Page 31 of Forever & Always You

My eyes squeeze shut in mortification, because she just can’t help herself.

It’s ironic, talking about odds, considering I was dealt the much stronger hand, and yet Austin is the one with a successful career while I’m yet to even get my degree.

Mom really has no right to be so patronizing, considering her own daughter’s circumstances.

“Yes, Mrs. McKinley, I had pretty bad odds,” Austin agrees, his tone hardening in defense. “But that was all—just bad odds. I was a nice kid who worked hard and treated people with kindness, so I think I deserved to have some luck thrown my way, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, of course .?.?.”

“Great! Then you can stop looking down on me going forward,” he says with a tight smile, leaving my mother flummoxed and grappling with her words.

“I do not look down on you!”

“You do, Mom,” I cut in gently, scoldingly tilting my head at her. “Austin and I are friends again, and I’d really like it if you respected that this time around. He’s a good influence on me.”

Mom is not accustomed to being put in her place, but I also didn’t invite her here to stir up an argument.

Surprisingly, for once, I don’t enjoy the quiver in her lower lip.

She may be the worst judgmental snob and the most melodramatic person I have ever met in my entire life, but I still love her despite her glaring flaws.

I really do want her to accept Austin, even if it is too many years overdue.

I’m just about to change the subject when Zach approaches us and I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful for the interruption.

“Hey, sis,” Zach says through a mouthful of cheeseburger, throwing an arm over my shoulders. I haven’t seen him in a month since we both crashed at the house, but he really came in clutch with designing the flyers for this event. “Wow, Mom. You came to this?”

“Yes,” Mom mumbles, her eyes on the ground. I suspect she’ll leave soon.

“Where’s Claire?” I ask with caution. Last I heard, Zach and his fiancée were patching things up, but I worry they’ve taken a bad turn again.

Zach points his half-eaten cheeseburger across the gazebo and I spot Claire fussing over one of the dogs.

Phew . Things must be okay. “Gabby, if she ends up falling in love with some mutt, I’m declaring war on you.

I’m here for the free food, not to adopt a dog.

Oh, Austin.” Zach blinks at Austin in surprise, then tilts his head at me. “Still figuring things out, I see?”

I smile. “Getting there.” My stomach rumbles and I realize in my haste to leave Durham this morning, I haven’t eaten all day. The sight of Zach’s burger suddenly has me ravenous, so I tap Austin’s arm. “Let’s go grab some food.”

Austin is more than happy to escape being cornered in the gazebo with my mom, so we leave her and Zach behind and head outside into the sun to source some burgers for ourselves.

I knew the turnout today was expected to be high, but it still amazes me just how bustling the park is.

Music blasts from speakers, the delicious scent of burgers fills the air, and kids’ laughter echoes from the bounce houses.

So far, everything is running smoothly without a hitch.

Maybe I should have studied event management instead of sensible, boring economics. I’m not that bad at this, and if even just half the dogs are adopted, I’ll consider today an immense success.

Austin’s fingers trace their way down my arm until his hand settles into mine. “I’m sorry for talking to your mom like that.”

“Are you kidding? She totally deserved it,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze.

“I never listened to her when I was eight and wanted to be your friend. What makes you think I’ll listen now that I’m an adult?

Besides, I think that was actually a step forward with her.

She’ll grow to like you, but those little remarks of hers are probably something you’ll just have to get used to.

God knows I get them too. She can’t help herself. ”

Austin looks at me out of the corner of his eye as we walk, smirking in amusement. “We have some work to do when it comes to winning over the parents.”

“Hey, at least my mom only judges you. Your parents despise me, so I have a hell of a lot more work to do than you do.”

“Can’t say I blame them too much. You’re easy to despise, Gabby,” he says, “but equally easy to forgive.”

We grab ourselves some cheeseburgers and find a shaded spot beneath a tree.

We sprawl out together on the grass, perfectly content with enjoying the atmosphere and looking out at the crowd.

I can’t help but pay attention to every single person that leaves the gazebo, wondering if they’ve filled out an application form.

Just as Austin and I are debating which dogs are the most likely to get adopted, my brother strides across the park toward us.

“ You, ” Zach hisses, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “Oh, the way I’m going to kill you, Gabby.”

I look up at him from the ground, sunglasses shielding my eyes from the bright sun. “Excuse me?”

“I’m now going to have a scruffy little dog living in my house!” Zach groans. He places his hands on his hips and rants, “And its teeth are fucked up so it’ll probably end up with none at all by the time it’s elderly, so I’ll be left looking after some gummy little blind poodle one day.”

