“This is the best news ever.” She winked. “Aren’t you glad I set the two of you up?”
I snickered. “Yeah, I guess I have to eat my words. You were right about him, and I owe you lunch.”
“Speaking of set-ups, I invited Greg over next week to meet my friend, Cammy.”
“Isn’t she the one you said was a little aggressive?”
“Yes, but she was just nervous. She’s awesome in so many ways, and I think Greg will like her.”
“I hope so. I really want Greg to be happy.”
Bronson jogged over and crashed down on the blanket next to me. His face was flushed from the exercise, making his blue eyes stand out even more. “You ladies ready to eat?”
“Absolutely,” Emily said, pulling sandwiches out of a picnic basket. She handed one to each of us. “But before we dig in, Ethan and I have an announcement to make.”
I sat up straighter, my heart speeding up. “What’s this about news?” I said in a teasing voice, taking in the happy glow on her face.
Ethan bent down on his knees behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Emily placed one of her hands over his and tilted her head back to glance at him. “Do you want to say it or should I?”
He grinned. “You go ahead.”
Emily looked at Bronson and me, her face nearly beaming now. “I’m pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”
I raised my arms in the air. “Yes! I was hoping you were going to say that.” I leaned forward and gave her a hug.
Bronson shook Ethan’s hand. “Congratulations, man. I’m happy for you both.”
“I’m going to need your help,” Emily said, glancing at me, “picking out baby things and coming up with a theme for the nursery.”
“I’m there. Whatever you need. And I’d love to throw you a baby shower.”
Bronson leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “We’d better hurry up and get married so we can have a playmate for the new baby. Start a family of our own.”
Everyone looked at him, stunned into silence.
“What did you just say?” Emily asked.
Bronson’s eyes widened. “What? You guys think I’m not serious?” He glanced at me. “I’m not joking.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
Ethan chuckled. “Man, I knew you’d fall one day. Just didn’t know it would be this hard.”
Bronson glanced at me with concern on his face. He stood to his feet and took my hand, helping me up. “Come, on. Let’s walk for a few minutes.” He turned to Ethan and Emily. “We’ll be right back.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I’m not trying to freak you out. We’ve only been a couple officially for about a week and a half. But as the saying goes, ‘Sometimes you just know.’”
A smile tugged at my lips. “What exactly do you know, Bronson?”
“I know you’re the one for me.” He leaned down and kissed me softly on the cheek. When he pulled back, my heart melted at the tenderness in his eyes.
“You’re the one for me, too.”
“I have my eye on the calendar, Miss McBride, and my intentions are honorable. I want to court you, and then I want to marry you.”
“I like the sound of that.” I grinned. “Do you think Snowball and Ace will get along?”
He chuckled. “Oh, they’re going to love each other.”
* * *
On Sunday, Bronson came with me to church. The plan was for me to visit his church the following week, and while we both loved our own churches, we felt it would be important to find one place we could attend together. We weren’t worried—we’d figure it out. Right now, we enjoyed the process of getting to know each other, and even though we were both eager to move forward in our relationship, we didn’t want to rush things either. Relationships took time to grow, and just like a tiny seedling, they needed to be nurtured and fed.
We ate a quick lunch at my favorite Thai place and then Bronson went home to get Ace. We’d set in motion a plan to introduce our pets, and I really hoped it would work.
Earlier in the week, I had wiped Snowball down with a clean rag—in essence, I rubbed her scent onto the cloth. Bronson did the same thing with Ace, and then we traded rags and left them out for Ace and Snowball to sniff and acclimate themselves to the scent of the other animal. That was step one.
Once Bronson arrived to my home with Ace, we set in motion the next part of our plan. I stood in front of the window with Snowball in my arms, and Bronson led Ace over. We let them observe each other through the glass barrier and get accustomed to each other. Snow stiffened and arched her back. I spoke softly to her and stroked her back to help her relax. Ace barked loudly, and Bronson had to give him commands to “Sit” and “Stay” so he wouldn’t jump up on the glass window. We stayed put until both pets calmed down and looked at each other with curiosity.
After about ten minutes, Bronson motioned for me to meet him in the backyard. My heart sped up and my stomach flipped. What if they didn’t like each other? Worse, what if they hated each other?
I lifted up a quick prayer, asking God to calm our pets and help us introduce them in the least threatening way possible. Stroking Snow’s fur, I swallowed hard and headed out the back door. Bronson had Ace on a leash and spoke soothingly to him. Ace perked the moment he saw me walk out with Snow in my arms.
Snow stiffened, but I continued to stroke her back until she relaxed and even purred a little. “It’s now or never,” I said, meeting Bronson’s gaze.
He smiled. “We’ve got this.”
