Hope(less)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

I turned to look at Rachel, eyes wide with shock. 

"What?" I glanced down at him. 

He continued to watch me, his eyes not wavering from mine. He'd left me alone the whole summer. I had thought he'd truly let me go, despite Sam's ominous warning, and had forgotten about him. 

"Aw, you aren't allergic are you?" Rachel said with a small pout. "The lease says a single pet is allowed as long as it's licensed." 

I doubted the lease had taken into consideration that Rachel would fall in love with a freakishly large monster bearing similarities to a dog. 

"No, I'm not allergic," I said distractedly. He had all summer to make his move. Why now? And why when I wore a bikini for the first time ever? A bikini did not say "stay away." I considered grabbing the towel and wrapping myself in it, but discarded the idea after I thought about how it would look to Rachel. Instead, I continued to stare at the frustrating dog until he huffed out a breath, turned away from me, and laid his head on his paws. 

Clay had finally shown up and, apparently, he still didn't want to talk. 

"Good. He's so cute!" Rachel reached over to scratch his ears, and he closed his eyes. 

"I'm going back in," I said as I turned toward the door. Clay sprang to his feet before I reached it and crowded behind me. I looked down at him then back at Rachel, who watched us with an enormous grin. 

"Looks like another guy who can't take his eyes off you. Living with you is going to be a riot." She laughed and picked up the towels. "Let's all go in. The neighbor's tree is going to shade the deck soon anyway." 

Having little choice, I opened the door for Clay. His fur brushed my bare thighs as he moved past me into the house. His head came to about my sternum. He really was huge...a huge problem. 

Sam had warned me Clay had taken my speech as an invitation to live together. At least, Clay had shown up in his fur. However, any relief I might have felt went unnoticed as I contemplated how he'd found me in a completely different state. If Sam told him, I'd have to kill Sam. Since I didn't have the stomach for outright murder, I'd break his coffee maker. 

I took a deep breath to clear my hectic thoughts and followed Clay and Rachel inside. She patted him again, and I knew I wouldn't be able to tell him to leave. Especially with Rachel around as a witness. It'd make me look like a complete psycho if I started to speak to the dog, not only as if I knew him, but also as if I was giving a breakup speech. I didn't really have much of a choice...for now. 

"We can keep him. But he's going to shed everywhere," I predicted then walked away. 

Wisely, Clay stayed in the kitchen with Rachel. She continued to talk to him. She told him how cute he was and asked him if he wanted anything to drink. I heard dishes clank as I closed my door. 

Even knowing Clay could probably hear me, I grabbed my cell phone and called Sam. Sam answered before it rang on my end; he knew I wouldn't call so soon for just any reason. 

"Gabby, what's wrong?" 

"Clay is here. In fur," I said as quietly as possible. 

After a brief pause, Sam chuckled. "What did you expect, Hun? He scented you as his Mate. He's probably been following you since. Only, when you were with me, he trusted me to protect you and kept his distance. Moving away...well, you might have forced his hand a bit. Then again, I think he had planned on joining you from the start." 

"Right..." I heard a creak of leather and knew Sam had sat in his office chair to get comfortable for a long conversation. 

"Listen, this isn't so bad. With him there, you won't need to worry as much about other men, right?"