Page 58 of Bad Blood Panther

Chapter 21

Jenny ended up having a good time on the shopping trip. Xander had given her a ridiculous amount of money, and she’d let Lissa and Caitlyn talk her into spending too much of it, but they’d convinced her that Xander wouldn’t have snuck it into her bag if he didn’t want her to have the things she needed.

She’d spent some of it on sexy underwear that she knew he would love. Caitlyn even offered to look after Brandon some night soon, so she and Xander could have a romantic date.

Jenny was starting to love being in a crew. She’d never had many close friends, but she was hoping that Caitlyn and Lissa would become real friends one day.

Throughout the day, Xander had texted pictures of what Lissa called his “first solo flight” as a dad. Swimming, squirrel chasing, diaper changing, and an adorable one of Brandon doing a cannon ball into the kiddie pool.

Then, since an hour ago…nothing.

“He probably put him down for a nap and is watching hockey,” Lissa said.

“Exhausted,” Caitlyn added. “Guys just don’t get how much energy it takes.”

“Maybe,” Jenny said. She just hoped Brandon hadn’t thrown a tantrum, or destroyed anything. She kept almost texting Xander, only she didn’t want him to feel like she didn’t trust him.

But she was getting more and more nervous. It was so important that things didn’t go wrong—not until Flynn had officially accepted them into the crew.

When they got back to the compound, she thanked Lissa and Caitlyn, and then took her shopping bags to the trailer. “Xander?” she called. “Brandon?”

No one was there. They were probably up at the main cabin.

She dropped her bags in the bedroom and headed up there, still trying to tell herself not to be nervous. It was just one afternoon. Everything was probably fine.

When she got to the cabin, she could hear hysterical laughter coming from the main room. She walked in just in time to hear Sloan saying, “Yup. Brandon was smack in the middle of the biggest pile of bear shit you ever saw, rubbing it all over himself. The kid looked like that emoji—just a pile of poop with eyes looking out.”

They all went into fits of laughter again. Jenny felt cold inside. Oh, no. Xander was probably furious.

Sloan was laughing too hard to continue, so Tank took up the story. “I thought Xander was going to bust a gut. He picks up Brandon and lugs him back here, with Brandon rubbing shit into his hair the whole way…”

That set them off again. “Oh my God, I wish I had pictures,” Lissa said.

Sloan whipped out his phone. “You think I passed up a photo op like that?” He started passing the phone around, then looked up and saw her. “Oh, hey, Jenny,” he said casually. “You looking for the poop twins?”

She nodded, too mortified to answer.

“They’re in the big bathroom in the back. They needed the mondo shower. I think they’re at the follow-up bath stage by now.”

“Thanks,” she managed. She headed down the hall to the huge, luxurious bathroom that served the two bedrooms at the back of the cabin.

She hoped Xander wasn’t too angry that his afternoon had been spoiled. She’d have to apologize, and…

She pushed open the bathroom door. Xander knelt on the floor by the huge bathtub, which was filled with bubbles. He was washing Brandon’s hair and making the suds into duck tails, while Brandon pushed his fleet of rubber duckies through the bathwater.

Xander was singing with him, “And the duckies go quack, quack, quack and the gooses go honk, honk, honk…”

Brandon looked up and saw her first. “Mommy!” he called out, bouncing in the tub and sending up little wavelets that splashed Xander. Luckily, he was wearing nothing but his cabana boy shorts, so he didn’t seem to mind.

“We hava showa!” Brandon said, pointing to the huge glassed-in shower. “Me an’ Daddy bofe! And I has a baff! An’ I found bib, bib poop!”

“I heard,” she said. She knelt down and picked up the sponge to rinse Brandon’s hair. “What did I tell you about being a good boy?”

“I be a dood boy,” Brandon said.

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured to Xander. She hoped he wouldn’t get angry in front of Brandon. “I can’t believe you had to wash all that poop off him. That must have been awful.”

He got a small frown in the middle of his forehead.