Doggone Daddy

by Liam Kingsley

  Doggone Daddy

  Timberwood Cove: Book 4

  Liam Kingsley

  Contents

  1. Jason

  2. Trevor

  3. Jason

  4. Trevor

  5. Jason

  6. Trevor

  7. Jason

  8. Trevor

  9. Jason

  10. Trevor

  11. Jason

  12. Trevor

  13. Jason

  14. Trevor

  15. Jason

  16. Trevor

  17. Jason

  18. Trevor

  19. Jason

  20. Trevor

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  Doggone Daddy

  1

  Jason

  “Ooowwww, Daddy!” Stacia exclaimed, yanking her head away and effectively undoing the last ten minutes of work I’d done on her hair.

  I winced. “Sorry, princess. But we only have a few minutes left or you’ll be late for school.”

  Stacia had insisted on an intricate braid for the day. Something she’d seen on a cartoon character. And I was doing my best to make it happen. I was certain Keifer would be able to fix her hair exactly as she wanted. As for me, her silky strawberry blonde hair was slipping right through my fingers.

  “Are you sure you want it exactly like this?” I asked, picking up my phone to study the picture I’d looked up.

  “Yep,” she said, nodding enthusiastically. “And with the pink bows just like that.”

  “Okay, sit still and I’ll see what I can do.” I threaded her hair around my fingers and tried again, shaking my head. Stacia knew exactly what she wanted and made sure she got it. Parenting was definitely an adventure with her.

  Luckily, Keifer and I were pretty much on the same page there. I’d go so far as to say we made damn good co-parents. We’d never actually been a couple, just good friends all our lives. But it turned out a night of too much drinking could sometimes make you forget these things. One night of letting go had resulted in our sweet baby girl. Neither of us would change a thing. Except perhaps my ability to do hair.

  Stacia sat perfectly still this time as I attempted to create the multiple braids with ribbons woven throughout. “I can’t wait for my friends to see!”

  I chuckled. Stacia had never met a stranger. It was the first day of the new school year, and Stacia would be starting kindergarten. While she didn’t know who would be in her class, she already considered them all her friends. I loved her to pieces, especially her spunky attitude and outgoing cheerfulness. I’d definitely lucked out in one area of my life. I couldn’t ask for a better daughter.

  “Okay,” I said a few minutes later. “I think I’ve got it this time. What do you think?” I held up a mirror for her.

  She grinned, her eyes shining. “Perfect!”

  I sighed in relief. Thank god. My fingers were cramping as if I’d been working an all-nighter on flower arrangements. Braiding was harder than it looked. I could put together intricate flower displays in my sleep, but braiding? I was just happy Stacia was satisfied with my attempt.

  “Okay, princess, go grab your backpack and let’s head out.”

  She jumped up enthusiastically and flung her arms around me. “I’m so excited!”

  Laughing, I gave her a quick peck on the forehead. “Me too. You’re going to have a great first day.”

  She ran off to grab her things, and I met her at the front door, ready to take the obligatory first day of school pictures. She cheesed it for the camera, and then I messaged the pictures to Keifer’s phone. He’d want to be as much a part of her first day as he could, but unfortunately he was stuck editing with a looming deadline so couldn’t be here in person.

  “Here we go,” I said, getting her buckled into the back of the car then circling around to the driver’s side. I pulled out of the drive and made my way toward the elementary school.

  “Pops said maybe I could get a dog,” Stacia said, momentarily distracting me.

  “What?” I glanced in the rearview mirror and found her smiling face and hopeful eyes. It made my stomach sink. Stacia had been asking for a dog for ages. And I kept telling her no.

  “You know I’m not a dog person, baby,” I said gently, wanting to soften the blow of not making all her dreams come true yet again.

  “Please, Daddy,” she said, her voice high-pitched and pleading. “I’ve wanted one forever. It could stay at Pops all the time.” She frowned. “But I want it at your house too.”

  I sighed. No matter what I said, Stacia would be just as persistent as ever on this matter. Like she was determined to wear me down one way or another, no matter how long it took. Her determination was a trait she came by naturally, and it would serve her well as she grew up. But it sure put me in a hard spot sometimes.

  “Just give it a chance,” she said sweetly. “I know you’d love it as much as me.”

  Stacia loved all animals like they were her kindred spirits—not a surprise considering her wolf nature—but she loved dogs most of all. Which just so happened to be the one animal I wanted nothing to do with. For reasons I didn’t want to tell her.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” I finally said. She didn’t need to go into her first day of school full of disappointment.

  It seemed to satisfy her, and she sat back contentedly as we made the rest of the short drive to the elementary school. She was all big smiles and excited jitters as we parked in the lot, and as soon as we got to the classroom, she ran inside, calling out a goodbye without even looking back.

  I chuckled. She’d do just fine today. I waved at her teacher then headed back to my car. Time to get to work. The timing of Stacia starting school full time couldn’t have been better. I had a huge wedding order coming up, and it would take every spare minute to meet my own deadline.

