Page 26 of Promised Summer
As if summoned by my calling, the stepbrothers came rushing over. Dan was slightly out of breath as he fell into the seat beside me and took a chug of his water.
Clay sat beside Dan and took smaller sips. He looked a lot more put together than his stepbrother.
“Where have you guys been?” I asked, and when Dan placed his cup down and I got a good look at his swollen lips, I added, “Geez, which animal were you making out with?”
Clay sputtered on his water and started coughing. Dan patted his back. “Sorry, went down the wrong pipe,” Clay muttered after his coughing fit, but I had a suspicion the heat on his face had nothing to do with him almost choking on his water.
I looked at Dan and Clay suspiciously. They’d always been close, even before they became stepbrothers, and Dan had a bit of a playboy reputation around these parts… Could it be they were secretly sharing partners and had a quickie before brunch?
I quickly pushed the outrageous idea out of my mind. They were stepbrothers, and even if we were a small town, we weren’tthatkind of small town, at least not that I was aware of.
Besides, I didn’t know about Dan, but Clay was pretty reserved and definitely wasn’t the type to have threesomes.
Dan cleared his throat, and I eyed his lips again. He caught my gaze and said with a nervous laugh. “Probably an allergic reaction to something I ate.”
I knew kiss-swollen lips when I saw them, but I also knew when to back off when someone wasn’t keen on continuing the conversation. Ryker and Sam wereoff in their own little world and I doubted they even noticed anything was off.
“Aww, look at our pretty girl. Did you get a new hat?” Clay cooed at Lily when she lifted her head toward the newcomers. Hearing someone speaking to her, she stood and walked toward them.
“Damn! Look at her tits,” Dan commented.
“What a rude thing to say to a lady,” Atlas chided, coming out of the diner at that exact moment. But when he got a closer look at Lily, he added, “Oh, wow. Her nipples are really swollen.”
I wrapped a protective arm around my perfect girl with her perfectly perfect nipples. “Stop objectifying my dog,” I muttered.
“Look, I’ve seen a lot of boobs in my day,” Dan said, and Clay snorted, muttering somethingunintelligible, but his tone sounded very bitter. Dan shot a glare his way and continued his train of thought. “As a doctor, I’ve seen a fair share of swollen breasts during pregnancy, and even though I’m no vet, I’m pretty sure your dog is knocked up.”
“No!” I exclaimed. “Not my girl! She’s just a baby!”
Atlas placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder and nodded. “My old neighbors had a pregnant dog, and I’m sorry to say your girl looks to be late into her pregnancy.”
I stared at my dog in disbelief and really studied her. Sure, she’d gotten a bit rounder than when I first got her, but I figured that was because I’d been feedingher good lately. And sure, her nipples had practically doubled in size the past couple of weeks, but this was my first time having a dog, so who was I to say that wasn’t normal either?
Her medical records hadn’t said anything about her being pregnant. I was waiting to take her to the vet when she was more settled since I’d read vet visits could be really traumatizing for pets, but it looked like I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I’m not ready to be a granddad!” I cried and hugged Lily.
Ryker patted my shoulder again. “We’ll help you find people to adopt the pups?” he offered.
I let out a dramatic cry and hugged Lily closer. She must have thought I was playing with her and wiggled her body dramatically. The others paid me no mind and placed their brunch orders with Atlas as I had a meltdown over my impending status as a potential doggy grandpa.
Chapter Eleven
RYAN
I sighed as I checked my emails in case my real estate agent had somehow found new listings overnight. After an afternoon of unsuccessfully touring apartments and houses chopped up into smaller units, I was losing hope of finding a decent place within our budget.
It wasn’t like I had a huge budget to work with, either, since I’d taken a massive pay cut for this remote position in order to stay home with Karla. I figured it would be fine with the cost of living in Kither Springs being much lower than the city, but apparently, I was wrong.
The units our agent showed us were basically the same price as my old place in the city, but in much worse conditions, since most of the buildings here were older. I heard Jones’ construction unit was working on a new apartment building. It was one of the first apartment complexes in the west side of town. At thisrate, I might have to wait until the construction was finished to find a place of my own.
I sighed again. Living with my mom and grandma wasn’t bad, and I was grateful they were letting us stay with them in the first place. They adored Karla and showered her with love, though I had to admit it was a little cramped.
I didn’t mind sharing a room with Karla for now, especially since she still tended to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night after a scary dream, but it would be nice for her to have a room of her own.
Karla’s new therapist emphasized it was important for Karla to feel safe and get settled into a new routine. I was hoping to get her settled in our new place before she started kindergarten in a few months. My hope for us finding a place in the middle of the summer was quickly dimming.
I pressed my eyelids, trying to quell the incoming headache, when my phone chimed with a notification. I unlocked my phone and read the text from Jones that told me he was going to be a grandpa with at least a dozen crying emojis.
