Stumbling Into the Holidays (Stumbling Through Life Book 3) Read online

  Stumbling Into the Holidays

  Stumbling Through Life Book Three

  Molly O’Hare

  Copyright

  Copyright 2020 Molly O’Hare

  eBook License Notes

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form. Stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means. This includes, but is not limited to, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without prior consent of the author & publisher. All characters and towns are figments of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any person living or deceased if there is any resemblance it is entirely coincidental.

  Cover model: iStock photo

  Cover art: Wildelake Creative

  Disclaimer: This title is intended for mature audiences due to adult situations and languages.

  Molly O’Hare

  Be You Publishing, LLC

  www.MollyOHareauthor.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Nothing But a Dare Sneak Peek

  Also by Molly O’Hare

  About the Author

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to you. You’re what matters in this world and never forget that. Anyone that tries to tell you differently, mentally punch them in the face. They don’t deserve you.

  Keep being a Unicorn.

  You’re what makes this world a better place.

  I promise.

  Love you always,

  Molly

  Chapter One

  “Holly Richman, do not make me call the fire department again. Put down that spatula. Now!” Ben crossed his arms over his chest as he glared down at his wife. “You made those poor firefighters leave their Thanksgiving meal ‘cause you wanted to baste the turkey.”

  The corner of Ben’s mouth turned up as an amused twinkle appeared in his eyes. “Who knew flames could shoot out of an oven that far?”

  Seriously, though, there were a good few seconds Ben thought their house was going to catch fire or at least their kitchen.

  However, the moment the words left Ben’s mouth, Holly’s jaw dropped. “You said you weren’t gonna bring that up again. You promised!” She narrowed her eyes on her betraying husband. “How could you?”

  He cocked his brow as he pointed to the scorch marks on the wall. “No. I said when the marks fade or get painted over, only then I wouldn’t bring it up.” He walked to the scorch marks before smirking her way. “And there is no way in hell I’m ever letting you paint over them.”

  “You jerk.”

  At Holly’s angry growl, Ben tried to hold it together. There was nothing better than riling Holly up first thing in the morning. To him, it was always a damn good day when he could get under her skin. Maybe that’s why it was one of his favorite activities.

  What could he say? An annoyed Holly was always a fun Holly.

  However, before Holly could retort, he grabbed her shoulders, dragging her and the scowling expression of one Holly Richman into his arms. At her annoyed grunt, Ben laughed as he brought his lips down to hers. “Love you, Grace.”

  “Screw you.”

  As he ignored her annoyance, Ben leaned in lightly brushing his lips to her ear. “It’ll be my pleasure. I think Jimmy has Helen in the back room. Wanna see if we can do a quickie?”

  When Ben heard Holly’s breath hitch, he smirked before nibbling on her earlobe.

  Well, this morning just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

  Sadly, for him, though, Ben’s win was short-lived. Instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was to lift Holly onto the counter and have himself his own Thanksgiving feast, Holly lifted her foot before stomping on his. Hard.

  “Oww! What the hell, Grace?”

  “I don’t think so.” Holly pulled away and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “You don’t get to make fun of me then go to pound town on my lady bits,” she whisper-shouted at him.

  “Pound town?” Ben arched his brow.

  “Yes. Pound town. What else do you want me to call it?” Holly’s lips thinned as she glared daggers at him. “I should sic Waffles on you.”

  With her threat, both of Ben’s brows lifted in surprise. “Oh, really?”

  Instantly, that famous twitch Holly got in her left eye when she was annoyed appeared. Was it wrong of him to want to laugh? Probably, but did that stop him? Hell no.

  “Fine. Jimmy then.”

  Ben recrossed his arms over his chest as he cocked his head to the side, eyeing her like she was crazy.

  “Okay. Whatever. My dad.”

  When he didn’t move, Holly threw her hands in the air. “Fine, you jerkface. I’ll do it myself.”

  Ready for Holly’s tantrum, Ben had his arms open before the words were out of her mouth. As he caught her with ease, he held her against his body, molding her curves to his front. “You know, Grace, if you’d put this much effort into your cooking as you do trying to get me, you probably wouldn’t attempt to burn the house down as much.”

  “You assho—“

  “Mom!”

  Perfect timing.

  As their son Jimmy walked into the kitchen carrying his little sister Helen in his arms, the corner of Ben’s mouth turned up. As carefully as he could, he gently placed Holly back down so she wouldn’t topple over. He knew if he didn’t make sure her feet were on the floor, her ass would have been there instead.

  It might be fun to mess with Holly, but seeing her fall over wasn’t in his plans today.

  Holly shot Ben a dirty look telling him this was far from over before she shifted to their kids. However, the moment Holly turned with a little too much force, she almost slammed her hip into their kitchen island.

  It took everything inside of Ben to not burst out laughing when he saw Holly shoot the island the same glare she’d given him only moments ago.

  “Mom?”