  I drove the short distance from the school to Petal Pushers, my home away from home. The old flower shop had been a mainstay in Timberwood Cove for the last fifty years, a family business that thrived in this small town.

  Located on the historic main street that ran through town, Petal Pushers took up the first floor of a three-story brick building. Recent renovations had filled the other two floors with apartments, much like the other historic buildings on the street. I pulled into the back alley to park since parking on the street was limited, and then went in through the back door.

  The sound of dogs barking followed me into the back room, and I sighed again, thinking about Stacia and the dog she desperately wanted. The Pampered Paws Doggie Daycare on the next street backed up to my building, and I could always hear them when they were out in the back yard. It was unsettling at times, but I tried my best to ignore it. I’d already gone the route of trying to talk to the owner, Trevor Perry, about keeping the noise down, but it hadn’t gone well.

  Focusing on the job I had to do, I pushed those thoughts aside and took stock of what I had to work with today, referencing the timeline I’d come up with. This wedding was a really big deal for the shop, and I’d wanted my personal touch on all of it.

  “Hey, boss,” Sarah Mitchell, the young woman who ran the front of the shop, said as she walked through the open archway that separated the workroom from the front of Petal Pushers. She went to one of the refrigeration cases and took out a vase of sunflowers. “Long day ahead of you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m just going to stay back here and knock some stuff out if you’re good out front?”

  “No problem. It shouldn’t be that busy this morning anyway.” She disappeared through the archway again, and I got right to work.

  Today I was making the mock bouquet for the bride’s approval. That was one of the things that set Petal Pushers apart. While som
e florists may just draw a mock-up for the clients, we’d always gone the extra mile. My grandmother had done it since the day she opened the shop, and when it had been passed on to me, I carried on her work ethic.

  Putting the customer first was part of why the shop was the best in town. The other was the onsite greenhouse. I headed there to cut some fresh flowers for the bouquet. The entire wedding would be beautiful, the style the happy couple picked being something I could see myself wanting. It made the job of designing the flowers really fun, but it also made my chest ache.

  A ceremony—or even a mate—was something I’d resigned myself to never having after my disastrous relationship had ended, but it didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt.

  I pinched my fingers on the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. I didn’t want to think about the dream wedding I once thought I’d have. I had too much else going on to dwell on that. But it was nearly impossible not to think about Gary as I gathered the flowers I’d need. I’d thought he was the one. That we’d become chosen mates and live happily ever after and all that bullshit people less cynical than me thought was real. I’d been proven wrong the night I’d walked in on him with another shifter in our bed.

  I clenched my jaw and strode out of the greenhouse, trying to push the hurt back down. It surfaced from time to time, usually when I was working on a wedding. It never got easier thinking about what happened. Even though I made my living creating fairy tale events like this wedding, I’d lost my belief in true love. At least for myself. I’d seen my friends find it, but I’d given up hope I would ever find a mate, much less my fated mate like they had.

  It didn’t matter, though. Because even if I did find a mate, fated or otherwise, I didn’t think I’d be able to trust him to stay faithful. Yep, there was that cynicism again. But it was okay. I had a good thing going with Keifer and Stacia, and it would be enough.

  I got to work on the arrangement, trying to forget all the shit going through my head. I didn’t know how long I’d been working when I heard the chime above the front door. I kept working, figuring Sarah had it handled, but I looked up when I noticed the two men who had entered were still just standing by the door.

  Frowning, I tried to hear what they were saying. They whispered to each other as they glanced around.

  “Good morning!” Sarah’s warm voice filled the near-silence. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  One of the men, tall and dark, shook his head. “Just looking.”

  The two of them moved further into the shop, out of my line of sight. I could still hear their faint whispers but couldn’t make out what they were saying. However, I didn’t have time to worry about it, although I did find it odd when they left the shop a few minutes later without another word. They didn’t place an order or buy anything. Not that every customer who came in had to buy, but their aloofness was strange.

  I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon on the bouquet, trying several different iterations before finally settling on one.

  “Looks good,” a voice said from the doorway. I looked up and found Keifer standing there watching.

  “How long have you been there?” I asked, glancing at the clock. It was just after two.

  “I just got here. And I can’t really stay. I need to get to the school to pick up Stacia. But I wanted to talk to you first.”

  I sighed and set the bouquet in a bucket full of water, suspending it on a plastic frame that kept just the tips of the stems wet. I had a feeling I knew what he wanted to talk about.

  “I really want to get Stacia the dog she’s been asking for,” he said, coming further into the work room.

  “Keifer, you know how I feel about dogs.”

  “I do.” He nodded. “But I don’t think it’s fair to Stacia that she can’t have one just because of your hang-ups.”

  Pressing my lips together, I crossed my arms, feeling my alpha coming to the surface. On almost everything, the two of us parented beautifully. But this was one thing I didn’t want to budge on.

  “That’s not a fair statement, and you know it.”

