Monthly Bonus Content #1 — Golden Memories (Nat Version) (Patreon)

The scent of lavender invades my nostrils, along with about fifty dog hairs. I crush my lips together to hold back a sneeze, tightening my grip on the mountain of things in my arms: a thick velvet dog bed, a huge bag of squeaking toys, at least five blankets, three different leashes, and two harnesses.

Oh, and a jar full of home-baked dog treats.

I never thought I could be jealous of an animal, but Dylan—the fire station’s Golden Retriever and sort-of mascot—lives a life of luxury I could only aspire to.

“Do you think you’ll need anything else?” Xanthe asks, chewing at her lip.

I peer around the items stacked in my grasp with a concerned frown. “What else could there be?”

Nat steps a little forward of where she’d been standing at my side in my apartment’s doorway. “Does he need particular bowls, or is he happy to eat out of some we have?”

“Oh, good point!” Xanthe replies. “I’ll be right back.” I hear her footsteps thunder down the stairs rather than see her as the dog bed obstructs my view.

I shift the weight of it all and raise a brow at Nat. “Really?”

“Some animals only enjoy eating out of their own dishes,” she comments with a shrug that’s accompanied by a smile.

It’s difficult to argue when she smiles at me in that way—with such genuine care that it makes my heart seem to swell with happiness in my chest. Instead, I let out a sigh just as Xanthe ascends the last steps of the stairs.

“Here we are,” she puffs out, balancing the ceramic, hand-painted dishes on top of everything else. “I couldn’t find his usual ones. But he likes these too.”

“His usual ones?” I ask, my voice muffled through the blankets.

“Well, enjoy your time with him. I shouldn’t be too long,” she states before kneeling down to the dog sat patiently at our feet. “Mummy will see you later. Be good and have fun. I love you so much.” She envelops the creature in a hug which sends a puff of yellow fur to plume into the air.

With a final few looks back, Xanthe finally leaves.

I head inside and throw the items onto my sofa. Dylan bounces over and happily begins digging through the spill of vividly bright toys that now adorn the living room floor. I watch with a slight grimace as he slobbers over a tennis ball.

“Why did we agree to this again?” I ask as Nat comes up to my side and wraps an arm about me.

“Because it meant we got to spend some quality time together,” she replies before chuckling softly. “Plus, he’s adorable.”

Dylan’s big brown eyes peer at me as though knowing we’re discussing him. With such a doe-eyed expression, I can’t reply with anything but, “Yeah, he really is.”

The dog goes back to drooling over the carpet.

“But I didn’t know he was going to come with enough stuff to fill my apartment,” I state, flopping down onto the sofa.

Nat takes the seat beside me, leaning forward in order to smooth Dylan and lovingly squish his velvety face. “What’s wrong with people wanting to spoil those they love?”

“Says the vampire with a wardrobe that could also fill my apartment,” I comment with a soft laugh.

She smiles and leans back, the two of us cuddling closer as we watch Dylan roll the tennis ball forward where it hits the leg of the coffee table and rolls back to him. “Spoiling myself is a nice treat. But spoiling those I care for is even better.”

“Maybe we should spoil this dog with a walk…before he gets slobber over my entire apartment,” I suggest.

At the word ‘walk’, Dylan practically flings himself at us with an enthusiastic bark.

I chuckle and run my fingers through his soft fur. “I guess that’s a yes.”

-

The day is bright, with the afternoon sun beaming its smiling rays down on us, and birds chirruping prettily from the trees lining the path that winds onwards. But all of that doesn’t make me anywhere near as happy as walking side-by-side with Nat, her fingers laced through mine, and her gaze always flickering back to mine as though in slight disbelief I’m with her.

Dylan walks a little in front of us, checking out the people playing frisbee on the grass.

“I’ve missed this,” Nat announces, drawing in a long breath of the warm air.

“Walking a dog?” I ask. “You’ve walked many?”

She shakes her head, some of the happiness sinking into gloom. “Not in a long time. I used to have many animal companions as I was growing up. They helped me through…quite a few tough times.”

“Are you saying you had a whole kennel’s worth of dogs you’d spoil back in the day?” I ask, hoping my joking tone will help lift her mood once more.

Memories make her eyes glassy, but her smile thankfully returns as she brushes back a few long waves of hair from her face. “Only two: Titan and Bracken.”

My brows arch. “That’s quite the names.”

“They were quite the dogs,” she replies with a laugh. “And yes, just as spoiled as Dylan here. Though there wasn’t quite the selection of toys in those days that he has now.”

“Couldn’t you not get one now if you miss that animal companionship?”

“In our line of work?” She shakes her head with a frown. “Poor thing would be alone for far too long, and I’d worry too much.” Her frown dissipates with another smile. “I already have to worry too much about the others to add another to the mix.”

“That’s true,” I say with a nod.

The image of Nat—a human Nat—running around with a couple of boisterous dogs is so far from the woman I see now. It’s not difficult to imagine, but it is painful. To think whatever has happened in her past has taken that part of her away that is now only filled with worry.

I glance away at the thought, staring out across the park’s green carpet of grass and the gravel pathways that weave through them like stony rivers. “Hm.”

“Hm?” Nat asks, drawing my focus back as she presses closer into my side and squeezes my hand.

“It’s just…sometimes it feels like there’s another person buried inside of you sometimes,” I admit.

She tilts her head before licking at her lips, seeming to taste a reply on her tongue before finally letting it free. “If there was, then I doubt you’d wish to know her.”

“How do you know?”

Nat holds my gaze, staring into my eyes as though able to search my soul when it’s her I’m waiting for an answer from.

The moment is cut short as Dylan lets out a bark that makes us both flinch.

“What is it, boy?” Nat asks, kneeling down to the dog’s level and fluffing up its fur in a way that makes the dog’s tongue loll out of its mouth. “Oh, you’re just a big softie inside and out, aren’t you?”

Watching Nat with such a wide smile, cuddling the dog close, letting out a soft laugh. It makes my uncertainties begin to fade.

Nat is who she is now.

And that Nat is the one I am falling head over heels for.

“Come on,” she says, standing back up and offering her hand out to me. “Let’s not miss this time we have.”

I stare at her hand before flicking my gaze back up to meet hers.

With a smile, I slide my fingers into hers and almost melt into her perpetually warm touch. She rests her head against me as we walk, and I realise nothing could break the perfection of this moment. At least not until Dylan drools over my shoes waiting for me to throw his ball.

“It’s lucky you’re so cute,” I state.

Dylan barks in agreement.