Love Impossible: My Mate is Married?

Frankie pov I grabbed the dog leash and picked up my 5-month-old rat terrier and took him outside. I finally got my puppy after having cats for years. My husband never had dogs per se, so he wasn't a huge fan. I grew up with dogs. And I loved them. A few years back, I was forced to have a hysterectomy. My husband and I were dating at the time. He still married me, knowing I would never be able to give him children. I think my puppy and the kittens were a way to fill that emptiness. He has been a dad to my daughter all these years. Her bio dad has not seen her since she was 6 months old. Frankly, I was happy about that. He was not father material. "Comon Stewart," I said to the pup. "You haven't gone potty in a long time." Stewart was proudly trotting along the retractable leash I had gotten him before freezing. I saw the hair on his back bristle. "Stew? What's going-?" I stopped as a massive black dog came out of the tree line behind my house. "Oh my god. Um. Come here, Stewart, " I said, not taking my eyes off the new dog. It didn't look mangy or matted, so I suspected it was a loose dog from one of the neighbors. I picked Stewart up, and the dog c****d his head to one side as if trying to decide what to do. He took a small step forward. I took one back. This dog must have mastiff or something in him. He stood nearly to my chest. No small feat considering I was 5'7". "Nice puppy," I said quietly while stepping back towards the house. My biggest concern was getting Stewart inside. I probably should have been concerned about myself, but I wasn't. The dog laid down and whined. I stood there watching it before opening the door to put Stewart back inside. I closed the door on Stewart's face and turned to face this stray dog. I took slow steps towards the dog, and it rolled onto its back. "OK, maybe you're friendly. Just don't bite me, please." I murmered and held my hand out. He rolled back over and stayed low. I patted his head, and he started leaning into my touch. "OK, a good boy, huh? Where is your home?" I asked him. He sat up, panting, and I felt the summer heat beating on my back. "Come on, puppy. Do you want water?" I started to walk back to the house, and he followed. I opened the door, and Stewart ran to my bedroom. I rolled my eyes and looked at the stray. "Sorry, we got him because he's cute. Unfortunately, he's a scardy cat." I joked. The stray looked like he was smiling while panting as I led him to the water bowl. He slurped up the water and sat next to my feet. "You're cute. Let's see no collar. Maybe you're chipped. Perks of the internet, I can get anything." I smiled at him while digging through my junk drawer. "Frankie?!" My husband, Josh, called from the basement. I heard him coming up the stairs slowly. "Kitchen!" I yelled back while turning on the microchip reader. "Do you know where we put- Lucille Francis Parker!!! Already another one?" He said, exasperated. I grinned and teased him. "Yep, Stewart needs a big brother. Do you think we should name him Fluffy?" Seeing my grin, he rolled his eyes. "If it will make you happy, I am not saying anything. But his poops will ruin my yard." I giggled at him. "Well, I'm seeing if he has an owner. No collar. He was in the backyard." I explained. He nodded. "He looks taken care of. I'll venture a guess he belongs to a neighbor. Though don't you think he has a Wolfie look to him?" I nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe he's one of those wolf hybrids, or what are those dogs called at look like wolves?" He chuckled while grabbing some water. "I do not know. That is your specialty." He grabbed a pill bottle from the cupboard next to the sink. "You're leaning pretty bad hun" I said as I watched him taking his medication. Our lives were filled with doctors' appointments, it felt like. My husband has been fighting bone cancer for ages. At first, we thought it was arthritis, but it's different. The cartilage between joints keeps swelling, making the bones shift and break. He shrugged his broad shoulders. He still had some muscle mass left from before the illness, so his arms, shoulders, and legs were pretty large, and tattoos covered his arms and legs. He kept his brown hair short these days since he was losing hair, but his beard was always long and never-ending. I have no idea how chemo hasn't taken his beard, but I will not complain. "Same stuff, different day." He muttered, and I rubbed my hand on his back. We had this conversation way too often. "Well, you could take a break from the housework, ya know. We have a teenager home from school for the summer." I smiled. "And my garden and all the outdoor stuff you can't do because of allergies?" He raised his eyebrows. I cheekily grinned. "Well, you could have her do that too." He snorted. "You know I would have to monitor each step and make sure she does it right. It takes twice the effort, but I'll manage. Besides. I hate feeling like a sponge." I sighed. We have had this conversation for over 6 years. "It's only a sponge if you are sitting on the couch doing nothing. You drive Hannah everywhere, keep track of all our schedules, deal with the groceries, cooking, and everything else. You make it so I can focus on work." I kissed his cheek. "Never a sponge." He hugged me in one of his bear hugs. And kissed my forehead. "You deserve so much more." I smiled knowingly. I smacked his ass while walking away towards the dog that had been watching us chat. I patted his head as I went to find Stewart. He followed me and lay at the bedroom door. I found Stewart under my bed. "Comeon chicken. It's just an adult dog. He won't eat you." I muttered to Stewart as I grabbed him. I sat in front of the dog while holding Stewart to let him get used to his size. It didn't take long before he started jumping and trying to instigate play. I smiled. "Try not to eat him is all I ask. But if you can get him to quit biting so much, I'd love you forever." The dog's head tilted as he allowed Stewart to jump and nip at him. I watched them to ensure there wouldn't be a sudden change in behavior before getting up and walking back into the kitchen. I started to chop some lettuce while Josh got the grill warmed up. Steak nights were the family's favorite. We had local Amish clans who, years prior, opened a*****e, and in it was their preserves and meats they butchered themselves. We usually ran down and got meat since it was a solid 4 to 5 dollars a lb cheaper than any other store. And the quality was top grade. We fell in love with the store so much that we had to buy a 2nd deep freeze to keep up with the sales. We ran through beef the most, but had a hog and some chicken in stock, too. Local farmers were so willing to sell off their animals, and that made everything cheaper yet. We may live in a small town in Iowa, but we sure have a lot of luxuries that many in bigger cities do not have. Our schools were top-tier schools, our neighbors were extremely nice, and our town was safe. We didn't have the issues that bigger cities tend to have with crime, and maybe because both Josh and I grew up on a farm, we preferred the quiet. I noticed Stewart scratching at the door, so I leashed him. The stray followed us outside and took off for the woods. Josh looked up from the grill and shrugged. "Must have decided to run back home," he said as he flipped the steaks. I smiled and wondered who owned such a lovely and polite dog. Xander pov I was enjoying the run in the woods near my house when a delectable smell of lemon bars hit me. I followed to find a beautiful woman. I watched her flip her long red hair over her shoulder while she lovingly chatted with an extremely small dog. "Mate," my beast started to get excited. When the dog noticed me, I froze. Her eyes lifted to me, and her plump lips dropped in surprise. Her doe brown eyes were not leaving me while she slowly tried to grab the dog. I couldn't blame her. One sniff told me she was human.