  With one last death stare at the island, she turned to Jimmy. “Yeah, baby?” As she reached out to take Helen, she sent Ben another glare for good measure.

  “What?” Ben smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I’ve got her.” Jimmy maneuvered so Holly couldn’t take the little girl. “I changed her diaper but I think she’s hungry. She’s still really fussy. Even Ripley can’t calm her down.”

  Ben’s heart warmed as he watched Jimmy hold his baby sister close to his chest. From the moment they’d brought Peanut home from the hospital, Jimmy wanted to be fully involved. He took his big brother role very seriously. At first, he wasn’t as excited about changing diapers, but he insisted on doing it anyway.

  Jimmy had come so far since the night of the break-in at the clinic.

  Even though Helen was only seven and a half months old, Jimmy was already extremely protective of her.

  As Ben leaned back onto the counter, he watched a look of horror appear on Jimmy’s face as he saw what Holly was still holding in her hand.

  “Mom, why do you have a spatula?” Jimmy’s huge eyes widened as he turned to Ben. “Dad, is she cooking again? Please tell me she’s not trying to cook. I thought we talked about this? Grandpa Henry was here and everything.”
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  Ben pointed to the scorch marks on the wall with a smirk. “I think she wants to go for round two.”

  Holly gasped. “Both of you can kiss my butt!” She glared at her betraying family before she plucked the baby from Jimmy’s hands. “At least I have you, Peanut. You wouldn’t make fun of your Momma, would you?”

  Although the moment Holly had Helen positioned in her arms, the baby looked over her shoulder and right to her father. Instantly, Helen’s eyes sparkled as she reached out her little arms trying to get Ben’s attention.

  “Not you too!” Holly’s lips thinned as the little girl made a cooing noise to Ben making her desire clear.

  Damn, I love my family. Ben pushed himself off the counter before gently grabbing Helen from his wife’s arms. “She’s a smart girl, Grace. What do you expect?”

  “All of you are jerks.” Holly stomped over to the fridge to grab a bottle of milk she’d placed there earlier in the morning. “I get zero respect here.”

  To no one’s surprise, the moment the fridge door cracked open, Waffles, Ripley, and Twitch all came running into the kitchen.

  “Oh, come on!”

  Waffles, ever the one in charge of their gang, took a small step in front of the others. He then pushed himself onto his back legs, making him look like a meerkat, a trick Holly taught him years ago. Ripley instantly followed suit, with Twitch trying his best to do the same all while his little head bobbed from side-to-side.

  “Are you freaking kidding me? When I open the fridge that does not mean you automatically get something.” Holly narrowed her eyes at Waffles who dangled his tongue out of the right side of his mouth.

  “No, it’s much worse.” Jimmy ran over to Waffles scratching him behind the ears. “Mom’s trying to cook. Again.”

  Within seconds, all three animals dropped to the floor and quickly hightailed it over to Ben’s legs to hide behind him. Holly’s eyes immediately followed the traitors as she glared daggers at their four-legged fur babies. “How could you?”

  Waffles, the jerk himself, trotted in front of Ben before he plopped his happy Corgi butt on the floor giving Holly a side-eye to end all side-eyes.

  “Put that attitude away, Waffles, or you’ll never get another treat again.”

  Great, now there is gonna be another standoff.

  Ben put twenty bucks on Waffles in this sparring match. He’d been on the other end of Waffles’ judgmental looks too many times and already knew how this was going to end.

  On second thought, maybe he should make that forty bucks instead?

  A smug expression appeared on Waffles’ face as his eyes moved to Jimmy who already had his hand in the treat jar.

  Immediately, Holly spun toward her son. “Don’t you dare, mister.”

  Jimmy ignored her with a shrug as he quickly tossed each dog a treat before giving a small cat treat to Twitch. When he looked back at his mom, the corners of his mouth turned into a smile. “What? They all did a trick. You always say we should reward good behavior.”

  This kid is good! It was like he was made for our family. Who knew messing with Holly would end up being a family tradition? I can’t wait to tell Henry about this.

  Holly’s brows shot to the ceiling in shock at Jimmy’s audacity. “And you think this is good behavior?” She waved her hands through the air pointing at Waffles.

  A playful smile appeared on Jimmy’s face as he answered her, “They distracted you enough to put down the spatula, didn’t they? I think that deserves two treats.” With that, Jimmy tossed them all another one.

  “That’s my son!” Ben held out his hand to Jimmy who cheerfully high-fived him.

  “I’m gonna remember this.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Ben strolled over to his wife, gently moving Helen out of the way before kissing the top of Holly’s head.

  “If you weren’t holding Peanut, I’d stomp on your foot again.” Holly sent him another dirty look.

  “Good thing I’m holding her then, huh?”

  “You just wait. I’m gonna get you.”

  “Mom, violence is bad. You shouldn’t threaten people. We’ve talked about this before. Unless it’s Grandpa Henry, he said he’s allowed to threaten anyone.”

