“Who say that?” Kehl asked.
“I heard Berkr grumble it at Sorak.”
Kehl let out a belly rumble at that one.
“What? What does it mean? What’s a benass?”
Shaking his head, Kehl stood and held his hand out to me.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” I muttered as I stood, grew a little wobbly legged, so he scooped me up and carried me to the bathroom.
Kehl just shook his head.
“On a scale of ass-butt to butt munch, what are we talking here? Little bad word? Big one? If I call someone one, how offended will they be?” Peppering him with questions, even long after I’d stopped caring as he helped me wash the stink off me and change into the clean clothes Dace had left for me, it was worth it just to hear him laugh like that.
Chapter 18
“Mean like assed hole. Not goot male,” Doogie explained around a mouth full of his mama’s stew.
“Know you Carrie feed you, why you eat all Mama food too?” Mosoau grumbled at his son.
“Why you care? You need lose gut,” Doogie shot back. “Mama roll you from house, you eat all the times.”
“Both of you, stop it,” Dorothy muttered between bites of buttered bread. “You’re both being ridiculous.” Giving Mossau a look, she primly informed him, “My babies can come home and eat any time they like.”
“Who say so?” Mossau was taunting her, smothering a grin.
“Me,” Dorothy sassed, then chucked a roll at his head when he snickered.
Mossau caught it and growled in a rather sexual way as he bit into his roll, eye fudging her the entire time.
Quickly glancing away, I tried to hide my expression but Doogie caught it. “Hah. Now Purr-roo know howed gross Doogie daddies are, too,” Doogie taunted.
“Like you don’t do the very same thing to Carrie,” I chortling shot back at him.
Doogie shrugged and grinned, completely unbothered. “My Carrie loves Doogie’s make the sex looks.”
Dorothy made a sputtering noise. “No sex anything at the table, please.”
Doogie pointed his dinner roll at his father. “Tell goggle eyes at my mama there that.”
Mossau shot him a dirty look, before quickly returning to giving Dorothyfudge me now bebehlooks.
Dorothy’s face reddened and she lifted her napkin to drop it over Mossau’s smirking face. “Keep that up, mister, and you’re sleeping on the floor!” she spluttered.
Mossau let out a rumble that rattled his whole chest and set the utensil on his plate clinking loudly, one of those hello ma’am rumbles that announced quite proudly that he’d happily sleep on the floor to never stop openly, wildly flirting with her. It was a little demented obsessive fuzzball over the top but so damn sweet.
Doogie finished up his food fast and left with the promise to tell Carrie I was doing good and wanted to make plans with her soon. Orrie had six teeth come in. Harsh for such a little thing, but it explained why the poor thing was beside herself. Ouch. Doogie assured me she was good now and sleeping much better. Doogie and Elle were practicing their singing skills for future tooth emergencies. It made me smile to hear it. Dace would also be relieved to hear little Orrie was on the mend.
Kehl refused to let me try and help with cleanup after dinner, despite the fact I could now walk across the room unassisted at this point.
Things were just winding down when the noises from outside grew so insistent, so loud, it was getting impossible to ignore.
Had a hunting party returned? A full hunting party returned to their loved ones instead of planning a funeral was cause for celebration. It was dangerous out there.
I was eager for some alone time with Kehl but a little nervous for his reception from the village now that his Krampus was out.
Glad of Dorothy and her mates’ support, we still didn’t know if there were going to be pitch forks and angry furries waiting for us when we walked out that door.
