“What?” her nose scrunches up.

“We’ll call him Killer.”

“How about a name that doesn’t scare everyone, like Ninja?”

“Ninja?”

“Well, he’s an Akita. I think they’re Japanese dogs, so Ninja fits.”

“It’s better than, T-bone, Snow, Fuzzy, or Harry,” I mutter, and she leans in, giving me a blinding smile.

“Ninja it is.” She presses up on her tiptoes, kissing the underside of my jaw, then leans back grinning.

“Ninja it is, baby,” I agree and with a press of my thumbs to the underside of her jaw, and a tilt of her head, I kiss her once more softly.

Dropping one hand to her hip, I lean her to the side, open the door, and help her in. I hear her say, “Ninja boy, you’re such a good boy,” to the dog, which barks once as I shut the door. Jogging around to the driver side and sliding behind the wheel, I start up The Beast, back out of the parking spot, and head out of the lot.

“Can we stop at the cell phone store in town?” she asks, as I make sure the road’s clear and coast into traffic on the highway. “I don’t think the rice trick will work on my phone since it was submerged in water over night,” she continues and I look over at her, nabbing her hand from her lap and dragging it to mine.

“You’re probably right. We’ll stop on the way back to your place, then pick up dog food and supplies for Ninja while were out.”

“I told my parents we were married,” she says like she didn’t mean to say it then moves to take her hand from my thigh, but I hold it tighter.

“I’m glad you told them,” I say gently squeezing her hand. I already knew she had. Her dad was waiting at the compound for me when I got back from dropping her at work this morning. He told me he would be watching me and that he hopes I have what it takes to fight whatever it is that made me leave his girl behind the first time. He didn’t give me his stamp of approval, but that didn’t surprise me either. I’m going to have to earn his respect, and I have a feeling that isn’t going to be easy. “I should have told them about you, about us, before,” she whispers after a moment of silence and I shake my head.

“We both should have done things differently.”

Her hand turns over under mine and she laces our fingers together. “I wasn’t ashamed of you, and I didn’t think you weren’t good enough for me. I don’t know what I was thinking back then, but that wasn’t it.”

“I know, baby,” I agree just as quietly, then listen to her laugh when Ninja sticks his head between us and rests his jaw on her shoulder, where it stays until we pull up in front of the cell phone store.

“I need to make a phone call. You go on in and I’ll be there in a minute,” I tell her, finding a spot in front of the double doors so I can watch her while I’m on the cell.

“You don’t need to come in. This shouldn’t take long,” she says, unhooking her belt and picking up her purse from the floorboard.

“I’ll be in,” I repeat, and she rolls her eyes as she exits the truck and heads into the store.

Picking up my cell, I press Send and put it to my ear. My brother called yesterday. We’re not close, we haven’t been for a long time. The year before I went into the military, he went to prison for possession of drugs with the intent to sell. His life was starting to look like my parents’, and I knew I wanted nothing to do with that shit. A month ago, he was released after serving his time. When we spoke a few days ago, he told me he was trying to figure out his life, and I told him if he stayed clean, he could stay with me.

Hearing the ringing go to voicemail, I watch June through the glass windows then mutter, “Fuck no,” when a guy moves from behind the counter with his eyes on her ass. I’m out of my truck telling Ninja to stay, and walking into the store before my brain even has a moment to catch up with where my feet are taking me.

“So the only difference is the front-facing camera?” I hear June ask, while inspecting the phone in her hand, flipping it back over, and studying the screen.

“No.” The fuckwad next to her smiles like she’s adorable and leans closer. “There are a lot of different features. The front-facing camera is just one of them.”

“I don’t know.” She bites her lip studying the phone. “I don’t really want to pay four hundred dollars for a phone that is basically the same one I had before, a phone I got for free when I signed my contract,” she states as I move to her side, and I watch the guy’s eyes move from the phone in her hand to her chest. I hear a growl and soon realize it’s me who’s growling.

His eyes fly to me and his Adam’s apple bobs. “Um…” He clears his throat, while I wrap my hand around June’s waist and pull her against me, keeping my stare locked on his.

“We’ll take the phone,” I declare, and I feel June looking at me, but I ignore her and grab my wallet out of my pocket, drop my hand from her waist, pull out my card, and hand it to him.

“You’re not paying for my phone,” she hisses, but I continue to ignore her, keeping my eyes on the man in front of me.

“Get one from the back and set it up. We’ll be here.”

“Um…” He swallows, looks between us, and then whispers, “Sure,” before disappearing, without another word, to the back of the store.

“Seriously, Evan?” Her hand goes to mine at her waist and attempts to pry my fingers free. “I may as well just get you a club to hit me over the head with.”