The dog lay back down as Kyle and Aiden walked in. When Jack saw Cat, he jumped up and headed toward her. Both dogs began to play with the rope Kyle gave to Jack. I was surprised by how big Cat was getting. Her paws were freaking huge. She was a Belgian Malinois, just like Jack.
“Who’s watching Ben?” I asked Aiden as he caught a beer Hunter threw to him from the cooler next to his chair.
“Lacy’s watching him. He was excited to go and play with his cousins.”
“How’s Willa feeling?” Hunter asked.
“Like she’s ready to have the baby yesterday. I can’t believe we’ve still got another month to go. She’s miserable. Can’t sleep worth shit. Gets up at least two times every hour to pee. I don’t know how she does it. She’s got to be bruised from the inside out. I’m guessing it’s a boy, with how hard he kicks.”
I laughed. “Could be a girl and she just has Willa’s temperament or your stubbornness.”
Aiden brought his beer up to his lips and paused before he smiled. “You think it’s a girl?”
With a half shrug, I said, “Could be. Women are that way; I think we can all attest to that.”
“I think it’s a girl,” Kyle said, taking a seat on the beanbag chair on the other side of the living room. Cat and Jack both made a beeline for him. He grabbed onto the handle of the tug toy while each dog grabbed one of the two balls that were on the opposite end. It was cute watching Jack take it easy on Cat. It was like he knew she was a puppy. When Kyle let go, they both took off running and chasing each other.
Hunter’s house wasn’t big, but he had an open floorplan and it made for a fun space for the dogs. The living room and dining room were in the front of the house, with a large kitchen and eat-in dining area at the back. He had three bedrooms upstairs and two bathrooms. It was the perfect bachelor pad, and even though Hunter could have the typical mismatched furniture and crazy shit on the walls, he didn’t. Instead, he had leather furniture, a nice formal dining room table, and a built-in table in the breakfast room.
The house looked a little sterile with nothing on the walls. The only room he’d fully decorated was his office, which was upstairs in one of the spare rooms. Everything in that room had to do with his job as a police officer. A large gun safe occupied much of the room, with a desk on the opposite side and a bed for Jack. There was no doubt the house could use a woman’s touch.
“What makes you think it’s a girl?” Hunter asked.
Kyle gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Just a feeling I’ve got.”
Aiden took another sip of his beer. “I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. I just want Willa to have a safe delivery and for the baby to be healthy.”
I lifted my beer. “I’ll drink to that.”
Hunter and Kyle mimicked my motion, and we all toasted to Willa and the baby.
I caught Kyle’s gaze. “How’s my wedding gift for Abby?”
His smile grew wide. “She’s good, and Cat has been in heaven. Makes me think I need to get her one.”
Hunter laughed. “Christ, Kyle. Training a K9 puppy is hard enough; the last thing you need is to add another puppy to the mix.’
Kyle nodded. “Tell me about it, but it’s so damn cute watching them play together.”
I chuckled. “Bring Cat over anytime to play.”
Kyle lifted his beer to me. “I’m going to take you up on that. Your pup is at my folks’ house right now. I figured we didn’t need two puppies running around Hunter’s house. My dad’s in love with her and is convinced we need another K9, but a golden this time.”
After I figured out what Abby had really been up to in the greenhouse, I decided to give her something she’d always asked for: a golden retriever puppy. Kyle and Aiden had gone with me to pick her up on Tuesday. The breeder wasn’t that far from Boggy Creek—just about thirty miles north in the valley. The puppy had looked so adorable peeking out the window of my old truck. Aiden had wrapped her up in a blanket and laid her in his lap. At one point, she’d rolled onto her back and had fallen asleep while Aiden scooped his hands under her and massaged her shoulders. It melted my heart, and I was positive Aiden and Kyle felt the same way, although none of us would have admitted it.
“How are you going to surprise Abby with the puppy?” Hunter asked.
“She’s going to be the ringbearer.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring box. Abby had told me she still had the original wedding ring set I’d bought for her, but with this being a brand-new start, I wanted a new ring. She could still wear the same wedding band, but I got her a diamond to signify a new beginning for us.
Opening it, I turned the box so Hunter, Aiden, and Kyle could see. They all whistled at the same time.
Kyle stood and walked over to me, looking down at the diamond. “Dude, that’s one big ring.”
I studied the three-carat, cushion-cut blue diamond and grinned. The rare stone was set in a platinum band, flanked on each side by a trapezoid step-cut diamond. The sides of the band were accented with brilliant, round-cut diamonds to match the wedding band Abby already had. The thing had cost me a fortune, but Abby’s favorite color was blue.
“Shit,” Aiden said. “Is that a blue diamond?”
I nodded. “It is.”
He looked at me with a stunned expression. “And you’re carrying it around in your goddamn pocket, Bishop? That thing must have cost you a pretty penny.”
Hunter came over and gawked at the diamond. “I didn’t even know blue diamonds existed.”
“They do, and after looking into buying an earth-created diamond or a lab-created one, I decided to go with the latter.”
Kyle frowned. “Lab-created? That’s a thing?”
Aiden nodded. “More and more people are going with lab-created. More ethical, cheaper price, and same beautiful stone.”
I pointed to him. “Exactly.”
Hunter sat back down. “Dude, she’s going to love it, but I really think you need to put that in your safe instead of carrying it around with you.”
Laughing, I slipped the box back into my pocket. “I met up with Brighton a little while ago, before she headed over to Greer’s place for their girls’ night. She picked it up for me at the jeweler’s in Boston.”
Hunter eyed me. “She’s going to girls’ night?”
I nodded. “Yeah, why?”
He gave a half-shoulder shrug. “No reason.”
Narrowing an eye at him, I asked, “Are you two still hooking up?”
He shook his head. “Nah, that was a fleeting thing. Meant nothing.”
I glanced over at Aiden and Kyle, who were also both looking at Hunter.
“From what Abby tells me, Arabella and Brighton have become pretty good friends.”
Hunter met my gaze. “That’s good.”
I shot a quick glance back at Aiden.
“It’s nice to see Arabella getting out and about more,” he said. “Willa told me she hasn’t been so secluded the last year or so. That’s a good thing, right?”
Hunter nodded. “I guess so.”
“Dude, are you ever going to tell her you’re still in love with her?” Kyle asked.