Other stuff? The lump swells in my throat. How like Bobby to take responsibility for my stupid mistake.

I stare at the long row of kennels. “How many dogs do you have here?”

“Fifty. I’m at capacity. The city won’t let me have any more. Every day new dogs are rescued and there is no place for them to go.”

I shake my head. “And all these dogs were used for illegal dog fighting?”

“Except the Chihuahuas. They don’t fight. They’re used in fight training.”

“I don’t understand. How are they used?”

Bobby straightens up. His eyes are heavy with that sensitive kindness that drew me to him from the start. “They’re bait dogs. Without getting too graphic, they are used to see which pits will fight. If the pit doesn’t kill the bait dog, he’s destroyed and the bait dog is either destroyed or used again.”

I feel sick, like I’m going to vomit. “That’s awful!”

“It’s an important story, Kaley. Maybe you’d like to go on a rescue sometime and film.”

Is that why I’m here? He wants me to make a documentary about the plight of these poor animals?

“Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there, camera in hand.”

Bobby’s lips curl in a slight smile. “Thanks, Kaley. I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather have tell their story. Maybe with you onboard we can make some meaningful change to the law that will prevent this.”

The law? Did I hear him right? Is Bobby not only a dog rescuer but a full-fledged activist against animal cruelty? Bobby?

It feels like my head is spinning trying to catch up to all the changes in Bobby and all the old familiar sensations coursing through my veins. Everything is new in Bobby’s world. Everything is the same inside me.

“I didn’t even know you liked dogs. I would have never imagined that this would become a cause for you. That this is what you’d pick for your profession.”

“I didn’t pick it, Kaley. It picked me.”

My eyes widen. “Picked you, huh? You’re going to have to explain that one to me.”

Bobby shrugs and he looks a little uncomfortable now. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets and starts to guide me down the aisle between the kennels.

“After we broke up and I moved out, I just wanted to lie low for a while, think things through. We both made so many mistakes and you were right about a lot of the things that you said to me. I couldn’t just live off my folks and do nothing. Or worse, cruise through life as a passenger in your life. Without you, I realized you were right. I didn’t have any idea which direction I wanted to go. What I wanted to do. And then one morning I was up surfing at Rincon and someone tossed something onto the side of the road. When I went to check it out, I found a dog, Kaley. It was Tiki. Bloody. Half dead.”

“Oh my God. What kind of person would do that?”

There is fury in his eyes of an intensity I’ve never seen before. “A jerk who makes money training dogs to fight. Illegal dog fighting is big business in California.”

I stare in wonder and fascination at the neatly tended ranch with the blue painted house and white railed front porch, the lawns, the dog runs, and the long bank of indoor-outdoor kennels.

“So you rescued Tiki and it turned into all this?”

Bobby shrugs. “I didn’t plan any of this. I was just taking a poor half-dead dog to the vet. The vet didn’t expect her to survive and recommended euthanizing her. That even if she recovered she would probably always be vicious because of the kind of life she lived. It took months for her to recover. Months for her to be unafraid. And months to learn to trust me.” There is pride on his face now. “She’s up at the house. I’ll introduce you before you go.”

I drink it all in before I shift my gaze back to him. “It’s amazing, Bobby.”

He smiles. “It’s getting there. Everyone says I have a knack, that I’m a natural at rehabilitating dogs.”

“Everyone? Who’s everyone?”

“The dog rescue community is large and we network to make sure that as few dogs as possible are left with only the option of euthanasia. I specialize in pit bulls since most people won’t take them and too many people just want to exterminate the breed. But others specialize in other breeds. We share resources, knowledge. Work together to raise public awareness.”

It is hard to comprehend that this is Bobby talking so passionately about his work. When we were together his life pretty much consisted of surfing and me. This is a new side of him: this confident, take-charge, passionate man. It’s totally unfamiliar…but totally a turn-on.

We’ve walked almost to the truck and I didn’t even notice where Bobby was taking me.

“Do you have time for a glass of wine before I take you back to the city?” he asks.

I’m not going back to the city, my body screams.

I smile and nod. “I might even be convinced to stay for dinner. It’s getting late. I’m hungry.”

Bobby laughs. “There’s not much here to make for you. I still can’t cook.”

I smile up at him hopefully. “We could order in.”

The smile tugs at the corners of his lips and I want desperately to kiss him. “If you want.”

I stop, tired of the careful talk and holding my heart at bay. “I want, Bobby. I want very much to stay. To get to know each other again. To reconnect with my best friend.”

I brace myself to look into his eyes to see how that one hit him and the expression on his face takes my breath away.

“Did we ever disconnect, Kaley?” Bobby asks. This time he steps into me and takes my hand. “Stay, Kaley. Stay the night with me.”

His mouth lowers to me. I ease up on my tiptoes to him. His fingers spread wide to hold my cheeks and then Bobby is kissing me with starving purpose and remembered sweetness.

More emotion than I ever thought possible pulses through my veins and the weight of two years without him shrinks to nothingness.

Even though this is far from our first kiss—heck, I gave myself first to Bobby when we were in high school—there is a luscious freshness, a newness to it all, thrilling because it is also blending with all that I remember and have always felt for him.

Our tongues swirl in a knowing dance, and a groan of pleasure vibrates from his lips into mine as I mold my body into him, letting him lead us in this mating ritual, this gentle prelude to lovemaking, so much richer because there is no need for words. We know each other intimately and our bodies know the dance.

Being here with Bobby like this is every fantasy, every dream I’ve conjured for the past two years, and I’m not about to let anything end this. Feeling him start to ease back, this time I step in, kissing him.

To hell with the food. I want him now.

Against my lips, he whispers, “Is that a yes? You are staying the night with me?”

I’m about to whisper, “I’m staying forever,” when I am suddenly pushed back by a barking, free-running dog. It starts pushing up against me with its massive body and I’m more than a little afraid because the dog is huge and looks determined to separate us. This pit bull looks so much bigger outside a cage.

I keep a watchful eye toward the ground and press full length into Bobby. It looks very protective of its owner.

His laughter swirls in my curls. “She won’t hurt you, Kaley. Tiki is very jealous. She’s not used to having competition for my attention.”

Flushing and more than a little pleased with that, I say, “Glad to hear it. Now can you have her give me a little space?”

“I would never let anything happen to you. You’re perfectly safe so long as you stay close to me.”

Bobby’s smile is a touch seductive, a touch teasing, and a touch amused. I want to laugh and hit him, but that is not a good idea right now, especially with the way Tiki is staring at me.

“I’d be more than happy to stay close to you if you get her to stay not so close to me. Is she this jealous with all your dates?”