Chapter 26

twenty-six

. . .

Ruby

“Isit possible that you’re nicer than you pretend to be?” River asked, as he pulled into the parking lot at the pound.

“No. It’s not possible,” I said dryly.

He turned off the car and shifted to face me. “You’ve volunteered at Fresh Start every day for weeks, you visit my grandmother at the nursing home all the time, and now you’ve dragged me to the pound to get a dog for your childhood nemesis.”

I rolled my eyes dramatically. “First off, I smoked all the ladies at gin rummy, so it was hardly a hardship. Fresh Start is like my mother ship. I’ve always fit in with troubled souls, so I feel comfortable there. And lastly, calling Midge Longhorn my childhood nemesis is a bit dramatic, no?”

His lips turned up in the corners. There were moments with River when I tried hard to memorize every detail of his handsome face. I’d never felt so much joy at seeing someone smile as I did him. Like I’d earned something the rest of the world didn’t get to experience. He smiled a lot with me. And I liked it.

“It was the one time in over two decades that you’d cried. Are you claiming you like her now?” He smirked. “You going soft on me, Queenie?”

“Don’t misread empathy for being soft. I know what it’s like to want something so badly it hurts.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying.

“Yeah?” he asked, reaching for my hand and intertwining our fingers. This was our thing now. We were sappy bastards ever since the Fourth of July three weeks ago. He’d kissed me in front of our friends and then announced that I was leaving soon, and it was temporary, so they should get used to it for a few weeks. And no one seemed slightly surprised by the act. “What do you want so badly that it hurts?”

The first thing that popped into my mind was River.

Wild River.

The man who made me feel comfortable in my own skin. The man who made me laugh and even made me cry during sex multiple times. He was perfectly unattainable. The worst kind of torture, yet I just kept falling deeper.

I was no longer harnessed to any sort of safe space. I was just falling a little more every day, knowing how much it was going to hurt when it ended.

I’d never let myself do that before.

I’d never let myself feel this much.

I knew better, yet here I was.

You.

“Bullet, remember?” I smirked.

“But you’re here getting the woman who stole Bullet a dog. And why the fuck isn’t Midge here? Why is this our problem?”

“Hey, lose the attitude, dude. I agreed to let you kiss me in public. You owe me.”

He laughed, and it echoed around the cab. “I owe you, huh? How about I pay you right now?”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“I can pull you into the back seat, lift that little skirt you’ve got on, and let you ride me until you come so hard you forget where we are.”

Did it just get hot in here?

“You’ve got a filthy mouth, River Pierce, but that’s a hard no right now. Midge is meeting us here, and I am not about to risk her catching me having sex in the back seat with my non-boyfriend. Let’s get in there and have you intimidate the shit out of Doug Callan. If Midge leaves with a dog, you just might get lucky tonight.”

He got lucky every night. I was kind of a sure thing when it came to River. But it was still fun to tease him.

“You know, when I went to law school, I never imagined I’d be intimidating some old dude just to get the woman I’m not dating a dog for her nemesis.”

“What can I say? Life is full of surprises.” I waggled my brows, and he jumped out of the car and came around to get my door.

He was a walking contradiction. A dirty-talking gentleman. He had no problem whispering filthy things in my ear or pissing me off by challenging me at the most ridiculous things—yet he always opened my door and pulled out my chair for me.

“Speaking of surprises, did the dean like the latest tweaks I made to the contract?”

Yes, we were still negotiating the contract. River found yet another loophole that he insisted could screw me over if I signed it, so we’d returned it for the third time.

“He didn’t make any snide comments this time. He said he’d get it back to me this week, and he was looking forward to me having a long career teaching there.”

Three weeks. That was what we were down to. My father was coming home in two weeks, as he’d made amazing progress. But I’d have one week with him at home to help him adjust, and I’d worked out a schedule at the bar with the staff, which meant he didn’t need to work long hours anymore.

Everything had come together.

“Good. Now, don’t try to get involved in what’s about to go down in here. You got me? I’ve got this handled. What time is Midge getting here?” he asked, and I looked down to see a message from her that had just come in.

“The yellow canary has landed.” I chuckled before typing back a message for her to wait for my text before coming inside. I needed to make sure we had Doug on board before he did anything to upset her. Turns out, Midge Longhorn was just lonely. She desperately wanted a dog, and I wasn’t leaving Magnolia Falls until she had one.

One that wasn’t stolen and belonged to her.

“Who the hell is the yellow canary?” River whisper-hissed as he pulled the door open and motioned for me to step inside.

“Do you not watch spy movies? The yellow canary is Midge in this scenario.”

“I don’t think she’d be a canary. She’s more like a vulture.”

I snapped my fingers in front of his face. “Stay focused. It’s game time.”

He shook his head and walked toward the front desk. “Is Doug Callan in?”

“Yes. May I ask who’s asking?” the teenage girl working behind the counter asked.

“Sure. Tell Doug it’s his worst freaking nightmare that’s asking, how about that?” I spewed, and the girl’s eyes went wide before she ran off.

“What was the one thing that I asked you to do?” River asked, voice totally even and in control as he looked at me.

“Sorry. My adrenaline is pumping.”

He leaned down so his lips were grazing the side of my ear. “If you plan on getting pumped later… you best close that mouth of yours and let me handle this.”

