Chapter 39

“Details, details,” Ellis muttered. “Not to put a damper on things though, should we…perhaps…look at some other houses first? Just to be sure there’s nothing else out there?”

“How many did we check online without seeing anything we liked that we could afford?”

“Too many?” Ellis replied wryly. “All right, let’s tell her and get the ball rolling.”

Janice grinned, hugging both of them. “You’ve made a wise decision.”

“Picking this house?” Ellis asked.

“Well, that too. But mainly deciding to share your lives together.” She turned to Todd. “You have two dads now.”

“Me and Jive,” Todd said, fist pumping. Darting over, he hugged Ellis hard. “Now you can teach me everything about painting I don’t know yet.”

“That will take…” Ellis debated saying years then decided that would only deter Todd from wanting to learn at all. “A while.”

“Like a couple of years?” Todd asked. When Ellis nodded, Todd cheered.

“For now though,” Martin told him, “go play with Jive while we talk to the realtor.”