Mid hug both girls started screaming, “A puppy! A puppy!”
“You got a dog?” Claire asked, her brows lifting high toward the heavens.
His sister had strongly suggested, several times, that he get a therapy animal, just like Dr. Lowe had. Part of him wished he’d listened to them and had gotten a dog sooner but then he might not have Thor. And Josh would gladly endure the eight years he’d spent white knuckling through his trauma to have the dog he truly felt was meant to be his. Thor.
“Yep.” Josh nodded as he set the girls down and scratched behind Thor’s ears. “This is Thor.”
“Princess Thor!” Bridgette exclaimed.
“I love Princess Thor!” Bethany threw her arms around Thor’s neck.
Thor’s tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth as he panted, and Josh could swear he was smiling. The corners of his mouth were tilted up. He was in hog heaven receiving all that attention.
Josh stepped back and held the door open for his sister who walked in with his nephew Braydon on her hip. “Sorry to just show up like this. I tried to call but it went straight to voicemail.”
Shit.Josh had been so distracted by the bullshit in his head he must not have charged his phone. What if Nonna had needed him? Or what if Audrey had called? What if she’d texted? He thought she hadn’t reached out to him since he’d dropped her off at her house, but what if he was wrong? He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Sure enough, it was dead.
“What’s up?” He asked as he plugged it into the charger in the kitchen.
“Um, well…”
“I have to go potty.” Bethany was hopping back and forth from her left foot to her right doing the pee pee dance.
“Me too!” Bridgette threw her hand up in the air.
Both girls started running down the hallway in what looked to be a serious race.
“I’d better go supervise. They’ve been having fun flushing things down the toilet lately.” Claire handed Braydon to Josh and disappeared down the hall after the girls.
“Hey little man, you’re getting big,” he said as he tossed him up in the air and Braydon giggled.
Josh hadn’t seen his nephew and nieces for about four months because his sister and the kids had spent the holidays back East with Claire’s husband’s family. He was realizing that was too long to go. This guy was significantly heavier, and the girls looked like they’d both grown at least an inch.
Since these munchkins were the closest he’d ever get to having kids of his own, he didn’t want to miss any of it. He resolved to get back to his schedule of heading down to Sacramento at least once a month. Nonna loved the visits and so did he.
He was already planning when he’d head down there next when his sister returned. She took a deep breath and tried to take Braydon back.
“I’ve got him,” Josh assured her.
“Okay, um, I have a huge favor to ask.”
“What’s up?”
Claire had never asked him for anything in his life. They hadn’t been that close growing up, since Claire was nearly a decade older than him and had always lived with her mom. They hadn’t actually had any real relationship until after their dad had passed. Oddly enough, when they planned the funeral, they’d sort of bonded over what a shitty father he was, something they’d never really talked about when he was alive.
After that, they kept in touch more regularly. And then she’d asked Josh to walk her down the aisle when she got married. It had been such a huge honor that he took very seriously. Once the twins were born, they got even closer.
“The kids and I are on our way to Tahoe; Martin is there for business.” Claire’s husband worked in marketing and had clients all over the world. He travelled a lot for his job. “We were going to head up there and spend the weekend. I had a babysitter lined up. She was supposed to come with me, but when I went to pick her up, she was too upset to go because she’d just found out her boyfriend was cheating on her. I guess she looked through his phone and saw plans he was making because she was going to be out of town.
“Anyway, I figured I would just bring the kids with me, we could have a mini family vacation. And we still can. But as I was driving I got an idea, and I tried to call you but you didn’t answer. So, I figured since I was driving this way anyway, I’d stop by and see if the kids could stay here for two nights. I know it’s a long shot and I’m sure you’re busy and I totally understand if it’s too much.”
“Of course,” Josh agreed easily. He’d love to spend a few days with his munchkins.
Claire didn’t seem convinced by his answer. Her head tilted to the side and a wrinkle appeared on her forehead. “Are you sure? You’ve never had all three of them at once. You’re gonna be seriously outnumbered.”
“It’s not a problem. We can go visit Nonna and if it gets to be too much, I’ll call in reinforcements.” The last time he’d babysat it was just the twins, they were three and Claire and Martin went on a babymoon, which Josh had never heard of but apparently was a thing. He’d had them for three days and both Caleb and Audrey had stopped by and helped him out.
“Are you really sure?”