Page 26 of Wild Bred

“Good,” Mackenna and I say at the same time, which makes all of us laugh.

“Are you going to bring a date, man?” I ask my brother.

“I’d sure like to,” says Shaw. “Can’t make any promises, though.”

“I wish I had someone to set you up with, Shaw,” says Mackenna.

“That’s sweet of you,” he says. “It’s okay, though. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” He glances toward the front of his shop. “I’ve always had a feeling that, someday, the woman I’m meant to be with will walk through that front door. I don’t know how likely it is that it’ll happen in the next couple months, but if it does…well. You two will be the first to know.”

After leaving the bakery, Mackenna and I swing by the hardware store for a few things, and then the grocery store. As we’re walking back to the truck, we pass by a little maternity shop that I never noticed until now. Naturally, Mackenna’s feet slow as she looks longingly through the shop’s windows.

“Let’s go in,” I say.

“No, that’s silly. We don’t need to yet.”

“Okay. But as soon as you show me a positive pregnancy test, I’m taking you here for a shopping spree.”

Mackenna laughs, slips her hand into mine, and pulls me down the sidewalk.

“Someone’s eager to get back to bed,” I say, amused.

And off we go, heading toward home. These days, our two side-by-side properties feel like one big beautiful piece of land that belongs equally to both of us. The house I’m renovating is for the two of us and our future children. The sanctuary is full of creatures that I’ve come to feel surprisingly fond for.

Even Daisy, that little troublemaker monkey, makes me smile every time I see her.