WESTON LOCKE

"Micah, are we really doing this?" I huff out as I pop the door open of his car and step out onto the pavement.

He copies my actions then quirks a brow, locking the car door with his key. "Are you backing out on this now?"

"No but I just want to make sure that we are one hundred percent sure that we want to go through with this," I say as I walk beside him. "This is a big commitment and we need to be ready for it."

Micah rests his head onto my arm and smiles. "The fact you're thinking this deeply into it is cute," he chuckles. "How many times have we gone over this and spoken about it?"

I purse my lips and nod. "Loads."

"Exactly." He says before slipping his hand into mine gently. "So there is no harm going in there and just checking a few things out, if it's not for us then it's not for us."

My lips fight a smile and I squeeze his warm hand. "I guess you're right," I exhale.

Micah's blue eyes flick up to mine. "I'm always right and I know this is going to be good for us."

"Let's hope so," I lean over to press a kiss to the top of his head.

I let Micah guide us to the location, it's not far from the car but I can't fight the nerves inside me. Not sure why exactly I feel nervous because we haven't agreed on anything, we had said that we would just check things out. Have a conversation and then make those important directions.

My fingers press to the entrance door and I allow Micah in, he thanks me and we make our way into the reception.

The blonde receptionist glances at us and her eyes light up almost instantly. "Welcome to the Farm Fields Animal Sanctuary. Do you have an appointment today?"

Micah nods. "Yes, for eleven o'clock. Under the name Micah."

She taps away at the computer and the results are drawn. "Perfect," she clicks the mouse. "Lucia will be right out to show you round."

"Thanks," I tell her and we perch at the end of the row of seats.

Micah slides in next to me and I gently grip his knee. "Are you nervous?" He asks.

I turn my head and flick my eyes between his, that smile on his lips makes me want to kiss him. "Yes, aren't you?"

"Excited more," his shoulders raise. "It's feels so real being here now."

"Micah Bleu?"

Our heads turn to the attention of a dark haired woman and a clipboard. We stand up and shake her hand, introducing ourselves. "Well, I've got written here," she glances down at the paper. "That you're looking for a dog."

"Yes," Micah's voice is loud.

She grins back at him and nods. "Well we have plenty of dogs here, all shapes, sizes and breeds. What exactly are you looking for?"

Micah opens his mouth but I get there first. "Something small, not too much maintenance."

Lucia tilts her head gently but she continues to smile. "All dogs will need a certain amount of maintenance," she tells me. "But I see what you mean, the smaller they are, the less walking they might need and so on."

"Right."

Micah shoots me a look and I flash him a smile.

"Any kind of breed you're after?"

"No," Micah says. "We just want to meet some dogs and see if we bond with any. We don't care about the breed, size can be negotiable and whatever gender. We're not fussed as long as we get that bond."

Lucia grins right back at Micah. "I love that," she jots down what he says. "Right, well let's go meet some dogs and see if we can find any of these angels their forever home."

I can tell Micah wants to squeal with excitement but he keeps it inside himself. We follow Lucia through the building and Micah continues to hold my hand, squeezing every so often. I'm sure he's about to explode any given second.

When she pushes open a door you can hear the cries and barks of dogs, then we're out into a corridor of dogs behind cages. With blankets, beds and food but knowing they're locked away breaks my heart.

I know it's for the good of them, to keep them safe, from being out on the streets or ending up dead. But knowing they're confined to a cage until someone brings them home destroys my soul more than I thought.

"Oh my God," Micah mumbles under his breath. I can tell that he feels the same way.

Lucia stops and turns around to us. "Have a look and see if there are any dogs that you might want to meet. Then we can put you in an outside room and we'll bring the dog out. Can see if your relationship with them will be compatible."

"Okay," he nods back at her.

"I'll just be over here if you have any questions."

"Thanks." I call out to her and then look at Micah.

"How are we going to choose?"

"I don't know."

I twist my head to a little terrier staring at me through the bars, dark brown fur with the biggest eyes. "Ow," I mumble under my breath as Micah leans down to the little being.

He glances up at the cage with the name 'Terry' across the top. Most likely a dog whose name they didn't know when he came in.

As Micah lets the dog lick his finger, attempting to stroke him through the bars I turn around. Focusing on the cages on the other side. My eyes scan across the bars, dogs sleeping, others with their noses through the metal. Desperate for some attention.

Then my eyes lay on a soft pair of brown eyes, they weren't anywhere near the bars. Instead sat at the back, head low. I couldn't ignore the gorgeous blonde fur across their body, thick and fluffy.

My feet carry themselves to the cage. The golden retriever doesn't look up as I approach and I frown, then I look at the name tag above the cage. Bayley, age 4, female.

I bend down to the floor and kiss my lips together, her ears twitch and she glances up at me but her expression is sad. Like he's been in here for far too long and now she's given up hope.

I'm sure I heard my heart crack inside my chest.

My fingers slide through the metal bars and I kiss my lips again, she stares back at me. Unsure of what to do and then after a few moments she kicks off her feet and comes over to me, nudging her head into my hands. Feeling her soft fur against my skin.

There is a smile on my lips that makes my cheeks hurt but I can't help it, I give her a good scratch and she sticks out her tongue.

A hand is clasped around my shoulder and I glance up at Micah. "What happened to small dogs, huh?"

