All Consuming by Burton Jaci

Author:Burton, Jaci
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2021-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

“OLIVER, IF YOU AREN’T READY IN FIVE MINUTES, I’M GOING to call Kal and tell him we’re not going.”

“Mommmm. I’m in the shower now.”

Hannah rolled her eyes and took in a deep breath. “You are not. Get in there right away.”

There were days when being a parent took every ounce of energy she had. Today was one of those days. Oliver had woken up cranky and obstinate, fighting her on every single thing. Even though he was excited about going to the festival, he was doing everything he could to not take a shower, like lying around on the sofa all morning and playing in his room.

But she did finally hear the bathroom door close, and when she walked down the hall, the shower was running.

Progress.

She pivoted and headed toward her room, running into her mother. “Kids, huh? Pain in the ass. Wonder where he gets it from,” her mother said with a knowing smile.

“His father, probably.”

“You’d like to think that, but I had to light a fire under your butt to get you moving all the time. So the hard-to-get-moving part? That’s on you, honey.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Well, I’m not like that now.”

“That’s because you married a boy even lazier than you. You had no choice but to grow out of it.”

“I guess you’re right. I won’t let Oliver grow up that way.”

She patted Hannah’s shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

After her mother walked away, she went down the hall and into her room. Now that she’d gotten Oliver started on getting ready, she had to do the same. She’d already showered, but she had to get dressed and put her makeup on. The weather was nice today. The temperature wasn’t unbearable for a change, so she put on a pair of capris and a short-sleeved T-shirt and slid into her canvas tennis shoes. After applying makeup, she brushed her hair and put it in a high ponytail. Perfect for a festival. She didn’t have to be glamorous, and it wasn’t a date, anyway. Anytime you brought your kid on an outing, it wasn’t a date.

After Oliver got out of the shower, she went into his room to supervise the rest of his routine, since he tended to get easily distracted. He got dressed and put on his shoes. She made sure he combed his hair and brushed his teeth. After that, he was required to pick up his room, since it looked like a tornado had swept through it after he’d slept. They’d argued about that, too.

It was just going to be that kind of day.

By the time Kal showed up, she was already exhausted and would have happily opted to spend the day curled up on the sofa reading a book.

He swept his knuckles over her cheek. “You look tired.”

“Kid’s giving me a hard time today.”

“Boys. They’ll do that. Or at least that’s what my mom always told us.”

She smiled. “Please tell me you grow out of it.”

“Some of us do and become amazing specimens of the male species.

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