Chapter Four
Reese stared down into Julia’s sleeping face, marveling at how damn happy he was. She’d passed out on him, and he’d moved them so that she was in his arms. She looked so tired, and all he wanted to do was take care of her.
Tucking some hair behind her ears, he smiled. Never had he cared to have a woman in his life before, or in his bed. Not that they were in his bed, they were in hers, but still. The way she felt against him, his arms wrapped around her, she felt utterly perfect.
Closing his eyes, he allowed sleep to take him, and he did so with the comfort of her against him.
The following morning, he woke up and glanced down to see Julia still in his arms. Her eyes were open, and she was biting her lip.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said.
“I’m the sleepyhead? You were the one actually sleeping.”
He smiled and gave a little stretch while also keeping one hand around her. “Neither of us have to be at work.”
“I know.”
“So I was thinking about us taking a trip out. Going shopping, or just having some fun.”
“You want to have some fun?” she asked.
“Am I not speaking clearly?”
“It just seems a little surreal that you want to go out with me.”
“You’re not boring, are you?” he asked.
“I don’t know. What do you consider boring?”
“Someone who doesn’t want to go out with me today when you don’t have to do anything but relax.”
“Fine, fine. You’re convincing me.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips. “Good. I’m going to need to stop off at my house first though. I need to get changed.”
He headed toward the bathroom, took a leak, washed his hands, and made his way out. Julia was finishing making the bed as he entered. Grabbing the other corner, he helped her tuck the sheets in.
“I’ll get started on breakfast while you get changed.”
She nodded.
He left her room, heading to the kitchen. Every other time that he’d been by her home he’d not been interested in the pictures she had hanging up on the walls, or anything like that. There were a couple of pictures of her with older people and a man. They looked happy, and he assumed they were her family.
Entering the kitchen, he quickly got together some toast and coffee.
She came out as he spread apple butter over a slice of toast.
The jeans she wore enhanced her full, round ass and hips. The shirt showed off her large tits, and his cock responded in kind. She’d pulled her red hair back into a ponytail. Without any makeup she looked fresh-faced and beautiful.
She took a slice of toast, and his curiosity was getting the better of him. “Who is the guy in all of the pictures?”
“My brother. He’s a doctor and currently over in Europe offering his expertise. Mom and Dad are lawyers.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, as you can imagine it sucks coming from a high achieving family only to be the total loser of the bunch.”
“You’re not a loser.”
“I haven’t even told them that I’m taking and failing night classes.” She shrugged. “I wanted to do something that surprised them.”
“Do they have a problem with you not having a degree or something?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think they do. They tell me all the time that they just want me to be happy, but seeing all that they’ve achieved, it’s tough. I guess it’s one of the many reasons why I moved away and make excuses not to be there.”
“How come?”
“When they all start talking about what they’ve done, and here’s me. Flunking classes, no matter how much I study while working as a waitress. It just doesn’t help. If they have friends or business associates it’s even worse.”
He had totally misjudged her.
They finished their food and headed to his place. She waited in the car while he changed into suitable clothes.
Within minutes he was back in the car and Julia was going through the radio channels. “What kind of music do you like?”
“I don’t mind. Pick whatever you like.”
She flicked through the channels and some pop music came on. Shaking his head, he pulled away from the curb and headed to one of the places he loved more than anything.
“Are you allergic to cats or dogs or rabbits?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because I have something special planned. I can’t guarantee that you’re going to like it, but try to keep an open mind.”
Forty minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of the pet rescue center.
“Oh, my,” she said. “Do you come here often?”
“As often as I can.”
“You don’t own a pet,” she said.
“I know. I’m still … trying to get over my last one.”
“Your last one?”
“I had a dog. A German Shepherd, Milo. He was such a good boy. I got him as a pup, trained him and everything. I had him for twelve years. He died last year.”
“I’m so sorry. You’ve not been able to get another dog since?”
“Nope. It’s probably really stupid, but I can’t replace him, not yet.”
“You’re not replacing him, but I get it.”
He climbed out of the car, nervous as fucking hell. This was his privacy, and no one, not even his friends, knew what he did on his free days. He loved animals and absolutely doted on them. They were amazing as far as he was concerned, and reliable.
Volunteering was his way of helping, and he liked to be around them.
Taking Julia’s hand, he made his way inside.
“Hey, Ericka, how have you been?” he said, spotting one of the vets.
“Good, good. Who is this?” she asked.
“This is my girl, Julia. She’s going to help me for the day.”
