Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
RYAN
Jones ended up adopting Lily without even looking at the other dogs. I was worried Karla had swayed his decision, but it was clear by the way Lily followed the man around that a bond had already formed between the two.
It took another hour to finish all the paperwork to complete the adoption process.
They were able to give Jones Lily’s complete medical history since her previous family had kept everything.
It was sad to learn her previous family had to give her up due to some medical reasons, but it must have been fate for her and Jones to meet on the very same day.
Karla was enamored for the entire ride back to Kither Springs and kept trying to go around me to pet Lily. I sat in the back with them to keep an eye on things in case anything happened. Lily seemed like a good dog, but as a new dad, I could never be too careful .
The trouble came when Jones had pulled up into our driveway, and it was time to go. Karla flat out refused to get out of the truck, crossing her arms and huffing as she avoided my touch.
“Baby, we have to go inside. It’s almost time for dinner, and Nana said she’s making your favorite mac and cheese tonight,” I told her, but even her favorite food couldn’t tempt her.
My gaze flicked helplessly from her to the dog. I was ecstatic that she was finally throwing a tantrum and acting like a kid her age should, but this was the first time I’d experienced it without Kassy’s help, so I was left perplexed.
Lily seemed to be on Karla’s side too and was now flopped on the seat, her head resting on Karla’s lap as if she didn’t want to part either.
Jones laughed when he saw this.
“This isn’t funny,” I grumbled, which only made his lips curve up with more amusement.
“Karla, how about you go with your daddy so you can have some yummy food? Then tomorrow after work, your daddy can bring you over to my place to play with Lily again?”
Jones spoke patiently while coaxing my girl. Karla refused to look our way. One hand gripped her plushie, while the other was slowly stroking Lily’s head.
Jones wasn’t fazed at being ignored. He just smiled and tried again. “If you’re a good girl tonight, and if your daddy allows it, you can even stay at my place tomorrow. Then you can play with Lily all night. How does that sound, baby?”
My breath hitched at the term of endearment, even though I knew he wasn’t using it on me. I forced myself to focus on Karla instead of the steady uptick of my pulse.
Jones’ offer seemed to have gotten through to her, as she was finally willing to look our way. She considered it for a second, then finally nodded.
A breath of relief escaped me as she let me pick her up and carry her out of the truck. Lily lifted her head at the action, but probably seeing that we were all still standing there with the cab door open, she rested her head on her forelegs.
“Sorry for offering that without asking your permission first,” Jones said.
I shook my head. “If it weren’t for your offer, we would still be dealing with a wriggling worm on our hands, wouldn’t we?
” I asked Karla the last question and tickled her belly.
She giggled and acted like she’d never even had a tantrum in the first place.
Even as angelic as my girl was, I had to admit the quick shift in attitude kids had was kinda scary…
Turning back to Jones, I added, “I’m sorry for intruding on you tomorrow. If you have other plans or would prefer a quiet night by yourself, I can figure something else out.”
Karla protested by trying to grab my short hair, but came out unsuccessfully. I disarmed her hands from my head and pinched her chubby cheeks. “Baby, were you trying to hurt Daddy just now?”
I laughed when she refused to meet my eyes and tucked her head under my chin to hide.
Jones watched us and smiled. He also reached out and gently pinched Karla’s cheeks. But when he did it, she giggled happily.
“You and little Karla are definitely not intruding. I would love for you two to come spend the night…I mean, if that’s okay with you, Daddy.”
I almost choked on my spit at the last word. Karla had called me that since she learned how to speak—Kassy and I had taught her mostly as a joke—but hearing Daddy from Jones was more than I could handle, apparently.
Jones sputtered and added, “I mean not Daddy in a Daddy way, but because you’re Karla’s Daddy, you know? Daddy in the normal way…and I’m going to shut up now.”
At that moment, Karla thought it was the perfect time to chime in and call, “Daddy, Daddy!” then break out in fits of giggles.
Oh, my sweet baby girl, who was still ignorant of the lewd meanings people gave to perfectly normal words. I hoped she stayed that way for a long, long time.
“We’d love to spend the night. Thank you,” I smiled and finally managed to say.
Jones smiled back, his pearly white teeth sparkling almost as bright as the evening sun. “I’ll text you when I get home tomorrow. Is your number the same?”
