Page 21 of Something Like Shelter

I barely knew this woman.

Maybe it was as simple as being single for a long-ass time. There was something nice about hearing another voice in the house. Of sharing in domesticity.

I shook those feelings off as I got to work, reminding myself that this wasn’t my house. It wasn’t my life. That wasn’t my woman. Or my baby.

But maybe it was time to get on that, if I was suddenly starting to long for it. I’d gotten so busy building a business that I’d kind of fallen behind on the “life” thing. Most of my days were the same: long work hours, workouts, cooking, chores, time with the dog, bed. I was at a point, though, that I didn’t need to work so hard. I could be hiring some other guys to pick up the slack and have more time for myself.

Then I could be working on family.

The weird thing was… I didn’t feel the tug at just the idea of having that. Not the way I got that little twist about Willa and Adelaide.

I was going to go ahead and bury that thought. It had no place in reality.

I got to work cleaning up tile and glass I’d busted out during the demolition, forcing my mind to go blank, to just focus on the work.

“Hey,” a soft voice called, making me jerk and straighten.

Turning, I saw Willa standing there. Her baby was in the crook of her arm, her little hand closed around the bodice of her mother’s shirt, tugging it down a little more than my inappropriate attraction to her needed right then.

“Hey. Everything all right?”

“I got distracted, but I did get to the coffee,” she said, holding a mug out toward me.

“Oh, right. Thanks. I heard her crying. I figured you got busy taking care of her.”

“The whole world revolves around her right now.”

“Eh, at least you’ve got a cute boss.”

I wiped my hands on my jeans then reached for the mug. “You didn’t have to get this.”

“I wanted to. I know these aren’t your normal hours. And I really appreciate it.”

“It’s nothing. Stay back, bud,” I called when Tuna came up behind her. Not that he had any intentions of coming to me. He sat down right at Willa’s side, leaning his head against her leg. Willa’s free hand went down to rest on his head.

“I think my dog likes you more than me.”

“I think his affection toward me is only a ruse to get closer to the baby.”

“You might be right about that.”

“He gets upset every time she cries or even just grumbles. He was very distressed when I had to put Adelaide on the changing table.”

“I should have known he’d get this attached. Had a rabbit build a nest in the backyard once. He used to sit over the nest and whimper at the bunnies until I made him come inside.”

“I’ve always wanted my own dog. Before… all this,” she said, wiggling the baby, “I worked too much for it to be fair. Though, I guess, home alone here is better than stuck alone in a loud, scary, uncomfortable shelter…”

Her eyes went all watery at that.

Hormones, I guessed. That new mom mindset that suddenly got brokenhearted at the idea of all the unloved puppies and dogs sitting in shelters waiting for their forever homes.

“You can still adopt. Maybe once the baby is a little older.”

“That’s true. I really do want her to grow up around lots of animals. My cousins have a farm.”

“The ones with the Great Pyrenees?”

“How’d you know?”