Old Fashioned Sweetie by Megan Wade
Charity
It hasn't taken long for whisper Valley to feel like it's a part of me. And for a girl who’s never really belonged before, the joy of that is positively indescribable. Not only am I happy and in love with an amazing man. But I have a wonderful new job as a small-town librarian and an extended family that I adore. Life is good.
In a few short weeks when Vaughn and I get married, I'll also have an official sister to call my own. I can’t wait until Jade and I are sisters in law. They say you can’t choose your family, but since I already chose her as my friend, it really doesn't get better than that.
Jade thinks we’re going to have sisters coming out of our ears soon. I just hope we all get along as wonderfully as Jade and I do. Mrs. Valentine—Aimee once you get to know her—is ecstatic about having daughters in the family after only having boys for so long. She says she’s been forced into the football and beer culture for so long that she craves all things pink and sweet. So it looks like cocktail night at the bar will be a go pretty soon, just to give Aimee the female interaction she needs.
“This was a great idea you had,” Jade says, putting a yipping puppy into a little pen outside the library. She works for the local animal shelter organizing adoption drives and the general day-to-day rehoming of animals, so when the library’s store room got a little too full with secondhand books, I suggested we do a combined book and adoption drive outside the library. We even invited some of the locals to set up stalls with baked goods and homemade items. It’s turned into a tiny open air market and with the amount of people milling about already, it’s going to be a successful day for us all.
“Thank you,” I say, reaching down to scratch a three legged border collie behind the ear. She's the happiest dog I think I've ever seen, and if it wasn't for the fact that Remy has already called dibs on her, I'd be trying to convince Vaughn to let me take her in. “I'm just glad that all books and ageing animals are both finding homes for themselves today.”
Jade lifts a hand to shade her eyes against the sun as she looks off into the distance. “Where is Remy, anyway? His little princess needs to meet her new daddy. She's been so lonely ever since her husky buddy was adopted last week.”
“Is the new owner local?” I ask. “You could see if it’s OK to pass on Remy’s details so the dogs can have a play date.”
“You know, I think that’s a great idea. I’ll ask Remy when he gets here.”
“What are you gonna ask me?” Remy says, giving us both a fright when he seemingly appears from nowhere. I'm quick to forgive him though because Vaughn is right behind him. A massive smile spreads across my face.
“I didn't think I was going to get to see you until tonight,” I say as I welcome his arms going around me, tilting my head up to receive a gentle kiss.
“Rem said he was coming down here to pick up his new dog, so I couldn't really resist the chance to see my girl.”
“Who's looking after the bar?” I ask when I notice Kellen and Otis milling about at the baked goods across the lawn.
“Mom and Dad. They want to meet their first grandbaby—that’s what they’re callin’ the dog,” Vaughn explains.
“That’s sweet,” I say, smiling.
“I don’t know about that. There was also an insinuation in there that Kellen and I needed to hurry up and give them real grandbabies. It got me thinkin’ that we get some practice in over the next few weeks so we’re ready to go the moment we tie the knot.” His voice is low and sexy as he brushes his nose against mine and nibbles at my mouth, making me want to be anywhere but here right now.
“Well, if you want to meet me in the now-empty storeroom in about ten minutes, we can get to work right away. I wouldn’t want to disappoint your parents.”
“How about we just please ourselves first?” he murmurs, kissing me a little more now.
“Definitely,” I say, my voice growing thick just thinking about all the pleasure that’s to come. Both Vaughn and I are very eager to become parents, but we’re waiting until after the wedding to the officially start trying. Even though we’ve dived headfirst into this relationship, we do want to get this parenting thing right, and that means taking a little time for us first. “Go meet me inside and I’ll be right there.”
Releasing a light growl, he presses a rough kiss to the curve of my neck as I palm him the library keys and he makes his way into the building behind us.
I watch him go, because who wouldn’t want to watch a man with an ass as fine as Vaughn’s, and then turn back to where Jade is standing with Kellen, Remy and Otis, filling out Remy’s adoption papers for the border collie he’s decided to name Bluey after the dog in that children’s show—even though it’s a completely different breed.
“Need me to keep an eye on the book stall?” Jade asks with a smirk on her face.
My cheeks heat and I stammer over my words a little, trying to come up with a legitimate excuse, but just end up going with, “Yes, please.”
“Go have your fun,” she says with a giggle. But before I can turn away, a frantic voice in the distance grabs my attention seconds before an excited husky comes barreling our way.
“Grab him!”
Remy is the first to react, grabbing the husky at the scruff while he makes a racket, trying to jump up and down while it howls and flicks its tail. Bluey does a funny border collie version of a howl back, so I’m guessing this is the husky friend Jade was talking about.
“Thank you so much,” a dark haired woman gasps, handing the lead to Remy as she tries to catch her breath. “He slipped his collar and I’ve been chasing him for what feels like miles.”
“No problem,” Remy says, sliding the collar over the husky’s neck and handing the lead back to his owner. “Remy.”
“No. His name is Prancer. I don’t even think his name was Remy when I adopted him.”
We all try and stifle our amusement at the miscommunication as Remy shakes his head and holds his hand out to the pretty brunette. “I’m Remy,” he says, a massive grin on his face as the woman slips her hand inside his and shakes it, blushing up a storm.
“I feel so dumb right now. I’m Samantha. Sam for short. I also might be in a little over my head with this husky ownership.”
“Don’t sweat it. Reckon Prancer here is just tryin’ to say hi to Bluey.”
“Bluey?”
Remy nods. “That’s what I called the border. I’m signing the adoption papers as we speak.” He takes the pen from Jade and signs the paperwork with a flourish. “If you’re free right now, maybe we can let these two get re-acquainted. Jade told me Bluey had a husky best friend.”
Samantha’s mouth curves into a wide grin. “I’d really like that,” she says, doing her best to keep the excited husky under control while Jade leashes Bluey and hands her over to Remy.
“You two have fun getting to know each other,” she says, beaming from ear to ear as both Remy and Sam thank her then head off in the direction of the local park, the dogs happily leading the way.
“Don’t say it,” Otis says, his brows lifted as he looks at the over-the-moon the Jade.
“Say what? That the soulwink has struck again?” she replies. “Because I hate to say it, Otis, but you are so wrong. This thing is real. Just look at the evidence in front of you.” She gestures around her and Otis grunts, saying he’ll be looking for a true crime book at the bookstand so he can find a little reality somewhere.
Meanwhile, Jade, Kellen and I laugh. While our relationships have all been sudden, unexpected and fast-moving, not one of us can deny that something truly special has happened between us. Maybe it’s Whisper Valley and the soulwinks Jade likes to claim, or maybe it’s just dumb luck. Either way, I’ve never been happier than I have since coming to this place and meeting the man of my dreams.
And when I excuse myself and make my way into the library, I know I’ll be even happier after coming for an entirely different reason…
