Page 95 of Against the Clock

“Well, in that case....”I laughed.“How about the kitchen?All of the boxes are already in there.That way, we have plates to use for dinner tonight.”

“We’re on it,” Sonia assured me with a pat on my back then they disappeared down the hallway to say hello to Rosie, who was busy unpacking her toys.We had already spent the morning getting her room set up so she could have time to play while we did all of the boring stuff.

I started sorting the other boxes into piles based on the rooms they went to.My goal was to set up both bathrooms and the kitchen today, then work on the living room, our bedroom, and the garage tomorrow.Our room had a bed, and that was about it right now, but Roman assured me that we didn’t need anything else.He might have also wiggled his eyebrows and hinted at how he couldn’t wait to christen the new room once Rosie went over to my mom’s for a bit tomorrow so we could work on the final unpacking before going back to work on Monday.

It was wonderful being next to my mom, especially since Rosie was starting summer break this week, and I still had to push my way back into my boss’s good graces after missing so much work lately.Luckily, once it was uncovered that Julia had been actively targeting everyone on Justin’s team, he eased up some on me.They also found that she had joined the FBI shortly after she met Elias because he wanted someone on the inside to make sure his operation stayed off of the radar.Julia’s mom had abandoned her at a young age, and she was easily impressionable, which made it easier for them to pull her into the organization.After her daughter was killed, she went off the deep end and became obsessed with replacing her, no matter the cost.

I had been in therapy for three weeks now, and Rosie was also seeing a therapist twice a week at Roman’s encouragement.Even though things had settled down, I found that I had a lot of things that I still needed to process when it came to Justin and the secrets Julia had revealed that I hadn’t known about him.Knowing that Rosie would be right next door at my mom’s house gave me a sense of security that I hadn’t been aware I needed.

The front door opened, and I looked up to find Mike walking in with a shit-eating grin.He had his hands behind his back as he tried to hide something big.

“What are you up to?”I asked, frowning.

“You’ll see.”He arched a brow and then called for Rosie.

She came bouncing down the hallway a few minutes later, rushing over to him when she stopped and remembered to be gentle with him.His recovery was going well, but he still wasn’t 100%.

“Hi, Uncle Mike!”She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.

“Hey, pumpkin butt.”

“I don’t have a pumpkin butt,” she giggled, then looked over her shoulder to check.

He laughed and waited for her to ask what was behind his back.Roman came into the living room and wrapped an arm around my shoulders as my mom and Sonia joined us.

“Why are you standing so funny?”she asked, looking up at him.

“Because I have something special for you,” he said, looking from her to me cautiously.

“You do?What is it?”

“Close your eyes.”

She did as asked and waited patiently.

Mike brought his hand in front of him and set a small brown dog kennel on the floor.

“Open your eyes,” he said.

Her eyes fluttered open, then she looked from him to the floor and jumped back.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Her voice was small and squeaky, eyes wide as she watched him.

“Why don’t you check and see?”

Slowly she kneeled down and peered inside.She looked back up at him for approval before turning the lock and opening the door.

A tiny brown and white dog came bouncing out and into her arms.She picked it up and held it against her chest as the puppy excitedly licked her face.

“A puppy?!”

I raised a brow and pretended to be mad at him.The truth was that I wasn’t.Roman and I had talked about getting a dog for Rosie since she had wanted one so badly before everything happened.He shrugged and looked sheepishly down at the floor.I knew my brother well enough to know that he was likely beating himself up now and second-guessing whether he had overstepped by getting her a dog without asking us first.

“What are you going to name it?”I asked, looking from Mike down to Rosie.

She pulled it away from her body and looked to see if it was a boy or a girl.

“This is Honey,” she said, then lifted the dog to her face and kissed its nose.

“Welcome to the family, Honey,” I said, feeling Roman’s fingers as they held me a little tighter.

My life had changed a lot in a very short time, but I could finally say that for once, I was happy and exactly where I wanted to be.I had a man who loved me, a daughter who lit up my world, and now a puppy that was peeing on our brand-new rug.Life couldn’t get any better than this.

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