by Allie Able
She finally looks at me again and all I can see is fear in her eyes. I made this beautiful woman fear me. “I would never lay a hand on you out of anger, Summer. I'm not that guy,” I say, pleading for her to believe me.
She searches my eyes for a second. “You were so angry at me,” she responds quietly.
I nod my head. “Yes, I was. I still am, but making you believe I would never hurt you is more important right now. I'm angry that you didn't tell me, but I'm also angry that he is about to be out of prison and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.”
She shakes her head, as more tears fall down her face. “I don't know how to respond to a man when he's angry.”
I should have known that. I should have known that she wouldn't know how to respond or act. She lived in a house filled with anger and violence for years. “I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I should have handled that better, I didn't think, but you don't have to be afraid of me. Yell at me or throw a shoe at me, when I'm being an ass, just please don't be afraid of me. I would never hurt you. I would lay down my own life to protect you.”
I want to tell her how much I love her, but I don't want to use those words, for the first time, when I can't even touch her.
“I over reacted,” she mumbles, after a few minutes of silence.
I shake my head. “No, I think it was me that over reacted. You were just responding to my anger in the only way you knew how. It's just,” I pause, running a frustrated hand over my hair, “I look at you and I see someone I want to share my life with and I have never thought that way about another person, Summer. When you didn't tell me about Ryan, it made me wonder if you felt the same way about me,” I try to explain.
“Grant, I'm so sorry,” she whispers.
“Can I please hold you now?” I ask, needing to pull her into my arms and make her stop crying.
She nods her head and I immediately step forward, wrapping my arms around her. She buries her face in my neck and I can feel her wet tears, against my skin. I kiss the top of her head and whisper my apologies over and over again, while holding her shaking body.
After her cries quiet down and her body relaxes into mine, I pull back just enough so that I can see her eyes. They are red rimmed and swollen and it feels like a punch to my gut, that I'm the one that made her look so sad.
I wipe all of her tears away before kissing her cheeks and laying my lips hesitantly against her's. “I'm so sorry,” I whisper, again.
She shakes her head, “No more apologizing.”
“If anything happens concerning him again, please tell me,” I insist.
“I promise,” she agrees.
I gently kiss her lips one more time, before pulling her back into a hug. I breathe in her sweet vanilla scent and my body finally starts to relax.
“We are getting you a dog.”
I feel her lips curve into a smile against my neck. “We are?” she asks and I have suppress a shiver, at the feeling of her hot breath against the skin.
“Yep. A big scary one,” I reply.
“Okay,” she says, with a small laugh.
“Can I take you to bed?” I whisper, against the top of her head.
She doesn't even hesitate. “Yes,” she whispers in response.
I pick her up and she wraps her legs around my waist, as I carry her to my bedroom. Since I'm not ready to say it, yet, I spend the rest of the night showing her how much I love her.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Summer
“SO, I WAS THINKING OF throwing Grant a Birthday Party at my house,” I say to Lexie, as I start unloading the cupcakes into the display case.
“Oh! That would be fun. When are you thinking of having it?” she asks.
“Well, his birthday is the weekend after next. Do you think that would give everyone enough time to make plans?”
She nods her head, “Yeah, definitely. My brother will be coming into town the Thursday before too.”
“Awesome. Do you think you could help me get the word out? I'm going to talk to Grant about it tonight.”
She turns to face me and smiles. “Are you still staying with him?”
I close the display case and look at her, “Yeah, they will be done with my house within the next few days. Grant is coming to pick me up here in a little while, so I can go look at a dog to adopt.” I roll my eyes, but I'm actually pretty excited about it.
When we first got married, I asked Ryan if we could get a pet, but he wouldn't ever let me. He said he hated the thought of dog or cat hair in the house.
“Why are you getting a dog?”
