Between the painkillers and the ice pack, his sprained knee had gone from throbbing in agony to a sharp twinge whenever he moved wrong. Thiessen lay curled up in the chair with the old quilt wrapped around him. He picked at a loose thread absent-mindedly, still riding the adrenaline dump. Every muscle in his body ached, but at least he wasn’t cold anymore—and Jory wasn’t upset with him. That was a plus, right?

He’d been drifting in and out, but when the door swung open, his head popped up. His blinked bleary eyes up at Jory and immediately, his stomach clenched. “What’s wrong?” The look on the man’s face was weary. Anxiety surged through him anew. “Is the dog okay?”

“I don’t think so.” His low rumble sent a chill down Thiessen’s spine. “It doesn’t look very good, anyway. She’s worse off than we expected. She’s weak from blood loss and fighting infection from an old wound. Her pelvis is fractured and her leg… I don’t think it can be salvaged. On top of all the other issues, I think it would be kinder to put her down. I’m sorry.”

Thiessen’s heart began to pound. “No!”

“I’m sorry, Thee, but even with surgery—”

“Please, Jory. Give her a chance! You could amputate, right?”

“Of course, that’s always an option, but—”

“Then do it!” His throat tightened. He choked on his words, but they spilled out like blood from a bullet wound. “You can’t just kill her, not when she could still have a good life. You can’t! It’s wrong, and it’s unfair. That would be like—like someone telling me I didn’t deserve to live because I lost my leg. The doctors fought for me, so you have to fight for her. You have to!”

Jory’s eyes widened, but he raised his hands. “Hey, hey. Calm down.”

“Please,” Thiessen breathed out, his shoulders sagging. “Look, I have the money. I’ll pay for everything, the tests and the x-rays, the surgery and any medications she might need and I’ll—I’ll even adopt her, but you have to give her a chance. Please don’t put her down.” He knew he was grasping at straws, but he had to try.

Faggot. Worthless. Trash.

Jory’s expression softened. “I’ll do my best, okay? That’s all I can promise.”

Thiessen collapsed back in the chair with a shuddering breath. “Thank you. I’m sorry. God, I’m such a fucking mess.”

“It’s okay, Thiessen. You’ve had a long day. I’ll do my best to stabilize her, put her on an antibiotic drip to counter the infection. When she’s a little stronger, she’ll undergo surgery. Does that work?”

Thiessen nodded, relieved. It wasn’t until they were driving back to Thiessen’s house, an empty paper bag of fast food crinkled up on the floor mat, that Jory began to ask the questions that Thiessen knew were coming. He’d known they would slip from the other man’s lips, little curiosities that he was almost afraid to hear.

“So, can I ask how you lost your leg? Or would that be rude? Feel free to tell me to shut up, by the way,” he said, glancing sidelong at Thiessen. When Thiessen met his gaze, Jory’s lips slanted into a lopsided, almost boyish smile. He turned his attention back to the road.

Thiessen looked down at his hands. He picked at a hangnail and peeled it back until it stung and bled. Then he sucked on the wound. “Um. I told you about my asshole parents, right? When I came out, they freaked. Mother literally splashed me with holy water and started chanting prayers, as if her son was the goddamn devil.” He snorted. “I fell in love with a boy named Bo. I knew it was stupid, but we were so tired of hiding who we were. So we came out.”

Jory frowned. “Keep going.”

Thiessen breathed out a sigh. “The place I grew up was super religious and super racist. The worst of the south, you know? My parents kicked me out. I wasn’t quite eighteen at the time, so I moved in with Bo’s family and we tried to make it. We told ourselves we weren’t going to live a lie anymore. People didn’t like that. It was a witch hunt.”

“Shit…”

“We were walking home in the rain, on our way back from the library. Together. And this group of men in ski masks started beating the shit out of us.” He dropped his head, studying the raindrops that slid past on the window. Like tear tracks, except his tears had all but run dry. “The one guy had one of those old metal baseball bats and he just… Went at it. Crushed my knee, and Bo—”

He heard Jory’s swift intake of breath, but Thiessen just shook his head. “Bo didn’t make it out. I was in a coma for a week, in ICU for two. They couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again, so I lost my boyfriend and my leg on top of my family. If we would’ve just held on till we could move away, maybe…” He choked, then shook his head quickly. “Ended up back in ICU with an infection that nearly took me out. I guess I gave up, didn’t take care of the wound. If it wasn’t for Peri, I don’t think I’d still be here, but here I am. The one-legged wonder.”

