“Probably not. I trusted Austin and his disloyalty was spectacular. To this day, I don’t understand how he could claim to care about me and then watch as that was happening to me. Or participate. As for my mother, I suppose it was my own fault for expecting anything more of her. She stayed true to who she was by going after the money but I as I laid on that bathroom floor crying, I had hoped she would be more.”
“Baby, you have no idea how much I want to fix it all for you and it kills me that I can’t. I do so much for women like your sister and I can’t do anything to help you.”
I turn to look at him, choked up by how much he cares. “But you do help me, Chance. From the moment we met, you started healing what they broke and there are moments with you where I can let go and not be that girl anymore. At least, for a little while.”
Sitting up, he leans over and presses his lips to mine as he cradles my face. Just as I’m sinking into the kiss, I feel something hitting my shirt and jerk back. Glancing down, I find a wet spot on my t-shirt, right underneath the puppy in my arm and I start to laugh. Chance shakes his head, fighting back a smile.
“Ready to get out of here?”
I shake my head. “Just a few more minutes.”
“Okay,” he says, turning back to watch the puppies climb all over each other.
“I actually have a question for you.”
His eyes widen and he sits up straight. “Oh, shit, this is new. Let me prepare myself.”
“Shut up.” I laugh, shoving him. He falls to one side and a few puppies jump up and swarm him. “I was wondering if you could tell me more about Logan’s grandparents.”
“Yeah,” he replies with a soft smile and from just a look, I can see his fondness for them. “So, as you know, my home life wasn’t great and Logan’s dad ran off when he was a kid so his grandparents watched him when his mom had to work. They had this cabin out in the woods with a lake in the backyard and we loved going out there. Elsie and Samuel were just amazing to be around, you know? They had the kind of energy that drew people to them and as a kid from a broken home, seeing their love for each other and for Logan, it just stuck with me.”
“I was always jealous when I saw a dad and daughter out somewhere, like they were taunting me with the missing piece of my life, you know?” I offer up and he nods.
“Yeah, there was definitely some of that but mostly they taught me that I didn’t have to be my upbringing. Samuel knew about my mom and her boyfriends, so he always made it a point to teach me how to treat a lady and how to be a good man.”
“He did a pretty fantastic job.”
He flashes me a shy smile. “Thanks, Princess.”
“How did they fall in love?”
Chance laughs, shaking his head. “Well, if you asked Samuel, he would tell you about the time he saw Elsie kick a bully in the shin on the playground. They were just kids and he said he knew in that moment she was meant for him.”
“And if you asked Elsie?”
“They had always been friends, but she didn’t find out about Samuel’s feelings for her until high school. After he graduated, Samuel joined the Army and it was hard, but they made it work. After he was discharged, he built the cabin for her.”
“Sounds like you know the story pretty well.”
He nods. “Yeah, well, they told it often and they would look at each other and you could just see the connection. Even as a kid, I recognized it was something special and I wanted it. And now, I’ve found it.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks and I glance down at the puppy in my lap. “I never thought I’d be happy like this. After everything they did to me, I thought this wasn’t in the cards for me, but you showed me how wrong I was.”
“Anytime you need me to straighten you out, I’ll be here, Darlin.”
I roll my eyes and he laughs as I set the puppy in my arms down to play.
“You ready to get out of here?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah.”
We take the puppies back to their cages, making sure they’re all comfy before we head back out to the hallway. Chance takes my hand and pulls it to his lips, smirking at me as he kisses it.
My mood is definitely improved from earlier and despite my objections, I know this is exactly what I needed. Plus, Chance was right. If anything happens, someone will get in contact with us. I can’t spend all day in my apartment, worrying myself to death. If Ivy were here right now, she would insist I get out and have fun with my man.
“So, where to next?” I ask as Chance opens the passenger door of his truck and helps me up.
“The apartment.”
“What? Why?”
“Because, you need to change,” he says, glancing down at my t-shirt. I wince at the dog hair and pee spot before nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, okay.”
Nodding, he shuts my door and circles behind the truck before climbing in behind the wheel and firing the truck up. As we pull out of the parking lot, he grabs my hand and I turn to the window, a smile on my face.
Who knew I could be this happy?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Carly
Opening my eyes, I yawn and stretch my arms over my head, squinting at the sunlight flooding into the room from the windows. How do I always forget to close those damn blinds?
“Don’t move,” Chance grumbles, tightening his arms around my body and I peek over my shoulder at him.
“Why not?”
He peels one eye open to glare at me. “I’m comfy.”
“Well, I’m hungry,” I say, rolling over to face him as my stomach growls. He scowls but the smile in his eyes gives him away. Before he can say anything else, his phone starts ringing and he groans, rolling over to grab it off the bedside table.
“What’s up?” he asks as soon as he answers it. After listening for a second, he sits up and runs a hand through his hair. When he glances over at me, I know it’s time. I’ve been waiting for the past four days to hear what Streak was able to dig up on Julian and each day that passed only made me more anxious. “Yeah, we’ll be there.”
He hangs up and turns to me. “Everyone’s meeting at the clubhouse to go over your sister’s case.”
“Okay.” I nod and jump up, flinging the covers behind me as I rush into the bathroom and throw my hair up into a bun. After Chance took me to the animal shelter, I was able to relax a little bit but worry over Ivy has always been at the edge of my mind and I’m more than ready for answers.
“Baby, we got a little time if you want to slow down and maybe eat some breakfast,” Chance says from the doorway as I brush my teeth and I shake my head. I spit in the sink before turning back to him.
“I can’t. I just want to go to the clubhouse.”
He sighs and nods. I know he’s concerned that I’m worrying too much but with the imminent onslaught of information, my stomach is rolling and I’m not sure I could keep anything down. Besides, food seems so trivial now that we’re finally going to start talking about how to help Ivy.
“I’ll get dressed then. But after the meeting, we’re getting you some food, deal?” he asks and I nod.
“Promise, babe.” I give him a quick kiss before going back to brushing my teeth and he turns back into the bedroom to get dressed. When I’m done, I go to the closet and pull a pair of jeans and white t-shirt out of the dresser, quickly throwing them on and slipping on black leather booties.