Chapter 25
Lynch
ONE MONTH LATER
“You said this place needed a little work.” Country grimaced as he took a glance around. “You didn’t say it was falling apart.”
“It’s not that bad.” I grabbed a couple of cans of paint and some rollers out of the back of the SUV, then handed them to Country. “It just needs a little TLC.”
“Are you not seeing what I’m seeing?” Country motioned his hand towards the animal shelter as he complained, “There’s not enough TLC in the world to help this place.”
“Never said it was gonna be easy.”
“No, but this is gonna be a real ballbuster.”
He was right.
The shelter was in a pitiful state and would take a shit-ton of work to fix it up, but when I turned and saw the excited look on Rae’s face as she talked with the girls, I knew it would be worth it. This shelter had come to mean a great deal to her.
While her vision had improved, it was still far from being back to normal, and even wearing the glasses Dr. Grant had prescribed for her, she wasn’t able to drive or go to work.
Rae did what she could from home to finish the preparations for the anniversary party for Rebecca’s folks and the Sullivan wedding, and they both went off without a hitch.
But once the planning was done, it didn’t take her long to get stir-crazy sitting in her apartment, so she started spending more and more time at the animal shelter. Being there with Ms. Leah, Haleigh, and all the animals did wonders for Rae’s frame of mind.
I wanted to do something to show my appreciation, so I got Country and a few of the other brothers and their ol’ ladies to come help Rae and me fix up the place.
I knew it was going to be a helluva job, and I tried to warn them, but Country clearly didn’t get the memo.
“It’s for a good cause, so quit your bellyaching and carry that shit inside. ”
“Yeah, yeah,” Country grumbled as he started for the front door. “Just remember, you’re gonna owe me big for this one.”
After Shotgun and I checked with the girls to make sure they had everything they needed, we went over and helped Rafe, Hawk, and Locke get the rest of our supplies from the back of the SUV. Once we had everything we needed, we headed inside.
When we got to the rear of the shelter, Country was standing between two of the kennels with a pained expression on his face. “Awe, hell naw.”
“What’s wrong now?”
“This is what’s wrong.” He leaned down and picked up one of the smaller pups, then cradled it against his chest while stroking its head. “What’s the deal with all these fucking puppies, man?”
“What the hell did you expect? It’s an animal shelter, Country.”
“Yeah, but look at ’em. How are you supposed to resist a face like this?” Country shook his head as he looked down at the puppy and muttered, “I don’t need a dog. I don’t need a dog. I don’t want a dog. I. Do. Not. Want. A. Dog.”
“You think it’s bad now, just wait until Kiersten sees him.”
“Oh, fuck me. You’re right.” He looked down at the puppy and sighed. “I’m so screwed.”
Locke nudged me with his elbow and said, “You know, it starts with a puppy. Won’t be long before she’ll be wantin’ a baby, too.”
“A baby?” Country’s eyes widened with panic. “Nah, surely not.”
“Afraid so, brother. Puppies and babies go hand in hand.”
“He’s right.” I couldn’t help but smile as I teased him. “Maybe you should take two of them. That might keep her busy for a little while.”
“Two? Ah, shit. I’m so screwed.” Country held the pup up to his face and said, “I’m gonna need you not to do that cute puppy shit with my girl. You got that?”
We all laughed as we watched Country shake his head, then grumbled as he put the puppy back in the kennel. He walked over to us and said, “Keep laughing, asshats. Your girls will be wanting one of them, too. Just wait and see.”
No one said a word.
Everyone knew he was right.
It was only a matter of time before Delilah or Remington or any of the other ol’ ladies saw the adorable pups and started pleading to take one home. Rafe grumbled curses under his breath as he propped the ladder against the wall and said, “We’re wasting daylight, boys. Let’s get to work.”
The girls had already started working out front by pulling weeds and picking up trash, which left us to get started on painting, fixing the broken cages, and patching the roof.
We decided to split up and work in pairs.
Shotgun and Hawk got started on the roof while Country and Rafe helped Locke and me repair the broken cages and latches.
It took us some time to move the dogs over to one of the empty kennels, but once we had them sorted, repairing the metal links wasn’t too bad of a fix.
