Page 54 of Taking The Shot

“You wuss.”

“Unabashedly.”

“I’m sorry,” Paige said tearfully. “We can just go home. I don’t want you to fight…”

“We’re not fighting,” Keith replied, horrified.

“We are not fighting,” Constance said in complete confusion. They weren’t fighting. They never fought – not even at the very beginning.

“It’s okay,” Paige continued, and Kayla sighed, sniffing loudly, causing Constance to look back over her shoulder at her children.

“See that? What harm does it do?” Keith began as he pulled into the pet adoption center and put the car into park.

“Keith…”

“Look, there’s no difference between one cat or two… and they are upset,” he said emotionally, looking at her. “I don’t want them upset with me, Constance. Not this early in the game. Maybe when they are sixteen or…”

“Look at them,” she interrupted, bluntly. “Reallylook at them.”

Keith turned in his seat, looking at both children who practically sprouted angel wings in front of him as they gave him an innocent look, batted their eyelashes, and he sank backward, horrified, and looked at Constance.

“Is that from your genes?”

“Sheesh, really? That’s the question you want to ask right now?”

“I’m scared,” he breathed, giving her a wide-eyed look. “Like really,reallyscared.”

“Because you fell for it?”

“Yes.”

And the girls snickered in the back seat – as her six-foot-tall husband slunk low in his seat. Constance’s lips twitched as she fought back a smile.

“You have to learn how to say ‘no’. They are working you because you have fallen for it - twice now.”

“Your mom is in charge!”he belted out loudly, not looking away from her.

“That doesn’t fix it, buddy,” she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “You are the parent now, too, and we get to share the load.”

“Good cop, bad cop?” he said hopefully.

“No.”

“Sometimes?”

“No.”

“Once?” he tried again – and Constance couldn’t help it. She chuckled softly as she gazed at the man she adored more than anything else in the world.

“You are terrible.”

“But you love me?”

“I really do,” she admitted and then leaned toward him in the seat – and bless his heart, Keith leaned forward thinking she was about to kiss him. Instead, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, twisting her fist to hold him tight as his eyes shot open wide in shock. “Which is why you get to say ‘no’ when we go inside.”

He cussed under his breath.

“Nope,” she whispered, still holding him close in a threatening position.

---