“It’s where you belong.”
Laughing,three golden retrievers, well, two full-size and one little ball of fur that’s trying its damnest to catch up with the bigger ones, come running over to us as we pull up into Sophia’s parents’ driveway.
“Oh my God, Bella and Mav brought Daisy.” Sophia all but squeals as she jumps out of the truck and scoops up the ball of fur. I watch as the puppy enthusiastically wags its tail and licks her to death. “Isn’t she the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” I grin as I watch the two of them. I had a dog growing up, and I always wanted to get one for Max one day. Now that we are settled in, maybe it’s time.
She hands me the fur ball, and I laugh as puppy kisses hit my scruff. “You are cute. I’ll give you that.” I hear Max giggle and see him rolling around with the other two as they happily wag their tags and lavish him with dog kisses.
“Bella told me they have one left from the litter they got this one from. They’re friends of the family, so I could make a call if you want.” She looks up at me with her big green eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible.
I lift my eyebrow at her and hold back the smile that’s threatening to appear on my face. “You don’t say. A puppy is a lot of work. It would require both a mom and a dad to train and take care of it. You wouldn’t happen to know where I can get a dog mom, do you?”
She pets the silky fur in my arms, who’s already fallen asleep. “I may know someone that would be interested.” She holds back a grin, knowing I could never say no to her. I’d buy the whole damn litter if it would make her happy.
“Then make the call. We can surprise Max and go pick it up together.” She throws her arms around me, and I laugh,trying not to jostle the sleeping puppy. She places several kisses on my lips, her eyes alight with joy.
“Max is going to be so excited.” She leans down to whisper to the puppy. “Your brother or sister is coming home with us.” She looks back up at me. “I love that our dogs will be siblings, and we’re keeping it in the family.”
“Me too,” I softly say, loving that she saidourdog and mentioned family. The puppy starts to squirm in my arms, obviously done with his short nap. I set her down, and she runs over to join Max and the other two goldens. He belly laughs when she tackles him with puppy kisses, her tag wagging ninety miles an hour.
Sophia takes out her phone and snaps a picture of the four of them playing on the grass. “I think that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. We have to frame this one.” She slides her phone back into her pocket and reaches into the truck to get her things. I help carry our bags of extra food and drinks as we make our way to the backyard. The dogs bark excitedly behind Max as they all run to keep up with him.
Maverick greets us at the gate with a grin on his face. “Did it work?” I look over and see Sophia smiling broadly before she scoops up Daisy.
“Okay, spill it. I know you two are up to something.” I eye the both of them, who can’t stop smiling.
“When Maverick showed me pictures of Daisy and told me there was one more left, I immediately thought of Max. I thought maybe if they bring her today and if you saw Max with her, I would have a better chance of talking you into it.” She buries her face in the puppy fur to hide her grin.
“I let the dogs out as soon as you pulled up. How cute is that puppy run? She tries so hard to keep up with Hurley and Nala tripping over her own damn feet most of the time.” Hechuckles and pets Daisy, who’s content to be in Sophia’s arms. I know the feeling.
“Well, your little plan worked because I already told Sophia to make the call. We are going to surprise Max next week. I’m pretty sure all Sophia had to do was ask and look at me with her beautiful green eyes, and I would have agreed to anything.” I see her smile grow bigger as I look over at her and grin.
“Welcome to the club,” Mav says, patting me on the shoulder. “We are slaves to our women. Except in the bedroom,” he winks at me. “I prefer to keep the upper hand in there, saving what little manhood I still have.”
“Oh please,” Bella says, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. “You would gladly drop to your knees and crawl to me if I asked you to.” She grins up at him, and he laughs.
“I was trying to keep some of my manhood intact in front of Travis. Thanks for ruining it.” He throws her over his shoulder and smacks her on the butt. “I may have to drop you in the pool for that one.”
“Don’t you dare Maverick Alexander,” I hear her laughing as he walks away with her.
“Ready to meet the rest of my crazy family?” Sophia sets Daisy down, and she happily finds Max and the other two dogs. Noah is showing him how to throw the ball down the fence line as the three dogs sit and anticipate the throw, never taking their eyes off the ball. I see Maya, Sophia’s mom, talking to a pretty brunette, who I assume is Noah’s mom. An elderly couple, who must be Noah’s Mimi and Papaw, sit together on the outdoor sectional sipping drinks while two older men, who I guess to be her dad and Noah’s dad, are by the grill. In the pool, two girls, who are probably around twelve or thirteen, drift side by sideon pool floats as they talk. I see Bella and Emma pouring drinks at the bar. Sophia watches me take in the scene.
“Doesn’t look too crazy to me. It looks just like a BBQ at my family’s house.”
“It’s still early.” She laughs and takes my arm. “Let’s put our food on the table and get a drink before I walk you around to meet everyone.”
“How isyour tattoo business coming along, Travis?” Matt, Sophia’s dad, asks me from the lounge chairs we are sitting on by the pool. With his dark hair and vivid green eyes, he looks so much like Sophia.
We are enjoying drinks after dinner, and everyone is sprawled out and relaxing. Max has been in the pool all afternoon with Luna, Noah’s youngest sister, and her friend Ava. I make a mental note to slip her some money before I leave because I feel like she’s earned it. She’ll make a great babysitter for Max in the future, and I want to get in good with her.
I hit it off with Matt right away, along with Jax, Noah’s dad. They both remind me of my dad. Hell, the whole family is a lot like mine. It makes me happy that they’re going to get along so well.
“Inked is going great. I’ve got a good group of guys that I’ve been training, and between Charlie’s returning customers and the new ones my guys and I have brought in, we are keeping a full calendar.”
“That’s good to hear. You are a nice addition to our town, and I’m so glad we were able to keep a tattoo shop in the downtown area. Sophia tells me you are quite the portrait artist.”
I glance at Sophia curled up next to me, my hand absently playing with her soft hair. She grins up at me, and we lock eyesas memories of my last portrait session with her run through my mind. Based on the way she is looking at me right now, I would say she is remembering it, too.
I break away from the greens I love so much to glance back at Matt. “I’ve been working with a gallery the past two years and have done okay for myself.”
