"He stopped working on it the day he was assigned to you during that hockey program."
The Community Outreach Initiative.
I set down the water bowl, turning to face her fully. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he's had furniture picked out, renovation plans drawn up, the whole nine yards." Carol straightens up from the kennel she's cleaning, fixing me with those warm brown eyes that I remember from my high school afternoons spent at her home. "But the moment he started volunteering here, everything else got put on hold."
"I don't understand."
"Don't you?" Her smile is gentle. "Mia, dear, for eight months that boy talked about turning that house into a home. But he never seemed excited about it. It was just another project, another thing to check off his list."
She moves to the next kennel, where Princess the pug is holding court like the canine royalty she believes herself to be.
"But these past few weeks? He calls us every night talking about your work here, about the shelter renovations, about how proud he is of what you've built. He's been so focused on being part of your world, dear… that he's forgotten about building his own."
Something clicks in my mind and her words suddenly settle over me.
"He's been choosing time with me over everything else."
"Exactly." Carol winks at me and reaches through the kennel bars to scratch Princess behind the ears. "And I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but..."
"But?" I prompt impatiently.
"But I think he's starting to realize that if he wants to build a future with you, he needs to actuallybuildit. Literally." She turns to face me fully, her expression serious. "He's been talking about the house differently lately. Not as his house, but as... well. As your house. Yours together."
My heart does that fluttery thing again, but this time it's mixed with a sudden sense of panic.
"Carol, we've only been together for a few weeks. Officially, I mean."
"Officially, yes. But Mia, that boy has been in love with you since you were both seventeen. This isn't some new relationship where you're figuring out if you're compatible." Her smile is soft but knowing. "This is just picking up where you left off."
She's right, and that's what terrifies me.
Because somewhere along the way, without really meaning to, I've started thinking about the future too. Not just dating Ryder, but building something with him. Something permanent.
"He's been calling contractors from the road," Carol continues, apparently oblivious to my minor existential crisis. "Trying to coordinate work on the house while he's traveling. I think he wants to have everything perfect when he gets back."
"Perfect for what?"
Carol gives me a look that suggests I'm being deliberately obtuse. "For whatever comes next, dear."
The sound of power tools firing up in the renovation area saves me from having to respond to that statement. Bear's voice booms over the noise, calling out instructions to Marcus about something involving electrical outlets and proper grounding.
"Those men are doing beautiful work," Carol observes, watching Bear effortlessly lift a kennel unit that probably weighs more than I do. "Very professional."
"They're amazing. I couldn't have asked for better contractors."
"And very handsome," she adds with a mischievous glint in her eye that reminds me powerfully of her son. "No wonder Ryder's been a little jealous."
"He told you about that?"
Carol laughs. "I told him that security in one's relationship doesn't come from the absence of attractive people in the world."
"And what did he say to that?"
"He said he'd feel more secure when he was home to remind you why you chose him in the first place."
The possessive note in that statement, even secondhand, makes my stomach flutter. I'm about to respond when my phone buzzes with a text.
