Everything had gone from wonderful, blissful even, to shit in seconds flat.
Birch let out a loud grunt that told me he was thinking about it.
“If you don’t go after them, I will. Then I’m coming right back around for you, Britches!” I warned him.
“Sound like Mama,” he muttered, but hopped off of me and rushed out the door.
Running after him, I would have followed him out but he shoved me back inside and slammed the door shut behind him. The warning look he sent my way as the door closed annoyed me more than anything. It was the fighting outside that had me in knots.
“Fine. Asshole.” Taking up residence near the front window, I quickly realized I’m not much of a spectator of brother on brother brutality and abandoned that idea completely.
I was not about to sit here and just watch them pulverize each other.
Grabbing Cy’s things, his boots, wallet, truck keys, cell, I shoved them all into the canvas bag I kept hanging up by the door, opened the front door, set it all on the front stoop, and found myself promptly yelled at by three snarling grouches. “Go to hell!” I snarled right back, then promptly shut the door on their angry faces, and locked it.
Yanking the curtains closed, I stomped back to the stove to finish cooking. Glancing over my shoulder, my eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
I couldn’t, could I?
That would be plain evil… They’d be pissed. It was so childish, really…
But that smile slowly tipping my lips like a holiday Grinch couldn’t be contained. Itwouldpromptly put an end to this nonsense, I conceded.
Grabbing up my phone, I dialed and waited.
Before Sunny could speak, I barked, “Your sons that you banned from being within five feet of me are at my place trying to kill each other in my front yard. I thought you should know.”
“Prudence?” Sunny blurted.
“Boys fight?” Forest grumbled. He sounded close enough to listen in.
“It’s an all out brawl with no end in sight,” I confirmed. And because I’m not a total asshole and maybe she had a point in keeping us all apart like she did considering the chaos I’d unintentionally instigated, turning me into the homewrecker I was destined to be, I guess, I added, “I’m sorry,” then hung up.
“I… am a total chicken shit,” I mumbled under my breath as I started in on the kitchen, cleaning up the mess we’d made in there earlier. Cy really liked raspberry jam, especially when I licked it off of funny places on him.
Stress speed cleaning up the kitchen, mentally cataloguing what I could donate, keep, and whatnot, the fighting was still going on as I put a new hand towel out and walked the one I’d used to the wash.
The temptation to peer out the window was insane but I resisted. Those assholes had snarled at me, like I didn’t belong out there, like this wasn’t my bullshit too.
It wasallmy bullshit.
Desperate for something to do, I made a mental list and hopped to it.
This wasn’t exactly the way I’d hoped I’d find the inspiration to get started in on the house, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Chapter 6
Reading a book on a self imposed break, propped up on my bed, sipping on a hot cup of honey lemon loaf tea, I listened as the sound of a vehicle roaring up pricked my ears. The sound of Sunny bellowing at her boys and the fighting suddenly ending was music to my ears.
I’d worried it would end in a death, how long it took Sunny to get here.
It was still mid snowmageddon out there though. Had to account for that.
A soft knock issued at my front door a few minutes after the ruckus died down but Prudence was not home right now. Prudence was in denial that any of this was her fault and hopes to sit in it for a little longer.
Hey, if Elm can talk about himself in the third person, so can frickin’ I.
“No knock on my Pru’s door!” Cy called out.
