Bond (Klein Brothers 1)

“I’m getting married, and I can’t keep Hooch anymore. Chad’s allergic to him. He’s yours if you want him.”

I would have told her I needed time to think it over, but my daughter decided otherwise and answered for us.

“Yassss! Welcome home, Hooch.”

And, yes, I did suffer later on from eating the patties, but I did it with a dog and a kid at the door making things even more uncomfortable for me. I didn’t care, though, my house felt full in a good way, and I loved that feeling.

Chapter Nine

Bond

Five weeks later…

When we’d first opened the restaurant, I’d been happy. I’d found my niche, I enjoyed the job, I went to bed at night and slept until morning, and I had a lot of food for thought—pun intended—to keep me busy. I went out and partied on the rare occasion, but I thought I’d settled down enough to coast through life.

And then I met Heidi and Nemi.

It’d been almost three months since the barbecue at the Townsends, and I was still visiting them and working with Heidi. I was also still loving spending time with my new little buddy.

Only months ago, I’d been disinterested in commitment, so the fact I was thinking about Heidi and the what ifs of a relationship between us, as well as how to include Nemi in it and researching things kids liked to do… it was disconcerting as well as exciting.

“You off to see Heidi and the kid?” Canon asked once we’d wrapped up discussing next month’s menu.

We had a base menu that we stuck to, but we made sure to rotate and shuffle specials and often added new ones. The income ratio between the base menu and specials was practically fifty-fifty, so it wasn’t a flawed system for us at all.

We did the same with the cakes and cocktails, but now we had our signature chocolate shards on top of both of them and had a broader menu that included people with different dietary needs. It wasn’t easy doing the latter, but why should someone be unable to eat a good meal at a restaurant just because they needed something different from others? The answer was: they should be able to.

“Yup. Mom got Nemi a pair of custom Converse with Pirates Of The Caribbean on them, and she wants to show me them.”

Looking at me thoughtfully as I pulled out the bag with matching laces for Nemi’s shoes in it, Canon cleared his throat.

“Look, Bond, I’ve been meaning to say something, but I didn’t know exactly how to phrase it. I know you’re a good guy because I’m your brother, but even with that knowledge comes concerns. You’ve never been interested in a stable relationship and one that comes with a kid? Do you even know what you’re doing here?”

I dropped the bag on my desk and frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s different having a relationship with someone who’s got a kid, man. It’s not just you and the chick you’ve got to consider, it’s the kid, too. What if it doesn’t work out? That child will miss having you in her life, and that might affect her for the rest of her life.”

Like I hadn’t considered what he was saying as soon as I’d met Nemi.

My spine stiffened as I crossed my arms over my chest. “To begin with: yes, I’ve thought about that. I like Nemi, she’s a great kid, and I enjoy spending time with her. If I thought for one second that I’d do something to hurt her, I’d strip naked and run through a plantation of cacti.”

When Canon opened his mouth to say something, I held my hand up. “Plus, it isn’t just Heidi and Nemi I have to consider in this. It’s the restaurant too because she makes our cakes and contributes hugely to who we are as a brand and place. I care about her, Canon, and I care about Nemi. If I didn’t, I’d have made a move long before now and then got on with my life. Instead, I’m taking time, using care, and I constantly weigh up my decisions.”

Canon twirled his pen through his fingers. “Is that enough?”

Throwing my arms up in the air with frustration, I clipped, “I don’t know, is it? Unless it’s a one-night stand, no relationship is free from stress and the weight of our decisions. Do you think Mom and Dad breeze through life? Or Katy and Jarrod? No.

“Every action has a consequence, and you have to weigh up whether or not the consequences are worth it before you do them. Yes, Nemi’s involved, but I wouldn’t ever hurt her or even consider pursuing Heidi for anything if I thought I couldn’t follow through on it.

“Hell, nothing’s even happened between Heidi and me yet, but I’d like it to. I just don’t want to hurry into it because I want things to be solid, so she and Nemi feel secure and comfortable with me. It’s about trust, and I want to earn theirs first.”