Page 89 of Bleed the Shadows

I owed it to the Butchers too. If I wanted them in my life in the future — and I was beginning to admit that I did — I needed to own it. I needed to be proud and not make them feel like I was hiding them. The people I loved — Bailey, my family — would either understand or they wouldn’t.

That part wasn’t my problem, but I still hoped they would.

Bram rushed past me and headed for the stairs for the third time in the last hour.

“Everything okay?” I was slowly getting more comfortable talking to him, asking him questions without expecting him to take my head off.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

I lifted my eyebrows as he took the stairs two at a time. He’d been edgy all day, in and out of the house, up and down the stairs.

I finished the cheese and bagged each kind separately so the flavors wouldn’t transfer, then started on the aged salami I’d bought from a butcher I hadn’t known existed in Southside. The meat was incredible, and I cursed myself for never venturing into that part of town in my previous life.

Now I knew what I’d been missing. Namely, donuts and salami.

Bram came back up a few minutes later, looking harried.

“Hey.” He looked up at the sound of my voice. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He sounded like a kid caught writing on the wall in crayon.

I walked around the island. “Talk to me, Bram. What’s happening right now?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I might as well do it.”

“Do… what?”

He held up a finger. “Wait here.”

He was starting to make me nervous. “What is going on?”

“I’ll be right back.”

I leaned against the island and waited, trying to guess what was happening. I had nothing.

A few minutes later I heard him talking at the foot of the stairs, which was weird because I knew for a fact that Poe wasn’t in his studio — he was in the gym with Remy.

Bram’s boots were heavy on the staircase and a minute later he emerged into the loft’s great room.

But he wasn’t alone. He was carrying the yellow dog, who had a haphazardly-tied, floppy red ribbon around his neck.

The dog whined when he saw me and his tail wagged furiously.

“You're bringing him into the house?” I walked over to pet his head. “Hi, boy. Nice to see you.”

“I’m not just bringing him into the house,” Bram said. “I’m giving him to you.”

I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you said June was the dog lover, but you really seem to like this little guy, and he really seems to like you. And then it was getting really cold outside, so I took him to the vet to get a check-up and then I took him to the groomers to get him a bath, and then I kept him in Poe’s studio for the past two nights to keep him warm, trying to wait until Christmas. But he kept barking and I was sure you could hear it, so I kept going downstairs to make sure he was okay and to play with him and stuff, but then you noticed and… well, I guess the jig is up.”

Now that he mentioned the groomers, I could feel that the dog was softer and cleaner than usual.

I bent my head to nuzzle his neck. And that was when the rest of what Bram had said hit me. “Wait… you’re giving me this dog?”

He nodded. “Ray. I’m giving you Ray.”

“His name’s… Ray?”