“Okay. Have fun. We’ve had ten new admissions since you last came here.”
He cursed. There were always so many new pets to house and to find homes for. It was a job in itself.
“You come here often?” Julia asked.
“Yep. The last time I was here was last Saturday.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I’m here a lot.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, wondering if this was too personal.
****
Julia stroked down the back of a small dog. She didn’t know what breed it was, as it seemed to be a cross of two kinds. Again, she liked animals but never had one herself. The vet was administering injections to the poor girl, who was malnourished and didn’t look in a very good state.
From the moment she knelt down to stroke the young dog, she’d crawled into her lap and not left.
“She keeps shaking,” Julia said.
“Yes. It can be fear. She’s been hurt.” Ericka looked sad. “This is one part of the job I hate, seeing them like this.”
“You have a lot of animals come here in a poor state.”
“More than I think should ever be allowed. She likes you though. Her name’s Bell.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” Julia said. “Such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” After Bell had the injections, Julia took her for a wash. She held her throughout, speaking softly to the young girl.
Reese had told her what he did, and what he needed to do. She’d gotten stuck in, helping them all wherever she could. Bell wouldn’t let her go, so she carried her around while she helped with the other dogs.
When Bell fell asleep, Julia had no choice but to put the little girl back in the cage. Doing that was so painful. She closed the cage and stepped away. Bell woke up and began to whimper at the cage, her foot tapping against it.
“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Reese said.
“What happens if no one … takes them?”
“They live their life as comfortably as possible. Unfortunately, there’s not always enough funding, so they have no choice but to put some of them down.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“This was a mistake,” he said. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
“Are you insane?” she asked, glancing over at him. “This is … it’s horrible, but it’s amazing what people are doing. I had no idea there was such a problem, and to know I can do something to help, this makes me happy. Thank you, Reese.” She stepped up to him, placed a hand on his cheek, and kissed him. “How come you don’t have any pictures of Milo?”
“I do. I just don’t keep them around.”
She had no idea he’d lost his dog. They’d have known each other as well. She wondered if that was the time that he always looked sad. “You’re a bit of a mystery.”
He handed her a brush. “Are you ready for a cuteness overload?”
“Yes.”
She heard Bell whimpering, but she kept on moving forward. She had to. They left that area and entered another part of the shelter.
“They found a Cocker Spaniel bitch abandoned. She was heavily pregnant, and she gave birth two weeks ago.”
The cage was opened, and she stepped inside. He closed the door behind her. The smell didn’t bother her. With animals there was always a smell.
Glancing into the cage, she saw Ericka giving the pups a once-over, and she couldn’t believe the sweetness that was before her. Getting to work, she and Reese were able to clean them, and to help Ericka as she checked each of the pups over. Once that was done, they moved on to the feeding, and before too long it was time to leave.
Julia couldn’t do it though. Making her way back to the cage that held Bell, she stared at the girl.
The small dog came toward her and placed her paw on the cage.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I don’t want to leave her.” She’d never had a dog before. “You’ve had a dog. Could you … show me or teach me how to have a dog?”
“You want a dog?”
“Yes. I want her. I want to take her home with me. Can I? Is it even allowed?”
“They can do some checks.”
“Oh, shit!” She cursed and looked back at the dog.
“What? What is it?”
“I live in a stupid ass apartment. I can’t have pets.” Bell was trying to get closer to her, and it was upsetting her.
“I’ll take her,” he said.
She looked at him. “What?”
“I can have her at my home. I own it, and I can help take care of her. You can stop by whenever you want.”
“What about your other women?” she asked.
“Other women? I know I’ve got a reputation for being an ass, but there’s been no one else since you and I started screwing.”
Her cheeks started to heat.
“What about you?” he asked.
“What?”
“Has there been someone for you?”
She shook her head.
“You don’t look convinced.”
“No, of course there’s been no one else. There is no one else.”
“Why do you seem shocked?”
“Because I didn’t expect you to not be with someone. All of the women are always fawning all over you.”
“I’m not fawning all over them though, am I?”
No, he wasn’t.
“I’m not as big of an asshole as people like to paint me. I never make promises, and I can see you want her. I’ll help. I’m happy to help.”
She looked back at Bell.
“Do you want her?” he asked.
“Yes, I want her.”
“Then let’s go and talk to Ericka about keeping her.”
She took Reese’s hand, and they made their way back toward the office where Ericka was filling out some paperwork. To her shock, the vet was more than happy with Reese having her.
They were getting a dog together.