Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“Tell me about it.” My wife shook her head on a small laugh. “Lex, you can use curse words when you’re twenty-one.”
“Okay, Mommy.” Our daughter just shrugged and went back to watching her iPad.
That was the beauty of a kid like Lexi. If you gave her a rational, concrete explanation or rule or guideline to follow, she accepted it without complaint.
No temper tantrums. No back talk. Just…total acceptance.
Frankly, our biggest challenge with Lexi didn’t revolve around discipline. It revolved around trying to keep up with her crazy-smart brain and finding healthy ways to nurture and challenge it. Which might’ve sounded easy to most people, but you try challenging a seven-year-old who has a stronger understanding of physics than you do.
One of the back deck doors swung open, and everyone looked toward it to find Thatch striding in with a giant-sized grin on his face.
“All right, you fuckers!” he bellowed. “What’s on the agenda today?”
“Fut-ers!” Ace shouted from atop his shoulders. “Fut-ers!”
Immediately, Cassie got all up in her husband’s personal space and poked one index finger into his chest. “I swear on everything, I’m going to murder you in your sleep if you keep teaching my child bad words.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Thatch chuckled. “I can’t help it that our kid is a genius and repeats everything I say. Clearly, I’m his biggest, coolest role model—which I don’t think you can blame him for.”
“You say a lot of shit, Thatcher. A lot of random fluffing nonsense. And yet, for the past twenty-four hours since he started speaking actual words, your child only repeats the bad language you use. It makes me think you’re using it all the fluffing time when I’m not around.”
“Shiiiiitssss!” Ace shouted through a peal of giggles. “Shhhh-its!”
Thatch, full of himself with satisfaction, smirked down at his wife. “I can’t be sure, honey, but it seems I’m not the only one teaching our child bad words.”
Cassie ignored him expertly and looked over at Winnie. “What do you say, tonight, we kick all these men out of the lake house and have a girls’ night?”
“You trying to get rid of me, honey?” Thatch teased and eased Ace off his shoulders. The instant he put the little guy on the floor, he was off at a sprint, heading directly toward the dining table and Winnie’s brothers.
The life of their game flashed before my eyes.
The instant mini-Thatch reached the table, he started grabbing for anything he could reach, procuring Remy’s cards first and tossing them haphazardly to the floor before going after his stack of chips.
“Shi-itss!” Ace shouted as Remy moved to block his destruction.
“Calm down, buddy,” Winnie’s eldest brother said with a smile. “Do you want to help me play?”
Truthfully, I was always astonished by how good Remy was with kids. He was so rough around the edges, so hardened by life. But when he looked into the eyes of sweet innocence—even innocence that was tarnished by crazy parents in the hell-raiser currently shoving discarded playing cards in his mouth—he was almost always patient and kind.
“Yes, Thatcher,” Cassie retorted. “I am trying to get rid of you. You’re driving me crazy, and because of you, our son won’t stop cursing.”
Thatch laughed, placed his hands on his wife’s ass, and yanked her toward him. “You’ll never get rid of me, Crazy. I’m yours forever.”
Cassie snorted, but also, leaned in to kiss her husband in a way that involved tongue.
It was more than apparent that her prior words were more idle threats than anything else, but that was nothing new. The back-and-forth, the bickering—it was all a part of their banter. I couldn’t imagine living like that without a severe case of constant indigestion, but for them, it kept the spice alive.
“Gross. Get a flipping room,” Georgia muttered as she walked back inside the house, Kline following dutifully behind her with a sleeping Julia in his arms.
Cassie laughed and turned to her best friend, teasing, “Aw, don’t be jealous, Wheorgie. C’mon over here, and I’ll give you some sugar, too.”
“You’re insane.” Georgia grimaced and hid behind her husband.
“All right, we need to get a plan together,” Winnie stated and stood up from her spot on the couch. “What’s the agenda for today?”
“Boat!” Jude cheered.
“Kick the guys out of the house!” Cassie added.
Winnie’s face turned slightly annoyed, and I walked over to her and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, tucking her close to my side. “How about a compromise? Everyone spends the afternoon together on the boat, and tonight, the men will leave the lake house to you ladies and go watch the Marullo-Lackey fight at a bar.”
“Oh, hell yes!” Ty agreed. “I forgot that fight was on tonight.”
“I’ve got two hundred bucks that says Marullo is going to own Lackey’s ass,” Jude commented, and Winnie glared at him.
“Seriously, Jude? Can you go ten minutes without bad language? Or trying to make a flipping bet?”