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“Don’t make me regret this.”
Judging by Matthew’s exuberant grin, there was no way he’d ever regret this, but he wanted the sentiment to be heard nonetheless.
“I won’t,” Matthew said, sitting cross-legged on the hardwood. He pressed his face to the puppy’s fur. “But he might.”
The puppy looked at Declan with a completely blank expression. His legs ran wildly like he was starting his motor before a race.
“I’m serious. I don’t want him peeing all over this house,” he said. “Ronan would never forgive me.”
Truthfully there was no way this little shit wasn’t going to turn the whole goddamn property into his pissing grounds. Declan had been prepared for that going in. He’d bought an alarming amount of carpet cleaner. The woman Declan had talked to at the shelter had walked him through all of the best cleaning products and housebreaking techniques.
“What should I name him?” Matthew said.
The he in question was a scrappy sort. He was all floppy ears and boundless energy, biting at everyone’s heels and chasing everything down like it was his life’s ambition.
“Parrish?”
“I don’t think Ronan would think that’s funny.”
Matthew picked the beast up by his armpits and held him close to his chest, swaying slightly. For a moment, he looked too familiar, a golden-haired caregiver cradling something small and vulnerable.
“You look like her,” he said without thinking.
Matthew froze and clutched the puppy tight enough that he wriggled for freedom.
Aurora was a tricky topic on a good day. This was not a good day.
Declan had been unsure of the idea of a puppy, but his mind had been made when Matthew woke up crying for the third time that week. Between Niall, Aurora, the move, and the most recent and life-altering revelation, he’d had a rough couple of years. Now Ronan was gone, hiding or running, it was hard to tell which.
His entire life had been uprooted at least six or seven times before his eighteenth birthday. So…puppy.
“Tod?” Matthew said.
“Huh?”
“The name?” he said. “Like The Fox and the Hound.”
They had watched the movie a lot as kids, and while Declan hadn’t seen it in years, he was sure he remembered this specific detail correctly.
“But Tod was the fox.”
Matthew shrugged. “Copper left.”
A worry line formed in the kid’s brow, and Declan was sure it hadn’t been there just a few weeks before. It struck him like a blow to the chest.
Matthew’s desperate grip on the squirming animal was the mark of a traumatized kid. The puppy was supposed to be a sign of permanency, a subtle nod from Declan to show they weren’t going anywhere.
Soon Ronan would come home, and everything would be okay.
Declan pulled Matthew’s hands away, letting the puppy wiggle free to explore the contents of the coffee table.
“But he came back,” Declan said
“But it was never the same after that.”
Of course, it would never be the same. Declan wasn’t sure Ronan would ever be safe again. He wasn’t sure if they’d ever find a way to free dreams of their dreamers. He didn’t know what was going to happen to Jordan or Hennessy or any of them. But Matthew knew the truth, which meant nothing would ever be simple again.
“Everything turned out okay,” he said. He leaned his head against Matthew’s, both of them watching as the puppy flopped around useless on the rug.
Matthew’s shoulders shook in a small laugh. “Welcome to the family, Tod.”