Page 48 of Claimed by my Bestie's Dad

I love my friends. I really do, but I’m feeling so sickish right now that I don’t think I’d be able to have a good time with them.

I type out my “Can’t. Sorry to miss it” text as carefully as I can, rereading it several times before sending it.I am still feeling terrible. Is there anything I can do to help from home?

Zoe responds first, wishing me good health. She also gives me a link to a tea that has helped her fight viruses by loading up on vitamin C.

Aurora responds next.You’re going to miss AGAIN?

I feel a stab of guilt hit me. I’m usually at any and all meetings, but I just can’t this time. I don’t feel well, and I want to be here when Ethan comes to help me with the dogs.

Maybe it’s dumb, but I look forward to every second I get to experience with him.

When Ethan arrives after work, he sits down on the other end of the couch. I extend my legs out toward him while he bends down to interact with Tigger and Piglet. “They are cute, huh?”

“Not bad. Definitely not as strong as those others. Do you want to take everyone over to my yard now?”

I nod and start gathering leashes, trying to connect the right leash to the right dog. They all crowd around me, eager to go out. When I clip a leash to Georgie, Piglet starts whining, sure he’s going to be left out.

“I’ve got him,” Ethan volunteers.

Soon, we have them all hooked up, and we trek over to his backyard. The dogs joyously run free once we unhook their leashes. I check the gate twice to make sure no one can get out.

“Do you think Samson will be lonely after Christmas?” Ethan asks.

“After Christmas? Why?”

“Well, won’t most people be done traveling by then?”

I think about the bookings I have. “I think I have two New Year’s bookings. But yeah, I expect things will slow down a lot in January. Why? Are you trying to get out of your duties?”

It suddenly hits me what this really means. If I don’t have any more dogs, then Ethan won’t have a reason to come see me anymore. Does that mean he won’t come over as often?

“The look on your face says not good things. What are you thinking about?”

Part of me has felt like I can be more open with Ethan recently, but part of me feels like I can’t trust him. He may like spending time with me, but would he really pick me over his daughter if it came down to it?

I don’t know if I’m willing to find out.

Finally, I figure out the best way to answer his question.

“Just all the work ahead of me. One of the dogs is a Dalmatian. Those are huge. I hope he listens better than Bigfoot and Bella.”

“Dalmatian? You’ll be saved in case of a fire.”

“Um, what?”

“Oh, come on, didn’t you ever watch that show as a kid with the firehouse dog? It was a Dalmatian. It would go along with the firemen and go inside and sniff out anyonestill in there. I’ll never forget the scene where it saved a five-year-old who was too scared to say anything.”

I laugh. “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of that.”

And then, I realize why it is. Ethan grew up in a different generation from me. The shows he watched as a kid would have been old news by the time I came along. But I don’t want to mention why I’ve never heard of this mysterious “firedog” show.

Instead, I just nod and scratch Georgie’s head when he comes up to check on me.

It gets me thinking again. Ethan and I are vastly different. We don’t have much in common as far as childhoods. What is really keeping us together?

Samson comes up and shows me a stick he found. I look all around the yard, trying to determine where he got it from. But he crouches, ready to take off as soon as I show any interest in playing with him.

“All right, boy, we can play some fetch.”

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