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“I want doggy,” he rambles incoherently as tears fill his eyes. “Puppy, daddy.”
“I’m sorry,” Summer mouths as the store assistant comes over and picks the puppy that Easton is ogling through the glass.
“This is Dex,” she tells him gingerly as she puts the large pup on the floor between us. “Believe it or not, he’s the baby of the litter.”
“Really?” both Summer and I ask at the same time.
“There’s always one that’s bigger than the rest, and they’re the last to leave us. A lot of the time we give them away to the guide dog society because everyone wants the tiny ones.”
“Wait, nobody takes them home?” Summer asks with a crestfallen expression that has my insides squeezing with the need to bring back her smile.
At the same time, Easton throws himself at the dog and hugs it tight. “Mine! Mine, Daddy!”
Fuck.
I’m a lost cause when it comes to the two of them. Even though Summer shakes her head at me when our gazes meet, she’s smiling as big as East when we walk out of the store. Another member added to the crazy-ass family we’ve become.
19
SUMMER
Silverbell Shore will never stop taking my breath away. It doesn’t matter how long I stay away, whenever I return, the coastal town speaks straight to my heart. It has buckets of character and the most stunning buildings I’ve ever seen. Pulling up at my aunt and uncle’s house, I take in the white building with the inviting front porch and realize how much I’ve missed them when I see them waving at us. Video calls are amazing, but it’s not the same. I haven’t even unbuckled my seat belt before my aunt is rushing down the steps, ready to greet me.
“Summer. Oh sweetheart, it’s so good to see you,” she cries as she pulls me into her arms.
“I’ve missed your bear hugs.”
She chuckles and pulls back to take in Parker and Easton. Easton slept in the car from the airport, so is still coming to and clutching to his dad like a security blanket.
“This is Parker, and this cutie is Easton. This is my aunt Maria.”
“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
“Please! We’re practically family—call me Maria. Come in, come in.” She motions to the house with a bright smile, and I lean into my uncle’s embrace.
“Good to see you, kiddo.”
Following them into the house, I smile. It’s nice having the boys here, my two families blending into one.
“I really need to go check in to the hotel and get the little man set up before dinner,” Parker says when my aunt offers him a coffee.
“Where are you staying?” she asks, fussing over East and offering him a freshly baked cookie. He doesn’t need telling twice and gladly takes two, grinning like he’s won the lottery. My uncle tries to hide a laugh and gives him a thumbs-up.
“The country club down the road.” I tried to tell him that we needn’t bother—I knew she wouldn’t hear of it—but he didn’t listen.
“No no, there’s no need for that. You can stay with us here. It’ll be nice to have a kid running around again.” What did I say?
“That’s very kind, but it’s no trouble for us to stay there,” he says, not quite realizing there’s no saying no to my aunt. She’s like a dog with a bone.
“Nonsense. I won’t hear any more about it.”
Once we’ve finished dinner and Parker’s survived an inquisition from my family, my aunt offers to keep Easton occupied while we set up the travel cot up in my old room.
“So this is your room, Rainbow Girl?” he asks as he takes it in. Walking over to my dresser, he lifts a picture of Rosie and me and smiles. It was taken on a crazy camping trip.
It’s strange seeing him in here. My past colliding with my present. And yet it’s oddly comforting too.
“Sure is.” The bright colors adorning the feature wall make me smile. My aunt and I had a blast decorating it. She wanted me to feel at home once I moved in and insisted we made it more “me.” So we went down to the hardware store, picked up a can of paint in every color, and got to work.
