Page 27 of The Alpha's Assistant & The Dom Next Door
“You come up with a name for this furball yet, sweetie?” I ask my daughter as she climbs back onto the recliner across from thecouch.
“Flubber!” she declares, and I burst into incredulous laughter. Emmeline settles onto the far end of the couch, chucklingquietly.
“Flubber? Why are you gonna call your dog that?” It’s cute and hilarious, and better than Doggie-Face, which was her first idea for aname.
“Because he bounces!” she declares, and I can’t help but laughmore.
“Flubber, it is. Just don’t complain about it when you’re ten and he’s eightypounds.”
“I won’t! C’mon, Flubber!” She pats the seat next to her and the dog scrambles up to settle in beside her, snuffling at the cup. He loses interest after a few moments, the insulation and narrow opening masking most of the chocolatescent.
“They’re so cute.” Emmeline is smiling, really smiling, and the sight of it warms me more than my drink. “How long have you livedhere?”
“Two and a half years. It was a mess when I got here. Had to fix it up so it was good enough for my little girl.” I scratch the corner of my jaw thoughtfully as I look at her. “How about you? Where were you beforethis?”
“Garden District. I grew up there. Mom and Dad both have family here going back a couple of hundred years.” She smiles faintly, her velvety dark eyes hiding demurely behind her lashes. A true Creole beauty, with deep roots that I find myselfenvying.
“A real New Orleans native, huh?” It’s hard not to smile now that we’re finally in the same room together, even though part of my mind keeps chewing over the scene with Shayla the wholetime.
I need to talk with her about this. As much as I’d like to be her personal hero, even if nothing ever happens between us, this is my street. I won’t let anybody get hurt in my territory, even if she’s just a friendlyneighbor.
“That’s me. I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave. I mean, maybe part of the year. The summers do get really hot uphere.”
“When it gets too bad, I usually take Jenny and go off in my plane for a month or two to my farmlands in Oregon. We come back after the last harvest and processing are done, which is usually late fall.” It’s a lot to tell her about myself in one go, but since I now know so many private things about her, it seems fair to open up abit.
“You’re a farmer? I thought you were an ex-soldier or something.” She’s intrigued, and I take that as a goodsign.
“Ex-pilot, actually. I used to run my own delivery company.” Close enough to the truth. “I own a hundred acres in Humboldt County; got a buddy managing it forme.”
“Humboldt?” Her eyebrows rise. She’s heard of it—of course. Everybody who has ever smoked bud at least once has heard of it. “Oh.”
“Do you think Flubber’s a good name?” Jenny breaks in after running out of cocoa to drain from her sippy. She sets it aside, leaving the puppy to nose at it curiously, and peers at Emmelineearnestly.
“Flubber is a lovely name, sweetheart. Don’t let your daddy give you a hard time.” She shoots me a mischievous look that’s a pleasant surprise. Her mood’s recovering. That makes me feel good—too good,maybe.
Maybe if I work hard enough, I can get her mind entirely off of Shayla … and on meinstead.
“I can’t believe she even remembers that movie,” I admit, a little baffled. When did I even watch it withher?
“Well, it must have stuck.” Emmeline is sipping her cocoa a lot more slowly than I, her hands laced carefully around the heavy ceramic mug, as if worried she will fumble it. She does still glance at the front windows now and again, whenever the breeze moves the branches of the mulberry tree and casts a shadow on theglass.
I get the impression that she’s rarely at rest, and she probably doesn’t sleep very well either.Maybe I can help theretoo?
Looking at Emmeline as she holds a friendly little conversation with my daughter about dog names, I want to do a lot more than just take her to my bed. I want to protect her. I want to make sure she can sleep at night, and feel safe during the day. I want to make hersmile…
Damn it, hold up. I barely know this woman, and here I am already imagining her in mycollar.
I have to watch that. If there’s one thing I have a problem with when it comes to women, it’s falling too hard for them, too fast. Especially the kindones.
The warm milk in the cocoa is doing its work, as did all the excited running around with the new puppy. Jenny yawns enormously, and I look over at her. “That’s yawn number one,sweetie.”
“I’m not sleepy,” she mumbles—and then stifles another yawn. The puppy is already draped over her lap, blinkingslowly.
“All right, but you know the rules. One more yawn and I’ll have to shuffle you off to bed for yournap.”
“I know,” she mumbles—and yawns again before I can even look away fromher.
“Gimme just a minute,” I say to Emmeline, who nods and takes another dainty sip of her cocoa. Her eyes dance slightly with amusement as I scoop up kid and pup and turn to bring them upstairs. The dog wiggles a little, but Jenny is already starting todoze.
