Epilogue
Ulysses
Two months. Give or take .
The give had been all of two weeks and the take had been even less than that.
As we stood in the lobby Hearts and Paws, Finn vibrated with excitement.
I nudged my boyfriend. “Do you know that guy?” I pointed toward the Black gentleman who stood by the billboard of pets available for rescue.
The guy was about my height. His bald pate shone in the sunlight coming in from the window.
His beard was overgrown and his eyebrows were a little bushy.
I didn’t want to say unkempt—but definitely not someone I would think of as a corporate type.
Of course, the flannel shirt and dirty jeans also leant themselves more to lumberjack than boardroom.
And the dude was built. Solid muscle—visible even under the clothes.
Finn shook his head. Then, in true Finn fashion, he stepped toward the man and extended his hand. “Finn O’Sullivan. I volunteer here, but I’m picking up my rescue dog today.”
Slowly, the man reciprocated. “Carver. I’m also here picking up a rescue. Well, a pair.”
“Oh? That’s great! Is Carver your first name or your last name? Oh, this is my boyfriend, Ulysses. He’s the editor of the Mission City Gazette. You might already know that. I’m a firefighter.”
“I read the newspaper. So I know who you both are.” He cleared his throat. “It’s just Carver.” He caught my gaze.
I nodded back. Might’ve been my imagination, but I detected a guy who just wanted to be left alone.
Finn could be…a little much. Enthusiasm in spades and a man who wore his heart on his sleeve. A damn easy man to love.
Yanna entered the lobby. She had one small dog in her arms and another on a leash. “Okay, Carver. You remember Walter.” She rubbed the ears of the dog in her arms. The older mutt with mobility issues. “And Poppin is sure glad to see you.”
The dog was pulling her way toward the guy.
Carver stepped forward, and dropped to his haunches. “Hello, Poppin. Are you looking forward to coming home with me?” He held out his hand.
She licked it with great enthusiasm.
Walter yipped.
Carver stuck out his hand for Walter to sniff.
“I’m right here. I have two hands, so I promise you’ll each always get lots of pets and love.
” He cast a glance over his shoulder to meet my gaze.
“I read the profiles you wrote in the paper, and when Yanna said they could go together, I knew this was meant to be.”
“Oh God, that’s so lovely.” Finn pressed a hand to his chest. “I wanted to take all of them, but Ulysses can only take one dog to work with him and Thelma will be harder to place because she’s a pittie mix although, let’s be honest, she’s just a big mush pot.”
“I considered Thelma…but I think I like little dogs who get overlooked.” He gave Poppin scritches behind her ear. “We’re going to be a family.”
Finn sighed. “We are too. I mean, Ulysses is moving in with me, and we’re rescuing Thelma, so that’s a sort of family.”
I put my arm around Finn’s waist and drew him close. “I think Carver understands.”
“That family comes in all shapes and sizes? Yes, I get that. Congratulations on moving in together. That’s a big step.” The man offered a warm smile that lit his eyes.
Still, I sensed an underlying sadness.
“Do you need help with the harnesses and tethers? You’ve got your SUV set up, right?” Yanna handed Walter to Carver.
“Yes, I do.” He nodded. “Gallia at Wags and Love helped me set everything up. Everything is ready at home. This is the last stop.”
Walter licked his chin.
“Thank you, buddy. I think we’re going to do just fine.” To Yanna, he said, “And we’ve got appointments with Dr. Dixon tomorrow to get them checked.”
“Dr. Zephyra has their records.” Yanna handed him a cloth bag with the shelter’s logo on it. “Poppin’s meds are in there. Make certain you take them with you to the appointment tomorrow.”
“I will.” Carver grasped the bag with the hand holding Poppin’s leash.
“Oh, can I say goodbye?” Finn blinked.
“Of course.” Carver advanced toward my boyfriend with his new brood.
As Finn said his farewells, I moved toward the counter where Yanna stood. “Busy day.”
She grinned. “The best. Thank you for the stories. Especially the one about how I didn’t know.”
Before she could start again, I waved her off. “You’re good. Hopefully more volunteers will come. I know Finn plans to keep coming by.”
“That’s good of him.”
“He’s the best.”
“Yes, he truly is.” She smiled. ‘Let me go get Thelma. I’ll be right back.” With that, she was gone.
“Let me grab the door.” Finn opened the door and held it as Carver and the two dogs departed. When the door was closed, he made his way over to me. “Oh God, wasn’t that the sweetest ever? I was so worried about those two—and they’ve gone together!”
I pulled him in for a long hug. “You’re a good man.”
He eyed me. “So are you, you know. Inviting Mom over tonight even though it’s your first official night living with me.”
“Well, you’re a mama’s boy in the best possible way. And your mom knows someone interested in buying my condo. So, uh, win/win.”
“You’re so cute.”
“And here we are.” Yanna emerged with a very excited Thelma.
Finn and I both dropped to our haunches as the pittie mix launched herself at us. Somehow, she managed to lick both of us pretty much at the same time.
We all laughed.
Yanna handed me the leash. “I assume you’ve visited Gallia as well?”
“Yep. Everything’s arranged at home.” My smile was about a mile wide.
“We even fixed up the old dog run so she’ll be able to go outside safely.” Finn grinned. “She’s going to have the best life ever.”
“She’ll have the two of you—she’s very lucky. I’ll see you next week, right?” Yanna held Finn’s gaze.
“Of course. Thelma will be with Ulysses that day, so I can come around and hang out with the cats.”
“Oh, we have a new bonded pair of seniors who arrived yesterday. Tragic story. Kirk and Spock. If they’re still here, maybe you can spend some time with them?”
Finn caught my gaze.
I tilted my head. “Let’s get Thelma settled first. We don’t even know if she likes cats—”
“She loves cats. Used to live with one.” Yanna tried for innocent.
I wasn’t buying it for a moment. “Kirk and Spock, eh?”
“Yep.”
“We’ll get back to you.”
Finn grinned. He took Thelma’s leash, we waved goodbye to Yanna, and we headed out to my SUV. After he secured her in the back seat, we got into the front.
“Hey, Finn. There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
He leaned back so Thelma could lick his ear. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“Well first, that I’m okay if we rescue a pair of senior cats.”
“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
“If Thelma is as good with them as Yanna seems to think she will be? Sure…why not?”
He pecked my cheek. “I promise to stop at three.”
Given I’d half expected to be coming home with Walter and Poppin, I was already impressed by his restraint.
“There’s something else.”
“Oh?” He arched an eyebrow.
I swallowed. “I love you.”
His eyes widened. “Can you repeat that?”
“I love you. I’m ready to tell you now. I knew a while ago. For sure at the fire, but really the night you took me to the basketball game. But—” I swallowed. “I couldn’t trust myself. Couldn’t trust us. I wanted to be certain…that I was good enough for you.”
He cocked his head. “Ulysses? I love you too. I’m happy we finally figured it out. Together.”
“I’m glad I stopped my motorcycle for you.”
“Well, I think Rodney Saunders stopped it for you. Damn kid. Still, if he hadn’t been joyriding, we might not have wound up together. Although, I have to say, even if you hadn’t stopped, I would’ve found you anyway. We were meant to be together, and I really love you too.”
I leaned over.
He met me halfway.
We kissed.
Thelma nuzzled us.
Yep, our own family.
My found family.
Forever.