Page 18 of Refurbished

Most of the whitetails stopped on the other side of the lake, but Annabelle and her fawns walked toward us. She twitched her ears, and I smiled. “That’s Annabelle,” I said quietly.

“Ohhhhh.” He whispered. I put both of his hands together like a cup and filled them with feed. Annabelle nuzzled along my sleeve but slowly worked her way over to Angus. Her lips moved along his hand, and he giggled. Then she nibbled the food from him. Once she finished eating, I took a handful and offered it to her.

“You can pet her. Slow movements.”

Carefully, he moved his hand down her forehead, then over her nose. His eyes were still huge, and the smile on his face made my chest tight. Some of the other members of the herd wandered over, and we fed them. After a bit, he took my hand again, and we sat there quietly watching them drink and graze. Eventually, they all wandered back into the woods.

“What did you think?”

“Eion. That’s amazing. You called them from the woods. You’re like a Disney princess. Annabelle is beautiful. They ate from me, right here in my hands. And I pet her. She was so nice. She had babies. Are they all rescues? Do they all have names? Do they need names? Eion.”

He was babbling, which was already a good sign, as it meant he was both happy and nervous. “I’m glad you got to meet my girl.”

There were a lot of things I wanted to tell him—share with him. There was a lot of potential with Angus, and I wanted it more than anything. There were still secrets, and I hoped those wouldn’t come between us. Not sure when I started to hope, but for now, it felt good to have this. I was glad that he didn’t seem to notice that I held one really big thing back.

He was right. This was the best. Date. Ever.

Chapter nine

ANGUS

I didn’t want to stop holding Eion’s hand, but he had to carry the cooler. The day was about as perfect as you could get. One of the best parts was seeing him in his element, which was the glorious icing on this date. As we headed back to the main buildings, I didn’t want the afternoon to end. We’d been together for four hours, but it felt like twenty minutes. I wanted more.

As we walked back toward the nursery, I started walking next to him on his left. He slowed and rearranged, so I was on his right. This wasn’t the first time he had done this type of move. I wondered why he never had me on his left side, but assumed he had a vision or hearing problem. It didn’t matter if he had some sort of disability, because I liked him a lot, a lot. The important part about today was that we had held hands and touched each other several times. I could still feel the sparks that were under my skin every time we made contact. There was a special energy between us, and I craved more.

“I had a wonderful afternoon. I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun.”

He looked at me. “Really?” I hoped he wouldn’t slip back into anxiety, where he would respond with only one word. It was kind of adorable when he’d get flustered and have to walk away, but having him talk to me was much better. There were so many things I wanted to know about him, like how he ended up with Annabelle in the first place. He said he would tell me, and I trusted that.

“Really. I’ve always loved animals. I have a labradoodle at home named Ramsey, and he is my best buddy. I’d have more, but I don’t have the land at the cottage. So I have Ramsey, and now the kits.” I hoped that would make him like me more.

“Well, you can come spend time with any of the animals when you want. Don’t go into any of the enclosures where the animal could eat you. I’d hate to clean that mess up.”

I laughed. It was a terrible joke, but he just gave me an open invitation to spend time at the Sanctuary, which was obviously a big thing. It was easy to see how important this place was to him. Internally, I did a whole dance routine at his offer. My body buzzed, and my heart raced because the offer was intimate, and I knew it. There were quite a few signs on the gates and buildings that stated guests were not welcome. But Eion welcomed me.

“So no cuddles with Bethany?”

“I would avoid it. She looks fluffy but could kill you, and other than the mess, I’d prefer to get to know you better before I feed you to a bear.”

We’d been flirting all afternoon, holding hands, touching each other, while we learned limits. I knew that I wanted to spend more time with him. We got to the front of the building and entered the nursery. “I’ve had such a great day.” I knew I repeated myself, but I really wanted him to get how I felt.

He turned toward me, our faces close, and I looked at his lips. We stared for a moment, our eyes darted around, neither of us brave enough to close the distance. He ran his right hand up and down my arm, and I loved how it felt. The heat of his palm through my shirt aroused me—I should have kissed him.

“Do you want to hold Atlas?”

“Yes. I’ll hold, pet, snuggle, or kiss anybody at this Sanctuary. Anybody.” I hoped he would get the hint. When he looked at me and smiled, I knew he got it. When the opportunity comes up again, I would take my shot. This was a date, and a little kiss wouldn’t be outside what would be expected, right? It had been a long time since I kissed someone, even longer since I dated, but I felt like we knew each other enough for a little smooch.

“It’s really good to hear that. Why don’t you hop up on the examination table, and she can sit on your lap?”

With Atlas on my knees, I couldn’t decide which of them to look at. While I held her, Eion examined her surgery site, his face a little scrunched up. “Everything okay with her?”

“I think it’s time we stretch out this leg a little.”

“Is it going to hurt her?” I knew I sounded panicked.

Barnaby jogged in and pushed against my leg. The dog must have sensed my distress. Eion moved his hand up to the side of my face, and his thumb moved over my lips. “Shhhhh. She will be fine. You are so sweet.” He moved his thumb back and forth a few times. I was tempted to touch the pad with the tip of my tongue, but instead I looked at him and hoped he could sense what I felt. His hand ran down my neck, then he looked down at Atlas.

“If I did my job right, she will be stiff, but there will be no pain.”