Page 80 of Revival

The door slamming shut between us solidifies the finality of the argument. I have nothing left to say to him.

My engine roars to life, and he finally stalks off.

Hopefully for the last time.

I sigh, rubbing my throbbing headache. I’m not going to be happy if this develops into a full-blown migraine. I get them often enough without having one brought on by this unwelcome conversation.

My phone lights up in the cupholder where I dropped it, the list of notifications still on the screen.

Right. I was about to read them when I was rudely interrupted.

The first thing I notice is the list of missed calls.

Six. All from Spencer.

“Oh my god,” I groan, throwing off the sunglasses and pushing the heel of my palm into my eyes. “The voicemail.”

The screen is smooth beneath my thumb as I swipe away from the calls and open my texts.

Ollie checking in after I said good night. He stayed over at Lincoln’s last night.

Corjan confirming the time of the vet clinic at the festival on Sunday.

My favorite store announcing a summer sale.

Last, I reach Spencer’s text, and I brace for rejection. I wasn’t thinking last night when I left him that voicemail. And now, after my run-in with Sebastian, my defenses are inadequately prepped for the consequences.

A solitary line appears. My breath catches audibly at the short sentence.

Spencer

That’s all I needed to hear

17

Cortney

“Thanks again for helping out today.”I smile at Bree and dust my hands off on my navy scrub pants.

She waves me off with a bright smile. “It’s not a problem. The kids are all at the daycare with Whitney, and Corjan’s helping Lee with the adoption event until this afternoon.”

“You mean you didn’t want to help my brothers charm people into giving those dogs new loving homes?”

Bree rubs the clean examination table with unnecessary effort before tossing down the rag. Her adorable huff brings a grin to my face. “If I have to hear one more woman ask if my husband is available for adoption too, I might just lose it.”

“There are way too many single women in this town. The men are outnumbered ten to one,” I tease while restocking supplies.

“You aren’t wrong.” She wipes the sweat from her brow. “But my husband is off the market. By his own confession he’s been that way since high school. These girls should know to keep their hands to themselves.”

“If he would just walk around shirtless, they’d all get a glimpse of your name tattooed on his chest and scatter.”

Bree laughs. “I’m pretty sure that’s against some safety violation somewhere.”

“It can’t be much different from the fire station's annual calendar.”

“That’s for charity!”

“So? They might be my brothers, but we aren’t blood related and I’m not blind. They’re an attractive bunch.” I run the broom across the floor, gathering hair and nail clippings into a pile. “You and I both know they’d run out of dogs if they took off some clothes, and Corjan could show off your brand at the same time.”

---