Page 45 of Christmas Wishes

I kept my eyes on the TV stand as I gently reeled in the toy, then tossed it back out. After a few minutes, half a gray head stuck out from the edge of the furniture. The first thing I noticed was the ear folded forward. Was that a quirk or a breed thing? One skeptical amber eye tracked the movement of the toy.

“Hi, Joule. I’m Keaton. I was starting to wonder if you were a figment of my imagination.” She kept her focus on the toy. “Want a treat?” I did my best to toss it as close to her as possible. I wasn’t an athlete, and it landed about a foot away.

Her attention bounced between me, the toy, and the treat. After a few more minutes, and me maintaining steady, measured movements of tossing the toy and pulling it back, she inched toward the treat. I held my breath once her body cleared the furniture. Both ears were folded forward. Her short hair looked soft.

Joule watched me as she gobbled up the salmon treat, then she sat all prim and proper and stared at me expectantly.

“Want another?” I pulled one from the baggie next to me in the recliner and tossed it to her. It bounced off her chest and landed at her feet. She ate that one, taking her eyes off me for a second. Progress.

I tried tossing a treat closer to me, but Joule didn’t budge an inch. “I can respect your boundaries.” At least she was in the same room as me and letting me look at her. “While I have your attention, I’d like to put in a plug for Riggs. He’s a good guy. Works a lot, I know, but I think you’re used to that with Nico. You can’t get any better than Riggs. I’m sure he’d love a good snuggle if that’s your sort of thing.”

She lifted her right paw to her mouth and cleaned it with her long, pink tongue. After one last look, she turned and trotted out of the room.

“And when he starts bringing a man around, promise me you’ll accept him too. It won’t help matters if you don’t like whoever Riggs starts dating.” Now that I might have more time in Juniper Ridge, I should spend more time trying to sleuth out suitable bachelors for Riggs. Now that I’d experienced him in bed, I was even more convinced he needed a partner to share his…talents. Maybe having sex with Riggs was all I needed to do. Sort of like how when someone gets in a relationship, they start getting hit on all the time. I could get my stank on Riggs and activate hisI’m fuckablepheromones. But the more I thought about someone sniffing around Riggs, the more protective of him I became.

“Good talk.” I smiled as I pulled my phone from my pocket. Now that I’d seen Joule, I wanted to keep working on building her trust and getting her and Riggs to connect.

I saw some more texts in the family group chat, so I tapped on the icon.

Jen: We’re thinking of going to London next summer. I know none of us have been, but can you think of anyone else in the family who’s gone? I’d love to get some tips.

Chris: Cousin Jake stopped in on his way to Paris a few years ago.

Mom: I’ve always wanted to go to London!

Steph: Not that I can think of, but one of my coworkers went last summer. What do you want to know about?

The more messages I read, the angrier I got. I’d fucking studied abroad in London for anentire summerduring college. I’d talked about it so much after that they’d made a rule that anyone who said “London” that Christmas had to chug a glass of eggnog. Was I really so forgettable?

I needed an Arlo fix before my mood soured further. We needed to have a lucid talk about what was going on. I’d already let my parents know so that I had options to present to Arlo.

I pressed Call. “Adulting sucks,” I said by way of greeting.

Arlo’s laughter was encouraging. He didn’t sound too panicked. That was good. “You can say that again.”

“Adultingreallysucks.” I relaxed into the recliner.

“I don’t know what to do.”

I needed to present option one. “I called my parents, and they’re happy to have us in my old room, but Mom reminded me that my brother has a finished basement with a bathroom, mini kitchen, and plenty of space for air mattresses. But, ugh, I don’twantto live with him again. I already paid my dues.” My brother was a dick in the way only an older brother could get away with.

“And we don’t have the money to stay in a hotel for whoever knows how long it’ll take until it gets fixed. Not with the prices at home.” Arlo let out a sigh.

Time to mention an alternative option. When I woke up this morning, it took me a few minutes to convince myself that Riggs had even made that offer last night instead of it being a dream. A really intriguing dream. “What would we be going home to?”

“Job hunting?” Arlo was by far the more practical between us. I knew it was stressing him the hell out not having a job lined up. But me? I’d find something. I always did when jobs fell through or I decided to move on to something that sounded more fun.

I hummed. “We can do that anywhere.”

“What are you saying?”

I had him. I could tell by Arlo’s voice that he was already in. He just needed a logical nudge.

“I’ve been thinking and talked to Riggs. Maybe we could postpone our flights and stay on vacation a little longer? I haven’t completed my dare yet, and I don’t think you have either.” I paused for a moment, but he didn’t immediately refuse. Good sign. “I’d rather stay in a cozy house than my brother’s basement.”

“Can you? Is there space in the Airbnb?”

I held back a snort. Plenty of space in Riggs’s bed. “There’s space. I still have some work to do on my mission.”

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