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“None whatsoever.”

I sighed. “Can I at least finish my coffee?”

“I’ll allow it.”

Chapter 4

We partedways to get dressed, and then I started the daunting task of wrangling Carlos. I’d opened the back door again to let him tend to his leaf piles. Normally, he’d come running when I so much aslookedat his leash. When I picked it up and he didn’t appear in front of me, I knew he’d woken up and chosen violence. I went to the back door and jingled it in my hand. “Carlos!”

He popped out of one pile of leaves, and with an excited yip, he plowed into another. Leaves went scattering across the lawn. That clearly meant, “I’m busy. Try me again later.”

I whistled. “Walkies?”

His head appeared out of the pile like a game of whack-a-mole.Nowhe noticed the leash, and he screamed in joy. I cringed, praying he hadn’t awoken Angel. But it worked: Carlos bolted out of the leaves and into the house, dragging a trail of dirt with him in the process.

I’d clean it up later.

Raleigh was strapping Evie into her stroller. He was clearly amusedat my failed attempts to secure Carlos, who insisted on spinning in circles. The spinning was obviously helping andIwas the incompetent one.

“Keep laughing, asshole,” I said. “Wait until Evie’s walking.”

By the time I clicked Carlos’s harness into place and hooked the leash, I was already out of breath.

“Want to trade?” Raleigh asked. “You look like you could use a break.”

I seriously considered it, then I eyed the maze of straps that secured Evie to her seat. No thanks. “Shut up.”

Carlos set the pace for the first block, but Raleigh’s long legs easily kept up. I, on the other hand, was panting by the end of block two. I yanked on the lead, pulling Carlos back. He whined in protest, but I didn’t care much for his opinion.

“Are you ready to talk yet?” Raleigh asked as we approached the park.

“No.”

“Tough shit.”

I side-eyed him, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. He unlatched the gate, pulling the stroller back to let me go through first. I was winded from the walk, but it did nothing to still the energy buzzing through my veins.

“What do you think about all of this?” I whispered to Carlos, who was distracted by a squirrel. He only whined, zeroing in on the helpless creature. “Thank you for your concern.”

He bolted the second I unclipped his leash, taking off after the rodent that had somehow offended him. Raleigh and I found a bench, Evie stirring as we sat down. “All right Clark,” Raleigh said, unfastening his daughter and lifting her out of the stroller, “start talking.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I was nothing if not stubborn.

“I don’t believe you,” Raleigh sing-sang, bouncing a giggling Evie in his lap.

I was stuck. In order to talk to Raleigh about the whole “mate” thing, I’d need to tell him that James wasn’t human—which was dangerous. I wasn’t ready to risk that.

“James is ready to get serious,” I said instead.

“Uh, I hate to tell you this, Ryder, but you’re already serious. Wait—did he propose?”

“No!” I put my head in my hands.

Despite how often he teased me, Raleigh knew when to be a grown up. “Take the baby,” he said, holding Evie out for me.

I took her happily into my arms, her knit sweater soft on my fingertips. She rested on my chest, and it was as though her weight grounded me emotionally. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Better?” Raleigh asked.