“You keep it a secret. You always do.”
“And I always will,” he sighed. “Though your brother Seamus had some very wise words about secrets that I would share with you…if I could remember them. The gist is they’re bad, and you shouldn’t have any.”
Jen smiled. “That’s a man rule. Men aren’t allowed to have secrets. They don’t know what to do with them. But every girl gets to keep a few. It’s one of the perks. I just happen to keep them with you. And Tasha of course. She’s going to be there in case I need to make a getaway.”
“Thank God,” Jeremy said, relieved. “Just tell her to tell me when I need to make sure your brother stays home. And be safe, Jen. I mean, have fun, have adventures, go crazy because you deserve it after all that insanity…but be safe.”
She leaned against him affectionately and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She was a Finn. She would do whatever the hell she wanted.
And he would always be here to keep her secrets and kick the ass of anyone who hurt her.
He heard Owen shouting for him. “Jeremy? Damn it, a little help over here, please!”
“Duty calls.” He jumped up and went running toward the house, seeing Owen struggling with something in his arms at the foot of the stairs.
Something wriggling excitedly.
“You didn’t.”
He smiled at Jeremy and then grunted when a paw whacked him in the stomach. “Sadly, I did.”
Jennifer’s squeal of delight increased the animal’s excitement. “A puppy? You brought home a puppy?”
“Oh, it’s so cute,” Ellen Finn called down from the patio. “Shawn, did you see? Owen got them a dog.”
Owen handed the bundle of red and amber fur to Jeremy. “I did. Consider him a bonus birthday present.”
Jeremy laughed when the tiny black-nosed imp licked his face. “A baby boy. Hello, boy. What do we name him?”
Owen’s hand came up to scratch the dog behind his ears, as if he couldn’t help himself. “I don’t know. I suppose we could name him after my favorite thing.”
Jeremy grinned at him and Owen scowled as his ears turned red. Guess they weren’t naming him after that favorite thing.
Jen jumped in. “Pizza?”
“You’re both smartasses,” Owen grumbled. “What about Xbox? Or Boogie?”
“Boogie?” she frowned.
Jeremy glared in warning at Owen, who was trying to embarrass him as payback. “Let’s try something less obscure. He’s a stubborn one—look at how determined he is to get down and play. He’s a Finn.”
“I had a dog named Angus when I was a boy,” Shawn Finn said as he walked down the steps to inspect the newest member of the family. “Damn thing bit my leg three times and ate all my mother’s good cushions, but it’s a good name.”
Ellen joined him, squinting at her phone. “Wait, I need to take a picture, and then Jen can use my phone to find a baby name site. We’ll pick the perfect one. Stand closer to Jeremy, Owen. Oh, you three look adorable.”
“Badass,” Owen crossed his arms, nodding in finality beside him. “His name is Badass Finn.”
Jeremy smiled for the picture, then looked down at the angelic puppy face and shook his head. “Don’t worry. We’ll find you a name you can be proud of. One we can shout in public when you inevitably escape your leash. Until then, welcome to the family, Badass.”
***
Owen was in the living room playing with the puppy and setting up his sleeping crate when Jeremy joined him, handing him a beer. “How’s our little Badass?”
“He’s earned his name already,” Owen answered, watching the tiny bundle tug on the rope toy in his hand. “He’s got a lot of energy too. I was thinking of slipping some beer into his food dish to knock him out.”
“Don’t you dare.” Jeremy sat down on the floor beside him.
“Hey, what were you and Jen whispering about before they left?”
Shit. “Nothing important. She’s still dealing with wedding backlash, I think. Antsy to get out into the world and find her place.”
“Well, I wish Seamus hadn’t let her move into the cottage behind the pub. That’s no place for a young, single girl on her own. Maybe she needs a guard dog like Badass. He did have a few brothers and sisters who hadn’t found a home.”
“She’ll be fine, Owen. She has us to look out for her.” He patted the ground and laughed when the puppy pounced on his hand. “I can’t believe you did this. I thought we’d decided to wait a while before we made the shared pet kind of commitment.”
Owen slid his fingers into the hair at the base of Jeremy’s neck and pulled him closer for a kiss. Oh that tug. He loved it when he did that. It made him shiver. “It doesn’t get more committed than this, babe. You know that. And he was begging to come home with me. With us.”