Ch. 11
"Can we eat our candy now?" Aaron shouted as I opened the door allowing them back into the house.
"After Kristin and I check it."
The small blonde wrinkled his nose. "But it's my candy not yours!"
"It's for safety."
"Safety?" Angel repeated. "Why would it be unsafe?"
Kristin sighed giving the brunette a hug. "Honey, there are some odd people in the world that don't care as much as others.....so.....um....we want to just check it see if it's..."
"As good as the rest of the candy in our bags," Leslie chimed in.
"Oh," Angel giggled. "I get it."
I lifted Leslie into my arms. "Good answer, kiddo." Good answer because it saved my ass. I knew the blue-eyed child was my favorite for a reason.
She wrapped her arms around my neck. "You're welcome."
Aaron attached himself to Kristin's hip. She laughed. "What's that for?"
"Kevin was getting a hug and I didn't want a lovely lady like yourself to be lonely."
I felt my eyes narrowing. 'A lovely lady like yourself?' Obviously, the kid has been hanging out with AJ.
He continued. "And if Kevin doesn't treat you right, you just give me a call."
Correction: this kid had definitely been hanging out with AJ.
Kristin bit her lip attempting to hide laughter. "Oh, well, I'll think about it."
I returned Leslie to the ground. "How would you kids like some hot cider?"
"We've never had hot cider," Angel told me.
I was shocked. "Never?"
She shook her head. "Nuh uh."
Kristin patted Aaron's head. "I guess, it isn't very common in Florida, Kev."
"We use to have it every fall and winter back in Kentucky."
"Does Kentucky have cowboys and Indians?" Aaron asked.
"Not exactly. It has a lot of farms, fields and there's a really pretty river to look at."
"The Ohio River," Leslie said, "we learned about it in school. It's polluted."
Aaron faced me. "You think rivers with trash are pretty?"
I growled bellow my breath. "It wasn't that bad when I was a kid."
"When was that?"
"A long time ago."
"How long?"
"When people rode dinosaurs to school, Aaron."
"You went to school with the Flintstones!" Angel beamed.
Why in the world did I let Kristin talk me into this? As if my first adventure with the Carter Clan hadn't been enough.
Kristin walked toward the kitchen. "Why don't you kids go change into your jammies and Kevin and I will start the cider."
Aaron grinned. "Are you gonna' fight some more?"
I sighed invlountarily. "Nooooo, Aaron, now go change."
Angel looked at me sweetly. "Kevin?"
"Yes, Angel?"
"Maybe you should let Kristin help you.....Your cooking isn't that great."
The demon blonde child had gotten to his twin.
I nodded. "I'll take your opinion into consideration."
I entered the kitchen with Kristin at my side. "I'm sorry I pissed you off."
"Don't be, I'm sure you'll do again soon. You keep an excellent track record at these things."
I frowned. This I wasn't expecting. "You really are mad at me?"
"Why should I be? Now, I know if I ditch you I could have a blonde younger man."
Ah ha! She smiled! I wouldn't need Leslie to buy me that bone I was out of the dog house.
She glanced through the refridgerator. "Kev, all they have is apple juice."
I shrugged. "So, we'll heat that up."
"It's not exactly the same. The cider is much better."
"It's not like they'd know anyway....They've never had it before."
She laughed. "Yeah, and after tonight they probably will never want to again."