Page 103 of Mountain Defender

“Nah, it’s okay. If you knew how many more we have in the back. The dogs at the shelter will have treats for months.”

A wet nose touches my hand, and I look down to see Elmore gazing at me with a hopeful expression. “Oops. I said the magic word, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Gage agrees. “I’ve learned my lesson. Never say the word. Only spell it out.”

“Until the dogs learn how to spell, that is.”

We smile at each other, sharing a silent message. We’ve been together long enough to just know what each other is thinking. So I know from the melty chocolate shade of his eyes that he’s thinking about how much he loves me. And I’m thinking the same about him.

“This is amazing, Rory.” Isla comes up to us and pulls me in for a hard and fast hug. When she releases me, she turns to Gage and gives him a quick hug in turn. “All these people here just to help out the shelter. It’s awesome. And all the dogs are socute.”

Pride blossoms in my chest. “They are cute, aren’t they? And everyone seems to be having a good time.” I glance across the room, spotting Matt and Dove sitting at a table with Leo, Georgia, Nora, and Jackson. “How is Dove doing on her first big trip?”

After everything happened in Blue Mountain Lake, Isla came out to visit, but left Dove back home with Matt. This is the first time they’ve come to Vermont as a family, but now that Dove’s getting a little older, she’s planning to visit more regularly.

“She’s been great,” Isla says. “And she just loves the dogs. I have a feeling her first word is going to be dog now, instead of Mom or Dad.”

“Well, youcouldget a dog,” I suggest, knowing full well that Isla and Matt are thinking about trying for another baby instead.

Isla turns pink. Her voice dips. “We just decided to try for another baby. We think it would be nice for Dove to have a brother or sister who’s close to the same age. And we’ve already looked into building a cabin on the Blade and Arrow property so we’d have more space. Kind of like what you guys have here.”

“That would be amazing.” I hug my best friend, holding her longer than I usually would. But that’s another thing that’s different since I got together with Gage. I touch people more. I give my friends hugs. I don’t worry about them feeling a scar beneath my clothes and being disgusted by it.

Thanks to Gage and my counselor, I finally understand that my fear was all in my head. And the people I care about don’t give a crap if I have scars. I’m just Rory to them. And they like me just as I am.

Isla casts a quick look around the room, her expression jolting in surprise as she sees a curly-haired woman crouched down talking to her dog. Then Isla turns to me. “Is that?—”

“Melissa,” Gage supplies. He kisses my cheek. “Rory wanted to invite her. And whatever Rory wants…”

“She’s doing a lot better now,” I explain. “She finished her inpatient treatment, and now she’s living with her parents in Utica. She’s still on probation, doing community service, but if you talk to her… She made a mistake. But I don’t think she’ll do it again.”

Isla looks at Gage with her eyebrows raised. “Do you think it’s safe?”

He hesitates. “Mostly. But we’re keeping an eye on her. And with so many former military in attendance, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

“Now that she has Oscar, I think it’s better for her,” I add. “He’s specially trained to help with PTSD, and he’s certified as a therapy dog so he can go everywhere with her.”

As if Melissa can tell we’re talking about her, she looks in our direction and gives a hesitant wave. Then she hugs Oscar, her eyes closing as he licks her face.

That was another of the changes I made to the shelter program. Not just recruiting foster families, but training some of the dogs to be therapy animals. Melissa got one of our first graduates, and we have plans to adopt out three more dogs to combat veterans next month.

“I’m glad,” Isla finally says. “And I’m glad you have Gage.” She pauses. “I’ve never seen you this happy, Ror. And out of everyone I know, you’re the one who most deserves it.”

“She does.” Gage hugs me again. Then he exchanges a look with Isla. “I need to take care of something real quick,” he says. To me, he adds, “Would you mind waiting here? I’ll be done in a minute.”

He has an odd sort of… nervous look on his face. But I’m not going to ask him about it in front of Isla. Instead, I just nod. “No problem. I’ll go check on the food, see if we need to refresh anything.”

“No.” It’s quick. “Just… stay here. I’ll be right back.” And then he takes off with our three dogs in tow.

I hope he’s not regretting his decision to dress up as a pirate—withhis prosthetic fully visible—which was his idea, not mine. He’s the one who suggested having me go as Tinkerbell fromPeter Pan, while he chose the pirate costume to match.

I’m proud of him, though. And prosthetic or not, he’s still the sexiest man in the room by far.

Isla and I chat for a few minutes before Gage comes back, looking even more nervous than before. He holds his hand out to me, and as I take it, I notice how chilled his hand feels. How it’s almost… trembling. “Can you come with me?” he asks.

“Of course.”

I would follow him anywhere if he asked.

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