Page 29 of A Baby for the Firefighter
“We can have any one of these?” Shane asked.
“Take your pick,” the shelter lady said. “We’re reasonably sure we can get all of these to good homes, but none have been claimed yet.” She unlocked the kennel and stepped inside. The puppies who had been crowding around their proud momma a second ago now all came to sniff at her feet. Obviously, she was popular with the dogs.
“Hey cuties,” she said, bending down to pick a puppy out of the bunch. All in all, there were four of them, each of them a strong contender for the role of cutest thing ever.
“This one is my personal favorite,” Ava said. “He’s the fiercest of them all, and fiercely lovable.” And just as she said this, the puppy licked her face as if to prove her point. “I’d adopt him myself if I had the space, but he’s going to love living in a household with children.”
“Good. Can I hold him?” Shane asked while I stood back with Griff.
“Man, I want one,” Griff whispered as Ava handed the dog to Shane.
“We’re here for Shane and Conner, remember?” I whispered back. “Besides, you have Fiona.”
“Fiona doesn’t live with me anymore.”
“I could stay with you more if you’re just feeling lonely.” I wanted to grab his ass in a suggestive gesture, but settled on resting my hand on his lower back instead.
Think of the line.
Hell if I knew where itwas, though. For now, I had to trust that Griff would tell me if I did something that he didn’t want me to do.
“You’re not a dog,” Griff said.
“Good thing, too. If I was a dog, I couldn’t bake for you,” I reminded him while I watched my cousin pet the puppy he was most likely taking home.
“That would suck. Why can’t you shift back and forth between being a dog and being a man?”
“I didn’t know you were into furries,” I teased.
“Am not!” He whacked me over the head, lips drawn into a pout. God, he was at least as adorable as the puppies.
“Does he have a name?” I heard Shane ask.
“You can name him,” Ava said with a smile.
“I’ll let my son name him, then,” Shane said, the puppy licking each of his fingers in turn.
“Sure. We’ll take care of the paperwork and you can pick him up next week. We’ll also help you pick out a leash and everything then.”
“I guess it’s decided,” I said to Griff. “Thanks for coming with us today.”
“It was no problem. There’s no better excuse not to work than looking at puppies.”
I laughed. “Guess you’re right.” I almost wanted one too. I’d always wanted a big house and a dog, and now with Griff standing next to me, I also knew who I wanted to share that house with. But it was too early to be thinking thoughts like that. We’d only just had our first kiss and I wasn’t even sure where we stood with each other. But in my heart of hearts, I already knew that there couldn’t be anyone else for me. No matter what it took, I wanted this omega.
No other would do.
13
Griffin
Enteringmy nephew’s school to do my volunteer work brought back a ton of memories. I’d gone to school here too when I was his age. When I looked out the window of the auditorium, I saw the schoolyard where I’d first met Dean all those years ago.
I’d brought a bottle of soap bubbles to school with me that day. All the other kids had been jealous when I’d taken it out during the break. I’d been open to sharing—I wanted everyone to enjoy the fun with me, really—but not everybody thought sharing was a good idea. Some third grader had stomped up to six-year-old me and ripped the bottle out of my hand.
And that was when I’d first noticed Dean, because he’d gotten it back for me by standing up to the bully.
It was all such a long time ago, but being here really brought the memories back. Dean and I had had a lot of fun the rest of that break, blowing bubbles in each other’s faces.
