Page 113 of Surrender
We had no idea what breed he was. His coloring, long coat, and size all pointed in various directions.
I’d just seen him online.
He’d been at a kill shelter in Columbus, and while I couldn’t tell you what it was about him, there was something important I’d learned over the past few months, and that was to not ignore my gut when it was trying to tell me something.
Nearly four hours later, Nate and I were picking him up and driving home.
I crouched down and held out my arms just as he launched himself into my lap. He was patchy, with brown, white, and tan colored fur, and his ears were long enough that they constantly slapped him in the face.
“Well, hi there, mister,” I cooed, trying to avoid the tongue lapping at my chin. “I hope you behaved for Kadey.”
Kadey had become our resident puppy sitter, and she was always jumping at the chance to walk or play with him for a few hours.
Probably because he’s so cute.
But maybe also because Nate paid her really well.
“Appreciate it, kid,” he said, pulling a couple of bills from his pocket and handing them over.
She grinned, bending down to give Archie one last pat before she skipped off to the kitchen.
I picked up Archie, cradling him like a baby and scratching his tummy.
For a second, we were like a little family, the two of us doting over the baby.
My stomach fluttered at the thought.
We hadn’t talked about it much, but—
“Oh, geez, Archie,” Nate said with a laugh as the tiny dog attempted to French kiss him.
I giggled, placing his four feet back on the floor and watching him race off, weaving in and out of barstools before latching on to the first pair of boots he could find. It didn’t matter that they were attached to Whip’s feet.
“He thinks he owns the place already,” Nate murmured, hooking his arm around my neck and tugging me in, pressing a kiss to my hair. “He’s just like her, right?”
I nodded, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Somuch like her,” I agreed.
He grinned, shaking his head. “Complete chaos.”
The rush of fight night had eased, and that winning high seemed to be settling, the two coming to easy medium.
A quiet peace.
The kind that came from keeping a piece of someone important alive, and in just the kind of way they would have wanted.
Driving these boys crazy while being the center of attention.
That was Roxie.
Chapter Forty
DARCY
“Did you guys see the moving truck that pulled in across the road?” Hawk said as he walked in, placing the pile of empty pizza boxes on the small kitchen table. Sunday lunch today had been courtesy of the club prospects, and it had been absolutely demolished. “Looks like they bought the place next door to us.”
“Ooo,” I said excitedly, wiping my hands on my jeans before lifting on my toes to try and see out of Bishop and Shay’s kitchen window. “I didn’t even know that house was for sale.”
“Hopefully they’re nicer than the last couple who lived there,” Missy grumbled, adding a couple more plates to my soapy water before joining me, the two of us looking like a couple of meercats with our heads bobbing around.
