Page 129 of Daddy's Pride
“Sorry, Daddies,” Henry and Jamie said together as they cried.
“Jamie, how did it get in your ears?”
“My ear itched.”
“And up your nose?”
“The flour made me sneeze, so I rubbed it.”
I was at a loss for words and did not look forward to the challenge of cleaning up that mess.
Casey and Chase went back inside where Mitchell was, likely to attempt to salvage our dinner. A possibility that may not come to fruition. The only positive was that Jamie had dressed in his swim trunks whereas Henry had to be stripped down to his underwear, so it was easier and less invasive to hose Jamie off.
“I’ll grab towels.” I was thankful I’d had the foresight long ago to add a storage cabinet for pool towels and supplies on the porch.
“Henry has an extra outfit in the car. I’ll be right back.” While Jensen took care of that I wrapped the still sobbing boys in towels and had them sit down to dry. Given the Nevada heat, that would take no time at all.
“Stay put until I come back. Do not turn on the hose, do not jump in the pool. Please be good and listen.”
“Yes, Daddy, I promise.”
“I promise, too, Daddy Timothy.”
I stepped inside to check on things and just as the slider closed, a chunk of pizza dough fell from the ceiling and onto Mitchell’s head.
Four pizzas just became three.
“I don’t even know what to say.” Though the groan I released spoke for me.
Mitchell, Casey, Chase and I stared at the crusty mess. Jensen walked in, took one look at Mitchell and lost it. His laughter triggered the rest of us.
“I’m at a loss, guys. I’m so sorry about this. I hope dinner isn’t ruined.” I was prepared to buy them a steak dinner to try and make up for this. No doubt the birthday boy was the mastermind behind it.
Mitchell tossed the dough atop his head in the trash. “I think it’ll be all right. I’ll brush off the rest of the dough and do a quick rinse to the toppings. We should be good to go, though you’ll likely find flour for the next millennia. They killed the entire bag.”
“Jesus.” Though praying to any sort of God or saint would do zero good at this point. The damage was done and there was nothing left but to clean.
“I’ll go dress Henry and bring the boys in.” Jensen went out while the rest of us took care of the kitchen and I made a mental note to change the air filter before bed. A clogged filter would do more harm than good and there was no way it hadn’t caught some of this. Bucket after bucket of water was dumped outside and coated the colorful riverbed of rocks in a dull white sheen. Jensen had put Jamie and Henry in timeout. I’d never been a stern Daddy before, but it was time to find that attribute and utilize it if today was any sign of what this boy had in store for me.
“Monsoons should wash it away.” Casey patted my shoulder as we dumped the buckets out and refilled them.
“Here’s to hoping. Is Chase okay? He was pretty shaken up.”
“Yes. I don’t know his backstory yet. Believe it or not, he’s best friends with my best friends’ son. Strange circle we’re in but David, his best friend, has given me glimpses into Chase. That boy brings out the protective Daddy in me.”
Enough said. His boy’s past definitely wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine, not that most of them were anymore. I got the feeling that Casey would be the perfect Daddy for Chase.
The temp on the pizza oven was where we needed it. “Let’s go salvage what we can of dinner. Thank fuck the salad was in the fridge.” At least I hoped it still was…
We walked into a mostly clean kitchen and never had I been more thankful than I was then for having opted for full-height cabinets that butted up against the ceiling when I did the remodel. Otherwise, I’d be on a ladder cleaning the tops off for days.
“Thanks, guys, I appreciate the help.” Note to self, send these Daddies a thank you gift.
“Hey, our boy was in on it, too. The cake is in the freezer, ready to decorate the pizzas?” Mitchell did his best to bring things back around to the party. Glad one of us was focused.
“Yes. Jamie?”
His blue eyes met mine.