Chapter 10 #2
I’d gotten her a safety vest since I’d been taking her to work at the construction site with me.
I set up a tent under the shade, far enough away from where we were working, and put her on a leash long enough for her to roam but not endanger herself.
Having a dog on-site was probably not allowed, but who was going to say anything when I was in charge?
Was this an abuse of power? Probably. But I hated the idea of Lily being home all alone when I’d just got her. And bringing her on-site seemed to have given my crew an unintentional boost in morale after playing with her during breaks.
Lily was confused by the foreign object that was placed on her head and pawed at it. It fell right off and landed right next to her, where she proceeded to use it as a pillow for her chin.
We all laughed.
“Oh, well. I tried,” Ryker said with a sigh and petted Lily’s head. Sam smiled indulgently, his eyes sparkling as he watched his fiancé.
The two of them had a rocky start. They pretended to be fiancés to rent an apartment, but it somehow all worked out for the best. They were now engaged for real and their wedding was set for the spring.
Knowing the extremes Ryker and Sam had to go through just to rent a place made me feel slightly better. Rentals hadn’t become easier to come by after the influx of people moving to Kither Springs, all due to Wren’s influence.
My brother’s boyfriend was a famous travel vlogger who’d made a series of videos of our sleepy little town and put this place on the map.
The revival of our town was much needed, but it also meant rent prices had been driven through the roof.
It made finding a decent place to live harder, and maybe if Ryan couldn’t find a suitable place, then I could ask him to move in with me instead.
The idea that had flashed through my mind made me feel like shit. I knew Ryan wanted to find a place of their own so Karla could feel at home and grow roots, and here I was, hoping they failed so I could keep them with me. When had I become so selfish?
“What are you thinking about, my friend?” Ryker’s question drew me out of my thoughts.
“Nothing,” I muttered, more out of instinct than anything else.
Ryker and Sam gave each other a look that spoke volumes.
I glared at them.
I was all for my friend finding the love of his life and being happy and all that shit, but I did not like feeling like they were using their so-madly-in-love-they-suddenly-had-magical-telepathic-skills to gang up on me.
Sam was the one to attack first.
“Are you thinking about a certain new Kither Springs resident and his daughter? I’ve heard they’ve been spending a lot of time at your place recently. Been spending the night, even.”
I crossed my arms. “And how did you hear that?”
He gave me a look that said the answer was obvious. “His mother is my Gramps’ neighbor.”
“Auntie Mae. Of course,” I muttered curses under my breath.
They both shot me sympathetic smiles, having been victims of her gossiping habit as well. Their fake engagement was supposed to be kept on the down-low, but Auntie Mae had publicized it to the entire town, which caused quite a headache for them.
“I’m just worried about you,” Ryker commented and patted my shoulder.
“This is Ryan we’re talking about, and I know how badly he hurt you once before.
You tend to give your entire heart when you’ve decided on something, and I can already see that happening with him.
And let’s not forget you just got out of a relationship, too. It might not hurt to take things slow.”
Everything he said was true. I did just get out of a relationship, and it might seem like I was diving headfirst into my next one, but this was different.
With Deke, he was the one who pushed for everything. Dating, moving in, trying to get me to propose…I wasn’t free from blame for going along with it, even if it felt like I was sinking myself while going through the motions.
I wasn’t doing that now. Each step forward with Ryan and Karla felt like I was carving a special place for myself. A place free from quicksand.
I knew Ryker was speaking with my best interests in mind, but how was I supposed to explain to him that with Ryan, there was no taking it slow . Not when we had so many years apart to make up for.
I covered his hand with mine and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you for caring, and I really mean that. I’m very lucky to have friends like you.” Ryker beamed and Sam’s smile wasn’t any less bright. “I know what I’m doing. I promise.”
The words were said to comfort my friends, but dear god did I hope they were true and I wasn’t setting myself up for another heartbreak.
“Okay,” Ryker said softly. “Just know we’re here for you.”
I smiled, took a sip of my water, and looked around. “Anyway, where are Dan and Clay? They’re not usually this late,” I asked, genuinely curious, but also trying to change the subject.
As if summoned by my calling, the stepbrothers came rushing over. Dan was slightly out of breath as he fell into the seat beside me and took a chug of his water .
Clay sat beside Dan and took smaller sips. He looked a lot more put together than his stepbrother.
“Where have you guys been?” I asked, and when Dan placed his cup down and I got a good look at his swollen lips, I added, “Geez, which animal were you making out with?”
Clay sputtered on his water and started coughing. Dan patted his back. “Sorry, went down the wrong pipe,” Clay muttered after his coughing fit, but I had a suspicion the heat on his face had nothing to do with him almost choking on his water.
I looked at Dan and Clay suspiciously. They’d always been close, even before they became stepbrothers, and Dan had a bit of a playboy reputation around these parts… Could it be they were secretly sharing partners and had a quickie before brunch?
I quickly pushed the outrageous idea out of my mind. They were stepbrothers, and even if we were a small town, we weren’t that kind of small town, at least not that I was aware of.
Besides, I didn’t know about Dan, but Clay was pretty reserved and definitely wasn’t the type to have threesomes.
Dan cleared his throat, and I eyed his lips again. He caught my gaze and said with a nervous laugh. “Probably an allergic reaction to something I ate.”
I knew kiss-swollen lips when I saw them, but I also knew when to back off when someone wasn’t keen on continuing the conversation. Ryker and Sam were off in their own little world and I doubted they even noticed anything was off.
“Aww, look at our pretty girl. Did you get a new hat?” Clay cooed at Lily when she lifted her head toward the newcomers. Hearing someone speaking to her, she stood and walked toward them.
“Damn! Look at her tits,” Dan commented.
“What a rude thing to say to a lady,” Atlas chided, coming out of the diner at that exact moment. But when he got a closer look at Lily, he added, “Oh, wow. Her nipples are really swollen.”
I wrapped a protective arm around my perfect girl with her perfectly perfect nipples. “Stop objectifying my dog,” I muttered.
“Look, I’ve seen a lot of boobs in my day,” Dan said, and Clay snorted, muttering somethingunintelligible, but his tone sounded very bitter.
Dan shot a glare his way and continued his train of thought.
“ As a doctor , I’ve seen a fair share of swollen breasts during pregnancy, and even though I’m no vet, I’m pretty sure your dog is knocked up. ”
“No!” I exclaimed. “Not my girl! She’s just a baby!”
Atlas placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder and nodded. “My old neighbors had a pregnant dog, and I’m sorry to say your girl looks to be late into her pregnancy.”
I stared at my dog in disbelief and really studied her.
Sure, she’d gotten a bit rounder than when I first got her, but I figured that was because I’d been feeding her good lately.
And sure, her nipples had practically doubled in size the past couple of weeks, but this was my first time having a dog, so who was I to say that wasn’t normal either?
Her medical records hadn’t said anything about her being pregnant. I was waiting to take her to the vet when she was more settled since I’d read vet visits could be really traumatizing for pets, but it looked like I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I’m not ready to be a granddad!” I cried and hugged Lily.
Ryker patted my shoulder again. “We’ll help you find people to adopt the pups?” he offered.
I let out a dramatic cry and hugged Lily closer. She must have thought I was playing with her and wiggled her body dramatically. The others paid me no mind and placed their brunch orders with Atlas as I had a meltdown over my impending status as a potential doggy grandpa.