“I have a test in English coming up, and I’m going to ask her if she can help me study for it while we’re at her place.”

“I’ll totally help you study,” December says, appearing at the edge of the counter with her hair pulled back away from her face in a low ponytail. She’s wearing dark slacks and a hot pink button-down shirt that has green dinosaurs on it that match her bright green flats. Fuck, she’s the only woman I know who can wear shit that is completely ridiculous and still look fuckable.

“Thanks, I need all the help I can get. I barely passed the last test in that class.”

“I’ve got your back. We’ll go over the stuff you don’t get tonight and make sure you’re ready for the next test.”

“Cool.” He smiles at her, and she smiles back before walking her empty coffee mug to the dishwasher and putting it inside. When she comes back to the counter, I hand her a plate with a piece of toast then watch her pull off the crust before she starts to eat it.

I look at the clock, and when I see the time, I yell, “Max!”

“I’m coming!” he yells back, and I take a sip of coffee.

A minute later, he takes a seat next to his brother, then after a grumbled “Good morning,” he starts to eat.

“I think this summer we should enter the boys in one of those hot dog eating contests. I bet we could make a killing,” December says loud enough for the boys to hear. They both grin as they continue to shovel food into their mouths. “Seriously, you two are pros. It doesn’t even seem like you need to breathe.” She laughs as they eat even faster, and then she looks at the clock and places her last bite of toast in her mouth, chews, and swallows then reaches for my coffee, which I hand over.

“I’ll see you tonight.” She smiles, handing me the cup back after she takes a sip, and then she looks at the boys. “Mitchell, I’ll see you after practice, and Max, I’ll see you later.”

“Later,” Mitchell says, and Max says the same as she grabs her purse.

“I’m gonna walk December out to her car. I’ll be back. You two finish eating then get packed up.” Getting nods from both of them, I walk her outside and kiss her like I’ve wanted to since she walked into the kitchen wearing that ridiculous shirt. By the time I walk back into the house, the boys are in their rooms, so I pick up the kitchen then go back to my room. I jump in the shower quickly then get dressed before taking the boys to school and heading to work.

Hearing my cell ring, I roll out from under the car I’m working on and grab the towel out of my pocket to wipe the grease off my hands as I walk toward my toolbox. When I see Mom’s name flashing on the screen, I pick up my phone and answer. “Yeah.”

“Gareth Daniel Black, I swear to God I’m going to kill her,” Mom hisses in my ear, and I roll my head on my shoulders.

“What happened now?” For the last two days, Mom’s been hanging at the house with Beth and Max until I get home, while December’s been picking up Mitchell from practice and taking him to her place to hang until Beth leaves. Needless to say, this has not been going well. Mom’s never liked Beth, and with her leaving her children, her dislike of my ex has only grown. Having to spend time with her and be nice for Max’s sake is taking its toll on her.

“What happened? What happened?” Mom shrieks.

“Mom, I’m in the middle of work. Can you please just tell me what’s going on without the drama?”

“She showed up with a dog, Gareth.”

“Pardon?”

“She showed up at your house with a dog for Max,” she says. “It’s not just a normal dog either. The thing is huge, and of course the moment Max saw him, he fell in love. So now you have a giant dog who I don’t even think is house broken.”

Fuck me. “Where’s Melbourne?”

“What?” she asks, sounding confused.

“December’s cat, where is he?”

“I haven’t seen a cat. I didn’t even know December had a cat,” she replies, and I shake my head.

“Let me talk to Max,” I say, and the phone goes quiet for a second before I hear her yell Max’s name and listen to her tell him I want to talk to him.

“Dad, I swear I didn’t know.”

“I know, bud, but you gotta do me a favor. Find Melbourne and put him in my room.”

“Oh crap!” he yells, and then the phone goes silent for a moment before Mom comes back on the line.

“I didn’t know you had a cat.”

“It’s December’s cat.”

“Then why is he here?” she asks. “Never mind, stupid question. So what are you going to do about the dog situation?”

“I’ve been thinking about getting the boys a dog for a while now. I just haven’t had time to talk to them about it. So if he’s friendly, we’ll keep him.”

“You’ll keep him? She didn’t even check with you before she showed up with a dog, Gareth. You don’t even know what his story is.”

“Mom, she wants a fight. She wants to feel like she can still get a reaction out of me. The thing she doesn’t understand is I just don’t give a fuck anymore. The boys are happy, I’m happy, and eventually she’s going to see she doesn’t factor into that. Hopefully when that happens, she will get her shit together and find a way to be in her kids’ lives without the drama or disappear, and if we’re lucky, stay gone.”

“I guess you’re right.” She sighs. “I still think you’ll feel differently when you see the dog she brought into your house.”

“What kind of dog is it?” I ask, now curious.

“A werewolf.”

“Always wanted one of those,” I mutter.

“Let’s see if you think this is funny when you get home,” she says, and I sigh. “I have another hour at least until I’m done. Will you be good until then?”

“I’ll be fine. I can’t make any promises about the mother of your children though.”

“Just remember she’s never around for long, and a judge won’t lessen your sentence just because you’re old.”

“Whatever. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“See you.” I hang up and start to set my phone down but stop when it rings and December’s name pops up. “Hey, babe.”

“Tomorrow’s Friday,” she says as a greeting, and I feel my brows dart together.

“What?”

“Tomorrow is Friday, Gareth, which means tomorrow my parents are planning on coming to your house for dinner.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” she whisper-hisses, and I realize she’s been whispering this whole time.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because my place isn’t huge and Mitchell is in my living room and I don’t want him to hear me.”

“You don’t want him to hear you tell me that tomorrow your parents are coming to dinner?”

“No. I don’t want him to hear me freaking out about my parents coming to dinner with your ex—his mom—around.”

“She’s not going to be at dinner tomorrow, Ember. We’ll take them out. I’ll send Mack a text and see if he has a table at Flame available. If he doesn’t, I’ll make reservations somewhere else.”