I don't want to lie to her, but I'm also not ready to share with her that Ryan is getting out of jail. I know the only reason Grant wants me to have a dog is for protection, but I'm not telling Lexie that so instead, I shrug my shoulders. “I just want a pet.” That's not exactly a lie, I have always wanted a dog.
“I don't think my dad is going to be there today , but the new Vet. he hired is super sweet. You'll like her.”
I had forgot that Lexie's dad owned the animal clinic, that also doubles as a animal shelter.
I nod my head in acknowledgment. “I'm going to leave around two today, but Jenna will be here by twelve,” I say over my shoulder as I walk towards the kitchen.
* * *
Grant and I pull into the parking lot of Cape Isle Animal Clinic and make our way inside. The girl sitting at the front desk greets us with a cheerful smile.
“Hey, Grant,” she says, before turning to me, “You must be Summer.”
I nod my head and smile back at her. Her happiness is contagious and now that we are here I'm even more excited about the idea of getting a dog.
“I'm Haden. Dr. Sinclaire isn't here today, but Dr. Fitzgerald can help you. I'll show ya'll back to where the dogs, that are up for adoption, are kept and she will be back to help you shortly,” she says. She stands up from behind the desk and walks down the hallway.
“Thank you,” Grant says, as we follow her towards the back of the office.
I can hear the dogs barking before she even opens up the doors. Grant squeezes my hand and looks down at me with a smile.
“I'm excited,” I say, with a giddy smile.
He chuckles and gives my hand another squeeze, ”Good.”
Haden opens the door and we walk into what is best described as controlled chaos. It is so loud that I almost want to cover my ears. There are dogs in cages lining each side of the walkway, all of them barking and waging their tails.
“Ya'll just look up and down the row and if you see one you like just grab a ticket off of the cage,” she says, raising her voice a little to be heard over the dogs and pointing to the little paper tabs hanging off of each cage.
I nod my head and smile in response.
The first dog I see is small and he's jumping all around his cage. I laugh and look at Grant.
He is smiling but shakes his head. “Bigger.”
We keep walking and I stop to look at each one, wishing I could adopt them all. It breaks my heart to see them all in cages. We are almost to the end of the row, when we come to a dog that's not barking, but sitting on his hind legs studying us.
I let go of Grants hand and walk closer. He is huge. He has to weigh more than me and probably comes up to my waist when he stands. He has short hair, that is dark gray in color. I look at his card and it says that he is a two year old Mastiff. I look back at Grant and grin.
He gives me a look of shock. “Sweetheart, really? I didn't mean that big. That thing is bigger than you,” he says with a laugh.
“Don't call him a thing, Grant,” I grumble, as he continues to laugh.
“I didn't mean it like that, but how are you going to walk him, Summer? Where in the world would he sleep?”
I shrug my shoulders, still looking at the dog who seems to be studying me just as closely as I am him. “I don't know, but I like this one. Do you think they would let him out so I could pet him?”
The large creature suddenly gets
to his feet and walks closer to the cage door, letting out a deep bark.
“Holy shit,” Grant whispers.
I have to agree with him. Standing up to his full height, while still on four feet, this dog is massive. I start laughing, as I grab his ticket off of the cage and take Grants hand, pulling him back towards the doors leading to the front desk.
Before we can walk through the doors, a beautiful woman with flaming red hair walks in and smiles. She is wearing a white lab coat, so I'm assuming she works here. She sticks her hand out towards me.
“Hi, I'm Katherine Fitzgerald, one of the veterinarians here.”
I shake her hand and smile back at her, ”I'm Summer. It's nice to meet you Dr. Fitzgerald.”
“Please, call me Katie,” she says, as she turns to Grant and makes her introductions to him.
I have to give her major points for not checking him out. Every time we go somewhere, women usually look at Grant like he is a piece of meat. I try not to let it bother me, because I know he is an attractive man, but it still does. I automatically like this woman for having the decency not to do that.
“I see you have a ticket,” she says, pointing down to the paper I'm holding.
I nod my head and look at Grant who is smirking down at me and shaking his head at my girlish excitement.
