Page 27 of Over and Above
“Nah. I think they’re in training to be emotional support dogs.” He petted each in turn, and I had a strong desire to offer up my own neck.
“Them in training for anything would be a sight to see.” I tried to give Ben a scratch, but he was more interested in Eric. “I went to the shelter while Diesel was in Europe and the quiet in my house was stifling. I wanted to foster something small and well-behaved on a trial basis.”
“But Ben and Jerry had other plans?” Eric stretched his legs out in front of him.
“They were best buddies and kennel mates who’d been waiting over six months for adoption. How could I say no?”
“You’re way more of a soft touch than you look.” Eric shot me a surprisingly fond smile before his expression darkened again. “Did you know Maren had settled on a home birth?”
“Nope.” I was actually glad he’d come home when he had, both so he could hear the baby’s heartbeat and so I didn’t have to keep more secrets. “Pretty cool, though, being able to have her appointments in the living room.”
“Not helping, Magnus.” Groaning, he laced his fingers behind his head.
“Hey, you backed down from the fight far faster than I anticipated. Progress?”
“I’m working on accepting that she and Diesel are adults who will make their own decisions.” Eric managed to look like each word cost him a lick of a lemon. “And Maren has a complicated past with medical care. Not my story to tell. But hospitals are a major anxiety point. She really struggled with visiting Montgomery when he got sick, and they were incredibly close. It was one of the reasons we settled on home hospice. So I suppose I shouldn’t be too shocked she wants to avoid a hospital birth.”
“But you’re worried.” I lightly tapped his foot with mine.
“You’re not?” He snorted. “Oh wait. You were born in the woods.”
“Cedar hot tub, but close enough.” We were friends now, and I could let him get away with some friendly ribbing. “And you’re a paramedic. You’ve seen the outlying cases—the births needing transport or the car births that didn’t make it to the hospital in time. Most of the time, home birth is fine. No big deal.”
“No big deal?” He met my gaze, and his eyes held the memory of every case he’d seen go wrong. I had no doubt he was amazing in an emergency, but good luck getting this by-the-book paramedic to see birth as anything other than an emergency.
“It’s a big deal because it’s our kids having a kid,” I countered. “Speaking of, how freaky was that heartbeat?”
There was a long pause where Eric was either thinking or praying for patience before he agreed. “Pretty freaky.”
“I wasn’t around much for this part of Flo’s pregnancy with Diesel. The paternity testing came later, so it was cool to see Marissa use the fetal Doppler. Maren’s really starting to show now too.”
“Yeah.” Eric’s voice was far off, and I wished I could offer more than platitudes.
“They’re going to be okay.”
“Wish I could say the same thing for my nerves.”
Oh.There was something I could offer.Stress relief.I could totally get on board with that idea. “I have a solution for your nerves.”
Eric made a strangled sound, cheeks going pink. “There’s a house full of people…”
“Not right this minute.” I winked at him, trying to silently promise all the stress relief we could both handle later. “And I’m closing at the restaurant tonight, so I’ll be back late.”
“Hmm.” Eric pursed his lips, speaking slower like he was trying to reason something out. “It’s another hot day. Too hot to leave the dogs outside or even in the carriage house without AC. Let them stay over here. I’m coming off a hell of a shift, and they can nap with me where it’s cool.”
“I’d nap with you too,” I teased before sobering. “You okay? Bad shift?”
“Just long. Not much sleep.” Eric’s expression said he likely wouldn’t unload even if it had been traumatic, and why I wished he would was a question I didn’t want to examine too hard. “Anyway. Come by after you close the restaurant. You can collect the dogs. The rest of the household will likely be asleep.”
“That an invitation?” I studied him so closely that he shifted in his chair.
“Maybe,” he whispered. “My shower is bigger.”
“That it is,” I agreed easily.
“You could cool off with one here before you take the dogs home.”
“I could do that.” I kept my tone neutral while my gaze went hot.
