Page 118 of When Ben Loved Jace

“Naw, that’s the bad guy’s line,” Greg whispers. “You’re fighting for your—”

“I remember!” she replies before trying again. “What did you do with my wife? And her bridesmaids?”

“You’ll never find out unless you can defeat me!” Greg growls while ducking and dodging.

“Uh, guys?” I say, my concern going unheard.

“Gah!” Greg cries, leaving himself open so she can jab him in the chin. “You might have won the fight, but you’ll never find my secret sewer lair!”

The tower of presents is wobbling dangerously now.

“Okay, you two,” I say, marching over. “Take it outside. Or maybe inside. Just not here. If that cake ends up in the grass, I’m gonna cry.”

“Sorry, Uncle Ben,” Emma says sullenly.

“Blame the parent, not the child,” Jace says, walking over to put an arm around my shoulder.

“I would, but I’m having a hard time telling them apart.”

Greg grins shamelessly before something occurs to him. “Hey!” he says to his daughter. “You know what we should watch?The Kickboxer Kid! You’d love that movie. The whole trilogy actually. It’s about this girl who moves into a new town and befriends a grumpy old janitor that—”

“What’s a kickboxer?” Emma asks.

“It’s like normal boxing except you get to use your feet.”

“Do you have to wear special shoes? Like boxing gloves?”

“Huh? No. You fight barefoot.”

“Gross!”

“No way! It’s awesome!” Greg raises his palms again. “Show me your best high kick.”

“Okay,” I interrupt. “Maybe we should open these presents so we can have some cake before it gets rolled in dirt.”

“That’s how they do it inyourfamily,” Jace says. “Westart with the cake.” He holds up his hand for a high five. “Right?”

“Yes!” Emma replies, leaping to slap his palm.

She jostles the table as she lands.

“Works for me,” I say, probably looking a little pale, because the cake wasn’t exactly cheap. “Is everybody here?”

Jace glances around. “Where’s my sister?”

Greg shrugs. “She went inside like… half an hour ago.”

I glance at the house. “Emma, guard the cake with your life. Don’t do anything your father tells you. He’s a bad influence. I’ll be right back.”

I expect to find Michelle taking a nap or locked in the bathroom, but she’s not in the house. Only when I glance out front do I see her. For whatever reason, she has a fully extended tape measure stretching from the walkway to Jace’s old trailer.

“What are you doing?” I ask when joining her.

“Hm? Oh.” She pushes a button to retract the tape. “I’m performing an inspection.” I watch her pick up a clipboard to jot something down.

“Did I pass? Wait, what kind of inspection?”

She smiles at me. “You want to start a family with Jace, don’t you?”