We’d been at it for several hours and were just about to start painting when Rae and Haleigh came over to Locke and me. Rae was beaming with excitement as she told us, “Oh wow! You boys have been busy! It’s looking good in here.”
“Just doing what we can.”
“Well, it’s amazing. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank y’all for this.”
“You know we’re glad to do it.”
The words had barely left my mouth when our attention was drawn to Rebecca and Kiersten as they squealed over a group of schnauzer puppies. As soon as Country saw that Kiersten had picked one of them up, he started fussing, “Don’t even think about it, babe.”
“But look at her! She’s so sweet!”
“Don’t care,” he grumbled. “We do not need a puppy.”
I knew the minute she looked at him with those pleading eyes that there’d be no way he’d tell her no. “Please, Grayson. I really want her, and we have plenty of room out at the Manor. And you know that Bray and the guys would help us keep an eye on her.”
“Okay, okay ... You can have one.” Remembering my suggestion, Country looked over to me and shook his head. “But she might get lonesome out there. Probably best to get two of ’em.”
“Really?”
Kiersten couldn’t have looked more excited as she squatted down and started searching for their second puppy. Rebecca joined in on the fun, and it wasn’t long before she found one that caught her attention. “Oh, Kiersten, look at this one! I think Cat would adore her!”
“She would.” Kiersten leaned over to her and smiled. “But I’m not sure what Viper would have to say about it.”
“This is true.” Rebecca kissed the pup on top of its head, then shrugged. “I think I’ll give it a little time before I broach the subject of a pet.”
Rae was busy watching Rebecca and Kiersten fawn all over their soon-to-be new puppies when I walked over to her and said, “You got a second?”
“Sure.” She picked up the runt of the litter and held it up to her face. “You wanting to take one of these guys home?”
I motioned my hand over to the wall where I had used the roller to paint Move In With Me in large letters and said, “Only if that means you’ll be coming with him.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” I stepped over to her and placed my hands on her hips, pulling her close. “I’ve tried to be patient and give you the time you needed to adjust after surgery, but I’m ready for you to be at home with me where you belong.”
“Where I belong, huh?”
“Absolutely.” I lowered my mouth to that sweet spot between her shoulder and ear and kissed her softly before whispering, “You’re mine, babe, and I want you all to myself.”
She wound her arms around my neck and smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, Conor.” She was smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll move in with you.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tight, then kissed her long and hard. After we finished up at the shelter, Rae and I headed over to my place, and we spent the night making plans for her big move.
The next morning, I awoke with Rae curled up next to me. Her head was nestled beside my shoulder, and as I lay there gazing at her, I knew she was right where she was meant to be—in my bed and in my arms.
I looked forward to having her right there with me day after day, year after year. The thought had me easing up on all fours and straddling her.
Her eyes remained closed as I hovered over her for a moment, appraising her gorgeous body.
I felt a little guilty about waking her up, but the feeling quickly vanished when her beautiful, full lips curled into a smile.
I slid my hands underneath her and reached for her lace panties, then glided them down her long, sexy legs. “Hey there, beautiful.”
She never opened her eyes as she murmured, “Hey.”
I lowered my head between her legs, and with my mouth just inches from her, I asked, “How’d you sleep?”
“Good.”
I brushed my tongue across her and watched with a sense of satisfaction as her back arched off the bed. “Do you have any idea how crazy you make me?”
She opened her eyes and looked at me, shaking her head no. I eased my fingers deep inside her, teasing the spot that drove her wild. “I think you do.”
A pleasured moan vibrated through her chest as I ran my tongue along her wet center. I inched my fingers deeper, then moved them—first slow and methodical, then faster and harder.
The sounds of her soft whimpers echoed through the room as I continued to work her over with my mouth. Her taste had my cock throbbing with an uncontrollable need to be inside her, and when I couldn’t wait any longer, I quickly removed my boxers and settled myself between her legs.
I placed my mouth close to her ear and whispered, “You’re mine, Raelyn, every fucking inch of you, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you never forget it.”
“And you’re mine.” Tears filled her eyes as she placed the palms of her hands on my face. “I love you, Conor.”
“I love you, too. All of you. Now and always.”
“Now and always.”