“Thank you,” she breathes, and I know then she’s been more worried than she should be about this.

“Babe, breathe. It’s going to be all good.”

“I just want dinner to go well.”

“Then it’s probably better that we don’t have dinner at home,” I say, and then add, “Beth got Max a dog.”

“What?”

“Beth got Max a dog. Mom says it’s a werewolf. I’m not sure those exist. Still, it would suck if they do and he transformed at dinner with your parents around.”

She giggles then pulls in a sharp breath. “Melbourne’s—”

“In our room,” I cut her off. “I told Max to find him and put him in there. Do you know if he’s ever been around a dog before?”

“I have no idea. Are you keeping the dog?” she asks, sounding curious.

“Yeah.”

“Just like that?”

“Like I told Mom, I’ve been meaning to talk to the boys about getting a dog, so at the end of the day, Beth saved me listening to the boys fight about what kind of dog they each want. And I’m not giving her what she wants, which is for me to be the bad guy who tells Max he can’t keep the dog, which I know would start another fight.”

“I really don’t like her very much,” she murmurs then sighs. “I should let you get back to work, we can talk about this stuff later.”

“I should be done in an hour.”

“All right, I’ll see you at the house then, and don’t worry about stopping to pick up dinner. I got the stuff to make spaghetti, since it’s easy.”

“Sounds good baby. I’ll see you at home.”

“Yeah.” Her voice is warm and soft. “See you at home. Love you.”

Fuck, I love that. I love knowing that no matter what bullshit happens, what I have to deal with, at the end of the day, I get to go home to her and my boys.

Fourteen

December

“Sloth, come here.” Max pats his thigh, and the huge gray dog—who looks like his face is melting off and nothing like a werewolf—walks slowly to where he is standing just outside the open back door. “You can do it, not much farther,” Max encourages him, but the big dog gives up and stops to rest, causing the loose skin covering his body to slide toward the floor.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lazier dog,” Gareth mumbles, and I glance up at him briefly. He’s right; the dog is lazy. He’s also seriously overweight. Beth, not surprisingly, didn’t tell Gareth much about where she got him, just that she adopted him from somewhere in Nashville. If I’m being honest, the ugly dog is actually very sweet, which is a surprise, since he was a gift from Beth. I just worry he has some kind of health issue that is making him as lazy as he is.

“I think I should see if I can get him an appointment at July’s clinic, just to make sure there’s nothing wrong with him,” I say, watching Sloth get up, move out the door, and go to Max, who is now standing out in the middle of the yard shouting for him.

“That’d be good, babe. If she has time to see him today, I can take a break from work to run him over there.”

“I’ll send her a text before I finish getting ready for work.” I turn toward him and rest my hands against his stomach then lean up on my tiptoes. “Will Melbourne be okay out here?”

“Babe—” His lips twitch. “—I think that dog is in more danger than the cat is.”

“You’re probably right.” I lean up farther, touching my lips to his, and his hand slides down to my ass, making me laugh. “Stop.”

“I can’t.”

“Try.” I smile against his mouth then wiggle free from his hold and walk backward until I reach the hall for the bedroom, listening to him laugh. Grabbing my cell off the bedside table, I send July a text telling her to call me when she has time as I head into the bathroom to get dressed.

“Hey,” I answer my phone when it rings with her name as I’m tucking my shirt into my slacks.

“I got your message. What’s up?” she asks, and I look at my top in the mirror then smile. One of my favorite things about teaching younger kids is that I have a reason to purchase clothing that would otherwise look ridiculous on a woman my age. Like today’s navy blue long-sleeved button down that has tiny colorful hot air balloons all over it. “Hello, are you there?” July calls.

“Sorry, yeah, I’m just in the middle of getting dressed for work,” I reply, sliding a thin red belt through the loops of my navy slacks. “Anyway, Gareth’s ex got the boys a dog, and I just wanted to see if you had time to check him out today.”

“What kind of dog is it?”

“A big one,” I say.

She laughs. “That’s helpful.”

I roll my eyes. “I honestly don’t know what kind of dog it is. Beth didn’t leave any paperwork or anything. All I know is he’s big and looks like his skin is melting off.”

“He could be a Shar Pei. Did she say what pound she got him from?”

“No, just somewhere in Nashville.”

“All right, tell Gareth he can bring him in anytime today and I’ll fit him in.”

“Thanks, I owe you.”

“You can pay me back by coming out to have a drink with me and the rest of the girls Saturday. We all want to know what’s been going on,” she says, making me feel guilty.

The last few weeks, I have been consumed with Gareth and the boys. Not that I’m complaining. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with them. Still, I’ve hardly talked to my sisters.

“I’m sorry. It’s just been…”

“Crazy,” she finishes for me.

“Exactly.” I sigh. “What time Saturday are y’all meeting?”

“I think nine, unless we have dinner before; then it will be a little earlier.”

“All right, I’ll meet you guys. Just let me know when and where.”

“Cool, and you should know Mom’s beyond excited about tonight.”

“I know. I’m just not sure if she’s excited about meeting the boys or going to dinner at Flame.”

“The boys,” she assures, and then asks, “Can Gareth hook me up with a reservation for Flame?”

I laugh. “I’m not sure, but you can ask him when you see him today.”

“All right, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good day at work, and tell Gareth I’ll see him later.”

“I will. Love you, and talk to you soon.”

“Soon, love you.”

I hang up then slip on my flats and grab my bag. When I walk into the kitchen, the boys are eating, and Sloth is lying on the floor next to the back door like he came back in and gave up moving any farther. “July said you can take Sloth in anytime today and she’ll make time for you,” I tell Gareth, going to his side and taking his cup of coffee to have a sip.

“Is July your sister who’s a vet?” Max asks, and I nod. “Why is Sloth going to see her?”

“He’s a dog. He has to go to the vet,” Mitchell says, and Max looks over at him. “It’s normal after you get an animal that you take him to get checked out. It’s not a big deal.” He shrugs then goes back to eating, and Max looks at me for confirmation.