Page 26 of Our Lips Are Sealed
It had been overcast all day, and Laura Jean hoped the rain stayed away. They planned to meet Miranda and Josie in Port Michaelson to watch the fireworks show.
“What kind of person schedules baseball practice during a holiday?”
“Someone who has no life,” Ben replied, holding her hand as they went up the front walk. “The team is good and has a real chance at doing something, but this is unnecessary.”
“You could always skip it.”
“Selah would be upset.”
Laura Jean laughed. “But Samuel wouldn’t.”
After Selah begged for months, Samuel finally agreed to join his brother’s baseball team, and so far, he hated it.
“This team thing is good for Samuel,” Ben said. “He doesn’t have any real friends at school.”
“He’s shy.”
Ben shot her an incredulous look. “No, he’s not. My son is a smart ass with a bad attitude that will get him into trouble one day.”
“Gee, I wonder where he gets that from.”
“Thank God Selah is normal,” he mumbled.
She punched his shoulder. “What about Jamison?”
They opened the front door of Haven House and were nearly run over by their daughter, who zoomed past on a tricycle, completely naked.
Ben snorted. “I sure as hell wouldn’t classify her as normal.”
An out of breath Evie chased her sister, waving a piece of clothing frantically in the air. “Jamison won’t wear the red, white, and blue dress we picked out!”
“I got her,” Selah yelled, coming into the hall from the kitchen. He spread his arms wide, blocking Jamison’s way. “Oh no, you don’t.”
Samuel bounded down the stairs, his big feet pounding the steps. The boy had grown at least a foot since Christmas.
“Take it easy with those stairs,” Ben said to his son as he passed, but the boy ignored him, going straight for Evie.
“I told you we would catch her first.”
Evie threw the dress in his face. “Then you put it on her.”
Samuel held the garment out as if it were a dead animal. “That’s your job.”
Livy floated in next, swiping the outfit from Samuel. “I’ll do it.”
Realizing they were coming for her, Jamison deserted the trike and made a run for it. The other children stormed after her, arguing and yelling as they went.
“Let’s get out of here,” Ben suggested in a whisper. “We can keep doing our whole clothing optional thing, and they’ll never know we are gone.”
“Tempting.” She patted his cheek. “But this is our circus, and we must tame our monkeys.”
Devon stuck his head out of the dining room, wearing a small headlamp. Simone had ordered a new dining set, but it arrived unassembled, and she had tasked her beloved husband with building it.
“I thought I heard you two,” Devon said. “Charlie got here a few minutes ago, and I put him in the library to wait.”
Ben grunted his thanks and leaned down to kiss her. “I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
“Don’t forget to give him the information I put together on the facility.”
