Page 16 of Yorkie to My Heart (Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue #6)

Phillip

“You really don’t have to do this.” I ran my hand through my hair—partly out of frustration and partly out of nervousness.

Colin offered me a measured smile. “That traffic we hit coming into LA made us late.”

“Right.”

“So I had to go straight to the hospital.”

Which I knew. I’d chickened out and hung out in a local coffee shop rather than come to Gardena by transit. “But…” I eyed the house as we stood before it.

Just a plain three-bedroom bungalow tucked away on a quiet street.

So innocuous.

With so, so, so many bad memories.

“I…”

Colin gently laid a hand on my shoulder.

Given I was on the verge of a panic attack, the touch grounded me.

Wasn’t unwelcome. No, in fact I was so damn grateful.

I’d told him about a lot of what had gone on in this house.

Some things neither Dr. Martin nor Jeremy knew.

Anthony did. He had to when he offered to help me.

My psychiatrist in LA said I needed to get out—and she hadn’t been wrong.

That Gaynor Beach had provided sanctuary was more than I was capable of understanding at the moment. But I could be appreciative.

“You’ll lose your stuff if we don’t move it today, Phillip. So let’s do this. You say there isn’t much?—”

“There isn’t?—”

“So it’ll all fit in the back. If not, I’ll give James or Danny a call, and they’ll run up and we’ll fill their SUV.”

James the generous landlord and Danny was the brother-in-law who sounded just as sweet. Another nice guy.

“Or we can store your extra stuff in my sister-in-law’s place. Gracie’s got a bit of space and is always willing to help out. Even if she’s irked I didn’t bring her favorite niece for a visit.”

Favorite niece being Widget the dog.

Colin and James were also in the process of becoming foster parents. From what I’d seen, I was certain any kid would be lucky to have them as foster dads. God knew, Colin was taking a paternal role with me today.

And right now, I might’ve been twenty-four, but inside I felt like that scared six-year-old kid making soup from a can for his sick mother. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll take it one step at a time.”

“Yeah, okay.” I pulled out my keyring that still held the key to the house. I advanced up the uneven walkway until we got to the front porch. “I…”

“Do you want me to do this?” Colin held out his hand.

Slowly, I shook my head. “Just…I didn’t leave here in a good way, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” He didn’t entirely—I’d left the most painful part out of my story—but I appreciated his support.

I put the key in the lock and turned it slowly. The lock popped, and I pushed the door open.

My landlady had left the a/c running, so the temperature wasn’t too hot.

I stepped in and Colin followed me, shutting the door behind him. I wasn’t certain what I’d been expecting, but this hadn’t been it.

The house was meticulous. No sign of the disaster that I’d left.

No empty food wrappers, no strewn dirty clothes, no pop cans piled in a corner.

The laminate floor shone. The furniture had all been removed.

Likely sent to the garbage, given how stained it’d been.

The dining room table was gone, and as I looked into the kitchen, that appeared pristine as well.

Did Mrs. J. clean it out herself or did she hire people?

I really hoped she hired people. She’d seen the mess, of course.

The day she’d found me.

“Are these your boxes?” Colin moved toward a pile in one corner.

“I…uh… I’ve never had boxes. Until I moved here, I never even had stuff to put in boxes.” Just a suitcase of clothes and a knapsack of books. My first few months here, I’d picked up a couple of things. But this had been Hank’s place, and so he’d owned everything.

When he’d abandoned me, he’d left everything behind. The stuff hadn’t been worth anything, but he’d gifted it to me along with the cruelest of parting words.

Three months later, Mrs. J. had found me.

Near death.

Another hour, and I would’ve been.

I shuddered. “We should probably go through them quickly. I don’t want to take anything that isn’t mine.”

If Colin thought that was a weird idea—given everything was labeled as mine—he didn’t say anything.

Unable to stand any longer, I plopped onto the floor and pulled the closest box to me. I used my key to break the packing tape seal. Only realizing after the fact that I’d have no way to reseal it.

Fuck.

“This is all Hank’s shit. From what I can tell.”

“Okay.” Colin strode to the kitchen, coming back a moment later. “No garbage bags in the kitchen. Or recycling either.”

