Page 10 of Summer with a Single Dad

“His real name is Luke.”

“That’s a much more fitting name for a cutie like you, isn’t it, Luke?” Agreeing with me, Luke barked and licked my hand.

“So, can you help me?” His question bordered on desperation.

“Let’s go out back and see what you’re made of,” I told Luke. At my signal, Moose and Rufus lead the way.

When Chris and I squeezed through the gate, a punch of electricity zinged through me, sparking something I thought was long dead.

Chapter Seven

Chris

Madison . . . I mean, Emily was not who I expected to see when I went to meet Lucifer’s prospective trainer. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d run into the woman whose face and body I couldn’t get out of my head.

I should be more concerned about Lucifer’s training. And I was to a degree. I was also focused on finding out if there was a reason why I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.

I missed Hudson like crazy, and he was my priority. But maybe fate worked in mysterious ways. I could get to know Emily better. And if she turned out to be the kind of woman I hoped she was, maybe I could introduce her to Hudson once he got settled in.

I took our fluke of a reunion as a sign. I wouldn’t let her go now.

It was true that I needed her help with Lucifer. Now that luck was on my side, I would do everything in my power to reconnect with her over something other than our dogs.

For our first three sessions, I purposefully kept everything business-related. My attempts at spending more time with her were thwarted by her “schedule.” When I asked what she was doing for dinner after our initial meeting, she said she hadalready made plans with her friend. Intuition told me she was blowing me off, but I didn’t push it. Instead, I maneuvered myself into her schedule.

It was Wednesday of the following week, and Lucifer and I were practicing our fetch exercises. We had a couple of hours until our group session with Emily, and I wanted to impress her. Lucifer was no help. He got the concept of play, but he wouldn’t grasp the concept of “no.”

It didn’t matter how many hours I played with him or how many walks I took him on to try and tire him out. All he was capable of was acting like an overexcited fiend and getting into mischief. I couldn’t leave him alone but didn’t want to tie him up.

I was at the point of losing my mind. Yesterday, I thought I finally had some time to myself. Lucifer was snoozing away in his bed. It was foolish of me to think he could be left alone while I took a dip in the pool. When I came back inside, he’d shredded one of my pillows. Swatches of fabric and fluffs of stuffing covered the bed, looking like it had snowed in my bedroom. I called Emily in a panic, worried he ate the insides and needed to be seen by a vet. She assured me it wouldn’t be necessary unless he started showing signs of discomfort or pain.

After our playtime, I brought him inside. We both needed a drink of water, and I needed a shower.

When I found a leftover tuft of stuffing in the corner of my bedroom, I groaned and shot Lucifer a look.

Lucifer didn’t care. He cocked his head and regarded me with innocent eyes.

“Man’s best friend, my ass,” I said, swiping the stuffing off the floor. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

Lucifer trotted over and looked up at me.

“Sit,” I said.

He wagged his tail.

“Sit,” I repeated a little more forcefully.

He jumped up onto his hind legs.

“Idiot,” I said, chuckling a little. Lucifer might not be mindful yet, but he was adorable. It was hard to hate him when he was so damn cute. Of course, I’d had the inclination to spank him now and again, but I hated the thought. I smacked his snout a few times when he refused to “drop” something—my shoe, my sock, my silk tie.

When he followed me into the bathroom, I locked us inside. At least he’d be confined to a smaller space while I took a shower.

After switching out his regular collar for the head collar Emily recommended for training sessions, Lucifer and I headed over to Emily’s.

We were twenty minutes early and the first to arrive. I stayed in the car, refusing to intrude on Emily’s privacy. I wanted to have a few minutes alone with her, but knew I had to work on warming her up to the idea of spending more time with me. She had walls up, and I didn’t know why.

The knock on my window startled me. Emily, Moose, and Rufus waited on the curb. I secured Lucifer’s leash and rolled the window down.

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