Chapter Fourteen
Cody
“Ithink you need a puppy name.”
We were walking along the main drag in Mission City toward Fifties. The sun shone brilliantly as we made our way down the hill—hand-in-hand. The little flecks of gray in Lorcan’s hair stood out vividly in the light. I thought he’d never looked more handsome. Or more adorable.
The climb back up the hill would be a bitch, but we’d manage. Everything I’d seen of Lorcan so far assured me that he could handle just about anything physical life might throw at him.
“Unless you already have a puppy name picked out.”
“Uh. No. I’ve never…” He continued to gaze toward the river which separated our town from Abbotsford with a long bridge across the mighty waters. He drew in a deep breath. “I think I’d like that.”
“Great. Now, do you want to choose a name? Do you have something in mind?”
“Nope. Not a clue. This is all new to me. I mean, I’ve wanted—” He swallowed and continued not to meet my gaze.
My instinct was to stop us and turn him so he faced me. He knew he had that option and he wasn’t taking it—I had to respect that.
I squeezed his hand. “Cheddar and Buttercup were there the other night. And I have a friend named Sparky. Which is hilarious because he’s the most genteel man you’ll ever meet. Put a tail, ears, and paws on him and he’s a puppy through and through.
“How old is he?”
“About forty-six. Or so.”
Lorcan stopped abruptly.
This time, I turned him to face me. “Pups don’t have an expiration date. As long as you’re a puppy in your heart—” I pressed my hand to his chest. “—then you’ll be a puppy to me. Age doesn’t matter to me. I’d thought I’d made that pretty clear by now.”
“Well…” He scrunched his nose. “You make it sound so easy.”
“In some ways, it is. I want to be a handler, and you want to be a puppy. The rest is just logistics. I also want you in my bed and, more importantly, my life. That’s more complicated.”
“That’s true.” He tipped his chin up so he could meet my gaze. “I want those things too.” He grasped my hand where it still lay above his heart. “You give me hope, Cody. It’s a long time since I’ve felt that.”
I leaned forward and, on the main street of Mission City, pressed a kiss to his lips.
Someone honked as they drove by. No slurs, though, so I’d take it. A good part of our small town was accepting, but I knew of more than a few bigots out and about.
I refused to live in fear of those assholes. I grinned. “Okay, so I have a thought.”
“I like thoughts.” He continued to grin. “Thoughts are good.”
Whether he was entirely sincere, or humoring me, I couldn’t tell. “Well, do you want a gruff name or something super sweet? I haven’t seen much of your puppy personality. You’ve seen the other treats I bought for you.”
He’d removed his collar in the night—too uncomfortable.
Or that was my assumption. Perhaps he’d felt claustrophobic wearing it.
A discussion for another time. I’d also bought him a matching leash, a tail, paws, ears, and quite a few toys.
Having everything delivered overnight. I’d been happy to pay the premium because, hopefully we’d have time later to play.
Rough and tumble on the ground, would be my choice.
If we got frisky? Well, that would be okay as well.
“I like the treats you bought for me.” He ducked his head—a little shyly.
“Then we’ll play when we get home.”
“Oh yes.” His eyes danced with glee, and his smile was as wide as I’d ever seen.
He’s so easy to please. I want that smile every single day.
By mutual consent, we resumed our walk. I retook his hand and squeezed again. “Well, we could go with the classic. Buster or Tucker or Buddy.”
“We could.” He didn’t sound certain.
“There’s no rush, okay. We’ll keep at this until we find the right name. Doesn’t matter if that’s today or not. Don’t feel obliged to pick something because you think it’ll make me happy. The right name is super important—especially since it’s your first.”
“I understand.”
We stopped at the red light and waited to cross.
He pushed the button, so we’d get a walk signal.
This was the biggest intersection in town—where the east/west highway intersected with the bridge and then the main artery up into the residential area.
The system of lights to keep all four directions moving was quite elaborate—I could never remember which direction followed which and so watched the lights like a hawk.
“I, uh—” He cleared his throat. “I like the idea…of a soft name. Does that make sense?”
“Something that will roll off my tongue in a soft whisper? Yeah, I get it.”
The light changed, the white man-symbol appeared, the chirping started, and—after checking in all four directions—we started to walk across the street. Even though I did this frequently, I still held my breath until we were safe on the other side.
Once more and then we’d be safe.
“So, what are you thinking?” I wracked my brain. “Like, Cookie? Or Bucky? How about Chester? Opie? Oh, I know—” I grinned. “Kitten.”
As I hoped, he rolled his eyes. “Uh, no.”
“Walter?”
