“He said I was going into a home!”
Shay kissed his daughter’s forehead and told her, “Worry lines. Worry lines. Your forehead is going to look like your Uncle Keane’s if you keep it up. Is that what you want? To look like a worried kitty?”
“Yes,” she defiantly replied while trying not to laugh.
“No one is taking you away from me or your mother. Now, where is your mother—”
“Did she leave you again?”
“Keane!”
Giving a short roar, Keane stomped off. But not before briefly stopping and kissing his niece on the top of her head.
“Uncle Keane is mad,” she whispered when he had gone inside the house.
“Uncle Keane is always mad. Don’t worry about it. Where’s your mom?”
She leaned back a bit in his arms but didn’t look him in the eyes. “She had to do something with the boys. Something with football, of course. She texted you yesterday and I asked her if she heard back, but—”
“Don’t worry about it. I, uh, lost my phone last night somewhere and I just didn’t get her message. It’s okay.”
Small fingers brushed his neck. “What happened, Daddy? Were you hurt?”
“Just a little. But I’m okay now. And I see worry lines again.”
“Sorry. Sorry.”
“Keep it up, you’re going to become a growling, snarling, man-beast!”
And to show their niece what that would like, Finn walked up to them and yelled toward the house, “The neighbor is not being reasonable!”
Keane was out the front door like a shot, heading over to the next house. Snarling and growling the whole way.
“No one messes with his niece,” Finn said, taking Dani from Shay’s arms and lifting her up so she could sit on his neck.
“Is he going to hurt the man?”
“Of course not, baby. Because your uncle fears prison. The idea of being locked up behind bars terrifies him.”
“It terrifies me, too!”
Shay stared at his daughter. “Why are you worrying about going to prison?”
“Or being put in a zoo. That’s like prison, right? Our class went to the zoo last year and I was thinking, ‘What if I get put in here?’”
“You’re not going to be put in a zoo, Dani.”
“I could be put in a zoo. If full-humans find out what we are, they could put us all in zoos.”
“Do you think about that a lot, baby?”
“Don’t you?”
“No,” Shay and Finn said together.
“Must be nice. Flittin’ through life without any worries.”
Shay crossed his eyes but didn’t bother arguing with his child. She could be as stubborn as her mother on good days. And today probably hadn’t been a good day.
Once they were inside the house, Finn’s phone rang. He handed Dani off to Shay, who held her in his arms until she pointed out, “I haven’t touched the ground in about ten minutes. I can walk, Daddy.”
“Right. Sorry.”
As soon as her feet hit the floor, she took off toward the backyard.
“Stay away from those filthy dogs!” Finn yelled after her before turning toward Shay and asking, “You want some spaghetti?”
“You made spaghetti?”
“Charlie made spaghetti. That was Mads. We’ve been invited. For spaghetti.”
“Will there be sauce?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
“We could buy some sauce. If they don’t have sauce.”
“I’m sure they’ll have sauce.”
“Who will have sauce?” Keane asked, walking into the kitchen.
“Charlie invited us to her house for spaghetti. Did you threaten that old man?”
“He’s not that old. He’s just lived in that house since he was a kid. And yes. I threatened him. But don’t worry. Nothing that could be used in a court of law. I did it with my eyes. And why do we need to see the honey badgers again?”
“We’ll also see Nat.”
“I do like Nat.”
“We all like Nat.”
“But we don’t know if Charlie will have sauce?”
“Why wouldn’t they have sauce?”
“They only mentioned spaghetti.”
“You should ask. In case we have to bring our own.”
Finn texted Mads. A few seconds later, he said, “There’ll be sauce.”
“I like sauce.”
“I do, too.”
“We all do.”
“Are you really all talking about sauce?” Dani asked, gazing up at them and petting something in her hands.
“What’s that, honey?” Finn asked.
“A puppy.”
“Where did you find a puppy?”
“Outside with the dogs. Looks like one of them had puppies.”
“How many puppies?” Shay asked.
“Six.”
“Jesus, those things are huge. Now we’ll have to get more food,” Finn complained.
“Princess had six puppies?”
“You call that drooling animal ‘Princess’?” Keane demanded.
“I love Daddy’s dogs,” Dani informed her uncles in a tone that would tolerate no dissent. “Do not roll your eyes at me, Uncle Mean.”
Keane leaned down until he was nose to nose with Shay’s daughter. He rolled his eyes again and again until she laughed.
“Are we going to get spaghetti or not?” Finn wanted to know.
Keane stood tall and asked, “What about the kid?”
“She can come.”
“To the honey badger house?”
“Nat will be there.”
“I love Auntie Nat!”
Keane put his hand over Dani’s face, and as hard as she tried to get him to remove it, he wouldn’t budge.
“Are you really okay with your offspring hanging out with those badgers?” he asked Shay.
“My offspring, as you call her, has named you Uncle Mean, and you’re worried about Mads and her friends?”
“I’m not mean to her. I’m mean to everyone else.”
“I don’t know how that’s better. But it doesn’t matter. I need to talk to Charlie.”
Keane glanced at his niece, who was still trying to wiggle away from his big hand.
“Talk to Charlie? About last night?”
“No. About the puppies. I’ll bring the puppies. And the mom. In case the puppies get hungry.”
Shay slapped Keane’s hand off his daughter’s face. “Want to get all the puppies together? We’ll bring them with us.”
“Yay! Puppies!” Dani cheered before rushing out again to the backyard.
“Why are we bringing the puppies?”
“I need Charlie’s advice about them.”
“About what?”
“How to take care of them.”
“By leaving them alone in the backyard with their mother?”
Disgusted, Shay shook his head, and went to get the crate for the back of the SUV.
“Are you doing this for Tock?” Keane asked and Shay immediately stopped.
“What?”
“Are you bringing puppies with you to impress a woman we were, at one time, pretty sure was going to blow up a kitten?”
“Mads said later Tock wasn’t going to blow up the kitten.”
“You’re friends with someone who blows up kittens?” he heard his daughter’s sweet voice ask, and both he and Keane looked down to find her staring at them with wide eyes and three tiny puppies in her hands.
“Of course, I’m not. I’d never be friends with someone like that. Your Uncle Keane was just joking.”
“He’s not laughing.”
“Your Uncle Keane never laughs, baby.”
Dani thought on that a moment, those worry lines forming on her forehead. Finally, after a full minute, her forehead cleared and she said, “That’s true.”