Page 92 of Loving Kai

The dog gave Abe the best evil glare an eight-pound dog can give, then went to his bed and lay down with a grunt.

“Has he forgotten that I saved his life a month and a half ago?”

“He has a very short memory. He’ll come around.” Maggie made a cozy bed for Abe on the couch. “Would you like me to tuck you in?”

“Can we talk for a few minutes?”

“Of course.” She sat on the couch.

“I really only meant to have one beer. I wanted to get the image of him…” He sighed. “Things like this are going to happen. I need to be ready for them. I need to be…stronger. Smarter. More capable.”

Maggie leaned forward. “You’ve been a father for about a month. I think you’re doing a great job.”

“I think you’re slightly prejudiced.”

“Even if I didn’t feel about you the way I do, I’d still think…oh, sorry. I just broke the rule.”

He smiled. “The we’re just friends rule?”

“Yeah, that one.” She looked at him for a long moment. “I can’t help it. I...” She shook her head.

“You what?”

“I don’t want to add any more pressure to your life.”

“The fact that I have Kai doesn’t change how you feel?”

“No. It’s made it worse, actually. Or better. I don’t know.” She sighed. “You know what I mean, right?”

“Is it the single father vibe thing?”

Maggie laughed. “No. It’s the Abe Buchanan thing.”

He leaned back in the chair. “What if I told you that um....”

“You, too?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not because you’ve had four and a half beers?”

“The beer may have made it easier to say, but no, it has nothing to do with how I feel.”

“Well, what are we going to do about this, then?”

“I guess we need to figure out how one goes about dating with a toddler in their life.” He yawned. “But I don’t think I’m going to be able to figure that out tonight.”

Maggie stood, then went to him and pulled him to his feet. “I’ll tuck you in.”

He sat on the edge of the couch and took off his boots, then set his hat on the table. He smiled at her and then lay down.

Maggie covered him with the blanket, then sat next to him. “Would a goodnight kiss be appropriate?”

He took her hand. “I don’t want our…” He thought for a moment. “Third, maybe it’s the fourth…first kiss to be while I’m slightly intoxicated.” He kissed her hand. “But tomorrow morning, we’ll reassess.”

“Are you going to be able to sleep?”

“I’m already halfway there.”