His Dog Over Daughter

Synopsis

The mountain air should have been refreshing. Instead, it felt heavy in my lungs as I watched Jared check his phone for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Our family camping trip to the Rocky Mountains—a weekend I'd planned for months—was already falling apart before we'd even finished setting up our tent. "Is everything okay?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light for Emma's sake. Our daughter was arranging her collection of smooth stones on a nearby log, humming softly to herself. Jared glanced up, his expression distracted. "It's Chelsea. Muffin's having some kind of anxiety attack about being alone. She's asking if she can join us." My stomach tightened. Of course it was Chelsea. It was always Chelsea with her perfectly timed emergencies. "This is supposed to be family time, Jared." "Mom, look!" Emma held up a heart-shaped stone, her smile wide and innocent. "It looks just like the one we found at the beach last year!" I forced myself to smile back, touching the necklace Emma had made me from another special stone. "It's beautiful, sweetheart." Jared was already typing a response, not even looking up at our daughter's discovery. "Chelsea's already on her way. She was in the area anyway." Of course