Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Arriving back to the house, I bring in Buddy’s new bed and toys and set them down so he can sniff everything. He doesn’t seem the least bit impressed by his bed, but after a day or two, he’ll get used to it.
“I hope it’s comfortable enough for him,” Courtney says, watching him sniff around the bed. “I don’t think he likes it.”
I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her in close. “He’ll get used to it.” Or at least, he better. I want my woman back. And my bed. “How about we let him get acquainted with it and we go out to dinner?”
“Okay. I can do dinner.” She smiles up at me.
“That’s my girl.” I pat her playfully on the ass.
She kneels and Buddy nuzzles into her face. “You be a good boy, okay? Mommy and Daddy will be right back!” She rubs his head and he wags his tail. I smile at the cutesy voice she uses.
“Sweetheart.”
She turns her head and looks up at me, all while petting Buddy. “I just hate leaving him. He looks so sad.”
“He’ll be fine. We’ll be gone twenty minutes. Thirty at the most,” I try to reassure her, knowing it’s not been easy having to leave him home alone. I grab her hand and pull her up, although she’s reluctant. “C’mon, Mama Bear. Your baby cub will survive.”
“Fine.” She pouts. “But I’m looking at pictures of him all the way there.”
I laugh, knowing she’s not in the least bit exaggerating. She must have hundreds of pictures of him on her phone already.
I drive us to a local restaurant and as we pull in, my phone rings, Travis’ name appears over the screen and I hit the speakerphone button.
“Hey, man. What’s up?”
I hear a child screaming in the background before I hear him. “Hey,” he shouts over the screaming baby. “Sorry, James is not happy at the moment.”
“Clearly,” I tease. “So, what’s going on?”
“Well, I thought I’d let you know that your little new love pet is causing Viola some major dog fever.”
“And?”
“And it’s your fault. You need to tell Courtney to talk Viola out of it. I can’t handle anymore poop around here. I’m buried in diapers and potty training as it is.”
I laugh at his winded plea, his voice sounding strained and exhausted.
“Well, it could be worse. She could be having baby fever,” I say, chuckling at the thought of Travis trying to juggle another baby.
“Oh, fuck my life. Do not give her any ideas.” He sounds seriously terrified and Courtney begins laughing loudly.
“Yes! More babies!” I chant, even though I know Viola had her tubes tied after James was born. Although, it wouldn’t be impossible to reverse the procedure.
“Courtney, I swear to God! Do not put that thought into her head. You hear me?” Travis yells at her through the phone.
“What’s that, Boss? You want to give me a pay raise? How thoughtful of you!” Courtney smiles wide as she continues taunting him.
He groans and James screams once again. “If you pity me at all, you’ll have mercy on my sanity. No dogs. No babies. In fact, I’m thinking of taking one of them back.”
I chuckle, but the look on Courtney’s face is a serious expression.
“He’s joking, right?” she asks.
I nod and then second-guess myself. “I’m pretty sure he is.”
She rolls her eyes with a smirk. “Okay, fine. We better stop before we give Travis a stroke.”
“Thank God,” he breathes out. “So, if you could just maybe tell Viola how much work a new dog is and how she’s not really thinking with a clear head so she gets it out of her mind that we need to have another one, I’d be willing to overlook all those long lunches you take.”
“Ooh, blackmail,” Courtney snickers. “You play dirty.”
“Haven’t you learned not to mess with the King?” he taunts her right back.
“All right. I’m breaking you two up before it starts getting ugly,” I joke. “We’re just about to walk into a restaurant to grab some dinner. We’ll talk later, okay?”
Before I can hang up, Courtney speaks up quickly. “Hey, he only said to talk her out of getting another dog. He said nothing about another baby.”
“Courtney!” Travis shouts just as she presses the button and the call dies.
“Oopsies,” she mutters, pursing her lips.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I roll my eyes as I slip my phone back into my pocket. “Why do you have to torment him?”
“Because it’s fun, obviously.”
I unbuckle my belt and reach for the door. “Let’s go, troublemaker.”
Once we finish eating, we head right back to the house. Courtney is already anxious in her seat and mentions wanting to take Buddy for a short walk before we go to sleep. I agree on the account it’ll hopefully tire him out long enough to sleep on his new dog bed and give me mine back again.