“I’m sorry.” Jory’s hand found his thigh and gently squeezed. “I can’t even imagine how painful that must’ve been. You should’ve told me to shut up.”

“No.” Thiessen grabbed his hand and held on tight. “No. You would’ve found out eventually anyway. I mean… The minute my clothes came off, you’d know.” He closed his eyes against the pain that built in his chest. A volcano waiting to burst. The moment his clothes came off, Jory would’ve freaked. It would’ve ruined the mood. No. It was better this way.

“Is that why you panicked?” Jory asked softly. “When I kissed you? You were afraid of what I’d think of you, if your clothes came off?”

“Maybe.” He lifted his shoulder, then dropped it again. “I’m sorry.”

Jory’s fingers curled over his. Offering comfort. Offering sympathy. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not.”

Thiessen’s gaze darted back up. “You’re not?”

“Hell no.” The man’s grin was almost wolfish, but he waggled his brows teasingly. “It was a good kiss, and those pants. I one-hundred percent blame those pants. They clouded my saintly judgment and forced me to kiss you. So maybe next time, don’t wear those pants.” He winked and turned his attention back to the road.

Heat flared in his chest. Next time? There would be a next time…and this time, he wouldn’t fuck it up. Thiessen smiled all the way back home and when Jory pulled into the drive, he looked over at the other man. His pulse pattered in his throat, quick and light. “Will you text me?”

“Of course. I missed our texts.”

“Me too.”

“Do you need help getting settled?” A look of concern crossed Jory’s face and Thiessen was struck, yet again, by how fucking handsome he was. Truly a storybook hero. Why would anyone in the right minds run from that? Ugh, he was so stupid.

“I’ll be okay,” Thiessen promised.

“Stay off that leg,” Jory said. There was a twinkle in his eye when he added, “Doctor’s orders.”

Thiessen snorted softly. “Woof.”

“Smart ass!”

“I’ll text you.” Once he charged his probably dead phone, that was. “Thanks, Jory. My savior once again.”

“In the flesh. Oh, and I know it’s not my place, but please, at least call Peri. Try and patch things up. She cares about you so much, Thee.”

He already knew that—and he’d already rehearsed exactly what he was going to say to her, while spinning around on Jory’s swivel chair wrapped in a blanket. He nodded. “I will.”

“Good boy.”

Thiessen’s phone rang at half-past seven in the morning. It startled him enough that his eyes snapped open. Who was calling at this hour? Everyone who knew him knew he was a creature of the night. Jory’s icon popped up on the screen and immediately, his heart began to race.

Shit. The surgery was today.

He snatched the phone off its dock and answered as clearly as he could manage. “Hello? Jory?”

“Good morning, sunshine,” Jory’s voice chirped on the other end of the line. Peppy and oh, so Jory. “I know it’s early, but you said you wanted to be kept in the loop. Your pup came through surgery without so much as a hiccup. She’s in recovery now, still drugged to hell and back. She has a long road ahead of her but I have to admit, I’m pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have high hopes going in, but you were right. She’s a fighter.”

Just like you. He didn’t say the words, but Thiessen flushed hot all the same. He pressed a hand over his chest, his heart pounding hard beneath his palm. “Fuck, thank god. Thank you. Can I come see her?”

Jory chuckled. “Let’s give her some time to recoup first, but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt for you to visit later this afternoon. How about around four? I don’t think I have any appointments scheduled late later, so I can go over her paperwork with you. You were serious about adopting her?”

Thiessen felt a smile spread across his face. “Yes. I told you, I’ll pay for everything and you can bet your ass that you’ll be my vet from now on. You saved her. Thank you.”

“Aw, Thee, don’t get all sappy on me. That’s my job.” Jory’s voice was ripe with amusement. “Not a problem at all. I’m glad I could help. She won’t be ready to come home for awhile, of course,” he said.

