Page 49 of Refurbished

“I love you too, Eion. So much.” I was rewarded with a smile that split his face and lit up my heart. Shit, this was one of the best days of my life. He grabbed my chin so I couldn’t look away.

“Angus, for me, you are enough. You are everything to me. You are exceptional. Please never doubt that again.” It was ironic that I had said something similar to him not that long ago. I nodded. His kiss was gentle and sweet, and made his feelings clear without pushing anything further. This was sealing the words we had said to each other.

Chapter twenty-four

EION

There was a weird lump in my chest that I knew would take some time to release. The fact that Angus thought those things about me—about us—hurt. Amelia had made sure I understood Angus’s self-esteem issues, and I struggled myself, which meant I at least understood. I promised myself that from this point forward, I would do everything I could to make sure he never doubted how much he was loved. Then there was this whole thing that made my heart feel like it was going to explode. Angus said he loved me. We were a couple, a team that loved each other. It made me even happier that we agreed to have Zachary care for the animals on Friday night so we could have a night away. And I could really take my time showing him how I felt.

As I thought about us as a couple, I hoped Zachary might like to care for the animals a couple of times a month, even if we stayed at his mom’s or in our trailer. It would be nice to have nights when we didn’t have to be up and out at 5:00 a.m. Unable to help myself, I sought his lips. “I love you.” It felt so good to say. I had been carrying that truth around for weeks now, and being able to share it with him was freeing. How had I found a man who loved me back? He didn’t care about my limitations. He wanted me as I was, which included the fact that I had lost part of my body.

“I love you, too.”

It felt different to kiss him now. Such simple words created completely different feelings. Before heading back to check on Zachary, I took Angus’s hands. “My feelings are still hurt, but I understand why you felt that way. You tell me what I need to do so you’ll never doubt me again.”

He blinked at me, and my heart sank. “I am not sure. We are going to have to work our way through these things. I am sorry I’m this way.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. One day you will understand that you are perfect, and there is nobody I want more than you.” Being able to voice my feelings was something I hadn’t done with Trey. He would sulk if it hit too close to home. With Angus, I didn’t even consider holding back, and it showed.

“Let’s go check on the nanny. Manny?” I tugged him toward the small barn.

“Is that what he is to us? Because that gives me thoughts.”

I smacked him. “Eyes only for me, sir.”

“Always.”

“Yeah, he is a nanny for our children. It sounds better than a babysitter. I think he’s going to do a good job.” We looked into the stall where the bear cubs were. Zachary sat on the ground with the older cubs curled next to him and the younger two in his arms. All five of them were sound asleep. Angus put his fingers to his lips, then got out his phone. After he took a few pictures, I cleared my throat.

Zachary blinked and looked up. "They refused to move after they ate. A nap seemed the appropriate response.”

“Absolutely fine, and it shows everyone is comfortable with each other. Let’s put them back with Brittany. We can go over any questions you have after that.”

“Sounds good. You look way less intimidating here than at the bar, Angus.”

I looked at my boyfriend and realized he was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. There was a small flare of jealousy, but I realized it was silly.

“Remember that I’m more intense about our animals and my boyfriend than I am about patrons.” He said in a terrifyingly deadpan way. Internally, I did a happy dance at his words as I watched Zachary stiffen up a little. I liked this possessiveness from him—only a little. Plus, he said ‘our animals’, which proved how he was all in at the Sanctuary, and that was sexy as hell. I wanted to drag him home and get him naked.

“Yeah. Right. Sure. I won’t let you down, I promise.”

I got some bottles of water, and we went over to pet the alpaca. “I know this is only for Friday night, but can I come visit them other times?” Zachary asked as he entered the enclosure. I watched as he started to cuddle Walter’s neck, as if he had done it a thousand times before. This guy was a natural. I tried not to laugh as he was literally sucking on Walter’s ear. I didn’t want to dive too deeply into the behavior, but both the alpaca and the man seemed happy.

I took Angus’s hand, but looked at Zachary. “I was wondering if you wanted to work here part-time? Every Friday night and Saturday morning, then once a month on Friday, through Sunday night? I’d like to spend time with my boyfriend during those times, but will be around for emergencies.”

Before Zachary could answer, Angus tugged on my hand. “Really?” It looked like he was about to bounce out of his skin.

“I assumed we could afford one weekend away a month. And I thought maybe it would be nice to watch a movie and get up late on Saturdays.”

We were standing there grinning at each other. I had forgotten we had a guest and jumped when he cleared his throat. It was so easy to get lost in Angus. “That sounds good. I hate losing a Friday night shift. I’ll also have to get approval from West.”

“Don’t worry about West. I’ll get your schedule worked out and make sure you earn more here than you would on a bar shift. If you are interested, we can offer you a place to sleep on Fridays.” Angus added. It was obvious my boyfriend was brilliant. When we could expand the compound, we would have a bunkhouse. But for the time being, Zachary could use the old trailer to sleep. We were pretty rural, so it would save him from having to drive back late, then drive back early in the morning. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if the fundraiser was successful, we would be getting more rescues, which meant more mouths to feed and more work. We would need a full-time employee before long. I already knew whom I would like to hire.

“Did you hear that, Walter? You and I on Friday nights. We’ll watch the game together.” His comment made me smile, and I didn’t think he was kidding. He had been raised on a farm and missed it. I didn’t realize how well he would fit.

Zachary came out for the evening feeding every night for the remainder of the week, and one evening when I let Ramsey out, he was still on the property, sitting in the alpaca enclosure watching something on his phone. I left him be. It was far enough from our trailer that he wouldn’t interrupt or hear anything, and if he did, well, these things happened—the idea of it was kind of hot.

A photographer had come to the Sanctuary and taken pictures, while one of Amelia’s writers walked around and talked to me about what we offered. She asked why I opened the Sanctuary and discussed what we wanted and needed for the facility. This was all for the twenty-minute presentation that would make everyone open their wallets. All of this was happening because of Amelia, an amazing woman who had embraced me as her own child. I hoped I would become her son-in-law eventually, because she would be an amazing mother-in-law.