Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise

Simon moved to the living room in his stocking feet. All the while, Pepper followed him, telling him about the drama of her day. And this person named Daisy.

He held up his hands. “Who is Daisy?”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

The truth was, he’d been wondering how one five-foot-five woman could take his otherwise routine life and spin it on its head. Not only was she living with him, she was having his baby and now Daisy was staying with them.

He cleared his throat. “I have a lot on my mind.”

Pepper looked uncertain of what to say.

Arff! Arff! Ooh-whoo!

“What in the world?” His gaze narrowed in on Pepper, whose face filled with color. “Do you have a dog in here?”

Arff! Arff! Ooh-whoo!

“I’ll explain in a second.”

“You’ll explain now.” He frowned at her. “You know I don’t want pets.”

“But if you just give me a chance to explain, you’ll see that there really wasn’t any other alternative.”

Arff!

“I’ll be back.” Pepper turned and rushed out of the room.

She couldn’t just walk away. They weren’t finished with this discussion. He followed her down the hallway to her room.

Pepper opened her bedroom door and out rushed a puppy.

“Daisy,” Pepper called.

But the dog didn’t listen. Simon should have known it wouldn’t even be trained. The puppy rushed right up to him and then stopped to sniff his pants and then his feet. He recognized the puppy from the shelter.

He wanted to be angry. He’d told her point-blank when she’d tried to talk him into adopting a dog that it wasn’t for him. He was better off alone. But this dog was still a puppy. He knelt down to pet it. And it was sort of cute.

“Be careful,” Pepper said.

He glanced up at her. “You brought home a vicious puppy?”

“Well, no. But...but she doesn’t really know you. And she’s not sure where she is.”

He turned his attention back to the puppy. He let her sniff his hand and then he ran his hand over her smooth coat. She certainly didn’t seem vicious.

Simon scooped up the puppy and straightened. He arched a brow at his flustered houseguest. “I think you should come with me and explain why this puppy is running around the house.”

“Just a second.” Pepper ducked into her room and returned with a blue teddy bear.

He wasn’t quite sure about the necessity of the stuffed animal, but maybe it was a new baby toy that she’d picked up.

Simon turned with Daisy in his arms. He continued to pet the dog and she remained contentedly in his arms. In the living room, once he sat down, Daisy wiggled to get off his lap. He set her down.

Pepper joined the puppy on the floor and waved the teddy bear in front of Daisy. The puppy took hold of the teddy bear and moved beneath the coffee table.

“The stuffed animal is for the dog?” he asked.

Pepper finally smiled. “Yes. Daisy loves her stuffed animal. She always sleeps with it.”