“Do you want to get him out and pet him?” she asks and I nod my head quickly. She looks at the number and leads her way to his cage.
When we get there, she turns and looks at me with confusion. “The Mastiff?” she asks, pointing towards him.
I look and see that he is relaxed back on his haunches, staring at us.
I nod my head again and she shakes her head with a smile, before unlocking his cage. He slowly stands and walks over to Katie. She rubs her hand over his head and clips a leash on him.
“There is an outside fenced in area just over there. It's much quieter so we can talk,” she says pointing to another set of doors, that lead outside.
Grant takes my hand again and we follow Katie and the large animal outside.
Emma unclips the leash, once we are outside, and lays it down on the picnic table. “This is Duke. He came to us a few months ago, when his owners were moving and not able to take him with them.”
I look over at Duke and watch as he sniffs around the grass, not paying much attention to us.
“I know you probably read this on his chart, but Duke is a two year old mastiff. He has reached his full height, but he may get a little thicker and larger in build,” she explains.
Grant makes a chocking noise and I look up at him. He is smiling, as he looks down at me. “Summer, when I said I wanted you to get a big dog, I didn't mean one that was bigger than you. I was thinking more like a lab or a German Shepherd.”
I look back over at Duke to he has stopped sniffing and is laying in the grass. “Is he mean or aggressive?” I ask Katie. I didn't even think about him hurting me, until now. He seems more like a gentle giant.
“Not at all,” she says, shaking her head, “I think most people are just intimidated by his size,” she smirks at Grant.
I laugh, as Grant scoffs. “I'm not intimidated by a dog.”
Duke picks that moment to stand up and walk towards us. Grant's body get's tight and he tugs my hand, pulling me behind him. I laugh out loud and pull my hand from his. I walk over to Duke and drop to my knees in front of him. I put my face close to his and hesitantly reach out to rub him behind the ears. It's strange to say, but I feel like this dog is looking into my soul, with those dark eyes.
“Summer,” Grant says in warning.
“Hush, Grant. He's not going too hurt me,” I say, without looking away from Duke. After a few seconds of me scratching his ears, he sits down and rests his head on my shoulder and sniffs my hair. I laugh and start petting his back. Grant's right, he is bigger than me, but I don't feel scared. If anything I feel protected.
“It looks like you've made a friend Summer,” Katie says and I can hear the smile in her voice.
I stand up, dusting myself off and look at Grant. His eyes have gone soft, but he is still smirking. “We're getting him, aren't we?” he asks.
I nod my head and smile, “Yes.”
His smirk turns into a grin, “He's coming home with us right now, isn't he?”
I nod my head again and look at Katie, “Is that okay? Can I take him home today?”
She smiles at us. “You can. He is up to date on his shots. You just need to set up an appointment for his check-up, before you leave. I will have Hadden bring all of your paperwork out here for you to fill out.” She looks down at Duke, “It looks like you've got a home, buddy.”
Duke lets out another deep bark, as if he is agreeing with her, before coming over to me and rubbing his head on my hip.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Grant
I CAN'T BELIEVE SUMMER ADOPTED a giant. As we drive to the pet store, I have had to bite my tongue several times, to stop myself from laughing. Duke is laying in the backseat of my truck, his body stretched out best he can, with his large head stuck between the seats resting on Summer's arm. When I reach my hand over his head, so that I can try to hold Summers hand, he looks up at me with an expression that clearly states, I'm in his way. I can't hold back my laughter anymore. Summer turns and looks up at me with a confused expression on her face, which only makes me laugh harder. I'm laughing so hard that I have tears forming in my eyes and I have to pull the truck over.
“What in the heck is so funny, Grant?” Summer demands.
When I finally get control of myself, I look over to see her and Duke both looking at me like I'm nuts. I immediately fall back into another fit of laughter.
Summer reaches over and pinches the underside of my arm. “Are you laughing at me?” she asks, sounding a little hurt.