“Nope.”
“Chester?”
He laughed. “Hard no.”
I pointed to a car. “How about Jaquar? Oh, I know. Bentley.”
He arched an eyebrow.
The walk signal chirp alerted us to our turn to cross the street. Again, we checked every direction before proceeding.
“How about Obi?”
We were finally at the other side of the street.
“Like Obi Wan Kenobi?” He laughed. “Star Wars was one of my favorite movies growing up. I’m still going to say no.”
“So no Luke? Or Solo?”
He laughed. “No and no.”
We continued to walk down the street.
I eyed the grocery store. “I wonder if they’ve got a pie we might pick up. What’s your favorite flavor? I’m torn between blueberry and apple.”
“Both good choices—but you can’t forget pumpkin. That’s the best flavor.”
“Oh, true. I know a pumpkin farmer in town—which would be such a cool job. His mom bakes pies to sell at the Christmas fair. That’s in a week. Would you like to go?”
“For the pumpkin pie alone, I’d go.” He scrunched his nose.
“I’ll buy the pie. I have several gifts to pick up for my coworkers. And Aunt Genessa, of course.”
“I don’t—” He squeezed my hand. “I guess a little something for my coworkers would be nice. It’ll have to be cheap.”
Offering to front him the money—or to just give it to him outright—was on the tip of my tongue.
You can’t be his savior. You can’t be his knight in shining armor.
He’s got to show some indication of welcoming the helping hand.
Which, to this moment, he hadn’t. But we’d been…
a couple? Partners? Dating? Whatever the right word was, it’d barely been a day.
The fact I was making Christmas plans in my mind—and the New Year as well—didn’t solidify us.
Didn’t mean he wouldn’t run away as fast as he could if I pushed too hard.
He was a rabbit—ready to hop away at the first sign of trouble.
I stopped. “Pumpkin.”
He halted as well. Then turned to face me. “Well, we can stop in after Fifties. I’d love a slice.” He patted his belly. “I don’t really need it, but—”
I snagged his hand and brought it to my lips. “Shush.”
He bit his lip.
“I meant—” God, is this the right call? I just didn’t know. “I meant…well, you might think I’m crazy…”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re the most-sane person I know. I’d say my lawyer is sane as well, but he took on my case, and I looked guilty as hell.”
“Your lawyer is a very smart man—and I’m grateful he got you acquitted. No, I meant what about Pumpkin?”
“What about pumpkin? We agreed it’s a good flavor.”
“I mean what if your puppy name was Pumpkin?”
He held my gaze for an interminable minute. Then two. The initial confusion was replaced by something I couldn’t quite identify. Finally, he grinned. “I love it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I really do. I mean, even more so because you suggested it. I never would’ve picked it—but I think you selected the perfect name.” He straightened. “Pumpkin. Pumpkin.” Clearly, he was trying it on for size.
And liking it.
We resumed walking.
A gust of wind coming from the north whispered through my hair. “I’m thinking snow is coming.”
“Ugh. At least most of the outside work on the houses we’re building are done so we’re inside. Can still be darn cold.”
“No heat?” I couldn’t imagine working without creature comforts.
“Well, we have space heaters, but it’s not quite the same. I’m not complaining.” He said that as if he was worried I might judge him.
Of course, I would never.
“Just… I’ve spent a lot of time being cold, and sometimes it’s nice to be toasty.”
I was trying to parse that as we approached Fifties.
The lineup was halfway down the building.
Even in this chilly morning, people were willing to stand out in the cold.
“Do you want to get on the reservation list, or do you want to go elsewhere? White Spot? Or we can just go back to A&W or McDonalds. Or Starbucks? Timmies?”
He squeezed my hand. “I’m happy to wait. We can get to know each other better.”
My insides warmed. “That sounds great.”
We approached a young woman who sat on a stool at a high-top table with a clipboard and a pen.
I offered my widest smile.
“For two?” She eyed us.
I nodded.
Even as I spoke, an older couple exited the restaurant.
The young woman at the table stuck one finger in the air, then headed into the restaurant.
A blast of warm air hit us—making me realize how cold the outside temperature really was. “We should’ve worn gloves.”
“But holding your hand wouldn’t be the same.” Lorcan offered a shy smile.
“I have a booth for two at the back.” The young woman held the door open for us.
A quick glance around showed every other party was three to six people.
“Oh, fantastic.” Again, I smiled. “We’re mighty appreciative.”
“My pleasure.”
We walked into the diner and pivoted, heading to the back booth which was, luckily, empty. The ambient noise was high today—with plenty of kids, families, and just a general happy atmosphere.