The responsibility of ensuring he grows up to be a good human being is also my responsibility alone.
The weight of it all can seem stifling at times, but it isn’t a job I would give up for anything. He’s perfectly content, so I try to push my anxiety to the back of my mind.
I step forward as the line moves up. Will, Owen, and Miles Kingston turn around with their food in hand. Their niece, Lyla, is sandwiched in the middle of them, her own arms full of food.
“Warren,” the youngest brother, Miles, says with a big smile on his face.
“Hey,” I say with a nod.
“Ready for us to beat you all again?” he says jokingly.
He and his brothers play on one of the other softball teams in town. They beat us last time our two teams played, and he won’t let any of us live it down.
“Not if I can help it.”
“We’ll see about that,” Will grumbles, giving me a half-hearted smirk.
“I’m hungry,” Lyla groans. “Come on,” she adds, slowly saying each word.
Will looks down at her. His eyes show a mix of annoyance and love.
“We’d better go feed this one before she goes feral,” Miles says.
Lyla gives him a look that would render him without the ability to breathe if looks could do such a thing.
Will and Miles say their goodbyes, while Owen just grunts. I’m a quiet person, but Owen takes that to another level. He’s also grumpy as fuck.
Not that he doesn’t have a reason to be…
Their family has been through a lot. They’re all raising their niece together because it was their sister’s last wish before she passed.
Shaking my head, I look over to where Sienna is talking to a few people who stopped by her booth. She’s still standing inthe pen, barefoot. Jackson is sitting at her feet, playing with the puppies.
It’s going to be fun getting him out of here later without one of those puppies in tow.
I would have adopted a dog for us years ago, but doing that with a firefighter’s schedule would be difficult.
I already feel bad leaving so much work for Ellie, the nanny, to do every time I’m working. Adding a dog to the mix just seems like too much.
Ten minutes later, with all our food in hand, I walk over to the Perfect Paws booth.
“You got the goods,” Sienna says with a smile.
“I did.” I glance at the table, which only has one chair behind it.
“We can just sit on the floor,” she says, pointing to the empty space behind the table.
“That’s fine,” I say.
She steps over the fence. When Jackson holds his arms up to her, she lifts him up and over the barrier. The two of them plop down on the floor like it’s nothing at all.
I hand all the food over to Sienna before lowering my huge body to the ground with about as much grace as an earthquake.
I can tell she’s trying not to smile. “Sorry. I should have thought this plan through a little more,” she says.
“It’s fine. I’m on the floor with him all the time,” I say, pointing to Jackson.
She nods, like she wouldn’t expect anything less. She reaches behind her, retrieving a bottle of hand sanitizer. “It isn’t as good as washing our hands, but it’ll do.”
