SIOBHAN

Our first night with the dogs is chaotic and leaves Indigo mopey. Grumpy and Sleepy love the girls’ attention. They hang out in the backyard, sniffing everything and marking their territory. We eat dinner on the back patio and enjoy the mild weather.

By the girls’ bedtime, the dogs are inside and staring at the front door. Indigo lets them back in the yard while I take the twins to their room.

“Bubbles is scared,” Deirdre tells me as I sit with them in bed.

“She’ll chill out once she realizes the dogs are sticking around.”

“They want to go home.”

“They’re confused, but they’ll figure out how things work. We just need to be patient.”

The twins cuddle up and listen to me read them a book. They trust the dogs will learn to love the house.

The mood is far less chill outside. Indigo stands with his arms crossed and a frown plastered on his handsome face. He stares at the dogs sitting in front of him staring back. I take a spot next to Indigo to create a united front for the dogs.

“What’s happening?” I ask when Indigo doesn’t speak.

“I don’t think they want to stay here.”

“They’re used to running wild on the farm.”

“I should take them over to Tack’s house. His yard is bigger.”

“Um, no.”

“They’re not happy.”

“If you take them over to Tack’s house whenever they’re unhappy, they’ll never learn to stay here.”

“Maybe they shouldn’t.”

“Okay, let’s just put the truth out there, okay?” I say and take his hand. “The dogs will be happiest at the farm. But you and Tack don’t live there anymore, so the dogs can’t, either. You don’t want them turning feral by living out in the woods. That means they need to learn to live in a house with rules.”

“Tack has a bigger yard,” Indigo mumbles, sounding brokenhearted.

“I know, but it’s not Tack’s scheduled night. ”

“I could keep them during the day and take them to his place at night.”

Squeezing his hand, I smile. “I appreciate how sweet you are with animals. You’ve got the biggest heart. However, those dogs are fucking spoiled, and you need to lay down the law.”

Offended by hearing his dogs threatened with tough love, Indigo nearly tugs his hand free. “I want them to be happy.”

“I know, but people move all the time. Their pets learn to live in new environments. We just need to be patient. Bubbles is currently hiding in a closet because she’s pissed about the dogs sharing her space. Over time, she’ll realize it sucks to live in a closet, so she’ll need to adjust to her new reality.”

“If I took the dogs to Tack’s house, your cat would be happier.”

“Is the goal here to punish yourself?”

“No. I want my dogs to be happy.”

Frustrated by his stubborn desire to always give himself the short end of the stick, I try another tactic and mutter, “I hope this isn’t how you’ll be as a father. I refuse to be the bad guy all the time, just so you can be the fun parent.”

Indigo finally tugs his hand out of mine and steps back. “I took care of my brother. I taught him how to ride a bike and read.”

“But did you tell him no?” When Indigo glances at his dogs, I feel him telling them goodbye. His self-sabotage breaks my heart, and I decide to use tough love on him. “Don’t you dare take those dogs to Tack’s house tonight.”

Indigo’s stance instantly hardens. He’s no longer a lost little boy or sullen man. He’s a biker on alert. I’ve seen this shift a thousand times from the men in my life.

“What are you saying?” Indigo demands in a dark, detached voice.

“If you want to prove to me that you can be part of this family, you can’t send your dogs away at the first sign of trouble.”

“They aren’t happy,” he says as if I missed the first two times he said the same thing.

“They weren’t originally happy at Tack’s house, either. He had to leave them outside because they barked at the doors, wanting to go out. Then, they barked because they were outside. But they now like his place enough for you to consider taking them over there tonight. ”

Indigo frowns at the dogs who have chosen this moment to ruin his “unhappy dogs” argument by chasing each other around the yard.

“We know they’ll need time to adjust,” I say, shuffling closer to Indigo.

My hands reach for his chest. Though I sense he wants to back away, his feet don’t move.

“They’re like babies,” I murmur, offering him tenderness. “We know we won’t get a good night’s rest for the first week or two. We’ll need to get a routine going. The girls will whine about the barking. The cat will hide. The dogs will act like they’re suffering. But in the end, they will get to know this house in the same way they did Tack’s.”

Unable to settle down, Indigo asks, “What if they hurt the baby?”

Refusing to fall for his negativity, I reply, “We’ll worry about that in eight months.”

Indigo doesn’t want to back down. He feels like the dogs need something he can’t give them. I have no doubt they’d be happier if he took them to Tack’s place. Of course, they’d be happiest at the farm.

However, if he takes them tonight, he’ll take them tomorrow. Soon, Indigo will talk himself into not bringing them over at all. Eventually, he won’t view them as his dogs anymore.

