Of course, Jimmy hadn’t known that Thomas wasn’t this time around.He hadn’t seen Rowan, who’d stayed in the back in case Thomas needed him.He hadn’t, but whatever Jimmy was up to, itwasweird.Rowan wasn’t sure he believed that Jimmy was just flirting with Thomas.Maybe he was, but coming to the sanctuary every time felt a bit much.He could be wrong, though.People had done weirder things to get someone’s attention.Hell, he’d briefly thought about adopting Finley to get Thomas’s attention.Unfortunately, the dog wouldn’t have fit in his apartment, no matter how much Rowan loved him.
“So, what’s going on with Finley?”he asked to be sure that Jimmy was far away from Thomas’s mind.
Thomas smiled widely.“I talked to Shane.He said it was a good idea for me to adopt Finley.”
“I agree.When are you taking him home, then?”
“Seth and I want to go to the pet store and buy a few things, and Shane wants the vet to see Finley one last time before he leaves the sanctuary, even though I can bring him back anytime he needs, but things are moving in the right direction.”
“That’s great.When do you think it’s going to be?”
“As long as the vet gives him a clean bill of health, not long at all.I can’t wait.”
“I’m sure Finley feels the same.”
Thomas shrugged.“Well, I hope so.I want to give him a good home.He deserves it.”
“And you deserve to have him.You’re going to make him very happy.”The poor dog had spent the past few weeks in a kennel.He loved Thomas, and Rowan almost wished he could be there when Thomas brought him home.He wanted to see Finley’s reaction, but most of all, he wanted to see Thomas’s.He’d been worrying about the dog, but he didn’t have to anymore.Finley had found the best family he possibly could.
“Honestly, I’m surprised that my brother agreed to this so easily,” Thomas added.
“Didn’t you tell me that he was the one who suggested it?”
They were back in the break room.They spent a lot of time here between jobs, drinking coffee and relaxing.Working at the sanctuary wasn’t like anything Rowan had experienced before.There were a lot of small jobs to do, and when an animal came in, a lot of work to do all at the same time before stopping and having to wait to see what happened.He and Thomas had things to do, but no one would say anything if they took a break before heading out to the kennels to clean.Hell, Rowan would be surprised if Shane left his office at all.Apparently, he’d been helping Thomas out here before hiring Rowan, but now that Rowan was here, he didn’t need to anymore.Rowan wasn’t quite sure what Shane’s job was, and he didn’t care.He only cared that he could spend time with Thomas, and no one had anything to say about that.
“He was,” Thomas confirmed.“But I’m pretty sure he did it because he thought I was sad or something.”
“Well, weren’t you sad at the thought that Finley was going to be stuck here for longer?”
“Yeah, but Seth suspects that I’m hiding something from him.”
Rowan grinned.“Again, aren’t you?”
Thomas pouted.“You know I’m hiding something from him.I just don’t want to disappoint him.”
Sometimes, it worried Rowan to think that if he hadn’t found out Thomas’s secret, Thomas still wouldn’t have told anyone what he was doing.It was his business if he didn’t want to, but it was clear that he needed support.Rowan could provide that now that they were friends and hopefully more, but he should also have the support of his family, and the only reason he didn’t was that he didn’t want to disappoint them.That was a little sad.
Rowan’s family had always supported him.They’d always supported his sister, too.When she’d decided to leave the pack, their parents had given her as much money as they could spare.They’d known she wouldn’t be happy if she stayed, and that was their main priority.
Rowan wished he could convince them to leave the pack, but he knew they never would, and he couldn’t blame them.They were older, and they’d only known the pack their entire life.They’d been raised with those traditions and rules, and they didn’t have a reason not to follow them.They hadn’t had a child at sixteen without being married.They would never be in a relationship with someone of the same sex or a human.Life with the pack was probably peaceful for them, and that was what Rowan wanted for them.
But not for himself.He’d wanted to find his own place, and he had, or at least, he thought so.It was still early days, especially with Thomas, but Rowan was hopeful.
“Should I pour you a coffee?”Thomas asked.
Rowan smiled at him.“Please and thank you.”
Thomas’s cheeks flushed, as if he was flustered.Rowan liked making him feel like that.He wanted to see that flush more often.He wanted to see how low it went.
But he was at work, which meant he needed to stop thinking about that.It was getting harder to keep his hands to himself when they were at the sanctuary, though.He always wanted to be close to Thomas and to touch him.He wouldn’t subject anyone to that kind of behavior, though, least of all Thomas.He deserved to be respected, especially at work.
Rowan slid into one of the empty chairs at the small table and smiled at Thomas when he placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.They had more kennels to clean, but that was one part of the job that Rowan wasn’t looking forward to.He wanted to keep everything clean for the animals, but a lot of the time, the poor animals were terrified of them.They needed to be careful so that they wouldn’t try to escape, lash out, or hurt themselves to get away.That was why cleaning them was a two-person job.Rowan had taken care of the kennels he could do on his own, but he was going to need Thomas for the rest.
When Thomas sat down in front of Rowan, Rowan reached out to squeeze his hand.Thomas blinked at him, visibly flustered, and Rowan smiled.That seemed to fluster Thomas even more, and he rolled his eyes.
“Are you flirting again?”he asked.
Rowan grinned.“I don’t know.Am I?”He didn’t seem to be able to stop smiling when he was around Thomas, and he liked that.
