Page 34 of Merry with a Single Dad

I didn’t realize how much Emily’s help and support would mean to me, but it meant more than she could possibly know especially since Hudson was at the age where he knew how to finagle and draw things out. With her tenacity, she’d helped Hudson see that there was always a sense of reward and accomplishment for being responsible and checking things off your “to-do list.” She set an excellent example for my son.

“Do you have a lot to do?” I asked.

“Nope. Almost done,” Emily said, lifting her eyes to mine.

“Take your time. The quicker you finish your homework, the quicker we can have fun.”

“Promise?” she asked right before I met her lips with a kiss.

I waggled my brows at her.

“I’ll hurry,” she said.

“Hudson, why don’t you take the dogs into the backyard while I change.”

“I think Luke is sad,” Hudson said.

“Because he misses Gigi?”

“And the puppies.”

“There aren’t any puppies yet,” I reminded him.

“But he misses them all the same,” he said.

“It’s normal for dogs to miss each other—just like humans,” Emily said.

“But doesn’t he look sad?” Hudson asked.

Emily and I looked at Luke, hunkered down with Rufus and Moose.

He looked the same to me as he always did. But I wasn’t going to nullify my son’s feelings.

“You know what always makes Luke happy?” Emily asked.

Hudson’s mouth turned up. “Tug-of-war?”

Emily’s eyes brightened. “Tug-of-war. Why don’t you take them out back while your dad changes.”

Hudson beelined to the slider and called the dogs outside.

Before Luke followed his best friend into the backyard, he glanced toward the empty corner of the room where Gigi usually would be.

“I don’t know about you, but it is nice to be back down to three dogs. Although Gigi wasn’t a lot of extra work, it’s just nice to be back tous,” I said.

“Luke does kind of look sad,” Emily said.

“That’s just his face, honey. And don’t get any wild and crazy ideas about bringing another dog home.”

“I’m not,” she said, a guilty shade of red kissing her cheeks.

“Just think how much work it would be with all those puppies. Man, when I think about how hard it was with Hudson. Having another dog is like having another kid. It’s a lot of work.”

Emily’s mouth hung open momentarily before she clamped it shut.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head. “Just thinking about Gigi, I guess.”

---