“I love you,” I say and wrap my arms around his waist. “I know you’re willing to suffer for those who matter to you, but we can suffer for you, too. Those dogs love you. They belong with you, and you live here now. They’ll adjust for you like they did for Tack.”

Indigo hugs me tighter and sighs. “I thought they’d settle down more, but they’re restless.”

We watch the dogs roughhouse with each other as the minutes tick by.

“What would my dad do when you boys would get like that?” I ask Indigo while resting my head against his chest.

“Take us for runs.”

“Well, maybe you can run them back and forth for a while. Wear them out and then bring them inside. If they can’t handle all night in the house, we’ll let them outside. The weather’s not bad, and they have their houses. If they bark too much, we’ll bring them back in. Sure, we won’t get much sleep while dealing with their drama. But we’ll just view this as practice for when we bring home the baby. ”

Indigo’s rigid stance goes soft, and he breathes normally again. After we share a lingering kiss, I head back inside.

While I wash dishes, Indigo gets the dogs to chase him around the yard for nearly an hour. They’re dragging like old men by the time they come inside. He takes them into the office, where water and food are set up. Shutting the door, Indigo joins me in the bedroom.

“You’re sweaty. Let me help you undress,” I say as he checks the security footage from the office and finds the dogs curling up in their beds.

I peel off his sweaty shirt while he stares at the image on his phone. I want to shake some sense into Indigo about his damn dogs. They’re not fragile flowers in need of babysitting. The dogs spent entire days roaming the woods out at the farm. They can handle a few hours in my office.

Even if Indigo’s behaving like a helicopter parent with his two rowdy dogs, I don’t hassle him. The man’s brain went wrong long ago, and he often takes mental detours to get to where most people end up much quicker.

That’s who Indigo is, and I can’t change him. To enjoy the qualities I love, I’ll need to be patient with his unappealing ones.

“Let’s get you in the shower,” I say, taking away the phone and gently shoving his ass into my bathroom. “We’ll wash up, make love, and try to sleep before the dogs need to be let out.”

“They stay inside all night at the farm.”

“Yeah, but we know they won’t be so calm tonight. That’s okay. Like I said, we need to practice for the baby.”

Indigo frowns when he realizes I’m naked. “This house isn’t big enough for us all.”

“Look, if you have fancy taste and need more living space, we’ll find a bigger house. For now, we’re all staying in my tiny five-bedroom house.”

Indigo’s expression darkens when he thinks I’m angry. Once I step under the water and smile at him, his frown flips upside down.

“You’re so beautiful.”

“Prove it,” I whisper and tug him under the water.

Indigo tenderly kisses me. My hands on his body distract us both from the earlier tension. By the time we leave the shower, I’ve gotten him off with my hand.

Our damp bodies drop onto the mattress. Indigo’s kisses are hotter than the sun as he sucks at my jaw and throat before moving south. Once he hits my inner thighs, I’m forced to cover my face with a pillow to keep my horny moans from waking the girls.

Indigo’s tongue dances around my clit like a man who’s made women crazy for years. His fingers fill me up, sliding in and out of my overheated pussy. I hold the pillow against my mouth as the pleasure builds.

Indigo takes me right to the edge of an orgasm before I hear him say my name. He isn’t calling to me. I think he’s just reminding himself whose heart he owns. Returning his lips to my pussy, he shoves me right over the edge. The orgasm hits me hard. I moan loudly into the pillow, feeling out of control.

I can’t catch my breath until Indigo crawls over me, removes the pillow, and kisses my lips. He swallows my frenzied cries until I feel boneless under him.

“Thank you for letting my dogs stay,” Indigo says against my lips. “I feel selfish for keeping them here.”

“You have a big heart,” I whisper as my fingers stroke his jaw and my pussy seeks out the erection poking at my thigh. “But you don’t treat it right. I’m not letting you beat up the poor thing anymore.” I slide my hand between us and stroke his cock before adding, “Especially when it comes to your spoiled dogs.”

Indigo opens his mouth to claim they’re not spoiled, but he catches on quickly to how I’m only teasing him. Exhaling softly, he kisses me and gives my pussy what it seeks.

By the time we hear the dogs whining on the baby monitor, we’ve made love and slept for two hours. Indigo dresses in only his boxers and hurries to take the dogs outside before they make enough noise to wake the girls.

When he doesn’t quickly return, I go looking for him. The dogs aren’t doing anything except sitting at his feet outside, so I insist we return to bed. Grumpy and Sleepy pull the whiny bullshit two more times before dawn. They go outside, piss for a second, and then sit next to Indigo.

I quickly accept how Indigo can’t be the bad guy with the dogs. If they whine or seem antsy, he will stand outside with them all night. So, I take charge each time, knowing it’ll save time. If I can train children, I can handle these lazy ass dogs.