Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Puppies were more expressive than bunnies, so I got a bark and a head nod, which I appreciated. “Perfect.”
That was all he needed to start racing through the house, thankfully, on two feet so he didn’t hurt his knees.
“Hey, wait for me.” That got happy barks that were more like laughter than any sound a dog would make, but I loved it and raced after him.
That just led to a chase through the house, upstairs and then back down before he collapsed on the floor in the living room. Wearing an ear-to-ear grin, he rolled over on his back and wiggled his limbs. “Oh, does my fast pup need attention?”
Squirms and an excited bark said I was right on the money that time, so I sat down beside him and rubbed his tummy, giving him all the loves he could soak up. When he relaxed and rolled onto his side, curling up so he could rest his head on my lap, I knew it was time to switch gears again. “Time to get my cute pup a drink.”
That would require moving, though, so I pulled the blanket we’d used last time off the couch and laid it out. “Where did your friends go?”
We had them at the start of the chaos, but looking around, I didn’t see them right off the bat. “You curl up on the blanket, pup.”
He was exhausted enough to let me handle the search and rescue, moving just enough to get on the blanket before taking the instructions to curl up very literally. “Good boy.”
Petting his head, I rose and ended up finding one stuffed animal behind the couch and the other friend on the stairs. “Look what I found.”
Pup wiggles and gimmie fingers said he wanted his toys, so I handed them over and quickly turned on a show I’d found about a young dog with an Australian accent that everyone online seemed to be watching. My pup approved as well, settling back down with his friends and watching intently as the funny puppies on the TV started talking as I went to get his bottle.
I’d done pretty well getting organized and had the bottle made with nuggets and fries going in the air fryer in a matter of minutes. Addy was still entranced with the story on the TV as I sat down next to him, but he managed to settle into his position between my legs without having to look away.
Smartest Daddy ever.
My pup continued to slowly relax as he had his bottle, and when he was about halfway through, his hands moved to my thighs and he started slowly rubbing my jeans like I was some kind of blankie. He made soft, happy sounds at the TV and just kept sucking and nuzzling against me.
Somehow we managed to time the bottle being done with the timer on the food, so I kissed Addy’s head and encouraged him to sit up. “I’ll be right back, little pup. Be a good puppy for me.”
Nodding again, Addy sat up before looking around like he wasn’t sure where he was. He’d either been a lot closer to sleep than I’d realized or he’d gotten very lost in the show, but it could’ve easily been both. I gave him a few seconds to let me know in some way that there was a problem, but his thumb just came up to his mouth and his gaze went back to the puppy on the TV.
Since he seemed okay, just slightly out of it, I gave him one more peck and rose to get dinner ready. That took a bit more thought than I’d originally been expecting, though. Pups didn’t eat at the table or with silverware, so I had a feeling Addy wouldn’t want too either.
His helpful information about pups being able to eat ice cream out of a bowl made that obvious.
That just left letting him eat off a plate like a puppy or handfeeding him…no, there was no debate there. I wasn’t going to let him figure out how to dunk chicken nuggets without hands. So Daddy feeding to the rescue.
Nuggets, fries, carrots, and sauces ready, I brought the mound of food on a platter that usually got dragged out for Thanksgiving every year. It worked perfectly, though, so I didn’t care how it looked. We were going to eat and cuddle and he was going to enjoy his break from peopling…that was all that mattered.
And I was going to get to be the most important person in my pup’s world, which made me the luckiest Daddy in the world.
Chapter 25
Addison
“Daddy.” Hmm…still sleeping. “Daddy. Your puppy woke up a boy or maybe a princess boy—I don’t know which—but he’s wet and he’s hungry and he didn’t get to eat ice cream out of a bowl last night so he needs ice cream for breakfast.”