“Thanks.” My voice came out thick, and I had to glance away, returning my attention to Danny, who was now showing Linus various small toys while excitedly showering the dog with praise. It wasn’t long before he bounded back over to us, dog tucked against his chest.
“Hi.” He gave me his best Hollywood grin, complete with coy eyes, and I started laughing even before he continued, “I know I said I wasn’t going to get one today…”
“But you can’t leave Linus behind?” I couldn’t stop chuckling.
“You know me too well.” Danny mock pouted before smiling down at the dog. “And Linus says the big dogs make him nervous. He likes the idea of being an only dog.”
“Does he now?” Jase was full-out chortling along with me. “I told Money no way were you leaving Linus behind, but I’ll be honest with you, he’s going to need some work. Socializing will be a challenge for him. He might always be somewhat skittish and clingy.”
“That’s okay.” Danny petted the dog’s scraggly neck. “We can be awkwardly needy together.”
“It’s a deal.” Jase had another warm look for Danny before turning back to the house. “I’ll get the paperwork.”
“Is this okay?” Danny asked once Jase was out of earshot. “You really think I can take care of Linus?”
“He trusts you already.” I motioned at how the dog was curled up against Danny’s T-shirt. He didn’t seem inclined to accept petting from me, but that was okay. He could be protective over Danny if he wanted. That made two of us. “Trust is half the battle.”
“Yeah. It is.” Biting his lip, Danny gazed up at me. I’d been speaking about the dog, but the message rang true for us as well. I did trust Danny, and Lord knew I wanted him to trust me too. Danny let out a little huff. “I’m still not sure where I’m moving to though.”
“I think he’ll be happy wherever you are.” Again, I meant the dog, but also myself because I’d follow him to whatever property he needed to feel safe and secure. And I really did think the dog would be good for him, a way to channel some of his restless energy and endless supply of affection.
“Good.” After a quick glance over his shoulder at the house, Danny brushed a kiss across my cheek. “It’s still a few days away, and it’s already my favorite birthday. Think we can make the cake ourselves?”
“Sure.” There wasn’t much I wouldn’t tackle for Danny.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Danny
“I think we’re scaring the dog,” I fretted.
“Linus is fine. As are you.” Cash glanced behind us at the backseat where Linus was peacefully snoozing, not in the least concerned that I, not Cash, was in the driver’s seat. In leaving Jase’s area, Cash had stumbled upon a largely deserted old business park with sprawling empty parking lots that apparently called out for an impromptu driving lesson. We were in Cash’s own car, not Harley’s loaner, but that didn’t necessarily make me feel any better.
“I don’t want to ruin your only wheels.” I readjusted my hands on the steering wheel yet again before staring at the gear shift. This was an automatic, not a stick, but the slide from Park to Drive still felt like a canyon I wasn’t prepared to descend. “Maybe I’m not cut out for driving.”
“Is this like shooting?” Cash gentled his tone considerably as he patted my thigh. “Did you only agree to my random idea to make me happy? You don’t have to learn to drive. I don’t mind ferrying you around, especially while I’m between jobs.”
I made a frustrated noise, both at the reminder that Cash’s availability wasn’t permanent and at his bottomless supply of niceness. This was way more about me and my jumbled brain than any pressure from him. “I want to learn. I do. I’m just afraid I’ll be bad at driving.”
“Then be bad at it.” He stretched in the passenger seat, completely unperturbed by my worries. “My first run of basic training, I was the slowest damn recruit. Face planted on the obstacle course. More than once. Sometimes you have to be willing to fail. I’ve seen plenty of uptight recruits never get that. They want to be perfect right out of the box. Fuck that. The need to be perfect stands in the way of actually improving.”
“Like you and yoga?” I mused, picturing the way he kept hanging in there when we did the videos.
“Yup. Fuck my tight hamstrings. I like doing the yoga with you, so I’ll keep at it.” He said this like it was the simplest thing in the world and not a tremendous gift he was giving me.
“You really like the yoga?” I still wasn’t sure I believed he was getting enough out of hanging around with me, drinking smoothies and doing bedtime yoga. Heck, he’d even seemed to enjoy our stop at a pet store, helping when the choices in toys and dog beds threatened to overwhelm me and pushing the cart like we did this all the time.