Mannies Incorporated, Michael, Sean [novels for teenagers txt] 📗

Jenny began to cry in Slayde's arms and Drake groaned. "I'm sorry, man."

"Uh-huh. Do push-ups, man. Thirty."

He bit back another curse and assumed the position.

"Maggie! Hurry! Unca Drake's gotta do thirty push-ups!"

Slayde stood up, patting Jenny's butt. "Christian, you could sit on Uncle Drake's butt."

"What?" He shot Slayde a glare. Thirty push-ups in a row were going to be hard enough all on their own.

Slayde looked so innocent.

Christian cheered and came to plop down on his ass. "Hurry, Maggie! We can ride him!" shouted Christian, bouncing all the while.

Slayde was evil. Pure evil.

Maggie -- and her doll -- came and landed on his back, making him groan. "Okay, you have to be still."

"'kay. Go!"

Shit.

He started, managing the first five fairly easily, Christian counting them off with glee. Would it be wrong to hope the kid couldn't count must past ten?

Slayde wandered off, not even staying to help. Butthead.

The next five weren't nearly as easy and to his chagrin, Christian started counting over from one once they hit ten.

The second set of ten was hard, but he refused to let the kids know he was having trouble and he finished the last ten at half the speed, cheating the push-ups by only going partway down, his arms were in agony.

Christian bounced and cheered him on the last five and at last he collapsed onto the ground with a groan.

"Yay! You did it!" Christian applauded and Maggie bounced. On his back.

"I did!" And he swore he'd never swear again. Which made him chuckle. Then Maggie bounced again and he groaned. "Okay, everybody up!"

"UP!" Christian bounced, then started running around in circles, hooting.

"Maggie, honey, can you get up, too?"

"Uh-huh." She slid off him, patted his back. "Thank you."

He righted himself, sitting on the floor and leaning back against the couch. "You're welcome, honey." He wasn't sure if the thank you was for the story or the ride, but he didn't really care.

She came and sat in his lap. "This is my baby."

"Yeah? She's bigger than your Momma's was. Barbie's are skinny little things." He was pretty sure he'd taken the head off Mindy's at least once a month.

Maggie nodded. "I like babies."

Slayde came in, Jenny awake and holding a Popsicle. "Does anyone else want a Popsicle?"

"Shi-- I mean, just yes. Please. Very much so." He grinned at Maggie.

Slayde winked at him. "I have a homemade coffee milkshake for uncles."

"Oh, yes, please. I suppose that means uncles have to get up to go get theirs?"

Slayde nodded. "No food in here. Mindy screams."

"Okay. Hey, Maggie, you want to give me a hand up?" He held his hand out to her.

"'kay." She stood in front of him, so serious, so grim.

He took her hand and told her to "pull!" and managed to use his at this point sore ab muscles to pull himself up. "Thank you, Miss Maggie."

"We'come. Popsicle?" She took Slayde's free hand.

"What color?"

"Green."

Christian came over. "I don't like the green ones."

"Well, I bet Slayde has ones that aren't green." He took Christian's hand and they walked together into the kitchen.

"There aren't any oranges left, but there's purple and red."

"Ooo, purple." Drake nodded at Christian. If there wasn't coffee milkshakes for the adults, he would so be having a purple one. But maybe Slayde was starting to like him, if the man was making him adult drinks.

Christian nodded. "I like orange best, but purple is okay."

Slayde passed out Popsicles, handed him a glass, and then proceeded to keep everyone in the kitchen.

"Can I have a lick of that green one, Maggie?" Drake asked.

"No. You have boy germs."

"And Maggie has girl cooties!" Christian began to dance around the table, shouting "Girl Cooties! Girl cooties!" over and over.

"I hate cooties." Slayde rolled his eyes, sighed.

Drake laughed. "God, I haven't heard that in a million years."

All three of them started bouncing and squealing and chanting. "COOTIES! COOTIES!"

"Oh, lord." He just sat and laughed. What else could he do?

Slayde laughter rang out, joined with him. God, the man lit up when he laughed.

Then Slayde started jumping along with the kids, yelling "Cooties! Cooties!"

Drake just shook his head. He'd done thirty push-ups, he wasn't going to start running around too. Mindy would love this. She… His phone. He grabbed his phone and started videoing, keeping it on until they all ran out of steam, hooting and laughing together, a crazy little family. Thank God, Slayde had helped him figure out all the bells and whistles.

He scooped Christian up and hugged the boy. "How about uncle cooties?"

Christian laughed and kissed him on the cheek, lips sticky. "I'm not scared!"

"Brave boy!"

Christian nodded, so serious. "I'm like my daddy. A hero."

He hugged Christian close. "Yeah, Christian, you are." Jesus, they were going to break his heart.

Slayde sighed, nodded, a look of loss on the man's face.

Drake hadn't known Jerry all that well -- he and Mindy had stayed in touch but hadn't lived near each other since before Mindy and Jerry had met, but Slayde had been the man's friend, trusted enough to take care of the kids and it must have been hard on him as well. Rubbing his face, Drake wondered how things could go from fun to serious so quickly.

It was Slayde who, like usual, saved the day. "Let's wash our hands and then we can play with Legos."

"Sounds like a plan." He patted Christian's back and gave Maggie his best grin. "I have to help Uncle Slayde with supper, but then I can come play with you."

"I play with my baby."

"I could uh… play dolls with you." Drake couldn't believe those words had just passed his lips. What's more, he couldn't believe he'd meant them.

"Okay. My baby loves you, too."

He beamed, unaccountably pleased by that. "Cool."

She nodded and then just wandered off, easy as pie.

"It's amazing, huh?" Slayde looked at him from across the room.

"Yeah, it really is." He'd won her over and it was more important to him that he had than solving any case had ever been.

"You going to have kids one day?"

"Who