I smiled when he pulled back. “I like how you tied that together.”

“You’re talking again.” He raised a brow, his eyes darker than usual. “I know a way to shut that pretty mouth of yours up.”

Damn. Normally I would throat-punch a guy for saying that to me, but the way River was saying it was hot as hell.

I pressed forward, wanting his mouth on mine because now he’d completely ruined my adrenaline rush, and I was horny as hell.

He nipped at my bottom lip. “Not yet, Queenie.”

“Can I help you?” the older man walking our way said. He had an edge for a man in his sixties with a beer belly. He sported a few tattoos on his forearms, and his T-shirt read: I’m just here for the pussy. Not at all what I was expecting, but I was ready to see River work his magic.

“Yes, you can,” River said, turning to face the man who was two or three inches shorter than him. “I have a friend who’s been trying to adopt a dog for, what is it, honey?” He turned to me, using that smart-ass tone of his. “Twenty-five years now, she’s been trying to get a dog?”

“Yes. You’re spot on, darling.” I raised a brow before glaring at Doug, the douchebag.

“Let me guess, Midge Longhorn sent you here.” He chuckled this maniacal laugh that you’d hear in a movie from the lead mean girl. He was a little old for this role, but I wouldn’t have expected Midge to have an ex-boyfriend who wasn’t a little unusual.

“You’d be correct. I’m River Pierce, Midge’s lawyer.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Doug groaned. “It’s not a crime to deny someone’s application for a pet. She’s unfit, and she isn’t getting a dog.”

I started to huff, and River’s hand found mine, squeezing just enough to remind me to keep quiet.

“Let me tell you why you’re wrong, Doug,” he said, his voice sexy and gruff as he squared his shoulders. “It is unlawful to deny a woman’s application for a pet just because she broke your heart.”

“How about she married my brother? Does that seem lawful to you?”

“Listen, I understand why you’re angry with her. I really do. But the woman wants to adopt a dog, and she’ll provide a good home, so she should be allowed to do so.” River paused, and his shoulders relaxed. “Come on, dude. You’ve punished her for twenty-five years. Let’s call a truce.”

“What the fuck is in it for you?” Doug crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’ll tell you, man-to-man, what’s in it for me. You see this gorgeous woman beside me?”

Doug peered around River’s shoulder and looked at me. “Yes.”

“Well, she hates me most of the time, and I’ve only got her here for three more weeks, and she’s agreed to go home with me tonight if you give Midge the dog. So, basically, Doug, I’m not leaving here without that fucking dog. I can make things very uncomfortable for you. You’ve got plenty of violations going on outside this building, with extension cords running across the sidewalk and duct tape on the windows. I’d hate to bring the city down here to check that out.”

“Damn. You’ve clearly got it bad, and you’re willing to fuck me over if I don’t do what you want. All for a woman?” Doug said, shaking his head with disgust.

“We seem to understand one another,” was all River said.

“So, if I give Midge the dog, you leave, and we don’t have a problem?”

“That’s the deal.” River glanced over his shoulder and winked at me.

Too smooth for his own good.

“Fine. Let’s make it quick.”

“She’s actually here. I’ll text her to come inside and take a look at the dogs,” I said, typing out a message to Midge.

“I’m assuming you don’t want to see her?” River said.

“Oh, I’m definitely going to see her. I go to the Golden Goose once a week just to glare at her.”

River barked out a laugh. “This ought to be interesting.”

Midge came walking through the door with a wicked grin on her face like she’d just won some big feat. She looked between the three of us, and her gaze landed on Doug’s. “Hello, asshole.”

“Hello, home-wrecker,” Doug said.

“You sure like to bring up my faults, but you fail to mention that you slept with my best friend before things started with your brother,” she hissed.

I wished I had a bucket of popcorn because this was like watching reality TV at its finest.

“I’ve told you many times that I never slept with Rhonda!” He was shouting now.

“Oh, I just caught you in her bed for a sleepover?” She moved closer to him and pointed her finger in his face. “Payback is a bitch, Dougy boy. Now, take me to see the dogs.”

“Family is off-limits, and you know that,” he grumped.

“You don’t even like him!” she shouted.

“Yeah, because he married my goddamn wife,” Doug hissed.

“Listen,” River said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “As riveting as this conversation is, I’ve got things to do. Can you continue this after she gets the dog, please?”

“That’s fine with me.” Midge shrugged. “We could discuss it further over coffee if you’d like.”

Doug’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t mind that. I could use the caffeine.”

“Great. You can help me get my new pup settled, and I’ll put on a pot of coffee. I keep your favorite hazelnut creamer at the house.” She shrugged.

My mouth gaped open, and I looked up to see River watching me with a smile on his face.

We’d recently discovered that we had a gift for communicating without words. Basically, I could tell him he was annoying me without saying it aloud, and he could do the same.

So, I gave him a look. Midge still has feelings for Doug, and I think he has feelings for her, too.

He raised a brow, and one side of his mouth quirked up like the cocky bastard he was. No shit, Sherlock.

Doug led us into the back, and we walked past two rows of kennels with adorable dogs just waiting to be adopted.

I wouldn’t mind adopting one myself. Hell, I’d been out riding horses with Demi and Cutler every weekend, and a part of me wondered what it would be like to have a ranch house with animals here.

A totally different life than the one I’d just agreed to start living in a few weeks.