The Alpha and His Song

So Not Normal Pt. 3

He came out from the tree line with a sheepish look on his face. He said, “Hello, Katie.” I smiled, “Did Keaton ask you to stay here and watch me?” Mr. Daniels said, “Not exactly….” I laughed, “Well, I’m heading to the animal shelter if you’d like to go with me.” He looked surprised. He looked around then nodded. He said, “Let’s go.” I asked, “Is this another one of our secrets, Mr. Daniels?” He laughed and told me, “Call me Chase, and if you wouldn’t mind.” I smiled, “Not at all. What brings you out here?” Chase answered, “You. Keaton was worried. I wanted to make sure you were ok. I’m sure that situation was very frightening.” I muttered, “It was strange. I’ve never seen anyone die before. I feel like I should be more upset about it. I’m probably in shock.”

He offered, “Maybe a little bit, but I don’t think you should be more upset if you aren’t. What’s normal to others, isn’t the same for everyone. You have to trust your gut.” I smiled softly at him, “Thank you. I often tell myself to be more normal, but it’s not working out for me.” Chase laughed asking, “Is that so? What else are you not normal about?” I admitted, “Your son is very growl-y and possessive. I should probably be upset about that, but I’m not.” Chase’s lips twitched into a smile.

He asked, “How do you feel around my son?” It was nice to talk to someone about this who wasn’t going to tell Keaton. His dad didn’t want him to know we’d met yet. I answered, “At first, I thought we were shocking each other every time we touched, but it’s not like a painful shock. You raised a great man. I want to punch his ex in the face though.” Chase laughed admitting, “Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve never wanted to punch anyone more than that girl.” I sighed, “She might tip the scales in my favor so I might beat you to that punch.” He winked, “Make it a good one for me.” I grinned, “My friend taught me how to fight. She’s really good. I could break her nose, but I think I’ll go for hitting her so hard I break off part of her orbital socket so little pieces just float around her head.” Chase laughed. He was easy to talk to. I definitely shouldn’t be talking about so many violent things around my boyfriend's dad.

We arrived at the shelter. He held the door open for me and we walked in together. The girl at the front said, “Hello. How can I help you?” I said, “I want to adopt a dog?” Chase chuckled quietly beside me. The girl smiled, “Oh that’s great. Fill out this form.” I quickly did and handed it back to her. She led us around to the back. I didn’t make it very far before I saw the dog I wanted. I asked, “What kind of dog is that one?” The girl stopped, “Oh, that’s our Havanese. She’s the runt of her little. The mom was here and gave birth. They’ve all been adopted except her for some reason. She’s a sweetie. Already potty trained. She’s a spirited and curious little thing.”

I walked over to her cage and let her out. She was brown, black, and white. She jumped into my lap and licked my face. I asked, “Do you want to come home with me, Tatum?” Chase choked. The girl and I both looked at him oddly. He was now bent over laughing. I had no idea what was so funny. I wanted to honor the voice I’d heard in my head twice. I asked, “Is Tatum a bad name?” Chase waved his hand, “No, it’s a great name. I just know someone named Channing. It amused me.” I smiled at him. I filled out more paperwork and paid the adoption fee. Chase and I went to the pet store. I picked out everything Tatum would need. I went to pay, and Chase said, “I own this store. Consider it on me.” I said, “Oh you don’t have to do that.” Chase smiled, “What good is having a store if you can’t get something nice for your son’s ma…girlfriend?” I blushed, “He did ask me officially the other night.” Chase put a hand on my shoulder and said, “Then he’s smart. You are good for my son. I appreciate in a short time the impact you’ve had on him. I see the man I always knew was there. He’s not hunched over or standing in the shadows. You’ve made him come into his own. Thank you, Katie.” I really wanted him to say my real name.

He walked me back to my apartment then he left. I walked in and showed Tatum around. I said, “It’s bigger than most places. God, mom will probably kill me. Oh, I didn’t even ask about a pet deposit. I’ll get that figured out.” The song in my head started to sing. I smiled telling Tatum, “You’re going to meet someone pretty special to me. Be nice.” She yipped and followed me to the door. Keaton was sniffing the air when I opened the door. He smiled at me. Tatum’s yip brought his eyes down to her. He looked at me in question. I whispered, “So Key, meet Tatum.” He snorted, “You’re joking.” I frowned, “No, I adopted her.” He asked, “And named her Tatum?” I nodded. He asked, “Why?” I sighed, “I’ll tell you another time.” Tatum jumped up on his leg. He bent down and cautiously picked her up. I smiled, “She likes you.” He sounded surprised when he answered, “Apparently she does.”

He came into my apartment. He said, “So, courtwarming is in a few weeks.” I smiled, “I’ve never been.” Different schools called the dance before Prom different things. He asked, “Do you want to go with me?” I smiled, “Yes.” He kissed me, “Good.” He pulled me against him. He whispered against my lips, “I might have stopped and picked up a few things.” I laughed, “Bigger than a dog?” Keaton smirked, “No, my song. Check my back pocket.” I stuck my hand into his pocket and felt the foil packets. I smirked at him. Then I panicked. I was not wearing a matching set of underwear. I needed to shave. I said, “Ok, can you take Tatum outside? I need to shower and get ready.” Keaton smiled, “I can do that. We don’t have to….”

I kissed him, stopping his sentence. I pulled back, “I want to, more than you can possibly imagine. I know it’s fast and somewhat strange, but I don’t care. I just need to shower.” He kissed me then pulled back. He said, “Go on and shower. I’ll take Tatum out for a little walk.” I smiled as he put on her pink leash and collar then left. I literally ran into my room. Hopefully Jarchi got me cute underwear too. This was happening. I was going to be with Keaton. I squealed and jumped into the shower. It felt like everything was falling into place.

Note: Thank you for your patience. Last week, I was sick and my headaches were so bad I couldn't look at my screen. Then my little ones got sick and all they want is momma. This week combined with littles being sick, I was working on such fun things with my first book. To hear more about that please join The Ribbon Novels F B group. Or follow my i********:. My work is very hectic right now. Our annual conference is this coming week. I'm not sure what that means, but I hope to get out an update this coming week. I won't rush the story though. I'll keep my F B group up to date. I hope you enjoyed the update.

What do we think of the dog Tatum? Is the rogue now Odette's protector? What is so rare about Odette? :)