Page 97 of His to Protect

And while I was in the shower, trying not to think about everything that was going to happen later, I decided that as long as he was willing to take care of me, I was willing to let him.

Because while I didn’t make him safe, the way he did for me, I knew that I gave him other things he needed, and that was the true measure of a healthy relationship: knowing what your partner needed and breaking your back to give it to them; knowing that they were breaking their back to give you what you needed, so you both ended up fulfilled and satisfied.

I might not have had a lot of healthy relationships in my life, but I was determined to make this relationship with Declan the best one that either of us had. And I hoped like hell we’d learned from our mistakes in the past, so we could make our relationship better and stronger.

—

“He’ll be okay, though? You promise?”

Dr. Klaus tugged at the ends of his stethoscope and gave me a reassuring smile. “He’ll be just fine. Like I said, keeping him here for the next few days is just a cautionary measure. We’re fortunate that when the bullet struck him, it didn’t hit any major arteries.”

I sunk into Declan’s side and closed my eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“When he gets home, though,” Dr. Klaus said, “don’t forget that he won’t be able to jump on furniture for a few weeks until his stitches are removed. We’ll go over further instructions when he’s ready to go home, but if there’s anything you need to do to make his life easier for the next six weeks, I like to give owners time to do that.”

I nodded frantically. “We will.”

He headed for the door and gave me another smile. “Take all the time you want with him, just try to keep him calm. He’s still coming out of sedation and shouldn’t get overly excited.”

I was the one who was in danger of becoming overly excited. In one of their recovery rooms for dogs, something that looked like a miniature hotel room in a four-foot-by-six-foot kennel, complete with doggy bed and pillow, Boomer was lounging lazily, his tail barely wagging.

Even his jowls seemed more droopy than normal.

Declan gave me another squeeze and shoved me gently in Boomer’s direction. “Go sit with him and hug him. You know you want to.”

I smiled because he was right, but Declan didn’t see it, because I was already moving, getting down on my knees in the short doorway in front of Boomer. He had a large gauze bandage on his chest. Dr. Klaus had told me there was another bandage on his stomach, but I couldn’t see it. He had a total of ten stitches in two locations, the entry wound and the incision necessary for the surgery.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered hoarsely as my hand rested on top of his head. Boomer’s tail tapped against the bed twice before settling down. “I’m so sorry I got you shot, buddy. But I swear to you, you get home and get better and I’ll be the best doggy mommy anyone’s ever seen.”

His cold, black nose nudged the palm of my hand and he licked it once before setting his face back down on the pillow.

I stayed with him for several minutes, gently running my hand from his head to his tail until his eyes closed and I knew he’d fallen back asleep. Leaning forward, I kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be back to see you tomorrow, I promise.”

Pushing back up to my feet, I headed out of the kennel to see Declan’s soft eyes on mine. He held out his hand and took mine, and pulled me to him. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled, because it was so similar to how I’d just kissed Boomer’s.

“You’re already a great doggy mom,” he whispered. “And he’s going to be just fine, too.”

“I know.” My chin wobbled but I held my emotion in. Between the vet and the police station I was too exhausted to shed any more tears today.

“Ready to head to the airport?”

No. No, I wasn’t.

I’d already spent an hour at the police station giving Officer Mars my statement, telling him everything I could remember from yesterday. He had been kind and patient with me, but I still left there feeling ragged and drained. The entire time, all I could think of was getting to Boomer.

Now that I had seen him and been assured he was going to be just fine, I wanted a nap. A really long one. Possibly another bubble bath.

The look on my face must have expressed my thoughts for me.

A low rumble sounded in my chest and Declan snickered. “They’ll like you, I promise. And if they don’t, I don’t care.”

“I want them to like me.”

He pushed me back from him, his hands framing my face. “And they will, because they’ll see how happy you make me and how incredible you are. Swear it.”

“Okay,” I muttered, somewhat petulantly. This only made Declan laugh a little bit harder as he guided me out of the recovery area of the veterinary hospital.

I wanted to believe him.

But I could only imagine what his parents must be thinking and feeling right now. If I was ever in their shoes, I would certainly not be excited to meet a woman whose husband showed up outside their son’s place of business and aimed a gun at their son before killing himself.

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