“No, it’s much worse.” Jimmy ran over to Waffles scratching him behind the ears. “Mom’s trying to cook. Again.”
Within seconds, all three animals dropped to the floor and quickly hightailed it over to Ben’s legs to hide behind him. Holly’s eyes immediately followed the traitors as she glared daggers at their four-legged fur babies. “How could you?”
Waffles, the jerk himself, trotted in front of Ben before he plopped his happy Corgi butt on the floor giving Holly a side-eye to end all side-eyes.
“Put that attitude away, Waffles, or you’ll never get another treat again.”
Great, now there is gonna be another standoff.
Ben put twenty bucks on Waffles in this sparring match. He’d been on the other end of Waffles’ judgmental looks too many times and already knew how this was going to end.
On second thought, maybe he should make that forty bucks instead?
A smug expression appeared on Waffles’ face as his eyes moved to Jimmy who already had his hand in the treat jar.
Immediately, Holly spun toward her son. “Don’t you dare, mister.”
Jimmy ignored her with a shrug as he quickly tossed each dog a treat before giving a small cat treat to Twitch. When he looked back at his mom, the corners of his mouth turned into a smile. “What? They all did a trick. You always say we should reward good behavior.”
This kid is good! It was like he was made for our family. Who knew messing with Holly would end up being a family tradition? I can’t wait to tell Henry about this.
Holly’s brows shot to the ceiling in shock at Jimmy’s audacity. “And you think this is good behavior?” She waved her hands through the air pointing at Waffles.
A playful smile appeared on Jimmy’s face as he answered her, “They distracted you enough to put down the spatula, didn’t they? I think that deserves two treats.” With that, Jimmy tossed them all another one.
“That’s my son!” Ben held out his hand to Jimmy who cheerfully high-fived him.
“I’m gonna remember this.”
“I’m sure you will.” Ben strolled over to his wife, gently moving Helen out of the way before kissing the top of Holly’s head.
“If you weren’t holding Peanut, I’d stomp on your foot again.” Holly sent him another dirty look.
“Good thing I’m holding her then, huh?”
“You just wait. I’m gonna get you.”
“Mom, violence is bad. You shouldn’t threaten people. We’ve talked about this before. Unless it’s Grandpa Henry, he said he’s allowed to threaten anyone.”
Holly crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him. “Did he now?”
“Yeah. He said since he’s the oldest he’s allowed to do whatever he wants. Just like Mrs. Mildred.”
“Sounds about right.” Ben snorted before grabbing the bottle from Holly’s hand.
“Mom, you really shouldn’t threaten people. It’s not nice.”
Holly’s eyes snapped to Ben as she sent him a death glare.
“Don’t look at me like that, the kid’s right. Threatening people is bad.” Ben held back his laugh. There was nothing better than getting schooled by a child. Especially, when it was Jimmy schooling Holly and not him. Lord knows that’d happened too many times for him to count.
The kid was smart.
Just as Holly’s eye began to twitch again, Jimmy barked out a laugh. “Geez, Mom you sure are fun to mess with. Now, I know why Dad likes to call Officer Jones up every once in a while.”
Holly’s reply was a flat smile as her eyes hardened on her husband. “You really need to stop doing that.”
“At this point, my goal is to actually have him arrest you.” Ben winked which made Holly’s jaw firm in irritation. “I’m glad I’m here for your entertainment.”
“Me too.” Jimmy sent her a toothy smile.
“I second that,” Ben’s voice dropped an octave as he eyed her up and down.
However, the moment Holly opened her mouth to reply, his highness barked which caused her to snap her attention to her dog. “You better not be agreeing with them too, Waffles.”
The Corgi barked again before turning to Ripley who replied with her own bark.
Holly threw her hands in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Okay, time to step in. She’s seconds from really losing it.
Ben grabbed Holly’s hand dragging her toward him and the baby. Quickly he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. “We’re only messing with you, Grace.”
“Yeah, Mom. We love you.” Jimmy ran to them giving them both a hug.
“I don’t believe you,” Holly remarked, as she relaxed in Ben’s arms for a split second.
“That’s ‘cause you keep tryin’ to cook.” Jimmy laughed as he jumped back giving Holly a playful smile.
“Oh, for the love of all things,” Holly groaned, rolling her eyes.
“Come on, guys, let’s go before Mom’s head explodes.” Jimmy ran out of the kitchen laughing as an all too eager pack of animals scurried after him.
Once they were out of the room, Holly turned to her husband. “You taught him how to gang up on me.” Holly angrily snapped her arms over her chest staring him down.
“Nah, wasn’t me.” He shook his head. “That was all Lord Waffles.” The corners of Ben’s mouth turned up as he pushed their daughter higher onto his shoulder.
“Lord Waffles doesn’t call Officer Jones.”
“He would if he could.”
Holly gaped at Ben for a few moments before completely giving up. As she flicked her eyes to the ceiling, a heavy sigh escaped her. “You’re probably right. All of you are jerks and he’s the ringleader.”
“That he is, now come here and let me kiss you.”
“No.” She took a step away from him. However, the moment Holly tripped over thin air, she caught herself on the counter shooting him another death glare. “Don’t you say a word.”
Ben let out a laugh as he winked her way. “Grace why would I say anything about you tripping over nothing?”
“Don’t you wink at me. It’s your fault I tripped anyway.”
“That so?”
“Yeah.”
Ben quickly advanced on Holly, making sure to keep Peanut softly at his side. “How’s it my fault you tripped?”
“It’s always your fault. One moment I’m standing and the next I’m on the floor.”
“I wasn’t even home the last time that happened.”
“Yeah, but Jimmy told you about it so that makes it your fault.”
“Sure, whatever, it can be my fault you stumble around like a newborn giraffe attempting to walk for the first time.” He leaned in trying to kiss her but Holly darted away from his advance.
“Hey!”
Ben’s brows arched. “Am I wrong?”
“No, but you don’t need to compare me to a baby giraffe. I’ve got more grace than that.”
Ben nodded. “Okay, sure, you do.” After taking another step in her direction, he had Holly in his arms. “Love you, baby.”
Even though she protested, instantly Holly melted into his embrace before kissing the top of Helen’s head. “Love you both, even though you’re a jerk. You too, Peanut. I’ll remember this when you’re older.”