I nodded, and another wave of guilt rode through me. If I had gotten a new number, I could have said I’d lost his, and that was why I never reached out to him again. Instead, I couldn’t even hide behind a poorly crafted excuse.
Jones’ hand froze from where he was reaching to get his phone from his pocket, and I wondered if he was also wondering why I couldn’t have sent him a simple text when my number had stayed the same this past decade.
I sometimes asked myself the same question…
“Great!” he said a little too forcefully and with a tight smile on his face. “I’ll see you and Karla tomorrow, then.” He gently tugged on one of Karla’s braids, making infectious giggles fill the air again.
“Let’s wave goodbye to Jones and Lily,” I told Karla, and she used her entire body to wave excitedly at them both.
Lily stood on the seat, tongue lolling and tail wagging in goodbye as Jones closed the back cab door. He got into the driver’s seat and rolled down the window to shoot us another wave before pulling out.
Karla waved until the truck was out of sight before finally settling down and falling limply against my chest. I laughed and took her inside. “My baby used up all her energy, huh? Let’s get you recharged. ”
She listlessly raised her head in agreement, and my laughs echoed in the air as I closed the door behind us.
The next evening, after I received a text from Jones stating he was home, Karla had flung the door open as soon as I relayed the news to her.
“Baby, wait!” I called as I grabbed the bags I’d packed for tonight. Karla bounced impatiently in place on our front lawn. She didn’t yell or even open her mouth, but I could still see she was anxiously telling me to hurry the fuck up .
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” I called as I grabbed the last bag. My smile was wide as I met her on the lawn. It had been so long since I’d seen her this excited about anything, and I had Jones to thank for that.
Mom came out carrying the covered pie dish I’d prepared last night. I stowed the last of the items into the trunk of my car before accepting it from her with thanks.
“I’m so happy you and Jones are reconnecting, dear. You two used to be so close, and it’s a shame things turned out how they did after…”
Her words faltered and sadness overtook her usually happy demeanor. Dad’s passing still affected her even a decade later, and it was the same for me. I had no words of comfort, so I just hugged her.
We didn’t outgrow our grief for the loss of a loved one. We continued moving forward and smiled at the fond memories we carried with us or let the heartbreak consume us .
Karla must have sensed a shift in the mood, too, because she hugged our legs. Mom laughed and bent over to pick her up with a strained groan.
“And you, my little precious girl, we’re going to miss you so much tonight! Tell Jones and Lily I said hi, and have my share of the fun for me, okay?”
Karla laughed, nodded, then tightly hugged her nana’s neck. Mom chuckled and kissed Karla’s forehead, then smoothed back her black hair and playfully tugged at her one-strand braid.
Today, Mom fixed their hair in what she called a fishtail braid. I had no clue why it was named that, as nothing about it reminded me of a fish, but either way, they both looked cute in their matching braids. Most importantly, Karla loved matching with her nana.
Grandma came out to see us off as well. She was too frail to pick Karla up, but she lovingly patted Karla’s head as Karla hugged her legs.
We said our final goodbyes, and after double checking Karla was properly buckled into her seat, I did the same for myself and drove off.
Karla hummed the entire ride to Jones’ cabin. I smiled every time I peeked in the rear view mirror to see her kicking her feet in tune with her random melody.
When I pulled up to the cabin, Jones was sitting on one of the rocking chairs on his front porch with Lily lying by his feet. They both stood when they saw us and made their way over.
I let Karla out of her seat, and she immediately ran to Lily. She was hesitant at first, but then became more bold and petted her head.
“Puppy!” she called.
“No, baby. Puppy is your stuffed animal,” I gently explained. “Your new friend is called Lily.”
Karla tilted her head, looking so adorably confused, but she didn’t linger on my words before turning back to Lily. Their greeting somehow ended up in a game of chase, with Lily running behind my girl.
“Be careful!” I called to her, worried that she might trip or that Lily might not realize her size and try to tackle Karla. Thankfully, whenever Karla stopped to catch her breath, Lily did as well and patiently waited by her side for the next chase to start up.
We watched them for a few minutes, Jones by my side, his clean, soapy scent drifting my way on the wind. He must have just gotten out of the shower, as water droplets still clung to his beard.