Page 3 of Manny Included
“I’m going to have a quick shower first.Wash the travel off me.”And if it wasn’t just water running down his cheeks, no one would be the wiser.
When he got to the kitchen about ten minutes later, two of the kids were up in the kitchen with Pete, but his main aim was that coffee that Pete had said was available.
There was bacon and eggs, toast and orange juice, milk and coffee.
Thank god.
He opened a couple cupboards and found the mugs.Grabbing one, he filled it with coffee, black, and blew across the top of the mug.Then he went for it.If he burnt his mouth, so be it.He needed the dark crack.
“You’re welcome to make a plate, and if you don’t like scrambled eggs, I can make other kinds.”
“Scramble eggies are best,” Eric murmured and shoved another handful in.
“Scrambled is great.And is that bacon?”He hadn’t had a plate of eggs and bacon in he didn’t know how long.Breakfast was usually a cup of coffee and whatever was available at a meeting room side table, if anything.
“Yeah.I thought today needed bacon.”Pete handed him a plate and a fork.“Do you need jam for your toast?”
“No, I won’t have any toast.”He was already days behind on his working out.Hell, his routine had been nonexistent since he’d gotten the call.
“All right.No problem.”Pete grabbed a slice of toast and slathered strawberry jam on it.
Bay didn’t look because he didn’t want to be tempted.He just ate his breakfast, then sat back with a sigh and drank his coffee.
“You no like breads, man?”Eric asked.
“You don’t like bread,” Pete corrected.
“I try to avoid too many carbs.”He patted his belly.“I don’t want to get fat, and I haven’t worked out in four days, so…” He would totally have several slices especially if there was jam if he just let himself go.
“Body shaming is wrong, Uncle Bay, especially shaming your own body.”Belle sounded so sure.
His eyes opened wide in surprise at her words.“Uh… I wasn’t…” Huh.Maybe he had been.It was good to keep fit, though, right?
“Momma says that restrictive diets aren’t healthy.Eat good food, mostly plants, not too much.”
“Isn’tmostly plantsrestrictive?”he asked.Otherwise, it would be eat whatever the heck you want and he’d bet the kids weren’t allowed to do that.When he and Tony had been little, that kind of thinking would have seen the two of them eating nothing but candy, day and night.
She blinked at him, her eyes filling with tears.“Sugar is from a plant.So is flour.So is chocolate and vanilla.”
“Breathe, Belle.He’s tired too…”
And he was shit at talking to kids, that went for all the time, not just when he was tired.
“Sorry.I didn’t mean to make you cry.”Christ knew she had enough reasons to cry.
“I’m sorry I made you mad.I wasn’t… I wasn’t trying to be bad.”
“I wasn’t mad…” How had this gone so off the rails?He really was shit at talking to kids.
“See?It’s so easy to misunderstand each other, especially when your heart hurts.”Pete smiled at them both, sweet as hell.
Wow, Tony and Cindy had found the male Mary Poppins.Well, good, because he didn’t know thing one about raising kids, and they were his responsibility now.
“I’m not mad, I promise, okay.And I need to check in with the office.Thanks for breakfast.”
“Of course.The wifi password is ‘mykidsarethebest’.”
Of course it was.