Dogs. Labs . . . Chocolate Labs. Chocolate Labs named Gus. Oh, holy shit, this was not working anymore because all I could think about was the damn dog Ellie wanted. My Ellie . . .

I walked down the hall following her to her locker and tried to keep my dick from getting any harder, but it was a fucking chore. I couldn’t believe my ears when she started saying she wanted to live in the country. I felt all the air leave my lungs. I dropped her hand that I hadn’t even realized I was holding and just stood there listening to her describe the life I wanted. The life I wanted . . . with her. That was it. I knew Jeff said I needed to give her time and be patient. Fuck that. It was on. I was going to do everything in my power to win Ellie’s heart, starting right now.

I had to keep my eyes everywhere but on her. She kept leaning over and that fucking skirt kept creeping up farther. Holy shit, she had a nice body.

Okay . . . ceiling, look at the ceiling, look at the other lockers. Dogs . . . Chocolate Lab dogs named Gus running around the ranch with Ellie and a little brown-haired girl chasing after it.

Wait! What? Where the fuck did that come from? Oh my God, what was happening to me? I’m standing in a damn high school daydreaming about the ranch, Ellie having my child, and a fucking Lab named Gus!

It was getting hot in here . . .

“Gunner? Are you okay? You look like you feel sick. Are you feeling okay?” Ellie said as she took the lock off the locker door and bent down to pick up the bag she packed.

“Um, yeah, yeah, I feel fine, Ells. Here, let me take that. Is this it? Where are all of your books?”

Ellie handed me the bag filled with just a few notebooks, stuffed animals, and a few other odds and ends in it.

“Oh . . . Ari turned them all in for me earlier today when she turned in all of her books. She wanted to get here early so she could get it done and then work on her valedictorian speech. I think she is pretty nervous about it. Are you sure you’re okay?” Ellie asked as she looked me up and down.

I really wanted to tell her no, I was so not okay. I was daydreaming about uprooting her life, moving her out to the middle of nowhere, and, oh yeah, getting her pregnant with my kid.

Deep breaths, Gunner, deep breaths.

“Sure, yeah, I’m okay. I think it’s just really hot in here. Isn’t it really hot in here to you? All right. If you’re done, let’s blow this Popsicle stand, what do ya say?” I said as I tried to get some feeling in my legs again.

“Yes! Let’s get out of here!” Ellie said with a huge smile on her face.

Shit, there went my heart. We headed back out to my truck, and I tossed her bag in the back seat with her other stuff. I opened the door for her and helped her get in. I would never get tired of seeing that blush creep up her cheeks every time I did this. She deserved nothing less than to be treated with the utmost respect.

I walked around my truck and saw Ellie answer her phone. Her smiled dropped and her eyes shot up and looked right at me. I almost stopped dead in my tracks. My guess was that douchebag Ryan. Should I stand outside the truck and give her privacy? Fuck that. I opened my door, climbed in, and started the truck.

“No, it’s none of your damn business . . . I don’t need to explain anything to you, so please do not call me again,” Ellie said as she ended the call. She immediately looked at me and there it was . . . that smile that freaking made my whole insides melt.

Damn, this girl was beautiful.

“Ryan?” I asked as I started to pull out. I can’t even believe he had the nerve to be calling her, that douchebag.

“Um, yeah, I guess he stopped by my house and my mom told him I never came home last night, so he was just trying to find out where I’ve been.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t owe that damn fool an explanation for anything you do. Do you understand that? He lost that privilege when he slept with some other girl. Please don’t let him ruin our day, okay, Ells? Tomorrow you graduate, and then it is a whole new beginning for you,” I said as I reached over and took her left hand. I was surprised when she pulled her hand out of mine.

“I know I don’t owe him anything, believe me. I guess I’m more upset he went to my house and talked to my mother. Now, she will no doubt be telling me how I messed this up like I mess up everything I touch. But anyway, thanks, Gunner, I appreciate you being such a good friend,” Ellie said as she kept her eyes toward the road.

Well, that was a loud-and-clear message. So she was thanking me for being a good friend, huh? Why does this girl think she fucks up everything she touches? Her mother, no doubt.

