Page 27 of Rich and Bossy

Big, broad, attractive shoulders.

What is wrong with you? This guy is a total jerk!

So why do you like him?

Why do you like him a lot?

CHAPTER 7

Paxton

Now,this, this is what I look forward to every single week.

“Fly me next! Fly me next, Uncle Pax!”

I look over at Brody, the other four-year-old nephew who is growing extremely impatient that he has to wait.

“It’s still my turn!” Brayden yells, arms out, as I zoom him around my mother’s living room, complete with the jet noises. He’s making them too. “You wait!”

I don’t know how much more of this my knee can take. I’m thirty minutes in and I can feel my shoulders wanting to cramp up too.

Brody jumps up and down, his arms in the air, hands waving back and forth. “Fly me! My turn! Your turn over!”

“Don’t stop.” Brayden tenses in my arms. “He always gets longer than me!”

“That’s untrue. I log all the flight hours and it’s the same. You’ll both have a pilot’s license soon as much as you love to torture me.”

I start to bring him in for a landing by the fireplace.

The second I do, all I hear is, “Noooo!” It quickly morphs into an, “Awwww,” the second we come to a stop on the runway.

I set him down and immediately start rotating my shoulder, loving the instant relief.

My sister cannot stop laughing at my predicament.

I haven’t even begun to recover, when Brody slams into my bad knee and damn near buckles me onto it. Fortunately, he’s holding me up, and damn, four-year-olds are strong as shit.

“My turn! My turn!”

I’m going to die.

But, like any good athlete, I suck it up and put on my game face. Adversity builds character. I turn to him, knowing damn well that you have to be clear and concise with kids like this, setting the limits, or they really will send you to an early grave. Or you’ll at least be sore for the next week.

I lean down, messing with him. “I don’t know. I think it’s been about even.”

He immediately starts shaking his head. “No, no! He get two turns, me only have one! Only one, Uncle Pax!” He holds up a single, small chubby finger at me. “Only one! You know only one for me!”

I glance away at the ceiling like I’m trying to remember. “No, I thought you had two already.” I’m totally messing with him.

“That a lie!” He turns to his mom. “Uncle Pax lie to me!”

She’s dying laughing and nodding. “Yeah, Uncle Pax definitely lying to you.”

He points at her. “See, Uncle Pax, she say you lie too!”

I glance over at Brayden. “Am I lying?”

He looks around like he wants to take my side, but then his conscience gets the better of him. “Yes, I do two, he only do one.”

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