  Keifer was my best friend. He was one of the few people in my life who knew pretty much everything about me. Including the source of my fear of dogs. Because that’s what it was. I didn’t just dislike them. I actually feared them. It was something I didn’t like to admit. Yes, I was a florist who didn’t have some badass job but that didn’t diminish the core of who I was; I was an alpha. So I didn’t mince words when I spoke again. “I can’t be around dogs, and that’s all there is to it.”

  Keifer sighed and ran a hand over his face. “You’d really refuse Stacia a dog?”

  “You know why,” I said, my voice firm.

  “Yes, you were attacked by a dog when you were a boy.”

  “And the dog had been rabid, forcing me to stay in hospital. That’s pretty traumatizing for a child to go through.” All of it had been too much for my young brain to handle. But the fear of dogs was very real. Rational or not, it was there.

  “You know, that’s unbelievably ironic, considering you’re a wolf—in the dog family yourself.”

  “That’s different,” I said. We’d had this conversation before. “Wolf shifters are not dangerous dogs.”

  As if to emphasize my point, a bunch of dogs started barking out back. The doggie daycare. The guy must have let his dogs out. Tension rolled through my body. Those barks echoed in my head, a reminder of the barks and snarls of the dog who had bitten me.

  Keifer huffed out a breath and checked his watch. “I need to go. But this conversation isn’t finished.”

  “Isn’t it?” I asked, my voice hard.

  “I’m going to get Stacia. I’d really like you to think about this, Jason. I want to get her this dog. If I have to, I’ll keep it at my house. But I’d like to get you on board with it.”

  I wouldn’t. I didn’t want Stacia around dogs, either. But there was nothing more I could say about it right now.

  “Let me know how her day was,” I finally said, an unspoken resignation that we’d revisit this conversation later.

  Keifer left through the front of the shop, leaving me alone with the sounds of the dogs still barking out back. Frustrated and on edge now, I strode toward the back door and flung it open, ready to give Trevor a piece of my mind. He stood on the back porch of the building, laughing and talking to the dogs.

  I glared at him. As if he could sense my anger, he looked up, his gaze landing on me. Immediately, his eyes went wide, his body stiffening. He gave me tentative half smile and lifted his hand in a wave, but I could tell it was forced.

  He didn’t like me. Not that I could blame him. I hadn’t exactly been a friendly business neighbor. Right now I wanted to stalk over and demand he take his dogs inside so I could have some peace and quiet to get back to work.

  But something stopped me. Maybe it was the way he kept jerking his gaze away from me, only for it to come back to my face seconds later. He swallowed hard, his nerves evident.

  And then I just felt like an ass. I knew I was projecting. But fuck, this day had been hard. First Stacia asking for the dog, and then thinking about Gary, and finally Keifer dredging up the bad memories from my past.

  I gave Trevor a terse smile, barely a slant of my lips and a quick nod, and then turned back to the shop. I had more work ahead of me this afternoon and didn’t have time to worry about what Trevor thought of me.

  2

  Trevor

  I glanced over at my dogs and sighed. “What do you think guys?”

  Bonnie and Clyde both looked up at me from where they were sprawled out on the floor, cocking their heads to the side as if they were studying me. I grinned and reached down and pet their heads. They had to be two of the laziest huskies I had ever seen, but they were my fur babies and I had probably pampered them to the point where they were now thoroughly spoiled.

  I looked back at the mirror in my bedroom, turning to the side. I sucked in my gut and held i
t, thinking I didn't look too bad. But with the next breath I released, my gut stuck right back out again. It was the one thing I was super self-conscious about. I’d always been a bit overweight, and all my extra weight centered right in my middle but there was nothing I could do to hide it. Besides that, I felt pretty good about myself. The slim fitting black pants I’d chosen showed off my legs, which were one of my best features. And the pale pink shirt that had a bit of a shimmer to it, stretched across my shoulders in a way that made me stand up a little straighter.

  I knew why I was going out of my way with my appearance today, and part of me felt a bit ridiculous about it, but I’d been noticing Jason Meredith more and more recently, and I kind of wanted to look my best for him. That in and of itself was equally ridiculous. After all, why would a hot alpha like Jason be interested in an overweight omega like me? Not that I didn't think I had a lot to offer. I totally did—like brains and a sense of humor. In fact, I thought I would make an excellent boyfriend, but no one had ever given me a chance. I should be used to it I supposed, but it wasn’t always easy. I gave myself another once over, accepting there was nothing I could do make myself look better, and turned to Bonnie and Clyde.

  “Okay guys, you ready to go?”

  It was time to get over to Pampered Paws before the new arrivals showed up for the day. My doggie daycare business was a busy one, and as usual we were booked solid. I strode toward the door, grabbing my wallet and keys, and Bonnie and Clyde unceremoniously pushed up from the floor to trot along behind me.

  “Don't be in hurry on account of me,” I said with a grin. I held the door open for the dogs and we went outside. Like the obedient puppies they were, they meandered over to the car and stood by the door while I locked up my house.