“Well, I don’t believe that for a minute, Ellie. You’re beautiful, smart . . . third in your class . . . and you have a very bright future. Whatever your mother says to you is just bullshit.”

Ellie let out a laugh. “So everyone keeps telling me. But anyway, I don’t want to talk about my mother or Ryan. I can’t wait to go to Halcyon! I’ve never been there but have always wanted to go.”

I looked over at her. She really was an innocent, lost little girl. So many things she had never gotten to experience. I wanted to be the one to share all of them with her for the first time.

We drove around for a few minutes looking for curbside parking. No such luck. I ended up just valet parking. It was easiest and damn near cost the same at the parking lot a block down.

As I handed my keys over to the valet attendant, I gave my normal warning: “Dude, she’s my girl. Anyone handles my girl wrong or treats her in a disrespectful way, I beat their ass. You got it?” Poor kid looked me up and down.

“Umm, y . . . yes sir, I got it. Um . . . We’re talking about the truck, right?” he asked as he looked over toward Ellie, who was now trying to hide her laughter. I looked over at Ellie then back at my truck.

“It goes for both of them,” I said as I gave him a wink and then turned toward Ellie, grabbed her hand, and walked toward Halcyon. As soon as we were far enough away she let out the laughter she was trying so hard to hold in.

“Oh, holy shit! That was funnier than hell. I mean, you had that poor boy scared to death, Gunner. Do you always say that when you valet park?” she asked as she was still giggling.

“Yes! She is my girl. That truck means a lot to me. She served my Gramps well on the ranch and she has been nothing but faithful to me since the day I got her. I love that damn truck,” I said with a wink as I opened the door to the coffee shop.

You would’ve thought Ellie had never set foot in a place like this. She worked in a coffee shop, for Christ’s sake. I saw her looking all around. We walked up to the counter to order, and that’s when I saw Crysti. Fuck me, why the hell did she have to be working today? Shit! As soon as she saw me walk up she walked over and told the girl who was taking orders to switch with her, or at least that’s what it looked like. I handed Ellie a menu as we stood in line to order.

“Oh my gosh, I love it here! Thank you, Gunner, for bringing me here,” she said with such excitement. She grabbed my arm with her good hand and quickly let it go. Boy, it was going to be easy winning this girl over if something this simple made her happy.

We moved to the counter, and I took a deep breath. I could see the daggers Crysti was shooting at Ellie. Good Lord, I went out with this girl once as a favor to Jeff, who was going on a date with her friend Jemma. She was nothing but a pain in the ass the whole time. She called me for like two months before she got the hint and moved on.

“Hey there, Gunner, baby, how are you doing? Long time no see!” Crysti said as she leaned over the counter trying to expose even more of her chest. Fuck me. Nope, she has not moved on.

“Hey, Crysti, how’s it going?” I asked in the most uninterested voice I could muster.

“It’s going good . . . even better now that I see your handsome face!”

I took a peek at Ellie, who was trying very hard to keep looking down at the menu. This fucking sucked. Last thing I needed was for this bleached-blonde bitch to cause problems.

“Ellie, do you know what you want?” I asked as I turned to look at that beautiful face and those drop-dead-gorgeous blue eyes.

“Um, yep . . . I think I’ll have a turkey pepper jack panini with chips, and a salted caramel mocha frappé, please,” Ellie said with a smile to Crysti, who was still looking at Ellie like she wanted to jump over the counter and attack her.

“Okay. What about you, handsome?” Crysti said with such seduction I wanted to hurl right there in her face.

“I’ll have the same panini as Ellie, and a chocolate espresso martini. Can we also get the tableside s’mores for two?”

Crysti just looked at me like I was some kind of a freak. “Sure, yep . . . I’ll get that in for you. Please make sure you stay inside since you are getting the s’mores.”

Ellie was looking around after I paid for a place to sit. I took it upon myself to guide her to the back-corner booth. Thank goodness it was open, as most of the tables were taken except a few high-top tables right by the bar.

We slid into the booth, and Ellie looked at me and smiled. Then she looked over to where Crysti was standing behind the bar. I took a quick glance up and noticed she was staring at us. I looked at Ellie, who turned to look at me. She gave me a weak smile and then looked away.

God, I hope Ellie didn’t think I had something going on with Crysti. That’s all I would need.