Thomas stepped closer and put a hand on Rowan’s arm.“I know you will.Still, you should come to me if you need anything, right?I want to be there for you.”
Rowan licked his lips.He leaned closer to Thomas, and Thomas mirrored his movement.Rowan wasn’t sure if it was on purpose.He just wanted to be close to Thomas, and he liked that Thomas seemingly felt the same.
The back door banged against the wall when it opened.Shane stepped through, smiling when he saw them.“There you are.Did the lady leave okay?”
Thomas took a step away from Rowan and cleared his throat.“Yeah, she was fine.We called her husband.They’re going to leave her car in the parking lot until they can get someone to pick it up.I told her it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“It’s not.I’d rather not have her drive it again.Considering everything, it’s a miracle that she was able to drive it to the sanctuary.”
“It was.How’s the deer?Do we know anything yet?”
“Doctor Robberson said that he expects the deer to survive.They’re still working on it, but he was hopeful.”
Rowan blinked.It was great news, but he couldn’t say he’d expected it.
He glanced back at the car in the parking lot.There was a lot of blood.Itdefinitelywould be a miracle if the deer made it out alive, but maybe Thomas wasn’t wrong.Maybe miracles did happen.
* * * *
THOMAS COULDN’T STOPthinking about the moment he and Rowan had shared.That had happened, hadn’t it?He hadn’t imagined it.He didn’t know what would have happened if Shane hadn’t come in, but even though he had a wild imagination, he needed to remember that he and Rowan were at work.They couldn’t have done anything.They shouldn’t even kiss at work.It was unprofessional.
But God, Thomaswantedto kiss Rowan.
He ignored the wariness that rushed over him.It wasn’t him.It was his rabbit, and while he understood why it was wary of a wolf shifter, it wouldn’t be enough to keep him away from Rowan.The only thing that would was if Rowan wanted him to stay away, but Thomas didn’t think that was the case.His rabbit would have to get over it, just like he had.
Thomas knew that Rowan wouldn’t hurt him, be it in his human form or in his wolf form.He was a shifter, not an animal.He wouldn’t let the wolf take over.
But Thomas knew that humans could be just as dangerous as animals, if not more.He’d seen enough while he lived on the street, and while he’d been protected by his family, they hadn’t been able to shield him from everything.
He trusted Rowan, though.They’d been working together long enough.They’d been spending even more time together than they should since Rowan was helping Thomas study, and if there was one thing Thomas was one hundred percent sure of, it was that Rowan would never hurt anyone.Hell, his eyes had been damp yesterday when someone had come to visit Finley in the hopes of adopting him.As much as everyone wanted Finley to leave the sanctuary, they would all be sad when it happened.Thomas knew thathewould definitely be.Finley might be massive, but he was also incredibly sweet and gentle.He’d been found protecting a bunch of kittens.Thomas was sure that if Rowan could, he’d adopt him.He hadn’t mentioned anything, but he’d been spending more time with the dog.
The adoption hadn’t gone through.The woman had realized that Finley was too big for her, and while she’d been apologetic, she’d also been certain that she wouldn’t go ahead with it.That left Finley back where he’d started at the sanctuary, and while Thomas was glad to have a little more time with him, he also knew that it couldn’t be good for the dog to be there.He needed more space.He needed to have a nice couch to rest and an entire house where he could choose the best spot to nap.He deserved to have space outside to run.
Thomas could give him that.He lived in a house in the middle of pack territory.Finley would have plenty of space to run there, and he wouldn’t have to run alone.Thomas wouldn’t be going with him since he was a rabbit shifter, but Seth was a bear.The pack was made up of mostly bear shifters, but if they were too intimidating for Finley, Thomas’s sisters Josie and Paisley were wolf shifters.That would appeal to Finley, right?
“All right,” Seth declared as he flopped down onto the couch next to Thomas.“I left you alone during dinner, but you still haven’t told me anything, and I’m both curious and worried.You need to spill.What’s going on with you?Who are you spending all your time with?”Seth paused and frowned.“You know that if you’re in trouble, you just have to tell me, and I’ll do whatever I can to help, right?I know things have been different since I have Ryan, but me having a boyfriend doesn’t mean I don’t care about you anymore or that I don’t have time for you.”
Thomas snorted.“I never said anything about that, but come on.You’ve been spending most of your time with Ryan, and that’s fine.Youshouldspend time with him.He’s your boyfriend.I’m not sure why he decided to do that to himself, but I’m sure he had his reasons.”
Seth playfully punched Thomas’s arm.“That’s not funny.He’s with me because he loves me.”
Thomas wanted to joke again, but he didn’t.He knew that Seth had worried that he didn’t have enough to offer Ryan.It was stupid, but Thomas understood where he was coming from.They’d all gone through something like that before.All of them had ended up on the street, for different reasons, but still.They’d been homeless, hadn’t had anything to call their own, and had struggled.Sometimes, it was hard to believe that part of their lives was over.At least once a month, Thomas woke up in the middle of the night, relieved to be in a bed instead of sleeping under the stars.He wasn’t sure how long it would take him to accept that this was his life from now on, but he suspected that Seth felt very much the same.
“I just wanted to be sure that you knew you could talk to me,” Seth murmured.
Thomas wanted to talk to Seth.He just didn’t want his brother to be proud of him, only to be disappointed if Thomas failed.Thomas didn’t want to hope that he’d be able to get his GED, and while that wasn’t going to stop him from trying, he still felt that he needed to be cautious.He had to give Seth something, though.He didn’t want his brother to worry.“I was just thinking about Finley.”
Seth waited for a second before cocking his head.“You’re going to have to be more specific because I have no idea who Finley is.”
“I told you about him.He’s that dog that was found with the kittens.”
“Oh, I remember.You said that the kittens had all found a home, right?But that Finley was wounded.”
“He was, but he’s better.He’s been better for a few weeks now.We should’ve taken him to the shelter, but no one wanted to do that, so he’s still with us.A woman came over today to possibly adopt him, but she changed her mind.”
“And you’re worried.”
“I am.Finley is a sweet boy.He shouldn’t have to live in a kennel.I don’t want him to, but he would be in the same position if he was in a shelter.At least we know him, you know?”
