In taking this hard look, Gabe was realizing that, unexpectedly, he’d met someone he very much wanted to let in. Even as he accepted the truth of it, fear threatened to incapacitate him, binding his intestines into a knot whenever he let the awareness in.

Olivia had rocked his world with her genuineness, her refreshing honesty, and that kiss. So much so, she’d come close to shaking it off its axis.

And now, she wasn’t returning his calls. Or texts.

He’d done his best to give her whatever space she needed. She’d call, he was certain. Pretty certain anyway. He couldn’t accept that he’d read her wrong. She’d felt a connection too. He’d experienced it in her kiss and seen it in her eyes.

But she wasn’t calling. Or texting. Not even a Thanks but I need some time to think things through. Nothing.

He couldn’t fathom that she was being coy or playing hard to get. Just as he couldn’t fathom he’d read her wrong.

Which put him at a stalemate. In a moment of weakness, Gabe had done an online search and found her name in a school newsletter recognizing her for being teacher of the month for her dedication to helping students with dyslexia. She was working in a magnet prep school downtown in Soulard, less than five miles away. She’d told him she taught eighth-grade math, just not where. But now he knew. And she was closer than he’d imagined.

After he showered, ate a semirespectable skillet of scrambled eggs topped with cheese and salsa, and was ready to leave, Samson gave him a pointed look and a yawn and headed off to his room and the bed again.

“Sweet dreams, bud. I’ll do what I can to swing by here this afternoon when I run out to the shelter. Otherwise, it’ll be a long day of not much for you.”

Carrying a thermos mug of fresh coffee, Gabe gave Samson a final pat and headed out. It wasn’t until he was seated inside the Tacoma and flipping over the ignition that he realized he didn’t have anywhere he needed to be right now.

And while there was no place he had to be, there was one place he very much wanted to be. And he was coming up with very few reasons not to at least give it a try.

* * *

If ever she’d been so mesmerized by a pair of sable-brown eyes that had shown this much disinterest in her, Olivia couldn’t remember. But this dog had had her even before their first real hello. And now that she had an inkling of what he’d been through in the last month, her compassion for him had increased tenfold.