  Holly crossed her arms over her chest as she watched him. “Did he now?”

  “Yeah. He said since he’s the oldest he’s allowed to do whatever he wants. Just like Mrs. Mildred.”

  “Sounds about right.” Ben snorted before grabbing the bottle from Holly’s hand.

  “Mom, you really shouldn’t threaten people. It’s not nice.”

  Holly’s eyes snapped to Ben as she sent him a death glare.

  “Don’t look at me like that, the kid’s right. Threatening people is bad.” Ben held back his laugh. There was nothing better than getting schooled by a child. Especially, when it was Jimmy schooling Holly and not him. Lord knows that’d happened too many times for him to count.

  The kid was smart.

  Just as Holly’s eye began to twitch again, Jimmy barked out a laugh. “Geez, Mom you sure are fun to mess with. Now, I know why Dad likes to call Officer Jones up every once in a while.”

  Holly’s reply was a flat smile as her eyes hardened on her husband. “You really need to stop doing that.”

  “At this point, my goal is to actually have him arrest you.” Ben winked which made Holly’s jaw firm in irritation. “I’m glad I’m here for your entertainment.”

  “Me too.” Jimmy sent her a toothy smile.

  “I second that,” Ben’s voice dropped an octave as he eyed her up and down.

  However, the moment Holly opened her mouth to reply, his highness barked which caused her to snap her attention to her dog. “You better not be agreeing with them too, Waffles.”

  The Corgi barked again before turning to Ripley who replied with her own bark.

  Holly threw her hands in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Okay, time to step in. She’s seconds from really losing it.

  Ben grabbed Holly’s hand dragging her toward him and the baby. Quickly he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. “We’re only messing with you, Grace.”

  “Yeah, Mom. We love you.” Jimmy ran to them giving them both a hug.

  “I don’t believe you,” Holly remarked, as she relaxed in Ben’s arms for a split second.

  “That’s ‘cause you keep tryin’ to cook.” Jimmy laughed as he jumped back giving Holly a playful smile.

  “Oh, for the love of all things,” Holly groaned, rolling her eyes.

  “Come on, guys, let’s go before Mom’s head explodes.” Jimmy ran out of the kitchen laughing as an all too eager pack of animals scurried after him.

  Once they were out of the room, Holly turned to her husband. “You taught him how to gang up on me.” Holly angrily snapped her arms over her chest staring him down.

  “Nah, wasn’t me.” He shook his head. “That was all Lord Waffles.” The corners of Ben’s mouth turned up as he pushed their daughter higher onto his shoulder.

  “Lord Waffles doesn’t call Officer Jones.”

  “He would if he could.”

  Holly gaped at Ben for a few moments before completely giving up. As she flicked her eyes to the ceiling, a heavy sigh escaped her. “You’re probably right. All of you are jerks and he’s the ringleader.”

  “That he is, now come here and let me kiss you.”

  “No.” She took a step away from him. However, the moment Holly tripped over thin air, she caught herself on the counter shooting him another death glare. “Don’t you say a word.”

  Ben let out a laugh as he winked her way. “Grace why would I say anything about you tripping over nothing?”

  “Don’t you wink at me. It’s your fault I tripped anyway.”

  “That so?”

  “Yeah.”

  Ben quickly advanced on Holly, making sure to keep Peanut softly at his side. “How’s it my fault you tripped?”

  “It’s always your fault. One mom
ent I’m standing and the next I’m on the floor.”

  “I wasn’t even home the last time that happened.”

  “Yeah, but Jimmy told you about it so that makes it your fault.”

  “Sure, whatever, it can be my fault you stumble around like a newborn giraffe attempting to walk for the first time.” He leaned in trying to kiss her but Holly darted away from his advance.

  “Hey!”

  Ben’s brows arched. “Am I wrong?”

  “No, but you don’t need to compare me to a baby giraffe. I’ve got more grace than that.”

  Ben nodded. “Okay, sure, you do.” After taking another step in her direction, he had Holly in his arms. “Love you, baby.”

  Even though she protested, instantly Holly melted into his embrace before kissing the top of Helen’s head. “Love you both, even though you’re a jerk. You too, Peanut. I’ll remember this when you’re older.”

  A small chuckle escaped Ben before he pulled Holly in tighter. He knew without a doubt he loved this woman more than anything in the world. As he stood there with her and Peanut in his arms, and knowing Jimmy and their fur babies were playing somewhere in the house, life couldn’t get any better.

  Ben sighed closing his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them, that’s when he saw it. As he looked over Holly’s shoulder, he spotted the scorch marks on the wall, causing a ridiculously wide smile to appear on his face.

  The holidays were sure as hell gonna be fun this year.

  “You know, Grace, I was thinking maybe for Christmas dinner you could work your magic and make the other wall match? It sure would be a show for everyone invited. I know John’s already placing bets on what you’ll set on fire.”

  Holly jerked back cocking her brow at him. “What?”