Page 94 of A Baby for the Firefighter

Epilogue

GRIFFIN

About six monthsafter our son’s birth, my alpha tried to surprise me again. I’d just put the baby down for a nap when he walked into the door with a heavy-looking box in his hands. An hour ago, he’d told me he needed to go out to help his cousin with some errands, but I couldn’t see how the box he was holding now related to that.

And what was even weirder, he didn’t put it down to give me a kiss, like he usually would. No, he just stood there and looked at me expectantly.

“What’s in the box?” I asked, deciding to take the bait.

He gave me a small smile. “A present.”

“For me?” One of my eyebrows went up. Not that I didn’t like presents—I loved presents!—but it wasn’t my birthday, or even Omega Day.

“Yes.” His smile turned a bit more confident. “It’s for you.”

I looked at the box again. “It’s not wrapped in gift paper,” I chided him.

“Wouldn’t want to cut off air supply,” he said with a grin.

Air supply? I studied the box more closely—and noticed the small holes at the top, and that it moved.

What the hell was in there? Suddenly, I had a suspicion that I knew.

I’d told Dean once or twice that I was a pet person and wanted a pet, but… We’d never seriously discussed it. Could he have…?

Dean laughed. I glared at him. “Your eyes were so wide just now!” he pointed out.

I stuck my tongue out at him. Yes, I was a daddy now, but if you ever expected me to turn into an adult, I don’t know what to tell you. That was never going to happen.

“Go on, open it,” Dean said.

“If you insist,” I responded, as if my curiosity wasn’t killing me.

Dean only smiled, giving me no further clues as to what I should expect. The box moved again as I approached, almost jumping out of his hands. Whatever was in there, it was definitely alive. Gingerly, I took it from Dean and set it down on the table. Then I started opening the lid of the box. A yipping sound came from it as I did so.

A dog!

I opened the lid all the way and peered inside.

Awwww.

Dean had gotten me a boxer in a box! Genius! I laughed looking at the dog. He was the cutest little thing ever. He had the squishiest nose, and the biggest, most innocent eyes as he looked up at me. “I can’t believe you bought a dog!”

“I adopted him.” Dean was still grinning. “I went to the shelter just to have a look and he was perfect.”

“He is!” I agreed, lifting the dog out of his box. He promptly proceeded to lick my hands. “Aren’t you just the cutest?” I nearly cooed. He was sowarm.“Can I really keep him?” I asked, turning to Dean with a smile, feeling like a kid again. My man had brought me a dog! “Can I call him George?”

Dean laughed. “Anything but that, please!”

“Anything?” I raised an eyebrow at him while holding the dog to my chest and petting him. Oh, how I loved that dog smell and the feel of fur beneath my fingers. I’d missed it more than I realized.

“Can I call him Captain Stinkyfeet? Officer Dogbreath?”

Dean scoffed, even though he was still smiling. “You're watching too many cartoons.”

“Please, there's no such thing as too many cartoons. Besides, you knew what you were getting into.”

Dean's smile softened. “Yeah, I did.” He took a deep breath. “Did you even notice the jewelry box on his collar?”