“You’re wanting a watchdog then?” Dawna asked. “He’ll be a good one for you, especially if you aren’t wanting him to do sled training.”
Ian was already pulling his wallet out, and hope and guilt churned in Elyse’s chest. “I can’t ask you to buy me a dog,” she whispered, hugging the pup closer.
“Then we can call him my dog if you want.” Ian handed Dawna a stack of twenty dollar bills and smiled at the leather-skinned woman. “I thank you kindly for giving us a discount on him. We’ll give him a good home.”
Dawna pocketed the cash and beamed up at him. “I know you will. Elyse is good people.” Dawna offered her hand again and shook Ian’s firmly. “It’s been a treat meeting you. I like you a lot better than Elyse’s last fellow.”
“Ha!” Elyse pursed her lips. She definitely hadn’t meant to laugh like that. After clearing her throat delicately, she admitted, “I like him more, too.”
Ian ducked his head in a farewell to Dawna as he took the small bag of dogfood she offered, then he pulled open the feed store door for Elyse.
“Oooh,” she said, emotional as hell because the cutest puppy was in her arms, and he was hers. Well, hers and Ian’s, but secretly, she was going to baby it as her own.
Ian had frozen beside her and was watching her cuddle the little wiggling hellion. “What?” she asked, confused by the stunned look on his face.
“I just got this vision of you…” Ian shook his head and frowned. He let off a nervous-sounding laugh. “Nothing.”
There was a bench just inside the doorway, and she sat on it so she could better stare at her new puppy.
“Are you happy?” he asked in a soft voice from above her.
“Yeah,” she answered breathlessly. “Thank you. You’ve already done too much.”
“Not too much.”
“It feels like it. What can I possibly offer you? You’ve spent so much on me, and you’ve come out here at no benefit to yourself to help me out of the hole I dug myself into and—”
“Hey,” he murmured, sitting beside her. “You’re wrong. I have a stake in this, too.”
“What stake? A dilapidated homestead out in the middle of nowhere?”
“No, woman. You.”
Elyse sighed and rested the side of her face against his arm. Shaking her head with a soft scraping sound of her cheek against the sleeve of his jacket, she said, “I’ll owe you for always.”
Ian froze for a moment, hesitating, then lowered his cheek to the top of her hair. “That’s not how this is supposed to work, and I think deep down, you know it. You’re mine, Elyse, just like I’m yours. Sure, we didn’t come about this the normal way—”
“You mean because I hired you?”
“Yeah, but so what? We aren’t here to impress anyone but ourselves. I like you, you like me, I like to see you smile, so let me take care of you while I can.”
“While you can?” Those words dumped dread into her stomach.
Ian frowned and stood. “You know what I mean. While we’re together.” He walked off and greeted Mr. Barns behind the counter as Elyse leaned back against the wall, troubled to her marrow by the thought of him leaving. She didn’t know Ian’s story yet. He’d shared so little with her that she was at a disadvantage. If he left now, it would hurt her. It would cut her worse than Cole had done because she’d let Ian in more than she would ever admit out loud. She’d grown hopeful and imagined their future stretching on and on. He made her feel good about herself. She felt whole around him, and braver, and more hopeful they would keep the homestead if they did this together. For the first time in years, she didn’t feel any loneliness at all. The idea of losing him, of losing herself again, was too painful a pill to swallow.
She would have to become stronger so that Ian could lean on her as much as she was leaning on him.
Chapter Eleven
Ian stifled a chest-rattling growl just thinking about calling his asshole brother. He didn’t get why things had to be so tense when he talked to Jenner and Tobias. Okay, their bears hated each other. Loathed each other and wanted nothing but to fight when they were close. That didn’t mean their human sides couldn’t get along, though.
He huffed three slow steadying breaths, then sat on the goat milking chair in the barn. He dialed Tobias’s number and wasn’t surprised one bit when he didn’t pick up. A quick message about how he was throwing him some delivery business, and Ian hung up, leaned back on the stool, and waited.
Tobias might not like him any, but he was a bush pilot, too. If he wouldn’t answer for a brotherly chat, he might answer for money.
Five minutes later, Ian’s phone rang. Reception was spotty at best out here, so he stood and got two bars on his phone before he accepted the call.
“What business?” Tobias asked.
“Hey, brother.”