Page 86 of Trust Issues
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise and you’ll be able to tell Cadence and Naima all about it when you get back.”
“Ooh, girl you better listen to your man. You hear all that bass he put in his voice?” Naima roared with laughter.
“All that bass must mean he’s putting it down heavy in the bedroom,” Cadence chimed in, snickering.
“You know what? On that note…I’ll call yall back. Bye.”
“We love you, Kyle,” they sang in unison before the call ended and all I saw was my own face.
“Okay, so where are we going and do I need to dress Barkley up?”
His smile was amazing and I couldn’t get enough of it.
“Don’t dress him up and I’m not telling you where we’re going. Let’s go.” The way he folded his arms across his broad chest made me hop to. I put on a pair of denim shorts and a t-shirt then called Barkley and grabbed his treats. His little greedy ass came running when he heard that bag.
I swear, I must have asked Max where we were going about ten thousand times while he drove and every time he ignored the fuck out of me. “I’m not telling you until we get there then you can read the signs for yourself.”
He was true to his word too. He kept his lips sealed. It wasn’t until we rounded a corner and I saw signs for the animal shelter that I knew what he had planned. I started bouncing in my seat and slapping his arm repeatedly.
“Maxwell, are we getting another puppy?” He pulled up, parked, and looked at me then looked at Barkley in the back.
“I know last night you said it would be a while before we had a kid and I want you to know I’m totally fine with that, Kyle. I also want us to make a commitment to something we have to raise together. Plus, I think Barks needs a sibling. What do you think?” He tipped his head to the side and looked at me. His coffee eyes gave me all the energy I needed to hop my happy ass out of the car and grab Barkley.
I was like a little kid on Christmas walking through the doors. Max did all the talking and five minutes later we were going to look at all the available dogs. They all clamored for attention and they definitely all wanted to talk to Barkley. He wasn’t bothered though. He trotted alongside us calmly until we came to the very last dog. The moment Barkley saw the adorable cocker spaniel he went nuts wagging his tail and yipping at the kennel.
“I think he likes this one right here,” I said bending over to read the tag on the door. It was empty though. I looked at Max and frowned. “There’s no information on this dog. I wonder why?”
“I don’t know. Barkley seems to be in love though.” The more he whined at the cocker spaniel the more the puppy came out of her shell. She inched toward the kennel door and they touched noses. It was the cutest fucking thing I’d ever seen.
“We gotta get her,” Max shrugged.
“She might not be available for adoption yet,” I said sadly.
“Well, let’s go find out.” We marched back to the front and Max asked about the adorable golden cocker spaniel.
“Oh, she’s new. We’ve had her for a few days and so far she plays well with the other dogs but she won’t get close to any of the workers. We found her tied to the water heater in a vacant home. The previous owners just left her. We haven’t named her but she’s been examined and had all her shots. She just has…trust issues.”
Max and I looked at each other then back at the shelter worker.
“We’ll take her,” we said in unison.
“Are you sure?”
“We’re sure. We’ll take her right now. She seems to want to play with our puppy, Barkley” The worker let us take the dog outside so her and Barks could get to know each other and they hit it off immediately.
“Let’s name her Avant,” Max said, hooking his arm around my waist.
“Avant?” I smiled.
“Yeah. I mean it is where I met the love of my life. What’s a better name?”
“You know what? I can’t argue with that.”
…
KYLA
