Page 106 of On Merit Alone
I sputtered a laugh at both him and the dog as he began to lick my tears. “Nuh-uh.”
“Yeah,” he went on. “You get the saddest look on your face like you might die if you don’t have the dog right that second Six, I swear. And another thing. You likegiantdogs. Remember last week when you saw a Great Dane and said,‘puppy!’”
I blubbered, unsure if I wanted to cry or laugh. I could only whisper as I gazed at my new puppy while I scratched behind his ear. “Shut up, Ira.”
He did, just watching me quietly as me and the dog got acquainted. I peeked up at him, smiling slightly. “But he’s gonna be big, huh?”
Ira smiled so big I think I saw all his teeth. “What are you gonna name him?”
“I get to?” I asked, even more excited.
“Of course.”
“Um…” I thought about it for exactly one second. “Cash. I’ve always wanted a dog named Cash.”
“Well,” letting us go, Ira jogged over to the basket and fiddled with something that was tucked underneath the cushion before returning to me. In my hand he placed a certificate of some kind. One for the dog that read:
Welcome Cash to the family!
With the two of us in his arms again, Ira murmured, “The newest addition to the Jones family.”
Cash Jones.That’s what the certificate said.
I wheezed, my heart constricting and expanding somehow at once.
This man.
He’d promised to be with me. He’d promised not to hurt me. And now he’d grown my family.
This man… He was going to take my heart if I wasn’t too careful.
Chapter Thirty
Ira
“Haven’t seen muchof you lately,” Iris said from her spot on the couch as she watched me change her little man. “Mom and Dad are wondering if you’ve been thinking about your decision, but I’m wondering if there’s something else.Someoneelse…”
She and Maddox had just slept over the night before. She hated when Neil left town, so it was always our tradition for her to stay over here or me over there when he had to leave for a few days to work. Now with the baby, it had gotten even worse. She got nervous and immediately forgot how great of a mother she was eight plus hours of the day without Neil when he’s at work, and immediately started freaking out about every little thing. So knowing he was leaving for the second time in a short while, I invited Iris over for a little sleepover weekend and I agreed to watch the kids on her last day here so she could have a day off for herself. The other kid being kept was none other than Olivia. Isaac’s wife, Leah would be dropping her off soon, as she was the other honorary recipient of a girls day off.
It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, neither was the obviousfishing she was attempting. I wasn’t hiding anything, so I simply shrugged. “Could be both.”
She contemplated that answer, mirroring my demeanor as she considered me from the other side of the room. “Any luck with either.”
“No luck with decisions, at least not as much as I would like,” I said, wincing as Maddox made a little move. He’d just finished peeing on me. Literally, as soon as I opened his diaper—pisseverywhere. And I definitely didn’t want a round two now that I’d stripped my shirt. He settled almost as soon as he stirred, though, and I breathed a sigh of relief… and some trepidation. “I’m feeling a little unsettled about the whole thing. Some people don’t think it’s such a good idea.”
“Some people like this girl you’ve been hanging out with?” she asked, her voice changing instantly.
I shrugged, strapping one side of the diaper closed.
She shot up from her seat. “Ira, you know I’m not one to meddle in your business, but?—”
“Bullshit! You love being in my business. You’re president of my fan club, right up there with Mer—” I stopped myself, another sigh building up in my chest.
This alerted my older sister into protective sibling mode. “Whatever Ira. It’s not like you’re some mortgage broker or crazy bitcoin lord. You’ve got money, status, and you’re a star in the public eye. If she’s putting down your serious wants because she just wants you to stay famous, she doesn’t care about you. I don’t like it.”
“Bitcoin lord, Iris?” I asked incredulously.
“Ira King, if you don’t quit trying to be funny and listen to me?—”
