Page 62 of Unknowingly Being his Brat

Darius

A year later.

This was not going as plannedat all.

“You can’t just take him!” Rowan snapped as I cuddled Dexter closer to my chest.

“He’s mine!” I argued, holding the German Shepard like he was a puppy. He was not a puppy; in fact, he was fully grown and weighed more than I thought he would.

“You need to sign papers, and I need to update his chip with your information,” Rowan instructed.

“Milo will be home in one hour, Rowan! I don’t have time!”

“Then you should’ve come by earlier to grab him!”

“He wasn’t here then,” I whisper-shouted.

Dexter had only been in the shelter for two hours, his past owner had died yesterday and the family had brought Dexter in for adoption. It was Greg who’d called me and informed me that the perfect dog was waiting for us and I’d readily agreed without even meeting Dexter. I simply didn’t have the time for Rowan’s “needs” right now.

He sighed. “Fine, come by tomorrow and we’ll get it done then.”

“Thank you!” I hurried outside and carefully got Dexter into the backseat. I had spent the last hour shopping for him so when I picked him up, I could focus on him and only him. Milo was out running with Paul and I had no idea when he’d be back.

Milo and his dad were still figuring out how to move past Paul’s behavior and from what I could see, it was going better. Paul hadn’t talked down to him or compared Milo to Jeremy once, which I appreciated. I really didn’t want to throw him out of our house again, but I would, no doubt there.

Dexter seemed content and chill as he rested in the back, staring outside as I drove us home. Dogs tended to relax in wolf shifter company. I had no idea if it was the same with all shifters, perhaps dogs and wolves just got along better. Cats tended to be a grey zone, either they liked us or they didn’t. Greg and Rowan had employees who dealt with those cats in the shelter, and even if it seemed weird that some cats just hissed at them whenever they passed their cages, the employees were used to it by now. Cass’ cat loved Jeremy, so maybe it was just about the specific cat.

I’d already called Jer and begged for his help, and he, being the bestest of best friends, had agreed and should be waiting for me and Dexter at home. If Milo showed up before I arrived, Jer would somehow distract him until I had everything ready.

Christmas was two days away, and I had promised Milo that I would get him the best present in the world. The fact we’d already planned on adopting a dog in the new year didn’t mean anything, he would still be surprised and love Dexter with all of his heart. Even if he didn’t get to pick him himself. Milo had informed me of the kind of dog he wanted and Dexter fit it perfectly. He needed a home and wasn’t a puppy like everyone else wanted. And he was older. It hurt knowing we wouldn’t have forever with him, but Milo wanted us to have one dog at a time and he preferred that we adopted those older ones that needed a lasting home until they passed, however sad that sounded. He had a big heart so I was all for it. I just hoped my heart could bear all the doggy love and loss.

Dexter was such a good boy and didn’t make one single fuss as I parked the car. He even waited patiently to be led out and escorted inside his forever home.

“Such a good boy,” I praised, petting his head, making his tail wag happily behind him.

“Took you long enough,” Jer growled from the open front door.

“Sorry.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“Okay, I’m really not,” I admitted, smiling down at Dexter. “Look how handsome he is!”

Jeremy smiled then and kneeled to pet Dexter. “He’s such a pretty boy!”

“Right?! Milo will love him.”

“He absolutely will,” Jeremy agreed. “I’ll unpack your car so you can introduce him to his home.”

Jeremy moved past us and I thanked him before letting Dexter in.

Milo

I wished I could say that things between Dad and I were good and that I no longer feared he would say anything nasty, but this was real life. Even a year after we decided to move past it and fix our relationship, things hadn’t magically turned our relationship into the one I’d dreamed of having with him. I still woke up dreading to see him whenever we had plans, but we were both trying and that was all I could ask for.

“I think I smell rabbit,” Dad said, slowing down his run.

“Where?”I sniffed the air, trying to locate it. With the snow surrounding us it was harder to smell anything, the cold air just made it that much more of a challenge for us.