“No, it’s okay. I’m not really ready, anyway. I haven’t dog-proofed my house yet, and I don’t have bowls or a collar or anything like that. If we’re being honest, I’ve never owned a dog before in my life. My mom had her hands full with my twin brothers and me. We didn’t have pets growing up. It wasn’t until I moved that I decided to rescue Dustfeather.” He paused. “Oh lord, Dusty’s gonna shit a brick.” Poor scraggly old cat. He was in for a big surprise.

“Oh, I’m sure your demon cat will set this pup straight. Cats rule, dogs drool, remember?” Jory laughed. “So, I’ll expect you around four o’clock?”

“I’ll be there. Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna pass out.” His pillow was calling his name. Eyelids growing heavy, Thiessen was more than ready ready to flip it over and burrow back under the covers for another few hours.

“Up late writing something smutty?” There was a teasing lilt to Jory’s voice.

“Fuck off.” Thiessen grinned. That was exactly what he’d been doing, too. At least his characters should get some action, even if he wasn’t. Not yet, but soon… “I might’ve possibly written those pants into my novel, just FYI.”

“The fuck-me pants?”

Goddamnit. Just the way Jory said “fuck me” had heat pooling low in his belly. “Yes,” he eked out. “The fuck-me pants.”

Jory whistled low. “Now I really need to read this book. Sure I can’t have an advanced reader’s copy? Pretty please?”

His stomach flip-flopped. “Sorry, buddy. You gotta wait like the rest of my fans.”

“Bummer.” There was a clatter of sound in the background, followed by a yelp that sounded distinctly like Hemi, and Jory swore. “Gotta run. See you tonight.”

“Bye.” He flopped onto his back with a groan. The tickling sensation of excitement inside of him lingered. He realized that he wasn’t just eager to meet his new pet face to face—he desperately wanted to see Jory, too. “I’ve got it bad,” he mumbled to himself.

He reset his phone alarm for three hours, set it back on its cradle, and turned over so that his back was to the window. Then, with a yawn, he yanked the covers up to his ears and went to sleep.

Plans for today, loverboy? Peri texted right as Thiessen was getting ready. He was freshly showered, but only half-dressed, wearing distressed skinny jeans and a pair of Doc Martens. He grabbed his phone off the bed as he flipped through the clothes in his closet.

How cold is it today? He snapped her a picture of his current ensemble, reflected in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of his bedroom door. Need a shirt. Go.

Ooh you DO have plans ;) Not too bad. Chilly and damp. Probs a sweater, maybe that one that’s super cozy? You know? The blueish-greenish one that makes your eyes look rainforest green. Boy, I would kill to have your eyes.

Thiessen chuckled at that. Not trading you eyes. Sorry not sorry. He knew exactly the sweater she was talking about, too. He tugged it off the plastic hanger and carefully pulled it on over his head. It was soft, a stylish angora knit with a cowl neck and hood. The sleeves came down past his thumbs. He spun around and took another selfie.

Peri replied with a thumb’s up emoji. Perf! You’re so cute. Soooo are we seeing Mr. Heavenly today ;)))

You’re awful lol. But yes. Going to stop by the vet clinic to see the dog. Jory called me at the asscrack of dawn and told me she came through surgery fine.

Wow I thought you were kidding about the dog. You really gonna adopt it?

Yeah. I am. He was sure of that. They’d gone through so much turmoil to rescue her after those bastards beat her and left her for dead. The least he could do was give her a home where she would always be safe and warm. No more abuse.

I had you pegged as a cat person. Damn boy.

It broke my heart, Perr. Those monsters were kicking the shit out of her and I couldn’t stand there and let it happen. She needs me.

Sounds like maybe you need her too :) I’m happy for you. Dusty’s gonna freak tho.

Oh yeah. He’ll never come out from behind the couch at this rate, poor guy. He stretched his back, flipped off the lights, and slowly walked down the hall. His leg was still stiff and a little bit sore, but it was better than it was. He just needed to take it easy for a couple more days.

A quick glance at the clock told him he needed to take off. His stomach churned with nerves and excitement, roiling around the sandwich and potato chips he’d had for lunch. Gotta go, text you later <3

Ta!

