Page 25 of Keeping My Wife
The more time I spent with Maxie, the more I knew that marriage seemed like a perfect fit more than a business merger.I wasn’t sure how to feel about that since it happened so damn fast.
And there was really only one person to ask about it.
I climbed the steps to my childhood home, instinctively skipping the one that squeaked. I opened the screen door and pushed open the big door to find Danny, my nephew, and his goofy dog in the kitchen.
Trouble scrambled up, his big paws slipping on the hardwood. I ruffled his ears. “Hey, buddy. Looks like you need your nails cut again.”
“Dad has chased him with the clippers twice this week.” Danny didn’t look up from his paper. “He’s a scaredy cat.”
“What are you working on?”
Danny peered up at me. “Stupid math homework.”
“Lame.”
“Tell me about it.” He had his Fruit Snacks lined up in front of him in color order. He picked one and popped it into his mouth before he resumed his crouch over the paper.
“Cam?”
“Yeah, Ma, it’s me.”
Anna Murdock came down the stairs a stack of towels in hand. Her dark hair streaked with silver and pulled back in a braid that hung down her back. She wore her usual denim shirt over soft black pants and ugly Crocs. “I didn’t know you were coming.” She angled her head for a kiss on her cheek and I obliged.
“Needed some mom advice.”
Her light eyes twinkled. “My favorite thing.”
I grinned. “I know.” I wandered over to the stove to see what was in the Dutch oven. My stomach growled at the chicken stew.
She bumped me aside to put the towels in the cupboard beside the stove. “Go sit. I’ll make you a bowl. You’re too early for dumplings.”
“Damn.”
She narrowed her gaze at me.
“Darn?”
She shook her head. “I suppose it’s useless to think Danny doesn’t hear swear words when he’s around you guys all day.”
“I get dad with the swear jar quite a bit. Mom too.” Danny waggled his eyebrows. “I’m going to get that new Mario Kart game in no time.”
My mom and I laughed. “Smart kid.” I sat down, kicking out my legs with a muffled groan. I’d been crouched under a butcher block counter for the last two hours. The homeowner wanted an under mounted sink. I had to make sure the crew didn’t hurt the expensive wood and ended up doing it myself.
“Too smart sometimes.” My mom lifted off the lid and ladled me out a large bowl. She set it beside me with two rolls and a spoon.
“Thanks.”
“Danny, do you want to eat early?”
“Nah. Mom is making pizza tonight.”
She brushed the heavy fall of bangs out of his eyes. “Your favorite.”
My brother Sully and Nora had made for a pretty amazing, blended family. I was pretty sure the kid just loved saying mom all the time about his stepmother. Since it melted my future sister-in-law into a puddle, he got away with making up the menu more times than not.
The creak of the screen door and my brother’s heavy boots entered the kitchen.
“Dad!” Danny slammed his notebook closed and shoved it in his book bag. “You’re early.”
