulled back, he met my gaze. “That’s really good news because I already love you.” He caressed my cheek—a mirror of my previous action. “Don’t say it’s too soon or that I don’t know my own heart. Jai and Demetrius knew. Imani said she met her girlfriend and propositioned her right away—but that was because she saw her future.”
I chuckled. “They do make a good pair. And you’re right, Demetrius and Jai are very happy together. Although I have to admit—I’m not entirely clear how they met. Just…sometime before summer camp last year when they reconnected.”
“You caught that too?” He straightened. “Now we’ve got the mushy stuff out of the way…can we look at dogs in need of rescue?”
I laughed. “Of course. Just one more thing, though. I’d like to hire a driving instructor to give you lessons. Mission City has decent transit, but it’s also a bit isolated. I want you to be able to drive to Abbotsford or even Vancouver if you need to.”
“What if I never want to leave Mission City?” He blinked.
“There’s a big, wide world beyond Mission City.” I cocked my head. “Are you frightened?”
“A bit.” Said earnestly.
“Then perhaps you can talk to your counselor about that. I even have a car we can transfer to your name. You’ll need to switch yourprovince of residence as well. To continue your health coverage.” Canada had universal healthcare, but the program was administered by provinces. “We have lots of things to do.”
“Puppies first. Legal stuff second.”
I didn’t point out the animal shelter would likely check ID. For now, we could adopt a dog under my name. I was happy to pay the adoption fee as well as any vet bills. “Yes, puppies first.” I opened my browser and located the Hearts and Paws website. “Take a look.”
Andre grasped the phone as he sat up properly. Immediately, he curled into my side so he could show me the screen. Slowly, he scrolled through the list of dogs in need of new homes. He appeared to pass over larger dogs. Because he was worried about Daphne? That thought was more proof of how considerate he was. “How about this one?”
I squinted at the picture. “Is that—"
“It says she’s a Pembroke Welsh corgi named Pixie.” He eyed me. “Is that name okay, or would you want to change it?”
“Apparently she’s three years old—so it’s probably safe to say it’s a name she’s familiar with. Pixie is fine, Andre. Unless you want to change it. We should talk to Torah. The dog trainer I told you about. And—”
“Pixie’s a great name. I like her ears and the nubby tail. This says she was surrendered by a family who loved her, but were moving and couldn’t take her with them.” He blinked. “That’s so sad. I’d never leave a dog behind.”
“Things happen. I doubt they wanted to. Look, why don’t we fill out the application and see what the shelter says? Yanna is the manager, and she helped me rescue Daphne. I’m certain she’ll be thrilled to see me back.” In fact, she’d made it clear she felt my darling girl would be okay with a canine or feline companion. I hadn’t been up for more than one at the time—what with just having lost Marty and PJ. Now,though, the advantages of having another dog were clear. “We’ll have to take Daphne with us to meet Pixie. Or whoever we rescue.”
Andre nodded vigorously. “So can we fill out the application?”
“Why don’t we do it on my laptop? I hate fiddling with things on my phone.” I offered a sheepish grin.
He laughed. “Whereas I don’t have a computer and do everything on my phone.”
I made a note to look into buying him a tablet or a laptop. A way for him to further interact with the world. Plus, he might decide to explore more options if he had that access. Or he might just stick to what he knew. As well, if he decided to take on personal clients with a fitness business, he might need a website.You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Application first…life stuff later.
An hour later, we had the application submitted. Twenty minutes after that, Yanna called. Thirty minutes beyond that, Daphne and Pixie were greeting each other with butts wiggling and general happiness.