Thiessen hobbled up the steps of the Sundog Park Veterinary Hospital about ten minutes late, thanks to some douchebag who’d rear-ended another vehicle. It had clogged up traffic for far too long. He went inside and the electric doorbell ding-donged to announce his arrival.

“Hey!” Hemi’s blond head popped up from behind the tall, wrap-around reception counter. There was a clatter of caster wheels rolling over tile and then his friend came winding around the corner, a bright smile on his face. “How are you doing, Thiessen?”

“Better,” Thiessen said. He peered over the countertops when he heard the familiar click-click of nails. Hemi’s blue-eyed husky jumped up to plant his huge front paws on the desk, his tail wagging. Thiessen’s lip twitched. “Hey there, Tad.”

“Tadri, get down!” Hemi hissed and swatted at him, but the big oaf of a dog just grinned. Hemi hurried around to the small office area, which had a swinging half-door to keep Tadri out of trouble. He flipped the latch and walked through. Tadri immediately hopped down to greet him. “You’re a big fluffy jerk and I love you.”

“Uh.” Thiessen cleared his throat.

“Oh! Yeah, right. Jory’s in room eight with your brand new bundle of joy.” Hemi giggled. “She’s adorable. So ugly she’s cute, and those ears! He’s waiting for you, so you can go on back.”

“Thanks.” Thiessen’s eyes flicked across the shiny gold number plates drilled into each door, stopping when he reached the door with a fancy eight on it. Nerves bounced around like Mexican jumping beans doing an aerobics class.

He rapped on the door with his knuckles, only to hear shuffling just beyond the threshold. The knob turned and the door opened to reveal Jory in those silly paw-printed scrubs. He grinned broadly when he saw Thiessen.

“Hey.”

Thiessen didn’t miss the way Jory’s gaze swept over him, from head to toe and back again, and his belly flipped.

“Hi.” When would the flutters of this crush fade?

“You look good. How’s the leg.”

“Which one?” He surprised himself by laughing, but it verged on hysterical. His heart was beating so hard he could barely think straight. Jory seemed to have this weird bubbly effect over him every damn time their eyes met.

Jory chuckled and grabbed his hand. “Get in here, goofball.”

There was a small plastic carrier sitting atop the stainless steel exam table. Thiessen froze. Something snuffled around inside, then he saw a wet black nose poke through the grating of the cage door. “Is that her?”

“Yep. Come around here.” Jory led him over to the table. He unlatched the door with a squeak of hinges. “Come here, sweetheart.” He reached inside the carrier with both hands to gently bring the small dog out under the bright fluorescents.

When Thiessen had gotten a good look at her, a giggle escaped, expelling his held breath with a whoosh. “Hemi was right.”

The vet raised a brow. “About what?”

“She’s so ugly she’s cute.”

And she was, especially with the back half of her grizzled gray fur shaved off to reveal scabby skin and ugly black sutures. She was smaller than he remembered, maybe only a little bigger than Dustfeather. Her ears were floppy and almost as long as her nose, and in stark contrast, her legs were stubby and short. What tickled him, though, was her beard. Her muzzle was covered in sparse but wiry fur that formed a little beard at the bottom of her chin.

“What do you think she is?” She didn’t look like those dogs you saw on television, gracefully trotting around the ring, that was for damn sure. She looked like a gremlin and a dog had a lovechild. As if she could sense what he was thinking, she turned big brown eyes on him and wagged her half-a-tail. It thunked loudly against the metal table.

Jory gently pet over her fur, rubbing the velvet of her oversized ears between two fingers. The dog let out a shuddering sigh and leaned against his hand, as if human touch was something she’d been denied for so long.

It broke Thiessen’s heart.

“If I had to guess, I’d say jack russell and wire-haired dachshund, but when it comes to street dogs, I don’t think anyone knows for sure. You could always buy one of those gene-testing kits to see what kind of results you’d get, but does it really matter? She’s a mutt. She’s your mutt. Come closer, Thee. She’s not gonna bite you, I promise.”

“I’m nervous,” Thiessen admitted in a hushed tone, but he reached out his hand. Her nose snuffled over his skin, smearing it with a cold wetness. Her tail thunked again and again.

“Why nervous?” Jory moved beside him, their sides brushing together.

“I don’t know the first thing about dog ownership, let alone handicapped dog ownership.” Did they make prosthetics for dogs? Was that something he needed to look into?

