Page 13 of Something Like Shelter

A chuckle escaped me at that. “Keep it. They’re industrial ones. Maybe they make a different noise. Probably why the store-bought ones didn’t cut it. Tuna,” I scolded when he went up to the playard.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t been around kids. My sister had a whole litter of them. He’d been around ones from probably a year old to ten. But, still, a newborn was a whole different thing.

“He’s just smelling,” Willa assured me.

But then Adelaide let out a little whimper.

And Tuna sat down and cried.

“Aww. Buddy, she’s okay,” Willa assured him as she walked over to pick up the baby. “See? She’s okay.”

But she wasn’t a happy camper.

“You hungry?” Willa asked, bopping up and down as she walked over toward the couch.

I called Tuna, who was upset to have to leave, but well trained enough to follow a direct order.

The two of us went upstairs where he sniffed all around the bedroom as I emptied the dehumidifier and felt the wall. Which was as wet as I’d been expecting, meaning this whole trip was pointless.

When I turned back around, Tuna was missing.

“Shit,” I grumbled, heading off in search of him through the upper floor. “Where did you go, Tuna?” I grumbled, stopping in the doorway of the nursery.

I couldn’t bring myself to cross the threshold, like the room was somewhere sacred.

It was a feminine and cozy space, all light colors but darker woods. The closet door was slightly ajar, revealing an enormous stack of diaper boxes. Either Willa was someone who overstocked things, or those were gifts from a baby shower.

But, more importantly, no Tuna.

That left the downstairs.

Where Willa and Adelaide were alone.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Tuna. I never would have let him come in if I had a pinch of doubt about his temperament. But I didn’t want him drooling and shedding all over the furniture since I did let him up on mine at home, so his manners probably weren’t what they should be.

It was when I stepped into the doorway of the living room that I saw him. Up on the furniture, like I’d worried. Worse yet, he was laying across the couch with his head rested on Willa’s chest, staring at the baby in the crook of her arm.

“Tuna,” I called out a warning as I approached.

“Look how sweet he is,” Willa said, glancing up at me with a sweet smile. “He literally thought he was sneaking up onto the couch. He crept onto my lap like I wouldn’t see him just to get a better look at her. I don’t think he’s even blinked.”

“I don’t think he’s seen such a small baby up close before.”

“Well, he is enamored.”

Who wouldn’t be?

Between the peaceful little face with big dark blue eyes and the gorgeous woman holding her, it was enough to knock a man back a step.

Something about the scene felt oddly… right.

I shook that off, not sure what to think of it.

“It’s looking like another couple of days on the drying,” I told her. “Might go faster if I got that other wall down, though. I know that’s going to be loud with the baby…”

“I’m actually out of the house for a few hours tomorrow. We have a doctor appointment.”

“Is she okay?” I asked, surprised with the way my stomach clenched.