Laughter rumbled in his chest. Rachel was a great boss, but she also tended to act like a pesky sister. Since he never had siblings of his own, he didn’t mind—most of the time. He’d have stepsiblings soon. His mom and Jeff had announced their engagement last month.
He hadn’t pinpointed his feelings on the matter. On one hand, he was thrilled for his mom. On the other, he wasn’t sure about having a stepfather. He liked Jeff, thoroughly approved of him, but something held Carl back from fully embracing him. Maybe it was a matter of change and he needed more time to adapt.
Would Jeff want Carl to call him Dad? Carl doubted he’d ever come to a point where he’d be comfortable calling his future stepfather by that title. Too much time had passed since those days as a child when he’d craved a father in his life. At this point, it would feel like a betrayal to his mom who’d stepped in and played both roles, and to his grandfather, who’d taught him how to be a man.
The wedding wasn’t until June, so he had plenty of time to figure that out. Knowing Jeff, he’d understand and wouldn’t force the issue. Having children of his own, Jeff might not want to be called dad by anyone but them. Carl forced the thought aside. No sense borrowing trouble from a situation unlikely to happen.
He shifted his thoughts to Luna and the evening ahead. The girls would stay at the shelter while he and Luna set up the apartment. She was there now, giving it a thorough cleaning. She also had Hope with her. Transferring possession of the dog had been bittersweet.
The selfish side of him had debated internally for days with asking if Hope could stay with him. He almost had, until Luna mentioned she’d feel safer with Hope guarding them. How could he ask to keep the pup after that statement? He’d known from the beginning Hope would go to Luna, but it hurt, nonetheless. At least he’d still get to see her frequently.
Friday traffic delayed his arrival to the trailer store by ten minutes, but he made it in and out with the trailer connected in record time. The furniture store was on top of their game and had all of Luna’s purchases lined up by the loading dock. Three men helped Carl move each of the boxes into the trailer, along with the navy-blue fabric couch she’d chosen.
They had a long night of assembly ahead of them, but he didn’t care if it meant spending time with Luna. Her apartment was in a small complex on the east side of town. It wasn’t a gated community but had security officers on staff. Carl had called in a favor to a police friend who gave me the crime stats for the area. The low rate eased his qualms about Luna living on her own with the girls.
Her unit was on the first floor of a three-story building. If she’d been on the second or third floor, he would have insisted they bring in extra help. As it was, he wished they’d asked someone else, but Luna didn’t want to intrude on anyone’s weekend, so he’d abided by her wishes.
He backed the trailer as closely to the unit as he possibly could, then hopped out and opened the rear door. The hand dolly against the wall had rolled to the back. Tiptoeing around the boxes, he made his way to the trailer’s rear and brought it up front.
Mercy’s toddler bed came first. Luna vacillated between a crib or bed and had settled on a model that could be both. If Mercy didn’t adapt well to the bed, he’d come back and add the crib wall. Rather than fight getting it through the front entrance, he rolled it to the patio where they could bring it in through the sliding door.
He knocked on the glass and waited for Luna to answer.
“Coming.” A full minute later, she unlocked the door and slid it open. She wore a raggedy pair of jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. She had a kerchief tied around her head, keeping hair out of her face. Her cheeks had the flush of a women who’d been working hard. “I just finished vacuuming.”
He peered inside. It smelled of lemon oil and lavender. Luna had hung a picture of the girls on the wall and a scenic river painting she’d purchased at the thrift store yesterday. “It looks great in here.”
“Thanks.” She brushed her hands against her jeans. “I want it to feel like home.”
“You’re well on your way.” Hope sprung into the room and jumped on him, licked his face. “Hi, my girl. How do you like your new home?”
He knew he’d missed Hope but hadn’t realized how much until he saw her bound into the room and felt her cool brown nose rub against his. Dropping to his knees, he hugged her and played with her.
“She missed you.” Luna continued to stand and watch him. “Maybe you should keep her. Your house is what she knows.”
“No. She’s your dog, and she loves you.”
“But you took care of her the most, and she loves you too.”
His lips curled upward at the ends. “What do you think of joint custody? I’ll take her when you work overnight.”
A smile broke out on her face. “I do so love her. Even though I made the offer, I prayed you wouldn’t take her away.”
He stood to his feet and touched her cheek lightly. “I wouldn’t do that to you, especially not knowing what she means to you.”
“You definitely get the short end of the stick from this friendship.”
She made the comment casually, but it grated on his nerves. He clenched his jaw and counted to ten before answering. “Friends don’t keep score, and I’m not hanging out with you for what you have to offer, but because I enjoy being around you.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
He took a deep breath. Perhaps he’d overreacted, but he hated that she could think that little of herself. “I know you’ve been used in your past, but I promise you now that will never happen with me. And if ever do by accident, you have full permission to chew me out.”
That elicited a giggle from her. “Okay, okay.”
He quirked a thumb toward the dolly. “What do you say we get all this in and set up.”
Three hours later, the beds were set up with the mattresses on top of the frames, made with freshly laundered sheets and blankets. They worked together to decide where to place the couch in the living room.
