It’s not like I brought miniature cows that are going to shit all over his lawn. I sorta wish I had now. At least I would’ve gotten some enjoyment out of that.
“Oh my gosh.” Before Titus can make it inside, Mariah rushes out the back door, face lit up in a way that gives me hope. “What do you have?”
“Tobias brought puppies for the twins.” Titus’s tone is dry. “I was just telling him he’s going to have to take them somewhere else, because we don’t want two puppies.”
Mariah’s face falls, taking my hope with it. “That is true.” She crouches down, cooing at the littermates who are rolling around making cute little snarling noises as they play. “Two puppies would be a lot of work.” She reaches out, picking up the bi-colored female sporting tan and white curls. “But I think we could totally manage one.” Mariah sets the tiny dog on top of her very pregnant belly, cuddling it close as she turns to my brother. “Right?”
I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. I might not have accomplished my full goal, but there’s no way in hell Titus will tell Mariah no. Ever. About anything.
My brother closes his eyes, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “Right.”
Mariah makes a little squeak of glee as she moves in at his side, beaming up at Titus as he pulls her against him. “What should we name…” Her eyes come my way, one brow lifting in question.
“Her.” I crouch down, scooping up the other puppy. “That one’s a female.”
Mariah lifts the puppy until they're looking into each other’s eyes. “You look like a Betty.”
My brother shoots me a glare over his fiancée’s head, pointing in the direction of my house. “Go. Before she decides we do need two dogs after all.”
“Aren’t you going to invite me in for a snack?” I know damn well he’s got some good shit inside that house. Mariah is always making him caramel cakes and cookies and anything else he wants.
Titus turns Mariah and Betty toward the door. “Nope.”
“Asshole.” I don’t manage to get the whole insult out before the door’s closing in my face, but it feels good to say anyway. Not just because I’m stuck with a puppy, but also because now I have to go sit in my house alone instead of hanging out with them, eating cookies and drinking coffee.
Taking the pale tan male under my arm, I stomp my way to where I left the ATV I drove over. “I hate this place.”
I don’t really hate it here. I actually love living in Willow Bend. I love my house. I love that I can look out the windows and see the mountains. I love my job.
I just also love to bitch.
Sliding behind the wheel of the side-by-side, I keep the puppy in my lap as I aim for a second possible place to permanently deposit him.
I genuinely thought my brother would take both puppies. Did I also genuinely think they would be a total pain in his ass? Yes. That was a main selling point of the gift. Dogs are a pain in the ass, and Titus needs something to annoy him now that he has everything he’s ever wanted.
Plus, kids love dogs, and I want my future nieces and nephews—or whatever combination of the two comes out—to love me, so it seemed like a win-win. Titus is annoyed. I’m the favorite uncle. Everybody's happy.
Or at least I am. For a minute anyway.
I pull up in front of my parents’ house, slotting the side-by-side into a spot near the side door we all use to come and go. Carrying the puppy along with me, I skip up the steps and let myself in. I don’t hear anything as I make my way toward the kitchen, which is weird. Normally my mom would be greeting me from wherever she is in the house. Giving me a location to head for.
But the place is eerily quiet. Quiet enough I start to think no one’s home.
“Are you kidding me?” I stare down at the puppy, his big brown eyes locking onto mine. “What the hell am I going to do with you now?”
I’m turning, ready to go back the way I came, when I finally hear some sign of another person in this house with me. A grin spreads across my face as I turn in place, trying to figure out where she is, because I’m pretty damn confident I can talk my mom into taking this puppy.
And maybe she’ll even feed me snacks and give me coffee. Help me kill a little more time before I have to go home.
I can't quite pinpoint the location of the sound I heard, but I know it was coming from upstairs. Heading for the back staircase since it's closest to me, I move upward quickly, butcarefully. I don't want to bust my ass with a tiny puppy in my arms.
The little bastard is adorable, and if I have to keep him, I will. I guess it would give me something else to do besides sit around my house like an idiot while Titus cuddles his fiancée and Tucker rolls across his mattress with whatever woman was dumb enough to go home with him. I guess at least I can be happy knowing Trevor and Walker are as alone as I am. Even if they don't seem quite as miserable by it.
If my mom doesn’t take him, maybe I could try to give Walker this puppy. I know there's no way in hell Trevor would take it. He's too fucking anal about the pristine state of his house to ever let anything that might make a mess inside. But Walker? He could probably use a friend.
Feeling pretty confident in my new plan B, I stride down the long hall, aiming for my mother’s gift wrapping room. She's probably got a head start on all the shit she's planning to buy for Titus’s babies and is in there wrapping away. I walk into the space with a smirk on my face, because it doesn't matter what she got them because uncle Toby already bought them a?—
My boots fuse to the floor as my eyes land on the woman standing at the table. She’s wrapping something, but I highly doubt it's for my future nieces or nephews.
