“Would you like a massage while she gets her nails done?” a younger girl asks, coming up to me.

“No thanks,” I say, trying to be polite while taking a seat in the chair next to Hope.

“Are you sure?” she asks, and I feel my jaw grind as her eyes wander over me.

“I’m sure,” I mutter, turning away from her watching the woman doing Hopes nails glare over my shoulder before turning her attention back to Hope.

“It’s nice of your dad to bring you here to get your nails done,” the woman doing Hope’s nails says, and my body goes tight. If Hope someday decides to call me Dad, I will be all for it, but I don’t ever want her to feel like she has to, or make her feel awkward about it.

“He’s always nice to me. He even wet me wear my sparkewe shoes today,” Hope tells her, tapping her feet together, causing the shoes to fall off and hit the ground.

“I bet you have him wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?” the lady asks, smiling at Hope then me.

“No.” Hope giggles.

“You do, honey,” she says to Hope then smiles at me and winks before painting her nails, only to have to fix them three times before they dry. Once we leave the salon and arrive at the veterinarian clinic where July works, it’s just after two and the lot is half empty.

“Can you carry me?” Hope asks when I set her on her feet in the gravel parking lot.

“How about we change your shoes?”

“I want to show Juwy my sparkle shoes that match my powish,” she tells me, holding up her now glitter-covered fingers for me to see.

“Okay, hop on,” I tell her, bending down for her to hop on my back so I can carry her across the lot. Once we reach the entrance, I let Hope down then open the door, which chimes when we enter.

“Hey, is everything okay?” July asks, coming out of one of the back rooms, tucking in her shirt, followed by Wes.

Smirking at her, she rolls her eyes as I say, “Your dad said you had some puppies dropped off here yesterday, and I wanted to show Hope.”

“Puppies?” Hope smiles, tilting her head back to look at me, then looking at July, she asks, “Can I pet them?”

“Of course you can, honey, and I love your shoes,” July tells her, running her hand over the top of her hair.

“How’s it going, man?” I ask Wes, giving him a handshake while July talks to Hope about her nails.

“Was gonna to call you as soon as I left here,” he says quietly, looking at Hope and July.

“Everything good?”

“We need to talk,” he states, pulling his eyes from the girls.

“Ellie gets off work at five. You got time to meet up after that?”

“I’ll be with the guys at the shop,” he says, leaning back against the counter behind him.

“Should I bring my uncle?” I ask, knowing if this has anything to do with the girls, then my Uncle needs to know since it’s his case.

“Bring him along.”

“We’ll be there,” I mutter, feeling myself grow tight.

“You getting a dog for Hope?” he asks, changing the subject looking over at Hope and July.

“She’s been asking for a sister,” I tell him, shaking my head.

“Jesus.” He smiles.

“I know.” I smile back, mumbling, “She might be a genius, ’cause every time she asks for a sister, she asks for a dog right after.”

“Smart kid.” He chuckles.

“I’m fucked,” I tell him honestly, turning when I hear Hope laugh.

“Get her the dog then give her a sister,” he says, patting my shoulder.

“Plan on it,” I say, and his eyes crinkle as he shakes his head. “I’ll see you later.”

“Later,” I agree, watching as he goes to July, telling her something that makes her blush before kissing her then putting out his fist for Hope to bump with hers before leaving.

“What do you say we go see some puppies?” July asks, and Hope jumps up and down in her heels, causing the click clack to bounce off the walls before taking her hand and following her down the hall towards the back of the clinic. Going out a set of double doors she leads us into a small room with a bench along one wall.

“Sit on the floor and I’ll be right back,” July says, and Hope sits on the floor while I take a seat on the bench, resting my elbows on my knees, watching as she smiles at me excitedly. A moment later, July comes back into the room with two puppies, one in each hand. One is dark brown, and the other is cream-colored, both wiggling in her grasp.

“They’re so cute!” Hope cries as July sets the puppies on the ground, and they immediately go to Hope and begin climbing all over her. “What are their names?” Hope picks one then the other up, holding them close to her face so they can lick her.

“I haven’t named them yet. Do you want to help me?” July asks, and Hope lets go of the one in her hand then picks up the other.

“This one is Chocolate Chip,” she says, holding the brown one in a hug that has me worried for the small puppy.

“And this one?” I ask, picking up the cream-colored pup that isn’t as hyper as the other.

“Pancake.” She smiles then giggles as Chocolate Chip crawls up her chest, forcing her to her back so he can lick her face.

“Do you know what kind of dogs they are?” I ask July, who takes a seat next to me on the bench as Pancake burrows his way into the crook of my arm.