Austin and I exchange a look, as we both realize it at the exact same time.

“You’re adopting Lily? The miniature golden poodle?

” I ask, because out of all of the dogs, of course Zach just has to be talking about the one I thought was my soul dog.

Lily, the curly-haired, chicken-wing-loving, antisocial poodle.

“Did her sign say she was found eating chicken wings out of the trash?”

Zach grows even more exasperated. “Why are the pair of you laughing? Is there something wrong with that dog? Tell me now, Gabby, because if I take this thing home and it’s demonic, I swear to God .?.?.”

“No! She’s perfect,” I reassure him. “I just didn’t know you were considering a dog.”

“Because I wasn’t!” Zach snaps. “I told you—I came for the free food, but now Claire is in love with that lump of fur and I’ve been bullied into filling out an application form.”

“Maybe having a dog will make you less grouchy.”

Zach graces me with his middle finger before storming back over to the gazebo, and I giggle under my breath as I picture him walking a tiny poodle around his neighborhood.

He’ll deny it, of course, but he’ll love it.

It’s always the men who don’t want the dog who fall in love with them the most. And Claire is incredibly sweet, so I know Lily will be taken great care of.

“That’s one dog adopted for sure,” Austin says, leaning back on his hands. “And if Lily and her underbite can find a home, then I have high hopes for the rest.”

We only have the park for a couple hours, and eventually the crowd begins to thin, the grills get shut off, and the bounce houses begin to deflate. Mom has disappeared without saying goodbye, but I don’t blame her for being too caught off guard by Austin’s confidence to want to find us again.

“Shall we help get the dogs back to the shelter?” I suggest to Austin, because that’s exactly what I need to do, anyway, so I’m relieved when he agrees.

Inside the gazebo, the photographer is popping party hats on the dogs and taking some final snaps for their new headshots on the Saving Paws Animal Rescue’s website, because how can anyone not want to adopt a dog wearing a party hat and bandana?

“Gabby!” Fiona calls over with a beaming grin spread across her face. She thrusts her clipboard at me, a thick stack of completed application forms piled up high. “Look at all of these! We’ve had so much interest in most of the dogs!”

With bated breath, I ask, “And Teddy?”

“Unfortunately, no applications for Teddy yet.”

The pang of disappointment is straight-up gut-wrenching.

It’s so heartbreaking to me, thinking of the innocent dogs without a couch to nap on, just because they’re too old or not cute enough or a little bit nervous.

I may be pretty damn good at organizing an adoption event, but I’m clearly too sensitive to deal with the aftermath.

Fiona immediately notices the glaze of tears in my eyes, and she rubs her hand soothingly up and down my arm.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You did good! I reckon at least twenty dogs will be in new homes next week and that’s because of you!

” One of the volunteers calls across the gazebo for her and she dashes away before she realizes she’s just ruined my little secret. Thanks, Fiona.

Austin immediately turns to me with narrowed, intrigued eyes. “Gabby.”

And of course, I completely ignore him. “Let’s go see Teddy and give him some belly rubs.”

“Gabby.”

“His pen is up there somewhere.”

“Gabby,” he says once more, and I give in and meet his eyes, remaining sheepishly silent. “You did this?”

“Maybe .?.?.”

“ All of this?”

I shrug as heat blazes across my face, because the last thing I wanted was any credit.

“I want to be more like my father,” I admit, my voice quiet.

“He was kind and charitable and humble, and I realized after our talk in your office that I wanted to continue that legacy. So I gave Fiona a call last month and we pulled this all together.”

Austin is deep in thought, still registering the fact that I was behind all of this. He gestures around the gazebo. “How did you pay for this?”

“Cracked into the trust fund,” I answer, managing a smile.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, but his tone is gentle. He’s not angry that I left him in the dark, I don’t think. Just confused. “I would have chipped in. I’m their sponsor, remember?”

“I wanted to do this on my own,” I say, and I hold his gaze as I strengthen my voice. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something good for once. Not to impress you, not for attention. Just .?.?. good .”

Austin’s smile is so slight, it’s almost indiscernible. He steps forward and wraps an arm around me, the other hand resting on the small of my back. He kisses the crown of my head, right near the healed cut from my accident a month ago. Right by my ear, he murmurs, “I’m proud of you, Gabby.”

And a barrage of tears instantly pricks at my eyes, because I can’t remember the last time anyone was proud of me.