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  As they sat on the back porch and watched the two bulldogs playing in the yard, Rusty leaned against Eliza. He’d ditched his tie and blazer—which would both have to go to the cleaners since they were covered in bulldog hair and slobber. He’d rolled his sleeves up and unbuttoned his top two shirt buttons.

  “Thank you, Ma’am.”

  “Booger was lonely. She doesn’t get enough visits with Chewi. This’ll be good for her and for me. Keep us both a little more active.”

  “Mom and Dad loved bulldogs.”

  “I know.” They had pictures of his parents in their younger days with a pet bulldog, before Rusty was born. He’d died while Rusty was young, just a toddler, and he didn’t remember him.

  He didn’t speak for a long moment. “You think maybe it was a sign?”

  “It can be whatever you want it to be, sweetie.”

  “I want to believe it’s a sign. That Mom and Dad somehow knew and led me to her. I wouldn’t have seen her if I hadn’t decided to dump his ashes there.”

  “Yeah, how’d that happen?”

  He shrugged. “I…just thought about it. I thought about asking Cali if I could borrow a bag of Baxter’s poop, then realized that was weird.”

  “That was weird?”

  “Well, even for me weird.”

  She snorted. “Continue.”

  “Then I realized I didn’t want his ashes anywhere around their house, even in their garbage, and I remembered she used to work at the shelter, and she does their website. I stopped by her house on my way to work, and she went with me to the shelter.”

  “Ah. Connection achieved. Now I’m tracking.” She hooked her arm through his. “You did good, sweetie. I’m proud of you.”

  “Now I can look at Chica, or whatever we rename her, and the highlight of today will always be her adoption, not…him.”

  “Yep.”

  More long, easy, quiet minutes. The two dogs, despite their age difference, were obviously getting along great. “Thank you, Li.”

  She pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “You’re welcome. For what?”

  He met her gaze. “For everything. For loving me. For not giving up on me or thinking I was too much trouble.”

  She smiled, ruffling his hair. “Thanks for not being terrified of me.”

  “Oh, I’m absolutely terrified of you, babe.” He grinned. “It’s one of the things that hardens my cock and makes me love you so damn much.”

  She kissed him. “Let’s coax them inside and then you can take me to bed and show me.”

  Boo ambled over, Chica on her heels, to get some pets.

  Then she promptly sneezed in Rusty’s face.

  Eliza fell over laughing.

  “Thanks, Boo.”

  Eliza howled with laughter.

  Rusty sighed and wiped his face on his shirt sleeve. “See? This is why I like being naked. Less laundry to do.”

  THE END

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