“I don’t want…this is good stuff. Surely there’s a charity…”

Like the one that had helped me .

“Right. I’ll run to the store and grab garbage and recycling bags as well as packing tape and a marker. Why don’t you search for local charities while I’m gone? I promise I won’t be long.”

He met my gaze, and I read the uncertainty. “I’ll be fine, Colin, I promise.”

“Okay. Give me ten.”

It turned out to be more like twenty. But he was an east-coast transplant who’d never lived in LA, and I hadn’t thought to give him directions to the store.

We spent the rest of the afternoon going through the boxes.

I’d located a charity shop who would take everything. And issue a tax receipt. I didn’t need it, but I’d give them Colin’s name. That would at least make up for some of the time he was dedicating to me.

He swore he’d planned the entire day for his appointment.

I didn’t really believe him, but I also couldn’t have done any of this without him.

Three hours later, we emerged from the charity shop.

I handed Colin the receipt.

He rolled his eyes. “You might need this.”

“I don’t have any income. I may not be worldly, but I understand charity receipts aren’t helpful if you don’t have anything to deduct them against.”

He grinned. “They teach you that in philosophy?”

His teasing warmed me. “Yes. Plato wrote an entire treatise about it.”

He checked his phone. “Look—LA traffic is horrendous all the time but deathly at rush hour. As evidenced by our trip in. Why don’t we grab dinner and wait out the worst of it before we head back to Gaynor Beach? I’m starving and can’t drive and eat.”

And he knew I couldn’t drive at all.

“I’m worried about Wally.” Really, I mostly missed him, but worried sounded less pathetic.

He cocked his head.

“My dog. He’s in doggie daycare. With Brooklyn.” I pulled out my phone and showed him the picture Brooklyn had sent.

Wally curled up against a massive great Dane with the caption, After they ran around all day .

I was worried, but I really liked the idea that Wally had clearly enjoyed himself. That he’d made a new friend. I trusted Brooklyn…I just really missed Wally.

“Uh…is Wally the little one or the big one?”

“Oh, Wally’s my little Yorkie.” Briefly, I closed my eyes. “I rescued him a week ago. Well, adopted him. And I can’t believe it’s been a week.”

“Safe Haven Animal Rescue?”

“Yeah.”

“Arthur’s amazing. He’s best friends with James. I’m certain he would’ve made a good match between you and Wally.”

“Fat owner for a fat dog?” I pressed my hand to my gut. “Wally could’ve done better than me.”

Colin merely stood, watching me.

“Just… I mean I’m trying to help him lose weight. I guess I am too…”

“Did we not just donate a bunch of your old clothes because they’re too big?”

“Yeah.” I scratched my chin. “But I also considered keeping them in case I put the weight back on.”

“Do you want to put the weight back on?” He cocked his head.

“Of course not.” For the most part. I scrunched my nose. “But if I’m fat, then no one looks at me…romantically. Then I don’t have to worry about attracting another Hank.”

He grimaced. “Okay, you had some seriously bad luck with that dude. At least from what you’ve told me. So let’s take a positive attitude that things are going to be different. If you don’t want anyone in your life romantically, that’s fine. You just gently dissuade people.”

“How’d that work for you?” During our interminable ride up from Gaynor Beach, I’d managed to coax Colin into sharing his love story.

How he’d met James when he’d needed help with caring for Widget.

How James had persistently been around and had eventually worn Colin down.

How, despite the fact Colin faced major health challenges as a transplant recipient, James had never wavered.

Had never left his side. Had been his rock.

And how they were married, trying to become foster parents, and loving the dog who’d brought them together.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I wanted that life. The couple with the happy dog part, anyway, And if I was really honest with myself, I wanted it with Jeremy. The man who didn’t judge. The man who accepted me for who I was—not who he could mold me into. The man who cared for my dog.

Which was why I was surprised I hadn’t just asked him to watch Wally.

Everything happened so fast, and I hadn’t even been certain he’d been home.

Anthony had secured a spot with Brooklyn, and I’d just run with it.

I still had no idea how much this was costing me.

