Chapter 28

“Quinn!” Fiona greeted him, swinging the front door open. She and Kieran lived in a huge renovated condo over the flower shop she owned in Woodlawn.

“Hi.” Quinn smiled at his sister-in-law. “I know I didn’t call first, but, um…can I come in?”

Fiona stepped to the side and extended her hand. “Of course you can come in. That’s not even a question. You’re always welcome here!”

“I actually brought something with me,” he said, pulling the small white puppy with the black eye out from his coat and holding him up in his hands. “Meet J.D.”

Fiona gasped, her smile widening as she scooped the puppy from his arms and cuddled him to her face. “Quinn, he’s such a cutie! I didn’t know you got a dog.”

Quinn looked around their living room to see if anyone else was there, but it was just the two of them. He walked over to the couch and dropped down, shuffling his coat off behind him. “Actually, I didn’t.”

She looked between him and the puppy, her smile slowly fading as she realized what he was saying. “Quinn—”

“Hear me out, Fi,” he interrupted. “I know I’m a total dick. An unexpected puppy is a terrible Christmas present—I get it. Vet bills, food, time…”

Fiona chuckled. “You’re selling this really well.” She sat next to him on the couch, rubbing J.D.’s belly as he rolled in her lap. “He is a cutie…”

“Jimmy found him and his brother, Turk, outside my studio. I’ve looked everywhere for their owners—nothing. Put up signs, posted online—nothing. The clinic can take them, but I was thinking…maybe we need them,” Quinn explained. “After Ace? No one dog could fill his shoes.”

A soft sigh slid from Fiona’s lips. “Oh, Ace. I miss him, but Shea? She’s been devastated.”

“I’ve noticed she’s struggling with it,” Quinn said, his heart pulling for the little girl. “That’s why I was thinking maybe J.D. would be able to help. Rory’s already fallen in love with Turk and refuses to part with him.”

Fiona looked between him and the puppy currently chewing the edge of her thumb. Sighing again, a smile lit up her face. “There’s certainly no replacement for Ace,” she said adamantly, looking at him, then looking back down at the puppy, a softer gaze in her eyes. “But there’s room in our hearts to love another creature.”

“So you’ll take him?” Quinn clasped his hands together, as if in prayer. He adored the little pups and had loved having them the last few weeks, but big changes were happening in his life, and puppies didn’t fit into that equation. Plus, the look on his family’s faces when they cuddled these dogs warmed his heart. He was almost certain now that Ace had sent these puppies to the Kavanaghs—still protecting them from doggy heaven.

“I’ll take him,” Fiona agreed. “I’ll have to convince Kieran, of course. And Shea might not be easily won over—change is hard for her. She loved Ace so much.”

“I understand. Rory said if you didn’t want him, he’d take both puppies,” Quinn explained further, having already talked to Rory about this possibility. He didn’t want to push Shea into something she couldn’t handle. “I really just want to see Shea happy and reading again. I think this might be good for her.”

Fiona nodded. “I think you’re right.”

“Thanks, Fi,” Quinn said, leaning back against the couch. “When’s Kieran get home? I’d love to say hi.” Or rather, goodbye.

“I’m not sure. Shea’s in her room, but he’s at your mom’s house helping her prep for the party,” Fiona said, distracted by the puppy she was now playing with on the floor.

Quinn furrowed his brow. “What party?”

“Oh, shit.” Fiona froze. “Um…nothing. No party.”

“Fi…” Quinn pointed a finger at her. “Tell me there’s not going to be a surprise going-away party for me.”

“There’s not…not…going to be one,” Fiona said, grimacing slightly. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to spoil it. Everyone loves you, you know. They just want to say goodbye.”

The party didn’t surprise Quinn in the least. In fact, it seemed pretty standard for his mother to want to get everyone together for any reason. He was, however, surprised she’d managed to not spill the beans herself.

He wasn’t looking forward to saying goodbye to his family. Despite the fact that he knew in his heart he was doing the right thing, it was also really hard. He was starting over in a brand-new place, and potentially, all alone.

No Kavanagh had ever moved away from Woodlawn, and the majority were somehow connected to Legends—Jimmy being the only exception. He didn’t know what he was going to do without Sunday dinners with everyone yelling over each other, or nights with his brothers watching the game at O’Leary’s Pub, or even the occasional sparring at the gym. These people had been such a big part of him for so long, he wasn’t sure who he’d be without them.

Who he was…period.

“Hi, Uncle Quinn,” Shea said, walking through the living room and into the kitchen. She didn’t stop to look at them, something he was used to with her.

“Shay-Shay, come look what we have!” Quinn called her over.

“It’s reaaaally exciting,” Fi added, a singsong tone to her voice as she poked her head up over the couch to look at her little sister.

A tiny barking sound came from her lap, and Shea immediately whirled around to find the noisemaker.

“Ace isn’t here,” Shea said, slowly approaching the couch. “He’s gone.”

Her words were stoic and choppy, but Quinn could hear the strain beneath them, the loss of her friend. “No, he’s not here, Shea. But this is J.D., and he’s pretty great, too.”

Quinn lifted the puppy from the floor and held him up to Shea.

“He’s very little, Shea. He needs someone to take care of him,” Fiona told her.

Shea didn’t look directly at them—she never did—but she did survey the puppy. Shea lifted fingers to the dog’s head and slid them down his back, then again. After a few moments, she sat on the couch and Quinn laid J.D. in her lap where she continued to cuddle and pet him.

The dog responded to her almost immediately. His normal puppy energy seemed to dissipate, like he knew she needed calmness. He rolled into her arms and stared quietly up at her, his paws lifted so she could pet his belly. The dog seemed almost as in love with Shea as she was with him.

“I can take care of him,” Shea said resolutely. “I can do it. I know I can.”

Fiona smiled at Quinn over the top of Shea’s head. Tears brimmed her bottom lashes, and Quinn knew this must mean a lot to her. He still struggled to understand every part of autism spectrum disorder and how it affected Shea, but he loved the little girl and he wanted to help when he could.

“He’s yours, then,” Quinn told Shea. “You can keep him.”

“I can?” Shea turned to her sister. “Fi, I can keep J.D.?”

Fiona nodded, smiling. “Yep. We can go out tonight and get him all the stuff he’ll need.”

“Good. Ace would have liked him,” Shea said. “He loved babies.”

“He did,” Quinn agreed, remembering Ace’s devotion to Murphy and Shea. “He loved you.”

Shea turned her attention back to the dog with slow, rhythmic strokes. “I’m going to miss you, Uncle Quinn.”

“Thanks, kiddo,” he said, hugging her with one arm, which she quickly stiffened against. “I’ll be back to visit plenty, though—I promise.”

“You better,” Fiona said, her finger pointed at him. “We need our favorite uncle.”

“For Christmas, can I get ‘Quinn’s our favorite uncle’ in writing?” Quinn asked, laughing. “I want to frame it and hang it in Kane’s house.”

Fiona chuckled and shook her head. Silence lapped the moment, and the two watched Shea petting J.D. The quietness was so full of emotion and memories and grasping at everything he was about to leave behind that it was almost loud. He’d miss being a hands-on uncle. He’d miss seeing his family often. But it was time.

Not just for the woman he wanted, but for himself. He had to explore who he was and what he loved to do. He had to find out who he was outside of his last name. It would be hard, and it would be painful for everyone involved, but it had to happen.

He had to be true to himself—that couldn’t be a mistake.