I try my best to school my features, but I'm still grinning like a lunatic when I look over at her. Now her and the dog both look pissed off.
“No, sweetheart, I would never laugh at you, but you have to admit this situation is a little funny. You are the only woman I know that would pick this beast of a dog over every other one,” I say pointing towards Duke.
She frowns at me, before scratching Duke behind his ears. “I like him,” she says quietly.
Duke gives me a look that says 'You're being an asshole' and pushes closer to Summer's hand. I chuckle quietly, before reaching over and putting my hand on Summer's leg.
“He likes you too, beautiful. I've never seen a dog bond with someone so quickly,” I reassure her.
“I know this is going to sound weird, but it was like he saw me and not just what's on the outside. When he was looking at my eyes, it was almost like he could see everything I've been through. Is that weird?” she whispers.
I give her leg a squeeze and look down at Duke. “No, Summer, it's not weird. You know, they say dogs are a good judge of character. He must have sensed what kind of person you are and wants to protect you. I can relate.” I say with a small laugh, as I pet the giant on his back. He looks up at me lazily, before laying his head back down on Summer.
“Alright, we still have about ten minutes, until we get to the pet store. We better get going,” I say, as I switch my truck into drive and pull back out onto the road.
“Oh, I meant to ask you, if it's okay with you, I want to have a birthday party for you the weekend after next, at my house,” Summer says.
I glance over at her, before turning my gaze my back to the road. I don't think I've had a birthday party since I was a kid. I've gone out with my friends and celebrated, but an actual party is just something I haven't done in awhile. When I was overseas, my idea of a good birthday was not getting shot at or no one else in my platoon getting shot at. The fact that Summer wants to do this for me shows me how much she cares.
“Beautiful, do you think Duke could spare your arm? I want to hold your hand.”
She moves her arm, places it on my leg and I intertwine my fingers through hers.
<
br /> “Grant, you didn't answer. Is a birthday party okay? I haven't called anyone, yet. You can say no if you want to,” she says quietly, sounding unsure of herself.
I bring our joined hands up to my mouth, giving the back of her's a kiss. “I was just thinking of how I haven't had a birthday party in a long time. I would love that. Thank you,” I say sincerely.
She smiles wide and leans over Duke, to give me a kiss on the cheek. “You're welcome.”
“Remind me when we get home to get your sister and brother's phone numbers from you.”
I try to control my reaction, but my hand spasms in her's. From the corner of my eye, I see her look over at me and I quickly school my features. I'm still stuck on the word 'home' and how easily that flowed from her mouth. Her renovations will be done in a few days and she will be going back to her house. It's too early in our relationship for us to move in together, but I've gotten use to her being in my space, her clothes scattered in my bedroom and her products all over my bathroom. I'm going to miss it and I have a feeling my house is going to feel pretty damn empty. I want a home with Summer someday, where I can see those things everyday, and it's not just temporary.
“Alright, sweetheart,” I say a little too roughly.
I might have to wait awhile before I have a home with Summer, but that doesn't mean we can't sleep in the same bed as often as possible. On that thought I smile as I pull into Petco.
“Let's go scare some people with your giant dog.”
She looks at Duke and then me and frowns, “He's not scary.”
I throw my head back and laugh. She is so damn cute. God, I love this woman.
* * *
We had to drive two towns over to go to the pet store, so by the time we get home I'm starving. Summer makes a quick batch of spaghetti and a salad, while I get duke situated in his temporary home. I set his gigantic dog bed down on the floor of the living room and point to it. “Alright, buddy, Summer insisted on that huge ass bed, so sleep on it, not my couch. Got it?”
He cocks his head to the side and continues to look at me. I have to admit, maybe Summer was right. When he looks at me with that steady gaze, it kind of freaks me out. With one last look at me he turns and jumps up on my couch. With a sigh, I decide to just leave him. He's too damn big for me to try to move him anyway.