“So you want him out of his kennel.”
“And with someone who would love him and give him what he needs.”
Seth slowly nodded.“Couldyoube that someone?”
It wasn’t like Thomas hadn’t thought about it.Some nights, it was all he could think about.They couldn’t release Finley into the wild since he wasn’t a wild animal, and Thomas’s heart hurt at the thought of never seeing him again once he got adopted.Could it be as simple as Seth made it sound, though?
“Could I?Because I don’t live alone.”Thomas paused, frowning.“Unless you and Ryan have decided to move out.Or do you wantmeto move out?”It would make sense.They’d just gotten together, and while Ryan had agreed to move in with Seth and Thomas, it would probably be best for the couple to live alone.They didn’t need a third wheel.Thomas was doing his best to spend as little time as he could at home to give them space, but sometimes, it was inevitable that they crossed paths.Adding a dog to the mix, especially one as big as Finley, would make that more complicated.
“No one is going anywhere,” Seth said firmly.“Ryan and I are happy to continue living with you.”
“Are you sure?Because I can find something else.I could talk to Chance and Theo.”
“I’m sure.We both are.You’re not going anywhere unless you want to leave.”
Thomas nodded.He didn’t want to, so he hoped that Seth wasn’t lying.
“And we’ll have to talk to Ryan, of course, but I don’t see why we shouldn’t get the dog.He’d be out of the cage, and with three of us here, there would always be someone to take care of him.He’ll be your dog, of course, but he’ll have a family.”
Just like Thomas.
Thomas had been a stray once, too.He’d been lucky to be adopted by Seth and the rest of their pack, and he could imagine how different his life would’ve been if he hadn’t been.He could give that to Finley, too.He could give him a family and a home, and he could take care of him.
And maybe, eventually, they could add Rowan to that family.It sounded like a dream, and there was no reason for Rowan to like Thomas as much as Thomas liked him, but it was nice to think about that possibility.It wasn’t like Thomas was hurting anyone by doing so.
He smiled at Seth.“I think I need to talk to Shane.”
* * * *
THOMAS HAD FINISHEDwork and gone home before Rowan today, so he and Rowan hadn’t worked together for the last few hours.Rowan knew that eventually, Shane would decide his training was complete and that he’d spend less time with Thomas, but for now, they were inseparable, and Rowan wanted to keep things that way.He didn’t have a lot to do this afternoon, though.He’d finished cleaning the front room—unfortunately, the deer had bled on pretty much every surface—and was ready to leave, but not to go home.No, he was meeting Thomas at the diner, and he was excited, probably more than he should be.He’d seen Thomas just a few hours ago.
And he couldn’t stop thinking about that.They’d shared a moment, hadn’t they?Rowan had suspected that Thomas was interested in him, but he’d suspected that Thomas wouldn’t say anything about it.Rowan wasn’t sure if it was because he was shy and inexperienced or because he was still wary of Rowan, at least in that aspect, but whatever the case, Rowan was determined.He wasn’t going to push if Thomas didn’t want him, but if Thomas did want him, he didn’t see why they shouldn’t be together.They worked well as a team, and Rowan really liked Thomas.He wished he knew what would’ve happened between them if Shane hadn’t interrupted, but maybe it was better that he had.They were at work, and Rowan didn’t want to get in trouble, never mind getting Thomas in trouble.That would be even more unacceptable.
But they wouldn’t be in trouble if they kissed at the diner.Rowan had no plan of doing that since they were meeting to study, but maybe later, when he walked Thomas to his car, he could test the waters.At the very least, he could try to find out if Thomas would be willing to go on a date with him.
When he finally reached the diner, Thomas was already there.He had his pile of books and notebooks on the table next to him, but he hadn’t started studying yet.He was on his phone, furiously typing something, but he smiled as soon as he saw Rowan.“I have the best news,” he declared.
“You finally talked to your brother?”Thomas had been talking about telling his family, or at least the brother he lived with, about his GED.Rowan wasn’t sure he would, and he understood the anxiety, but he doubted that Thomas’s family would have anything bad to say about what he was doing.He understood why Thomas was hesitant, though, and it wasn’t his business, but it was clear that it was hurting Thomas.
Thomas grimaced.“No.I know that I should, but I’m not ready.”
Rowan slid onto the bench on the other side of the table.“At this pace, you won’t be ready until you actually get your GED.”
“That’s the plan, actually.If I wait until I know whether or not I’m getting it, I won’t disappoint them.”
“I don’t think they’d be disappointed in you even if you didn’t get your GED.They love you.”
“And I love them, and even more so now that Seth has agreed to adopt Finley.”
That wasn’t what Rowan had expected, although to be fair, he hadn’t really expected anything except Thomas telling his brother about the GED thing.“He’s going to adopt Finley?”
“Well, I am, but I live with Seth and Ryan, so they needed to be on board.I haven’t talked to Shane yet, but I texted him, and he confirmed we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“You know Shane won’t try to stop you.Hell, he’ll be happy to have found a nice family for Finley.Your brother’s okay with this, then?”
“He’s the one who suggested it.He found me moping on the couch, and since I couldn’t tell him that I was worried about my GED, I told him about Finley.He said it sounded like a good idea to adopt him.”
Rowan shook his head.“Only you would end up adopting a dog because you don’t want to tell your brother about your GED.”
