“Oh, that’s too bad. But I suppose it gives us something to celebrate when you come home to visit.” There’s a hopeful tone, and I don’t have the heart to let her down by reminding her I haven’t booked my ticket home yet.
“Yeah. Exactly.”
We talk a few minutes more before getting off the phone. As soon as we do, I go into my bedroom and pull my sweaty gym clothes back on.
Maybe I can outrun my guilt and self-loathing.
Hasn’t worked in the past, but it feels like my only option right now. Because there’s no way I can sit here with these emotions roiling around inside of me like a category three storm.
Despite my mental state, I can’t help but feel slightly better when I get to work, and the shift leader communicates what he needs me to do before I go out on patrol. Someone needs to drop off a huge pile of donations we’ve been collecting all month to the animal shelter, and somehow, I get lucky enough to be assigned the task.
The sky is already darkening by the time I pull into the parking lot, even though it’s still early in the evening. I flip up the collar of my uniform jacket as I open the back of the undercover truck I used to haul everything here. Grabbing two large bags of dog food, I toss them over my shoulder. On my way to the front door, I can hear dogs barking in the building, and it makes me smile.
I love animals. They don’t judge you if you’re sad or worried or think less of you if you can’t read very fast. They provide me with a sense of calm and happiness that can often be difficult for me to find.
Then again, Kat gives me that…
Using my hip, I press the button that will automatically open the double front doors. Warmth hits me, along with the unmistakable smell of cleaner and animals. Lots of animals.
There’s no one behind the desk out front, so I put down the bags of food and make two more trips to the truck to bring in everything else. On my third trip back inside, Mila Monroe is standing beside the pile of stuff I’ve brought in, staring at it. She hears me and looks up, understanding coming into her eyes.
“Oh! That’s where this is coming from. I thought Santa came early or something.”
“Only if Santa is now the Dogwood Cove Police Department,” I joke. “Where do you want all of it?”
Mila places her hands on her hips, eyeing the pile of food and toys. “It’s more than I was expecting. Which is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but I was just in the middle of organizing our storage with —“
“Mila, don’t you dare abandon me with all of this.” Kat’s voice comes down the hall, and two seconds later, there she is, taking my fucking breath away. Even wearing baggy sweats and a hoodie, she’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.
“Hunter! What are you doing here?”
I give her a charming grin and a subtle wink, one that I hope saysI really want to come over there and kiss you.“Just doing my civic duty and dropping off some donations the department pulled together.”
She walks over and stands close enough that I could easily touch her. My fingers itch to do just that, but Mila is already eyeing us both. That woman is too nosy for her own good. As much as I hate doing it, I take a step away and pick up the heaviest bag of food. “Show me where to put it?”
We make quick work of moving everything into the storage room which, as Mila started to tell me, is a bit of a mess. I can tell they were working to reorganize everything when I showed up.
“Want me to stay and help get things straightened out?” I offer, even though I really should be getting back to the station for my next assignment.
“Nah, we got this, right Kat?” Mila waves me off. “But thank you for dropping all of this off. And please, thank everyone else at the station. I’ll bring some muffins by tomorrow.”
“I’m off at six in the morning, can I swing by and get mine on my way home?” I ask hopefully, not wanting to miss out on an apple nut muffin. Mila gives me the thumbs up and turns back to the shelves, only to whirl back around a second later.
“Wait. Hunter. We need your opinion on something.”
“Oh my God, no Mila, we don’t,” Kat interjects, shaking her head wildly. “It was just a crazy idea.”
“A crazygoodidea. And I told you, if you don’t want a calendar with your hunky brothers in it, don’t buy one.”
My eyebrows raise in confusion. “A calendar?”
Mila grins. “Yep. Hunks and Hounds. Kat had the idea to make one as a fundraiser next year.” She shakes her head regretfully while Kat, standing off to the side, looks at me with a wild look to her eyes. “Wish we had thought of it sooner, so we had it ready to sell now. What an awesome Christmas gift that would be.” She giggles.
“This was your idea?” I ask Kat, fighting back the smirk that wants to break free. “A calendar full of photos of guys and dogs?”
“Not just any guys. Hot guys. Hunks.” Mila says.
“You know,” I say, that smirk sneaking across my face, “you could take it even further. Hunkyheroesand hounds. Focus on all the local heroes and first responders.”
