Chapter 302 - Claimed By My Stepbrother (Cadell Security Series)
Seona’s POV
‘Thank you for shopping at Sweet Temptations’ I say to the young father as he tries to wrestle his toddler son out of the door who is desperately grabbing for the large bag of cupcakes he just purchased.
I hear a chuckle from the corner of the room, glancing over at Benny who is watching the other man in amusement who has stopped just outside of the store. The poor man has given in, pulling out a cupcake from the box I just carefully sealed, and hands it to the boy before grabbing his hand tightly and setting off down the street.
‘And that is why I will not be having any little demons’ the soldier informs me, leaning back further in the wooden chair he’s placed just in front of the door to the kitchen. He has one ankle resting on the other knee, the epitome of someone who is relaxed and carefree. I would almost believe his outward portrayal, but the repeated penetrating gaze that drags across the faces of each person that walks past the window, and slight tick of his jaw break through the illusion to show the tense military man underneath. I’m not sure I would have noticed the tells if I hadn’t have spent so much time with Mark, subconsciously learning the differences in his mannerisms depending on what he’s doing.
‘What’s wrong with kids?’ I ask him curiously, leaning my hip against the counter as I turn to face him as the shop is currently empty.
The soldier shrugs, ‘nothing if they ain’t mine’ he replies simply, ‘don’t get me wrong, they can be fun, my brother has a whole ranch of them, six I think at the last count, it’s hard to keep up with how fast him and his wife keep popping them out.’
‘You don’t know how many nieces and nephews you have?’ I demand incredulously.
Benny quirks an eyebrow, ‘it’s hard to keep track of em, they don’t stand still long enough so that when I do try, I end up counting at least two twice.
I’m pretty sure there is two girls though,’ he adds thoughtfully, ‘maybe three? There is one of his kids that is always in the pastures with the horses dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans and boots. Kid never comes up the house even when I visit so I just take a guess on their gender from afar and hope for the best. Not had a frying pan over my head yet from the sis in law, so I think I’m doing OK.’
I laugh as he smirks up at me, and I can tell by the pride in his tone that he does love his nieces and nephews no matter what he says.
‘So your brother has six kids’ I repeat, trying to imagine that many children around me, the image in my mind immediately showing a group of kids with deep brown eyes peeking up at me.
Benny nods, smiling broadly, ‘yes ma-am’ he replies fondly, ‘married his sweetheart right outta high school, took over her daddy’s ranch and started on their brood within a year. Liv, well Olivia is her full name, she and my bro met at nine years old at school and they just clicked, best friends until their teens where it developed into more. I swear, my bro has never looked at another woman since the day Liv and her pigtails hung upside down from those monkey bars and dared him to do the same.’
A smile is pulled from my lips at his story as my heart flutters, caught up in the idea of two children finding their soul mate so young that they didn’t even understand what it was.
‘They sound like they live an awesome life’ I sigh.
Benny nods, his smile widening, ‘that they do, I don’t think Samuel could be happier, he loves his wife something fierce and God help anyone who messes with her, he’s a teddy bear right up till you upset Liv, then he’ll hunt your ass down.’
I giggle, my mind immediately going to my own teddy bear, yeah, I could See Mark being like that with someone he loved.
My cheeks flushing of their own accord, I quickly turn away to hide my face from the soldier who has picked up a can of soda that was resting by his feet, taking a long sip.
Looking around for something to do, I spot the small tray that Mackenzie uses to offer samples of my fudge. The tray is almost empty, and I have barely half a dozen bags still in the basket that rests on top of the counter but needing something to keep my mind off Mark, I grab the tray and place it on the workbench behind me along with one of the bags. Ripping the cellophane open, I tip the squares onto the silver dish, picking up a knife and start to cut the small squares into little bits.
‘That your fudge?’ Benny calls out hopefully, the man already ate about ten pieces whilst I was making my second batch this morning, but it seems he is another one that wouldn’t say no to more.
I glance over at him, shaking my head in amusement, ‘between you and Mark, I’m surprised I have anything left to sell’ I admonish him before I yelp loudly. My gaze whips to my hands where a large red line across the top of my finger starts to ooze blood.
‘S.hit!’ Benny hisses, jumping to his feet and grabbing my hand, pulling it toward him as I suck in a pained breath.
‘F.uck, sorry, this is my fault, I distracted you’ he mutters worriedly, glancing around and grabbing some serviettes from the top of the casing, pressing them to the wound.
‘It’s fine, it’s just a small cut’ I mumble, wrapping my other hand around my finger to stem the blood as I wince, man that really hurts!
‘First aid kit’ the soldier demands, looking under the worktop and around the register, ‘where is it?’
I nod toward the door that is blocked by his chair, ‘there is one in the kitchen under the wash basin’ I tell him, still holding the serviettes to my finger that are already turning red.
Nodding curtly, Benny strides to the door, pushing the chair out of the way and tugging it open, disappearing into the kitchen as I lean back on the worktop sighing loudly.
The tinkle of the front door bell alerts me, and I look up a smile on my face, ‘I’ll be right with y . . ‘ My words trail off as Davis saunters toward me, a smirk plastered on his face as he flicks his gaze toward the kitchen door where Benny just disappeared.