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Payne.
    “Okay, honey,” my dad says softly and he releases my shoulders. “I love you and we’ll talk on the phone soon. Call me if you need anything at all.”
    For a brief moment, I panic at the thought of him leaving. My life is secure and safe and there aren’t any surprises. My dad is my rock and well… since mom died, he’s become my best friend.
    I have to physically bite down on my tongue so I don’t inadvertently call out for him that I’ve changed my mind and I watch as he bends over to pick up Kiki’s travel cage. She’s a Maine Coon cat and huge, so the cage is substantial. She gives out a long meow of surprise to be moving.
    “Need some help with that?” Evan asks, still standing just inside my doorway with his gaze dubiously pinned on Kiki’s cage.
    “I’m good,” my dad tells him. Evan looks relieved, moving several paces away from the door to give a wide berth. I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said he was allergic to cats.
    My dad and I exchange “I love you’s” one more time and then he’s gone, leaving Sirius and me alone with Evan.
    “You ready?” he asks me.
    I don’t answer him directly but instead say, “You didn’t tell me you had an entire convoy for this tour.”
    “Does it matter?” he counters.
    I merely shrug my shoulders as I let go of Sirius’ collar. The puppy immediately jets toward Evan who locks his body in anticipation of a collision. There’s a smirk on my face as I watch Sirius jump up on Evan, paws going to his shoulders and I don’t bother trying to retrieve him.
    “Oh-kay,” Evan chuckles as he pushes Sirius off him, only to have him leap back up again as he desperately tries to lick Evan’s face. “Get down, buddy.”
    Evan struggles. Sirius leaps. Drool flies.
    “Little help here,” Evan calls to me with a quick glance.
    “Push him down,” I instruct calmly. “When he tries to jump up again, raise your knee up to prevent it and tell him to ‘sit’.”
    Evan immediately does as I suggest. He pushes Sirius down, who immediately leaps back up. Evan raises his knee and hops on one foot with his hands warding off Sirius, whose tongue is flopping about in a mad attempt to lick Evan’s face.
    I have to cover my mouth with my hand to not bust out laughing, and then almost pee my pants when Sirius—clearly bored with this new game now—sits very briefly only to reach out and snag the flip-flop off Evan’s foot that’s held in the air while his knee is still raised.
    Quick as a flash, Sirius turns around and shoots out of the living room and down the hallway, where I can hear him leap onto my bed.
    “Son of a bitch,” Evan mutters, and I can’t even look at him. I’ll lose it.
    Instead, I call over my shoulder as I trot down my hallway, “I’ll get your shoe. Just hold on.”
    “Fucking mutt,” he mutters. While I cringe at his casual use of the “F” word, I can’t contain the snicker that pops out of my mouth.
    I find Sirius on my bed furiously working at something inside of his mouth. When I look down to my mattress, I see the flip-flop with half the heel gone and immediately hurry to the crazy puppy to pull it out of his mouth.
    “Bad dog,” I say sternly, knowing my voice will carry down the hall to Evan, but then I whisper to Sirius and ruffle the fur on his head, “Good dog.”
    His tail thumps in abandon over my praise, and I have to say… while I’m not looking forward to getting on that bus and traveling the country, I am relishing just a bit how much Sirius will probably torment Evan.
    ♦
    There’s more cursing by Evan after I hand him half a flip-flop, but it doesn’t last long. He pulls his other shoe off, grabs one of my large suitcases, and walks out door. I take that as my cue to get moving, and I work to get Sirius on his leash to bring him out to the bus. A big, burly man who is bald on top but has a long, red beard walks into my house and gives me a nod of his head, before walking over to my other luggage.