But Jory only laughed. “Hah. Give this girl a couple of weeks to figure it out and I promise you, she’ll be running with the best of them. Dogs don’t react to things like this the way humans do. This pup isn’t gonna mourn her lack of a leg and she sure as hell won’t let it hamper her life. I’ve seen plenty of three-legged—even two-legged—dogs in my career and you know what? None of them were unhappy.”

Thiessen couldn’t fight his smile when the dog licked his fingers, her warm tongue curling around each digit. “She probably smells the roast beef sandwich I had for lunch.” She squirmed to get a little bit closer.

Jory ruffled her fur. “See? What did I tell you? She’s got spunk.”

“That she does. What all did you…” Thiessen’s words trailed off into silence as he gestured at the dog. “Remove, I guess? I can’t really tell.” He leaned in a little closer, but didn’t want to touch her somewhere and accidentally hurt her.

“Her leg was pretty mangled, shattered in several places. Likely she was hit by a car, since the wound was old.” Jory carefully maneuvered the scruffy canine, showing off the length of neatly-stitched sutures that wound around the stump of her thigh. “We put a few pins in her pelvis and hip, since they were both fractured, and while we had her out, I went ahead and spayed her.”

Jory’s finger smoothed over a dab of green ink on her inner leg. “We tattoo all of our clients, spay and neuter. That way, if they ever get loose and they’re found by someone and surrendered to a shelter or a rescue, their vets will know she’s already been fixed.” He nodded. “Helps prevent needless surgeries.”

The pup wagged her tail. “We had to take off the end of her tail, too. For some reason, the skin there was dying and becoming necrotic. Possibly frostbite, which means she’s been on the streets for some time, the poor dear.” Jory leaned down and placed a kiss on top of her fuzzy head. “We’ll never know what she’s been through.”

Thiessen’s throat knotted. He cupped the dog’s muzzle in both hands, drawing her face to his. He gazed into her Hershey’s-kiss eyes. “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past now and you’ll never have to go through it again, I promise. No more asshole boys kicking you around. You’ll be spoiled.” She licked at his face and he laughed, suddenly rife with emotion.

He looked up at Jory to find him grinning. “What?”

“You. You’re so damn adorable.”

Thiessen puffed out his cheeks. “Adorable? No, man, I’m badass.”

“Only when you’re wearing those pants.”

Thiessen flushed. “Shut up, or I’m never wearing them for you again.”

And damn it all, the bastard pouted. Thiessen’s heart swooned. It literally swooned. “Not fair at all, Thiessen Ward,” Jory muttered. “You know where to hit me where it hurts.”

“Oh baby, I haven’t even begun to make it hurt,” Thiessen snarked right back.

Jory’s brows bounced up. “Is that a challenge or an invitation?” A smirk turned his earlier pout on its head and Thiessen could barely suppress his groan. God, Jory knew exactly what to say, what notes to hit to send heat flaring through him.

Jory moved behind him, his chest brushing against the back of Thiessen’s sweater, and Thiessen’s breath caught when the man looped both arms around him in a loose hug. He shivered at the rasp of stubble over the back of his neck, a delicious drag of sensations. Jory’s breath warmed his ear. “Talk to me. Don’t run.”

There was a plea to those words. It reached out and grasped Thiessen’s racing heart in one hand and squeezed. “I’m not,” he breathed out. He wasn’t running. Not this time.

“Good.” Jory’s lips caressed the curve where his neck met his shoulder, kissing over the skin. The man sighed softly before he released Thiessen, a hopeful smile in place. “Okay?”

“This is quickly becoming a scene from one of my books,” Thiessen admitted. He touched the tingling spot Jory’s kiss left behind.

Jory took his hand and squeezed. “Good—because a good romance always ends happily. I think you deserve happiness, Thiessen. I think we both do. Now for the big question.”

Thiessen startled, but Jory’s low chuckle calmed him. “What are you going to name this glorious, three-legged creature? You know, so I have something to put on her paperwork.”

He smiled then, because he’d been turning names over in his mind since the day they’d rescued her from the ravine. He’d spent countless hours online, scouring name lists near and far.

“Her name is Lady Luck.”