Page 50 of Play With Me

“Why not?”

“Because everyone’s always working, and apparently I’m not old enough to walk a dog or fly a parrot.”

“Fly a parrot?”

“Yeah, like you can train your parrots to fly and come back.”

“Aren’t they indoor birds?”

“If I lived in a jungle, it would make sense for my parrot to be an outdoor bird.”

“So you’re an outdoor kid who’s stuck in a condo with her dad?”

“He bought a house. I wish we could live with Grandpa and all my uncles again, but Grandpa is back in with Grandma for a while now, and Uncle… Brook has a lot of work to do and Daddy and Uncle Dean have new jobs as well.”

This time, Sophie didn’t even skip a beat and I felt guilt tug at my heart.

“Sounds like your life is just as busy as mine, and you like the outdoors.”

“I love the outdoors. I told Uncle Brook to take me camping with him, but he’s being mean.”

I frowned, and desperate to have Sophie scatter elsewhere, I took her hand.

“Come on, Sophie. You need to give Lola a break. Why don’t you go ask your dad about getting you a parrot?”

She wiggled out of my grip, and I knew that she wasn’t done pestering Lola just yet.

“If I’m going to ask for a pet, it will be a bear.” She looked up to me with her big eyes. “Uncle Brook, you could convince Daddy how much I love cuddly bears. Think how busy I would be feeding it, walking it, and cuddling it. You wouldn’t even know I was around.”

“What’s going to happen when it grows up?” I asked.

“He’ll be a big bear, and I’ll train him before he grows up. He’ll be able to bring me slippers and stuff.”

I heard a low chuckle from Lola.

“Please promise me you’ll think about it? I mean, about asking Daddy? I would do anything for a bear.”

“Sophie, there’s no way your father will ever get you a bear. Hey, maybe you could ask him about a puppy again? I’m sure he’d be more inclined to agree if you were to go talk to him now.” I pointed to Jax, and her eyes grew wide. Getting a dog for Sophie was on my to do list anyways, I just had to figure out the best timing. Would she go see her uncle now?

“A puppy would work too. Do you think Daddy will need a loooong time to think about it, or short?”

“You won’t know unless you go over there and find out.” I playfully shooed her away with my hand, but Sophie stood her ground.

“Promise me you’ll talk to him so he can think about it.”

“I promise.”

She threw her tiny arms around me, reaching as far as they could. She held on, almost shaking, and I had an urge to lift her up into my arms and hold her even tighter. Especially now that she knew I was leaving first thing in the morning. But with Lola watching us from the side, I didn’t want to blow our cover so soon.

What the hell.I lifted Sophie up into my arms and let her snuggle into my neck.

“I love you, Daddy.” She whispered right into my ear, making sure that I was the only one to hear her.

“I love you too, baby,” I whispered back, then set her down and she ran off to see Jax. She turned around and waved before jumping into her uncle’s arms and my heart squeezed with jealousy. Sophie always jumped into my arms when greeting me.

On one hand, I would miss her like crazy. On the other hand, once we left tomorrow morning to search for Xavier, this game of uncle versus daddy would stop. Maybe the trip away from home would clear my head, and by the time we returned, we could go to the shelter together to pick out a dog. Perhaps by then I’d understand better why Lola hated kids.

“You weren’t kidding when you said that you two have a close relationship,” Lola lifted a glass of water from a side table and in another attempt to cure her hangover, took a long sip.

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