I shake my head and continue to smile. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Micah crouches down beside me and puts his hand through the bars, stroking her too. She enjoys it because she comes back for more, nudging our hands and panting. I'm sure I even saw her tail wag for a second.

"So beautiful," he agrees.

Lucia soon approaches us and she holds the clipboard to her chest. "Ahh, you've found our beloved Bayley." She glances over at her.

"How long has she been here?" I ask.

"About a year."

I frown. "Why? Is there something wrong with her?"

Lucia clears her throat and nods. "Yes, she has something wrong with her pelvis. It needs to be operated on every couple years to keep her body and bones in shape but obviously it's quite costly and not a lot of people can afford to pay for an operation every couple years."

Micah shakes his head. "That's so devastating."

"Indeed. We want her to find her forever home but she's been brought back twice. She's a lovely girl, with an amazing personality and temperament. It's a shame about her health. We just need someone who can give her a life of love and good health."

I glance at Micah and he looks back at me. I'm sure I could see tears brim in his eyes and I felt the exact same. With the company doing so well, I had more than enough money to pay for operations outright regardless of insurance.

"Could we meet her properly in one of the rooms?"

Lucia's eyes light up and she grins. "Yes of course," she beckons us to stand up. "It's so wonderful that you're open to meeting her, regardless of her condition."

"She deserves a life." Micah loops his arm through mine.

"Let me take you to the room and then I'll get Bayley and bring her over."

"Sounds amazing."

. . .

When we get home I know that we have a big conversation to have, Micah knows it too. The drive back to our home was fairly silent, I think both of us were going through our own thoughts and deciding what we wanted to say.

As soon as we walk through the door I flick on the kettle and make us some hot drinks, Micah is already on the sofa waiting for me and I join him. He draws his legs up to his chest and he smiles at me.

"So?" He mumbles as I place the mugs onto the coasters.

"So..." I repeat.

"You want Bayley."

"Don't you?"

"Yes but she's going to be a lot of maintenance, exactly what you said you didn't want."

"But she's been there for a year, she might not ever find her forever home. Micah, we have the money to be able to care for her, to look after her. She's been waiting for us, we are meant to be her owners."

Micah grins and leans forward to kiss my cheek. "So you went in there wanting a small, low maintenance dog and now you want a big, high maintenance one with health problems?"

"Yes." I nod.

"Okay," he agrees. "Then let's ring them back and say that we'd like to keep her."

"Really?"

"Really."

My heart warms and I gather Micah between my arms, exhaling a slow breath. "I know she's the right one and we won't regret it." I mumble into his shoulder.

"You sure you'll be able to take her to work with you?"

I pull back and hold his face between my hands. "I'm the boss, remember?"

Micah rolls his eyes. "Well when I'm working from home, she can stay here with me. We can split the time, right?"

"Of course," I kiss the top of his head. "I doubt your company is going to let you have her."

He chuckles and then shakes his head. "My boss is allergic to dogs, cats, dust, fucking everything. I don't think he will appreciate me bringing her in."

"So we can work it out," I say hopefully.

Micah agrees. "We sure can. We're going to be dog parents instead of actual parent parents. Right?"

I brush my hand over the back of Micah's hair and hold his stare. "After we got married, do you remember that conversation we had about kids?"

He nods.

"Well I'm not really sure if I've thought of anything more since then." I admit and Micah licks his bottom lip. "Have you?"

Micah shrugs and melts into my touch. "Guess I haven't either, I've just been enjoying married life with you far too much."

I grin and kiss his lips, tasting sweets from the car journey over. "Glad you've been enjoying it as much as I have."

"And the unbelievable sex." He mumbles against me.

A laugh ripples through my chest and vibrates against his lips. "Yes, can't deny that the sex has been incredible."

"Do you want kids?"

I ponder for a moment and shrug. "It's never been a life goal of mine, I've never been desperate to have children. Guess I've never really felt paternal. But I know I have the money to adopt and we'd be great parents but sometimes I'm just not sure."

"And it's okay to feel like that," he leans his head onto my shoulder. "Just because you have money doesn't mean you have to be forced to do anything you don't want to do. We spoke about getting a dog and you're happy to pay for her operations. If you don't want children, you don't want children. There is no shame in that."

"What do you want?"

Micah tilts his head. "I'm still young. In my eyes and if we want to adopt in five years time, in ten years time or never. That's okay. We can do whatever we want. There is no time limit on these things."

"When did you become so damn mature?" I chuckle.

"When I married you."

I pull Micah flush against my chest and hold him to me, our hearts beating against one another. "We're so good for each other," I exhale into his shoulder and he laughs which tightens my heart.

"We sure are. Can't believe we've agreed on a dog."

I hum in approval. "Me either, she's really going to transform our lives. We'll be officially dog parents."

"Dog parents," he grins and pecks my jaw. "I love that."

"I love you," I whisper. "Every day since I fell in love with you, I've just loved you more and more."

Micah pulls back gently to stare me in the eyes, a look of awe covers his expression. "I love you more every day too," he says before kissing me deeply. "So much more everyday."

I clutch the back of his head, kissing his sweet lips as we fall back to the sofa. Removing our clothes and ignoring the freshly made coffees on the side of the table.

. . .

SURPRISE!!!

Did you guys miss Weston and Micah like I have?😭😭

I hope you enjoyed this bonus chapter! They're so adorable it actually hurts my heart💘

Let me know what you thought in the comments x

Love, Savanna x