I snorted. “You didn’t ask because you knew I’d freak out.”
“I know that you were broken when Dad died. It didn’t help that Mom checked out and forgot she had children. I won’t leave you on purpose, Calli. But I have to be prepared, just in case. These kids mean the world to Doc and me. You do, too. Don’t freak out too bad, okay?”
I snorted. “How the hell am I supposed to deal with three kids that close together?”
She laughed and pulled back. “Maybe by then you’ll have a man that’ll help.”
I snorted. “The only man that I find even mildly entertaining right now is constantly telling me I’m a disappointment.”
Her eyes went to the living room where we could just see the top of Jasper’s head as he continued to pat Dalton on the butt. “You do know, right, that you’re not a disappointment?”
I sighed. “I know.”
“You may have a hell of an attitude, but that’s only part of your personality.” She pulled back and cupped my cheeks. “He’s just giving you a hard time because he doesn’t understand you as a person.”
I sighed. “If you say so.”
She pulled back. “If they don’t see you’re special, then they don’t deserve to be in your life.”
Just then, a toddler crept out from behind the wall leading into the living room and I whispered, “Incoming.”
She groaned and turned, finding Pane at the ready.
“You do know that you’ve only had a forty-five-minute nap, right?” Searcy asked her most unruly child.
Pane grinned his cute little toddler grin that got him away with practical murder.
“Come on,” I urged. “You can help me.”
Pane came barreling toward us, hitting me like a tiny little battering ram.
I lifted him up onto the counter and handed him the carrots, bag already open. “Dump those in.”
He did, half hitting the floor, and half hitting the Crock Pot.
I scooped up the ones that hit the floor and rinsed them off just as Searcy said, “Most people wash their veggies before dumping them in.”
“Most people don’t think about the fact that dirt is the literal least worrisome thing that they’re about to put into their bodies. Let’s talk about how baby carrots are absolute trash compared to their larger counterparts. Regular sized carrots are okay. Not processed. However, baby carrots are smaller pieces, that were shaved to be uniform and small, peeled and polished. Then, they’re dunked in fucking chlorine. And we’re worried about dirt?”
My sister rolled her eyes. “You and your food.”
“Me and my food,” I agreed. “But you damn well knew that the Rao’s spaghetti is much healthier and tastier.”
She reluctantly nodded her head. “I just hate spending all that extra money. The store brand is cheaper.”
“And the store brand is highly processed. A good noodle should only have flour, maybe egg, and water if that’s what you’re going for,” I said. “It shouldn’t have a bunch of names that you can’t pronounce.”
Searcy sighed. “That’s why you’ll be the best guardian ever.”
I flipped her off. “Let’s not talk about that anymore. It’s Christmas, and I don’t want to be depressed.”
Pane reached for a carrot and chomped into it, luckily not from the Crock Pot but from my hand, and I shook my head. “Weirdo.”
He grinned, pieces of carrot between his teeth. “Yes!”
Jasper stayed on the couch with Dalton for two hours, holding him and napping himself.
It was only when Dalton woke up starving that Jasper handed him off to Searcy and announced, “Gunner’s probably wondering where the hell I am. Gotta go back to work now.”
