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I t hadn’t been as hard as Grayson thought it would to talk Harlow into moving in with him. That she didn’t want to be anywhere near Faberville and her memories there had certainly helped. He’d ask her to marry him today if he thought she was ready. She wasn’t there yet, so the ring he’d already bought was locked up in his desk. Soon, though.

“Gray, I’m here! We can go surfing now.”

He smiled at the boy he loved like his own. “You have fun in school today?” He was going to school for the first time in his life and loved getting to spend time with other kids.

“Yes! I spelled all my words right.”

“Excellent.” Grayson lifted his hand for a high five, and Tyler laughed as he slapped his small hand against Grayson’s. “I knew you’d ace the test.” They’d practiced spelling the five words—cat, dog, cow, hat and car—last night until Tyler could spell the word as soon as Grayson pointed at the picture. He’d loved every minute of working with the kid. His boy was a smart one.

“The waves are good today. Go get your suit on.”

“Yay!” Tyler took off, running back into the house.

It had been only three weeks since Harlow and Tyler had moved in with him, and he’d known how much he was going to love being a family with her and Tyler. He just hadn’t realized how much he was going to love it.

The sound of the French door opening and then closing sounded, and although he didn’t turn away from the railing, he smiled. His girl would be next to him in a few seconds, and he tried to guess which bikini she’d have on. Now that she lived at the beach and because he’d made sure she knew how sexy she was in a bikini, she’d gone bathing suit shopping and now had a drawer full. Worked for him.

The red one…no, his favorite, the blue-and-yellow one. It had ties on both sides of her hips that he loved to tease her with, threatening to pull them. When she stopped next to him, her arm touching his, his heart did that happy stuttering thing it did whenever she was near.

He dropped his hand and brushed his fingers over her very fine ass. “Oops,” he said, grinning when she laughed. And yep, there were the ties.

“Why do you always pretend your hand finding my bottom was an accident?”

“I love you,” he said.

She shook a finger at him. “I’m on to you, Snoopy. That was a diversion tactic.”

“Can’t get anything past you.” He shifted to face her. “But I do love you, kitten, and I really love that sweet ass of yours.”

She snuggled into him and pressed her face against his chest. “And my sweet ass loves you.”

What more could a man in love ask for?

* * *

Liam had gone dark.

He was somewhere in West Virginia, looking for a photojournalist who’d gone missing.

“Should one of us go try to find him?” Cooper said. “Probably me since you have a family now.”

Grayson shook his head. “Not yet. Although it’s worrisome, he knows how to take care of himself. If he needs help, he’ll reach out to us. Let’s give him a few more days before we act.”

If they didn’t hear from him by the weekend, then it would be time to worry.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from Canine Refuge by Linda O. Johnston.