Page 13 of Cole (Dirty Misfits MC 4)
I grinned. “A grand mastiff.”
His eyes bulged. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
“Those are small horses, not dogs.”
I shrugged. “Hey, when a woman lives alone, the woman can’t have too much protection, you know?”
“Miss Molly!” Sandy exclaimed.
“Miss Mollyyyyyy!” Cody yelled out.
I sighed. “Yes, kiddos!?”
Sandy’s voice rose above Cody’s. “Cody hit me with mulch in my eye and now I can’t see!”
“Did not! I was throwing it up in the air and you looked up!
“I didn’t do that shit!”
I whipped around. “What did you just say!?”
Cole barked with laughter behind me and the sound clenched my gut. My nipples puckered against my unpadded sports bra and I felt mortified. I couldn’t turn around. If I did, he’d surely see, and I might never get a chance with the hot dog owner with the worn leather jacket.
“Ooooo, you’re in troooooouble!” Sandy chanted.
Cody shoved her. “Shut up. I’m in trouble ‘cause you can’t keep your big mouth—”
I interrupted them as I continued yelling. “Car! Now!”
The kids groaned. “Aw, man! See what you did!?”
“Now,” I said hotly.
I turned back around as Cole chuckled. “Seems like you really got your hands full with those two.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tell me about it.”
He shrugged. “Well, if you’d rather just have the kids take a timeout before they go back to playing, I don’t have any issues watching Max. I’m here with Opie anyway, so it wouldn’t be an issue.”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t burden you with something like that.”
“It wouldn’t be a burden at all. Plus, if you make the kids think they’re going home for the next couple of minutes, they’ll punish themselves more than you ever could.”
A small smile slithered across my face. “I used to do that all the time as a kid. If I knew I was getting punished, sometimes the things I could conjure in my head were worse than what actually happened.”
He chuckled. “And that’s why it works. Just let them sit for a couple of minutes, leave Max with me, and I can watch him while you deal with the kids before they go back to playing. Deal?”
I wasn’t sure why the hell I was even considering allowing some stranger to watch over Max. I wasn’t even sure why the hell I was listening to him when it came to dealing with two kids I’d watched for the past four consecutive years.
But when I looked down and saw Max and Opie playing with each other, I caved.
“You’re saving my ass, you know,” I said as I handed him Max’s leash.
He took it from me and winked. “Always willing to do what it takes to save the ass.”
I shook my head as I slipped by him. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you, though. So, no funny business.”
“Good. Then, I won’t be the only creep staring across a playground.”
I threw my head back with laughter as I made my way to the SUV and I slowly eased the door open. Cody and Sandy sat in their seats, glaring at one another and wiping away their tears. I hated it when they were sad like this. It killed me inside. But I put on a stern face as I leaned against the doorframe of the SUV and crossed my arms over my chest.
“What have we learned?” I asked.
Cody grumbled. “Don’t throw mulch anywhere, period.”
I turned my head. “Sandy?”
She rolled her eyes. “No cursing.”
I nodded. “Right. So, what are we going to do about it?”
Cody leaned back against his seat. “I’m not going to ever touch mulch with my hands again. Ever.”
I shook my head. “Dramatic, but I’ll take it. Sandy?”
She cleared her throat. “No more using bad words.”
I smiled softly. “Exactly.”
Cody looked over at me. “Why are you smiling?”
I drew in a deep breath of air. “Because I’m trying to figure out if you two deserve a second chance.”
Sandy clasped her hands together. “Please, please, please, please, please can we stay, Miss Molly? I just made a new friend!”
My eyebrows rose. “A new friend you were showing off to?”
Her face sank. “Maybe.”
I licked my lips. “Sandy, if someone wants to be your friend, it’s because they like you already. At that point, you don’t need to do anything other than be yourself. Impressing people, especially when you do it out of character, doesn’t do anyone any favors. And if someone doesn’t want to be your friend unless you do stuff like that? Then, they aren’t a real friend anyway and you have no business wasting your time on them. Got it?”
She nodded confidently. “Yeah. That sounds right.”
I giggled softly. “Cody?”
He groaned. “I wasn’t showing off for anyone.”
“No, you were just antagonizing your sister because you’re bored. So, what do we do about it?”
His eyes widened as I called him out. “How do you always know this stuff?”
I grinned. “Because I was your age once, and I’ve done all of this stuff before. So, what are we going to do about your boredom?”
