Page 69 of The Flirty Vet

Wilby walks over and crouches down in front of him. "You sure about that?"

"Yep. Sorry about lying before."

"Attaboy. You ready for a bath?"

Kolby nods.

"Go get changed, and I'll meet you in there."

He scampers away.

"So, listen," Wilby begins as he gets up. "Like I mentioned, Kolby's been sneaking in to sleep with me, so are you okay taking the spare room? It's not ideal, I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I totally get it. Of course. I don't mind where I sleep. Whatever's easiest."

Wilby closes the space between us, checking over his shoulder before he whispers hoarsely, "Once the kids go to school tomorrow, we'll have the place to ourselves. And then I'llfullyrepay you."

"Is that a promise?"

Wilby nibbles my ear. "It sure fucking is."

12

Wilby

I land on the pile of pillows and blankets that line the base of my bed with a gentle thud.

Ah.

Despite the fact I'm starting yet another morning getting kicked out of my bed, I smile to myself. This is a thousand times better than landing directly on the wooden floor. I really am a genius.

Kolby's small fingers curl around the edge of the mattress as he looks down at me.

"Mornin', mate."

He grins his gappy grin. "Why do you always fall out of bed, Uncle Wilby?"

"Because some sneaky, stinky munchkin crawls in here and kicks me out."

As always, he laughs hysterically at that, like he's hearing it for the first time and not every day for the past few months now.

Except, today's not like every other day. There's one very big difference, and he's sleeping just down the hallway.

I get to my feet and point at Kolby, who's ducked under the cover. "You. Bathroom. Now," I order, setting off down the hall.

The door to Col's room is closed. Bridge will be waking up soon, and I've got to make brekky and get them both ready for school.

I decide not to wake him up. We'll have the whole day together.

With the kids clean, dressed, and fed, I'm walking them out to school when the bedroom door opens and a very sleepy, very yawny New Yorker steps out. Col's hair is sticking out every which way, and he's still so out of it he hasn't noticed his sleepshirt has rolled halfway up his abs, revealing a glistening patch of smooth skin.

"Hey, Col!" Kolby cries out excitedly.

Col finishes his mammoth yawn and smiles at my nephew. "Hey, man. What's going on?"

"We're going to school."

Col blinks a few times, then looks around. "There's a school around here?"

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