Brooklyn’s latest text assured me that I didn’t need to race back as he would just bring Wally into the house, and that my little guy would keep him company until I was able to pick him up.

I should’ve been in a bigger hurry to get home, but I was kind of enjoying my time with Colin.

I had no idea if I’d ever see the charming man again.

I could envision him becoming a friend—with his open nature and genuine kindness.

He could’ve just insisted we shove all my boxes into his SUV and race home.

Instead he’d helped me donate all the stuff with bad memories.

So I was only bringing the good into my new home.

“Do you know somewhere we can grab dinner?” he asked.

“I know a cheap Mexican place…”

“Is the food good?”

I hesitated. I didn’t know how to compare food because I’d only ever eaten what was put before me. Hank chose the restaurant, and I ate. Not much more to it than that.

Colin yanked out his phone. “There’s an Italian fine-dining restaurant I’ve been wanting to try.”

I eyed my clothes.

He waved me off.

“Uh, I love Italian.”

He grinned as he dialed. Within moments, he had a reservation for the two of us. We hopped into the SUV, he programmed the GPS, and we were on our way.

I might’ve been a little intimidated by the pristine-white tablecloths and red-wine-colored cloth napkins, but I attempted to act like this was no big deal. I managed to order shrimp linguini without too much difficulty.

Colin regarded me. “I should’ve asked.”

“It’s fine.” I smoothed the napkin across my lap. “I’ve just…never been in a place like this.”

“And I’ve been in too many. I was thinking of bringing James here the next time we’re in town. And his sister Gracie. She works in a fancy restaurant and doesn’t really want to go there. But here? What do you think?”

“Uh…” I rubbed my forehead.

“Are you okay?” Colin’s brow furrowed.

“Fine. Just…no one ever asks my opinion. No one ever cares what I have to say. I’m not used to this.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t want to say anything, but clearly you’ve had a rough go. You’re seeing someone to talk about it, right?”

“Yeah. Dr. Martin.” I waited a beat.

Colin grinned. “Dr. Martin is awesome. He approved me for the transplant list and followed up afterward to ensure I was taking my antirejection meds. He’s a really good guy and a fixture in Gaynor Beach. You’re in great hands.” He sipped his water. “And Anthony’s a great guy as well.”

I’d told Colin about how Anthony had helped me out so much. First with getting out of LA and down to the shelter and then into a home. “I don’t always feel worthy.”

A frown marred Colin’s brow again. “Everyone is deserving of help, Phillip. I mean, unless you’ve committed some horrendous crime?—”

“I haven’t.”

“Which is sort of what I figured. Anthony cares enough about me not to put me in the path of someone dangerous.” He chuckled. “Now, my family back in Long Island? Would totally be happy to set me up with a serial killer.”

My jaw dropped.

He laughed. “You have to know my family. Hated me for being gay. Hated me for being sick. They’d really hate the fact I’m married to a beautiful Black man and planning to help raise children who aren’t biologically mine.”

I blinked. “They sound like horrible people.”

“They are. Don’t feel sorry for me.” He wagged his finger.

“I have the most amazing life. Best in the world. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

I mean, if James and I aren’t able to foster for whatever reason, we’ll find other ways to give back to the community that has given so much to us.

And God knows, Widget keeps me in line. Oh, did I tell you she’s going to start training to be a therapy dog? Jordan runs a special program.”

I wasn’t going to mention I’d heard from Kevin this might be a possibility.

I wasn’t certain if the young man had been speaking out of turn and, more importantly, Colin was animated.

I sat back as he talked about all the different tests Widget was going to have to pass—and how he had faith she’d ace everything.

My grin widened as I tasted my food. Possibly the fanciest meal I’d ever eaten.

Certainly with amazing company. I need to tell Jeremy about this place.

Colin said it was new, right? Except I’d given Jeremy the cold shoulder.

Yet he’d never been far from my mind today.

Hopefully I could reconnect with him somehow.

Maybe take him a plant or something? As a thank you for the other day? Surely I could think of something…

Two hours later, with some of the LA gridlock cleared, we headed back to Gaynor Beach. Colin turned on a musical soundtrack he really liked, and I eased back into the super-comfortable seat and planned to enjoy the ride.