Liam Takes Manhattan (Elder Races #9.5)

Pia’s expression changed. “But honey—you’re going to college. Aren’t you? You were so adamant about Glenhaven yesterday.”


“Oh, I’m still going if they’ll have me.” Smiling down at the dog, he stroked her small back. “I want to take the puppy with me. It will mean I can’t stay in any dorms.… But you know, after thinking about it, I don’t think I want to stay in a dorm anyway. I’m going to have to be on guard all the time about who I am and what my Wyr form is, and I think I really need to have a space where I can have some privacy to unwind.” He added, “That is, if I can get in for the next term.”

He was trying to have a little faith, but at the moment, that didn’t take away any of his uncertainty.

Shifting her weight back onto one foot, Pia tilted her jaw as she thought about it. “You make a really good point about needing privacy,” she said slowly. “I don’t think any of us had gotten that far in our thinking yesterday. And I like the idea of you having a pet with you. It’s really hard for me to think about you being off at school alone and cut off from us.”

“There, you see,” he crooned at his puppy.

“But Liam, she’s going to be a lot of work. You’ll have to potty train her, make sure she gets all her shots, and she will restrict your social life. You’ll always be running home to let her out at lunchtime, and you might not get a full night’s sleep for a couple of months. And there’s other training to consider. By the size of those paws, she’s going to grow up to be a big dog. You’ll need to make sure she’s well behaved.”

“I don’t need a lot of sleep,” he told her. Bending farther, he pressed a kiss to the puppy’s soft, furry head. “And I’ll potty train her, and train her to be good, and I’ll spend lunchtimes with her too. I want her badly enough, I’ll do whatever I have to in order to keep her. Okay?”

His mom took a deep breath. “Well,” she said. “I think that’s all any of us could ask you to do. As long as you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” He grinned at her.

She grinned back at him. “Holy smokes, my son is going off to college, and I’m only twenty six years old.”

“Well, we think so,” he stressed. “I hope so.”

“Pfft!” She waved that aside. “And you’re getting a dog too! Oh my God, we have so much stuff we need to buy. And we need to buy it right now, before the stores close for the night. What does a baby dog need? I have no idea.”

“A bed, and a crate, and chew toys, and a collar and leash,” he said. “Really good dog food. The best.”

She stared at him. “She’s going to piddle everywhere, and the penthouse is seventy-nine floors away from ground level. How do people have puppies in high-rise apartments? Somehow, they do.”

While she spoke, the glass door opened again, and Eva strolled through. The other woman took one look at the puppy snoring in Liam’s arms and started to laugh.

“You know what to do for living with a puppy in a high-rise apartment, don’t you?” Liam asked her, giving his best coaxing smile.

Eva snorted. “Are you joking? You’re not, are you? You’re really going to adopt that dog? Okay, well, as long as you’re staying in the penthouse, you’re going to want pee pads and a grass litter box that you can set up on the balcony. There’s plenty of room out there, so you can even tuck it out of sight if you want.”

“A grass litter box?” Pia said cautiously.

“It’s a square of real turf or artificial turf in a big fancy box with a sprinkler system and a drainage option,” Eva told her. She paused. “Since it’s the dead of winter right now, you’ll obviously want to get the artificial turf.”

Liam turned to his mom. “Do we need to get that if we’re going home tomorrow anyway?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “You never know when we might need to come back to the city, and as long as you have that puppy, it will be good to have on hand.”

“Perfect,” Liam said with satisfaction. Happiness buoyed his spirits so that he laughed with joy.

“What are you going to name her?” Eva asked with a grin.

“I haven’t decided yet.” The puppy lay like a dead weight in his arms, her body lax in complete trust. “I was thinking of naming her Marika, or maybe Rika for short.”

Pia raised her eyebrows. “After that little Dark Fae girl you went to school with in first grade?”

“Yup.” He rubbed the puppy’s round belly. “I have a feeling she’s going to be just as fierce as Marika was.”

“I like it,” Pia declared. “It’s a good name. Come on, we’ve got a lot to do. Let’s get you through the adoption process, so we can pick up everything we need.”

Liam reminded her, “You’ll have to adopt her. Officially, I mean. Liam’s too young, remember?”

Pia threw up her hands. “Oy vey.”