“Shit.”
I didn’t say the word loudly or with any force, but it got the dog’s attention off Jerry and onto me, meaning he loped over and began jumping up with his front legs hitting my thighs. It didn’t hurt through the denim of my jeans, and it wasn’t knocking me back, but Toby was about one-hundredth my size.
“Remy, man, you need to calm down. I know you want to protect your kid, but you’re looking at everything like it’s an issue instead of a lesson that’ll bring growth. Yeah, he’s a big puppy, and he’s going to get bigger, but he’s a baby right now who gets excited about everything—a lot like your kid does,” Jerry said quietly, moving closer until he was standing next to me.
“You know as well as I do, my grand baby would rather lose a limb than let anything happen to your boy, so you can be damn sure she won’t let Wrecker hurt him.”
Swallowing awkwardly, I took a deep breath and then blew it out again. “You’re right.”
There, that was my growth.
Before, I’d have snatched Toby up and removed him from the place until he was safe at home. I would have continued freaking out about the puppy being near him, and I likely would have glared at or rebutted Jerry’s advice. Now, what he was saying made total sense. I knew how protective Tana was of Toby, and I knew she’d never let him get hurt.
Patting me on the back, he added, “Can’t stop ‘em from getting hurt sometimes. It sucks, and it makes you feel sick to your soul when it happens, but babies and kids get sick, and they have accidents. You just have to roll with the punches and be ready with Tylenol and Band-Aids.”
Rubbing at the fading tightness in my chest, I nodded and then squatted down to meet the dog. I could do this. I knew Tana had always wanted a German Shepherd, she’d told all of us about it, and if I was being honest, I’d been considering getting her one for her birthday in two months. Ironically, even though I was a year older than her, our birthdays were two days apart, both of us born in May. Did that count as kismet?
“Hey, little guy.” I tipped my head back to get away from his tongue when he jumped up and unrolled it like a Fruit Roll-Up. “Yeah, you’re cute, but your breath stinks. Keep that tongue to yourself.”
The puppy dropped down to the ground and rolled to his back, baring his tummy for some scratches and making me smile.
Looking over my shoulder as I did what he wanted, I admitted, “Our birthdays are two days apart, and it’d crossed my mind to get her one of these for it.”
Jerry grinned as he watched me rubbing the puppy’s tummy. “Well, happy early birthday to you both.”
Turning back to Wrecker, I burst out laughing when his leg started moving rapidly. “Did I get your funny spot, man?”
“Yo!” Croix called as he walked out of the bedroom with Toby in his arms. “Tana’s just had a shower, and if the hairdryer noises are right, she’s almost finished getting dressed.”
My son was curled up with his head under Croix’s chin, his thumb in his mouth, and his eyes on us as Tana’s brother cupped his back to keep him in place.
“Thanks for looking after Toby for me. I appreciate it.”
Jerry was just saying “Any time” when a loud fart sounded, and Croix’s eyes widened.
“I-I… My hand caught your kid’s fart,” he rasped, sounding absolutely disgusted. “I felt it like it was a machine gun.”
A choked wheeze burst out of Jerry, and I began laughing. I’d been in his shoes and remembered the first time well. Mind you, it’d been accompanied by a poop, but it’d definitely been a learning curve. I even got woken up through the night when he farted in his sleep, and the camera in his room picked up the noise and broadcast it to me.
To be fair, I had some funky dreams with noises like that in them, so maybe I also slept through some of the booty toots?
“Kid, you know you fart too, right?” Jerry snickered, wiping under his eyes. “Holy shit, your face. How the hell do you survive in the Marines when a baby fart disgusts you that much?”
“Because people don’t do them in my hands,” he hissed, then groaned. “Ah, God, he’s doing it again.”
Straightening up and disappointing Wrecker, I grinned when I saw the frown and slight redness that went with a poop on Toby’s face.
“Hey, you were gonna show me your SUV,” Jerry said, tapping me on the arm and pointing at the door. “With Tana getting ready and Croix looking after the master farter, why don’t we go and do that now.”