I slowly edged over and sat a good distance away, continuing to pet Snow. Ace’s ears stood up and he barked loudly. Bronson issued commands “Sit” and “Quiet” and though he had to repeat this a few times, Ace obeyed. He was a well-trained dog, used to following directions. He sat low, with his belly on the ground, and he put his head down for a few moments as if he planned on taking a nap. I hadn’t expected that behavior at all and lifted up a quick thank you to the Lord. I let go of Snow, fully expecting her to run in the other direction. When she didn’t, Bronson chuckled.
“See? This isn’t so hard.”
And then the impossible happened. Snow cautiously moseyed over in the direction of Ace. She sat down a few feet away and began cleaning herself. One would have thought she was completely calm except for the alert way her ears stood up. She flashed a haughty glance as if she knew Bronson and I would protect her if Ace got out of line. I moved closer so I could grab her if I needed to.
Ace lifted his head and opened his mouth, tongue hanging out. He watched her for a few minutes and then glanced at Bronson. “Good boy.” Bronson gave him a dog biscuit since he’d been behaving so well.
Snow finished cleaning herself and then advanced another step. And then another until she was almost to Ace. My back tightened, and I held my breath. She leaned forward and sniffed him lightly. Ace started to stand up, but Bronson nudged him down and told him to sit. He listened, earning him another dog biscuit.
Snow took another chance and edged closer, getting one more good sniff. Ace whined like he really wanted to get up and play, but Bronson spoke in a low voice, stroking behind his ears.
When Snow had had enough, she turned and strolled away.
“First introductions out of the way,” I said with a grin.
Bronson smiled. “If we do this on a regular basis, they’ll adjust to each other.”
He took hold of one of my hands. “Come closer.”
I walked over on my knees. “What’s up?”
He gestured for me to move even closer, so I did. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. He smelled of citrus and pine and fresh soap—like sweet promises of things to come and happy tomorrows.
He kissed me on the corner of my mouth and grinned. “You ready to start this journey with me, Allison McBride?”
My eyes had zeroed in on his dimples, so it took me a few moments to respond. A slo
w smile pulled at my lips and I squeezed his hand. “You better believe it. I can’t wait.”
Epilogue
8 months later . . .
The photographer leaned in and positioned my hand on Bronson’s shoulder. “Hold that pose.” He snapped several shots and then looked warily at me. “Are you still intent on doing that one picture? You know, the one we talked about with the . . .” He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Bronson glanced at me sidelong. “What’s he talking about?”
My eyes locked on the photographer. “You think you can do it?”
He shrugged. “We can try, but I’ll most likely have to take candid shots.”
I lifted two fingers in the air and caught Emily’s eye. “It’s time.”
She squealed and disappeared out of our line of vision.
Bronson chuckled. “Why do I get the sense you have something up your sleeve?”
I glanced down at the white cloud that was my bridal gown and grinned, smoothing a hand over the tulle. “I have a little surprise for you. Emily’s been working behind the scenes to get everything ready.”
The corners of his lips tilted up. “Uh-oh. I never know what to expect when you two start planning—”
“We’re ready!” Emily called from behind.
Ace barked and a woman other than Emily shrieked. Bronson jerked his head over his shoulder to see what all the commotion was about, and I glanced to look as well. Ace caught sight of Bronson and began running towards him. Emily had just unleashed him, and she followed behind, eight months pregnant, beaming and looking beautiful in the matron of honor maternity gown I’d helped her pick out.
Ace wore a black and white tuxedo bodysuit and looked just as handsome as I’d envisioned. Snowball ran in front wearing her white tulle dress and pretty pink bow. Cammy ran behind, arms outstretched in an attempt to catch Snow. Greg followed, shaking his head the whole way, looking completely baffled by the entire ordeal. Snow arrived first, and I put my hands out for her to come to me. She glanced my way, but then jumped into Bronson’s arms instead.
“Well, I’ll be,” I said, giving Bronson a look. “You’ve won her over.”
He scratched behind her ears and flashed a wide grin. “Of course. She’s family now.”
Emily reached us a little out of breath with a huge smile on her face. I leaned down and gave Ace a big hug, and he returned the affection by licking my hands. All the while, the photographer snapped photos, catching each and every move we made.
Bronson fell to the ground and sprawled out on the grass, pulling me down into his lap. I yelped, letting out a squeal of laughter, and put my arms around his neck. Ace jumped on Bronson and began licking his face, while Snowball rubbed against my dress, purring. Bronson leaned down and kissed me hard on the lips.
“Got it,” the photographer said, chuckling. “That one will make the cover of the wedding album.”
Bronson grinned. “And the adventure begins.”
Last Words
Last Words
Thank you so much for taking the time to read, Lawfully Protected. I appreciate your support more than you know. If you enjoyed this book, I would like to ask you a favor. Would you be kind enough to leave an honest review? It would be greatly appreciated! Feel free to get in touch with me if you have questions or comments at [email protected]
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