Tainted Gold (Providence Gold 3)

I’d keep his little soft as shit secret though, for now.

That all changed when he yelled his parting piece as he walked down the steps of my porch.

“Also heard she snapped your dick in half and wanted to see what a dude looked like after it happened. Consider me disappointed!”

I could have let all of his secrets out – like the time he cried for two days because he hit a bird when he was driving, or the fact he spent an hour at an animal sanctuary every morning before he went to work to help out. That was no fun though, and Lily would probably appreciate the latter part. Plus, seeing him reveal his vagina himself was much more satisfying.

So…

“Lily has a pet squirrel, and she’s getting a baby fox that was saved from smugglers who were going to make it into a purse!” I yelled, embellishing the story slightly.

His scream was perfect, as were the excited footsteps as he ran back up the stairs. Knowing I had seconds to say what I needed to say, I looked back over at her and asked, “Will you give me a chance?”

Turns out I hadn’t needed to ask, because while I’d been distracted by my brother, she’d walked over to stand beside me and was in the process of throwing her arms around me. Still, her mumbled ‘yes’ was good to hear as I wrapped my arms around her, both of us watching Levi as he raced toward where we were standing.

It was going to be a case of slowly, slowly, catchy monkey for us, but at least we’d gotten past this part. Sadly, I could do what I wanted to do with my dick still screaming and trying to hide itself in my abdomen somewhere and the resolution I’d made this morning, but that just meant we could work on the non-sexual side of us for a while.

“I really wish I hadn’t broken your penis,” she sighed, somehow reading my thoughts.

“Forget about his wiener,” Levi scoffed, running past us and picking up Lily’s purse. “We gotta go. When are you getting the fox cub? How old is it? Have you got what you need? Has he had his shots? What about rabies? Do you need someone to help out?”

Shit, I hadn’t thought about any of this. Could she look after animals when she was pregnant? Weren’t pregnant women supposed to stay away from cat shit? Did foxes have the same thing in theirs? What if it was a cat they wanted her to foster?

This was going to be like the whole coffee problem all over again, I could feel it.

“What are you calling it?” Levi asked her as he pulled us both toward the door.

I winced thinking about the names she’d given her pets already. Poor little fox!

“I’m not bringing it home, Levi,” she told him, more than likely breaking his heart. “Texas laws prohibit pet foxes. He was rescued and is being kept at a shelter so I’m going to help with it. There were other animals seized, though, and they might need a new home.”

“What kind of animals?”

Here’s an obvious fact about my brother – he’s an animal lover. It didn’t matter what kind, he loved them all, even crickets. When he was fourteen, he’d worked with a guy who’d had a small rescue center, looking after injured and abandoned animals. Every week he’d be dropped off to clean out, feed, walk, and play with whatever rescue needed it. He also worked with a canine behavioral specialist who’d taught him about all the different types of dogs and the various nuances of their breeds – Levi’s exact words. As a family with dogs of all types and sizes, this knowledge had come in handy repeatedly. What breeds could you mix together? What were they like with kids? What were the warning signs of behavioral issues? It was all stored in the cavity that his brain was meant to be in.

“Do you think there’ll be raccoons? I love those guys. If you get one, can we call it Bandito?”

I was wrong, any animal either of them named was screwed.SevenLilyWith Mom being Rachel James, I’d learned early to not care what people thought of me. No, that was a lie, I’d learned to act like I didn’t care. When people tear your appearance apart, what you’ve done, a photo and things like that, trust me – you cared. It was letting on how much that was your downfall.

So, I’d been able to act blasé and understanding last night when Levi had questioned my honesty, even though I’d understood it seeing as how I was claiming his brother was the father of my baby. But it had still stung and was one of the reasons I’d been holding myself back from Tate. Him apologizing and being how he was now was a relief.