do community service, for Christ sake! I vowed I would make a difference when I got out of law school; that I would become an advocacy lawyer and fight for people who were overlooked or victimized by the system. You made me remember that.”
“What happened?” She traced her thumb along his jawbone, rasping over the stubble.
He dropped his eyes. But she slid her fingers beneath his chin, nudging it up, and he resisted for a second, not wanting her to see what might be in his eyes at that moment. He was unmasked, naked, and vulnerable in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with his physical state at the moment, and everything to do with his emotional one. Brooke missed nothing. Even if she was unprepared for what she might find, he doubted she’d miss that, either.
He wasn’t ready to let this go yet, to let her go. He’d never told anyone what he was telling her. He had no idea what intimacy was until just now. True sharing of self. She folded down on him and nudged him with her whole body.
“Spill it.”
He took a deep breath and smoothed his hands over her head. “Anybody tell you you’re pushy?” His voice hardly more than a gravelly rasp.
“I’m pushy? Look at the pot calling the kettle black. Don’t make me torture it out of you.”
“Yeah, right. You couldn’t torture a flea.”
“Come on, Drew. You’re safe with me,” she said as the moment spun out.
That did him in, because instinct told him that he was. Perfectly safe. He sighed deeply to release some of the gathered heaviness in his chest. “The money ran out and I had to support my sister. It was my father’s greatest wish she go to Princeton. I couldn’t let him down. I took the job thinking it would be temporary.”
“And got sucked in.”
“I’m good at what I do.”
“But does it feed your soul?”
“The current situation is what is important right now. We need to figure this out.”
“Now you’re being evasive, which is okay. I understand how scary it must be to discover you lost your way on the path to where you wanted to be. It’s never too late to find your way back.”
He looked down, unable to admit anything either to himself or to her. Saying it out loud would make it much too real. He wasn’t ready to go that far.
“Maybe analyzing my job should take a back seat to your immediate problem. A decision has to be made, or this is going to get too real, too fast.”
“And we’re back to me. I see this isn’t the time for this discussion.” Her disappointed sigh twisted in his gut.
She looked up at him through thick sable lashes. “I have made a decision. I’m going to go talk to Kristen and end this. She’s had enough time to see reason.”
“Brooke, appealing to her won’t work. She’s not going to change her mind.”
“I have faith that she will.”
“You are being naïve.”
“It’s worth a try.”
He pulled her tightly against him. “Why won’t you just settle out of court?”
“Because Kristen wants me to fire Rachel.”
“Rachel?”
“She’s the groomer. She’s got two kids and no husband. She’s barely making ends meet as it is. I will not fire her.”
Drew bowed his head and realized this was even worse than he thought. “This is what she told you, fire her or she would ruin you?”
“Exactly. But I’m going to explain the situation to her. She can’t be that heartless.”
“Brooke, she is that heartless. Maybe you can help Rachel find another job.”
“That’s not an option. I know what it feels like to be abandoned without support. My parents could have cared less about me. They gave me Roscoe so I would learn responsibility. What a joke! They didn’t know the first thing about responsibility. But they taught me well. Rachel has no one to help her.”
“And you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for her?”
She bit her lip. “Tell me the truth. Can she really take everything I own over a bad grooming? The fur will grow back, for mercy’s sake. It’s
“What happened?” She traced her thumb along his jawbone, rasping over the stubble.
He dropped his eyes. But she slid her fingers beneath his chin, nudging it up, and he resisted for a second, not wanting her to see what might be in his eyes at that moment. He was unmasked, naked, and vulnerable in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with his physical state at the moment, and everything to do with his emotional one. Brooke missed nothing. Even if she was unprepared for what she might find, he doubted she’d miss that, either.
He wasn’t ready to let this go yet, to let her go. He’d never told anyone what he was telling her. He had no idea what intimacy was until just now. True sharing of self. She folded down on him and nudged him with her whole body.
“Spill it.”
He took a deep breath and smoothed his hands over her head. “Anybody tell you you’re pushy?” His voice hardly more than a gravelly rasp.
“I’m pushy? Look at the pot calling the kettle black. Don’t make me torture it out of you.”
“Yeah, right. You couldn’t torture a flea.”
“Come on, Drew. You’re safe with me,” she said as the moment spun out.
That did him in, because instinct told him that he was. Perfectly safe. He sighed deeply to release some of the gathered heaviness in his chest. “The money ran out and I had to support my sister. It was my father’s greatest wish she go to Princeton. I couldn’t let him down. I took the job thinking it would be temporary.”
“And got sucked in.”
“I’m good at what I do.”
“But does it feed your soul?”
“The current situation is what is important right now. We need to figure this out.”
“Now you’re being evasive, which is okay. I understand how scary it must be to discover you lost your way on the path to where you wanted to be. It’s never too late to find your way back.”
He looked down, unable to admit anything either to himself or to her. Saying it out loud would make it much too real. He wasn’t ready to go that far.
“Maybe analyzing my job should take a back seat to your immediate problem. A decision has to be made, or this is going to get too real, too fast.”
“And we’re back to me. I see this isn’t the time for this discussion.” Her disappointed sigh twisted in his gut.
She looked up at him through thick sable lashes. “I have made a decision. I’m going to go talk to Kristen and end this. She’s had enough time to see reason.”
“Brooke, appealing to her won’t work. She’s not going to change her mind.”
“I have faith that she will.”
“You are being naïve.”
“It’s worth a try.”
He pulled her tightly against him. “Why won’t you just settle out of court?”
“Because Kristen wants me to fire Rachel.”
“Rachel?”
“She’s the groomer. She’s got two kids and no husband. She’s barely making ends meet as it is. I will not fire her.”
Drew bowed his head and realized this was even worse than he thought. “This is what she told you, fire her or she would ruin you?”
“Exactly. But I’m going to explain the situation to her. She can’t be that heartless.”
“Brooke, she is that heartless. Maybe you can help Rachel find another job.”
“That’s not an option. I know what it feels like to be abandoned without support. My parents could have cared less about me. They gave me Roscoe so I would learn responsibility. What a joke! They didn’t know the first thing about responsibility. But they taught me well. Rachel has no one to help her.”
“And you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for her?”
She bit her lip. “Tell me the truth. Can she really take everything I own over a bad grooming? The fur will grow back, for mercy’s sake. It’s
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