Ryder - Caveman Insticts Book Three(65)

Rolling my eyes at his ‘real dog’ comment—Teddy was real he was just little—I nodded. “Yes, I got you a dog that, if you want, you could train and maybe use for your work if you ever decided to leave the force and go out on your own.”

“Damn, I love you.” He turned and tilted my chin up and his lips claimed mine in an all-consuming, forget-about-where-we-were kiss.

“I’ll take that as he’s happy,” said Rose quietly.

“Yep.” Joel replied softly and then raised his voice and added, “Although they’re always doing stuff like this and acting like they’re the only two people around.”

Easing apart, I knew I was bright red as I turned to Rose. “I’m sorry.”

She waved my apology away. “No need to apologize. Come. Meet the puppies. This is my eldest daughter, Ruby.”

I looked at a girl a little younger than me, sat on the ground, surrounded by toys. Behind her was a small play gym obstacle course. Tiny black, tan, and white covered puppies played. They were so cute.

Ryder sat on the ground and I smiled at the sight. He looked huge and too big to sit on the ground. As soon as he sat he was greeted by two puppies, one that was almost all black but with tan paws, and another that was what you picture your typical German Shepherd dog looking like.

“Can you tell already who’s going to be best to train?” Ryder looked up at Rose.

“They are starting to show their personality more and more. The two that you have with you are very curious and inspect everything. They are both very close and doing almost everything together so, I’m watching but I’m thinking they may have to stay together.”

I slipped off to the side and let Ryder have his time with the puppies and get any info he wanted. The puppies were just so cute, and I knew if I went and sat down I’d fall in love with them and want one even though I had my Teddy.

I don’t know how long I watched Ryder and the pure joy he was having, not only playing with the puppies, but talking to Rose. I knew it had been longer than an hour when my feet started hurting and before I could leave, a seat appeared courtesy of Chad. After only having the cast off a couple of days ago my feet were getting used to standing again. I didn’t stand for long with the cast.

The puppies were sleeping by the time Ryder came over to me. “I think I have decided. Rose said that you’ve organized with my brother Tyson to come and pick the puppy up as we’ll still be on our honeymoon.”

I stood and stretched. “Yeah. He’ll only have the puppy for week. You okay with that?”

“Sure. He’s staying at our house looking after Teddy anyway. This will give them time to bond too.” Ryder winked. “Great. Just what I need another puppy to piss and chew on all my things.”

“Ha, ha. This will be your dog. I know you’re not a fan of Teddy.”

He shrugged. “You love him.”

I went to him and wrapped my arms around him. “I do. Thank you so much for him.” I snuggled against him for a moment before turning to Rose. “Thank you so much for having us today and taking my calls and answering my questions. I look forward to seeing you in the future.”

“It was nice to meet you two, too.”

“Thank you.” Ryder shook Rose’s hand. “I’ll see you when we get back from our honeymoon to train the puppy. Thanks for the web link. I look forward to watching the puppies.”

We walked back to the car and Ryder reached for the keys and kissed my cheek. “I love you. Thank you. This has been the best birthday I’ve ever had.” He brushed his lips over mine. “I know you’re tiring easily with the pregnancy.” He grinned. He always smiled at the mention of my pregnancy. He was so excited about the baby and becoming a father. “If you fall asleep I can carry you inside. Thanks for today.”

I was tired. I still wasn’t a hundred percent and being pregnant was taking a lot out of me, too. Ryder had been considerate, loving and caring from the start, but since being hurt and finding out I was pregnant, he was to the extreme, and I’d never admit it to him, but I loved it. I loved that he was so happy about the baby. It might have been early in our relationship to have a child, as we hadn’t even had a year together, but I already loved our baby and I felt even more in love with its father every day.

I got in the passenger seat and Ryder leaned in and put my seat belt on me giving me a quick kiss again. I was so happy and content. I settled in for the ride home.





I STARED INTO THE EYES of the love of my life. My father had just walked me down the aisle. Everything was perfect. My hair was curled, in a half up and half down elaborate do with a sparkly crystal tiara holding my veil. My dress was just how I dreamed it, a white version of Belle’s from the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast, and my shoes were white lace vintage style wedding high heels. The aisle was covered in white rose petals and there were white, pink and yellow lilies, along with roses and baby’s breath everywhere. Ryder looked devastatingly handsome in his crisp black suit with cream shirt, all clean shaven and his hair cut and slicked back.