Chapter Four
“Alright. Jen and I have reached an agreement on your punishment.”
Letting out a low groan, she flopped back against the pillows, waiting to hear what kind of death sentence she was being given.
“I want you to keep an eye on Abbi for us tonight. I’ve decided that I want to go out to dinner, just Jen and I and we need someone to keep the squirt.”
“That’s it?”
“You want me to add on more?”
“NO! I just meant… I’m surprised, that’s all.”
“Hey, I already told you. I’m not mad at you for her parents not being there. You genuinely didn’t know. And I took off for the fact that you DID come home last night at a decent hour, rather than staying even longer than you did. So yes, that’s all.”
She leapt off her bed and threw her arms around her father in a hug.
“You’re the best!” She squealed. She couldn’t believe she was getting off this easy! But she quickly sobered up when she realized that her father would have called Joey by now. “You… you talked to Joey, then?”
“Yep. And let me tell you, dear, you’re getting off the hook in more ways that one today. Brianna already slipped up and told Joey the truth. He was just picking up the phone to call ME when I called. So she has no idea that you told.”
Letting out a whoop of relief, she fell back onto her bed once more. Things had worked out much better than she thought.
~*~
“Alright. Mommy and I will be back around 11. You’d better be in bed by then, and you listen to Julie. She’s in charge.”
“Kay, daddy. Have fun.”
“Thank you sweetheart,” he smiled, kissing the top of his daughter’s head affectionately. He swatted her bottom playfully before turning to his oldest daughter. “I left some money for pizza, and Jen said there’s some snacks in the fridge for you guys. Be good and I’ll see you later.” He dropped a kiss to Julie’s forehead before turning his wife.
“Bye guys. Call us if you need anything,” Jen said, smiling as she took her husband’s hand, heading down to the car. She looked back at her daughters and shook her head, praying that they would still have a house to come home to!
~*~
“Alright squirt. Pizza’s in the kitchen, soda’s on the counter. I’m going upstairs to make a phone call. Don’t burn the house down,” Julie requested. “If you need me, I’m in my room.”
With a nod, Abbi gave her older sister a grin and waited until she headed upstairs. She ran into the kitchen and reached for her pizza and soda before carrying it into the living room, getting comfortable on the couch. This was going to be fun!
When Julie came back downstairs nearly an hour later, her eyes were wide when she went to grab a slice of pizza and saw that it was all gone. Surely her little sister had not devoured an entire large pizza on her own, right? She headed into the living room and found her sister snacking on a bowl of ice cream.
She shook her head with a laugh and walked over to sit next to her.
“You ready to get up to bed?” Looking over at Julie, she gave her a chocolately smile and a nod.
“Yup.” She pushed herself up and grabbed her trash and carried it into the kitchen before heading upstairs. Julie shook her head at her sister. She took after their father, alright!
~*~
“Tonight was nice Jace,” Jen smiled as they walked through the front door of their home. He had a smile on his face as he helped her inside, kissing her lips gently.
“Yep. We definitely needed it. Why don’t you go on up to bed and I’ll lock up and check on the girls?” He suggested, kissing the top of her head as he watched her waddle towards the steps. She was too cute!
He checked and locked all the doors before turning the lights off and heading upstairs. He poked his head into Julie’s room and gave her a smile.
“You’re still up?”
“Yeah. I was waiting for you guys to get home before I turned in. Did you have a good night?”
“We did. How was Abbi?”
“She’s a pig dad,” Julie laughed. “I swear. I’ve got no idea how you don’t go broke with having to feed her,” she teased. JC rolled his eyes playfully.
“But she was good?”
“Yep. She went to bed about an hour ago.”
“Alright. I’m going to check in on her and then turn in. Good night, sweetheart.”
“Night daddy.”
Backing out of the room, JC closed the door behind him and headed down the hall. He paused outside the door when he heard a pitiful whimpering sound coming from inside. He pushed the door open and saw his daughter on her bed, wiggling like nobody’s business.
“Abs?”
Sitting up, Abbi looked tearfully to her father.
“Daddy,” she whimpered, sniffling.
“What’s the matter, princess?”
“My belly hurts real bad, daddy,” she whined, climbing off the bed and going to him. She wrapped her arms around his legs, pressing her face against his stomach. Flipping on the light switch, he looked down at his daughter. He picked her up and carried her over to her bed.
“Why does your belly hurt, baby? Does it hurt all over or just on one side?” Many years ago, he would have written the tummy ache off. However, ever since that horrible night when his daughter’s appendix nearly burst, he treated every ailment with the utmost care.
“It hurts all over,” she sniffled, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think you ate too many snacks tonight?”
Nodding pitifully, she let out a low moan and wrapped her arms around her aching middle. With a sympathetic smile, JC pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. He was quickly reminded of the birthday incident many years ago, when Julie had first come to live with him. Even though the sisters thought that they were soooo different, they were more alike than they though!
“I’ll tell you what. We’ll go over to my room and see if mommy has anything for your belly ache. Maybe you can even sleep with us tonight,” he offered, standing back up, his daughter in his arms. With his daughters aging rapidly, it was nice to be able to baby them every once in awhile, even though he felt bad under the circumstances.
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