Page 101 of Rookie's Redemption
The exact reason I chose a small town over big city contracts.
The reason I bought a house with a view of our tree instead of a penthouse overlooking some anonymous skyline.
And now they're here, in my hometown, trying to take the woman I love and turn her into just another cog in their empire.
The front door opens, and Mia's voice carries through the house.
"Ryder? Whose cars are—" She appears in the living room doorway, still wearing that gorgeous green dress. The one I was going to forever remember as the dress she wore when she promised to be mine forever.
But instead, she's clutching a thick folder against the fabric like it's precious cargo.
"Oh. Hi, guys."
"Hey, Mia," Blake says, his voice carefully neutral. "We were just... hanging out."
Her eyes sweep the room, taking in the remnants of confetti on the floor, the hastily hidden champagne bottles, the guilty expressions on eight very large men who clearly weren't expecting to see her.
"Hanging out," she repeats slowly, those hazel eyes missing nothing. "Right."
The silence stretches until Connor, because the asshole has a complete lack of social awareness, decides to fill it.
"So, uh... how did things go at the shelter? Ryder was just telling us about those business people?"
I want to strangle him.
"Actually," Mia says, holding up the folder with something that looks suspiciously like excitement, "it was incredible. They want to buy the shelter. Not just buy it, but expand it into five locations across the United States."
There it is.The moment my worst fears get confirmed.
She's not dismissing their offer. She's not laughing about how ridiculous them showing up unannounced is.
No.
She'sexcitedabout it.
"What kind of expansion?" Logan asks, because apparently everyone's decided to make this worse.
Mia's eyes light up in a way that makes my chest feel like it's filling with concrete.
"Denver, Seattle, Phoenix, Austin..." She's talking faster now, that familiar passion creeping into her voice that I usually love but now sounds like a death sentence. "I'd be executive director of all five locations. The resources we'd have, the animals we could save... it's incredible, isn't it Ryder? This could help thousands of animals."
"That's..." Connor starts, then catches the look on my face. "That's... something."
"It is something," Mia continues, apparently oblivious to the fact that everyone in the room is staring at me like I'm about to spontaneously combust. "I don't know what to do. This could change everything. Five locations, unlimited resources, the chance to make a real impact..."
And there it is.
The moment I realize that everything I fought for, everything I came home to build, isn't enough.
Not compared to unlimited resources and executive director titles and the chance to save thousands of animals across multiple states.
"Sounds like you've already decided," I say quietly.
"What? No, I haven't decided anything. I'm just—"
"Excited," I finish for her. "You're excited about this."
The guys exchange uncomfortable glances, clearly wishing they were anywhere else. Blake moves closer to Connor, probably ready to drag him out if this gets ugly.
