Page 21 of Tice’s Kind of Trouble (Obsessive Protectors #2)
TWENTY-ONE
Bethany
Home for good? Why does this question feel so much bigger than those three words?
Love Wins Animal Rescue is my job, my dream, my business. It’s my baby.
And I love every single animal there, but I never had a good home to take in a dog. Since college, I poured my money into the business… which meant renting lower-cost apartments.
So when Tice says to bring a puppy home, my chest almost splits wide open.
I’m vibrating with excitement when he leans in, giving me a gentle but very dominant kiss. Taking his time to remind me how good he felt inside of me.
Finishing with a rough whisper against my mouth, he says, “Yeah, sweetheart, for good.”
I bounce off of the tailgate, launching myself around Tice. Swaying back, he buries his face in my hair, his chuckle warm and rough. “Where is this little troublemaker?”
“He’s in the kennels. I’ll just be a minute.”
“Not without me, you don’t.” He plants me on my feet, lacing warm, rough fingers between mine. “Where you go, I go.”
I don’t really have a reply, except for a smile which feels as bright as the sun.
And when I think I can’t glow any more, I look over and Bruno’s resting his head on Tice’s thigh, below our clasped hands as he drives us home.
“Gonna make a stop.”
Tice turns his big black truck toward town center. People watch as we roll slowly through the small main street area until he picks a spot under a nice shade tree to park.
“You two hold tight.”
He slides out of the truck, giving me a possessive, burning look. “Lock the doors. I won’t be long.”
“Aye-aye, captain.”
He’s shaking his head, grinning, when he walks toward the business district.
I’m too busy playing with Bruno to wonder where he’s gone. Tice is driving the ship right now, and after all that’s happened, I’m happy to hand over the reins.
It’s not long and he returns, a serious set to his expression. When he climbs in, the first thing he does is kiss me.
God, I love that about him.
Then he kisses Bruno’s fuzzy little head, and my heart leaps right out of my chest and melts onto the floor. “What are you doing to me, Tice?”
He flicks his gaze to me as he backs out of the parking spot. “What?”
“That? The kisses. Mine and Bruno’s. You’re killing me slowly.”
He doesn’t reply, just tucks the corner of his mouth in a smoldering grin.
“One more stop,” he says a few moments later, turning into a gravel road next to his property. This one climbs higher on a ridge that overlooks the river. Trees line the road, giving little snippets of view of the valley below.
“I’ve never been here.”
“It’s a special place to me. That’s why we’re here.”
There’s a little trip to my pulse. “What’s special?”
“When I bought the house…” He swallows roughly. “I bought all the surrounding property because it was my buffer from the world. But this spot… it was begging for a moment like this.”
“Like what?”
He shakes his head. “You’ll see.”
A moment later we’re parked in a grove of trees. Tice scoops up Bruno, opens my door, and clasps my hand. A cool breeze lifts my hair as we walk down a narrow path between the old-growth trees.
The air has a magical feeling. Heavy with promises.
“I hope you love it.”
When he leads me into an opening, my breath catches. “Oh my God, Tice. This view is incredible.”
Clutching Bruno to his chest, he looks out over the incredible vista and the valley below. Sun sparkles off the river, the green velvet mountains dipping along its edge.
“It’s a perfect place for a wedding.”
“A wedding?” I choke.
“But first, I need to do this.”
I’m swaying a little—confusion and hope and lots of butterflies inside of me. Sitting Bruno on a thick patch of grass, Tice drops to his knee.
“This is sudden, and you have to think I’m crazy, but I can’t let anyone else steal you away, Bethany. You’re my future. I know it with all of my battered soul.”
“Tice?”
“Marry me, sweetheart?”
My vision swims with tears as he slides a diamond and emerald ring onto my finger. “When did you get this?”
He chuckles, kissing my knuckles. There’s definitely a vulnerable hope in his serious eyes. “Earlier, in town. But you didn’t answer my question.”
Heat spikes up my neck—of course I’d mess up his proposal. “Oh my God. Yes!”
Lurching forward, he wraps his arms around my waist, burying his face in my stomach. Bruno thinks this is grand, his loud puppy barks echoing off the trees surrounding us.
“I love you, Tice,” I whisper, sliding my hands into his hair, kissing his forehead. “We’re gonna make that house a home.”
He scoops me up. Voice rough, he speaks against my temple. “I know, baby. I know.”