Page 13 of Night of the Living Manny
“Night, Daddy, I love you.”
Brenden made his way downstairs, relieved to find no kids down there. Tacos had been amazing, but he was maybe a bigger guy than Liam thought he was. Two tacos weren’t covering it. He was starving. So Brenden dug out the stuff from the back of the fridge, where he’d put the adult-only snacks. Cheese and salami and turkey pepperoni. He put out some crackers and pickles and olives as well.
He’d learned a long while ago that pampering himself was key to doing his job.
Liam came wandering down, wearing a pair of pajama pants and a thin T-shirt. “Hey. Want a beer?”
“I would love one. I made snacks.” He waved a hand at the plate.
“Oh, dude. That looks great. You want to sit in here or on the couch?” Liam pulled out two microbrews.
“Do you mind if we sit on the couch? I gotta admit, there’s more legwork involved in your house than my last one.” The elevation was also pretty stunning, making him pant.
“Sounds like a plan. It was a long day everywhere, I think. I’m dead on my feet.” Liam sank down, sighing as he stretched out.
“Work is intense, you said.” Brenden carried the tray of snacks to the coffee table, pushing away a very sensitive Newfie nose. “Not yours, Moose.”
“He’s very well-behaved. How long have you had him?”
“He’s four and a half. I actually rescued him from a roadside puppy mill when he was just five weeks old. I wasn’t sure he would be trainable, taken from his mom at that age.” He motioned for Moose to sit. Moose plopped down on his butt and started panting.
“That’s a lot of drool.” Liam didn’t look worried. More… contemplative.
“Yeah. I clean a lot.” He popped the top on the beer Liam had handed him, the smell of hops making his nose twitch. Liam liked good beer.
“I’m not scared of a little mess. I have children.”
“You so do.” He gave Liam a little smile, hoping he’d get one in return. Liam made Brenden want to help with his stress.
Liam grinned over, the expression surprisingly charming, if tired.
“I like them already. Peter I don’t have a handle on completely, but the girls I get.”
“All you need to know about Peter is that he’s going to end up working in a lab like me—maybe not biological sciences, but a lab nonetheless.”
“Does he like other people to play games with him?” Brenden grabbed a cracker and piled it with cheese and pickles.
“Is it good with the pickles?” Liam asked. “And sure. He loves to kick other people’s asses. He knows those games inside out.”
“It’s amazing with a pickle.” He piled up another to hand over to Liam.
“Thanks.” Liam didn’t even hesitate. He just snapped it up and made a happy noise.
“See?” Brenden waited, weirdly anxious, like a guy was when he wanted someone to like his favorite foods.
“Dude, that’s surprisingly cool!”
“Right? My mom was, like, totally into retro food. She made Triscuits with melted cheese and bacon and celery with pimento cheese.”
“I love pimento cheese sandwiches. Love them.”
“Me too!” He beamed. Now he knew something special to make for Liam for lunch. He loved packing fancy lunches and making people feel cared for.
“You and I may be the only adults alive that eat it. My kids love it, by the way. All three of them.”
“Then they can help me make it from scratch.” He finally fed Moose a piece of salami because his good boy had been so patient.
“I bet Britt would like that. Susanna too. She might not seem like she eats, but she loves neat food.”
