Hidden Hills Read Free Page B

didn’t mind. At least they weren’t fighting, for a change. He could take anything but their constant bickering.
    â€œWhat’s for supper?” Bruce gagged after the first whiff. “Aw, Dad! Not soup again. It’s all you ever cook.”
    â€œSoup’s good for you.”
    â€œNot the way you cook it,” he mumbled.
    â€œI heard you.”
    Jeremy took the glasses and bowls from the cabinet, with Andy clinging to his back. “Did any of you see the pigeon checking out the dump next door?”
    Jake shook his head in disapproval. “If you’re asking if Mrs. Wilson showed the house to a client today, then yes I did.”
    Bruce rocked his chair on two legs before landing with a thump. “I pity the dope who buys the place.”
    â€œThe Parkers’ house isn’t bad.” He gave the boys time to settle into their chairs. “It just seems that way because they were old. How would you guys like it if someone your age moved in? You’d have friends to play with.”
    â€œSure,” Bruce said, sailing a spoon across the table at his brother. “There’s nobody but old geezers around here.”
    Jeremy glowed. “How about some hot chicks?”
    â€œWon’t do you no good.” Bruce ducked. The saltine cracker grazed his ear.
    Jake’s hand shot out, intercepting the airborne missile on its way to the floor. “We don’t throw food.”
    The mischievous glance, passing between the older boys, made him uneasy. He’d gone through a string of housekeepers and sitters, hoping the right woman might have a calming influence, but none had lasted long enough to find out. They’d been on their own for the last three weeks and they’d survived.
    â€œMr. Parker was fun.” Bruce rocked his chair back on two legs in an imitation of their former neighbor. “Remember the time his teeth fell in the toilet? It sucked ‘em down so fast he couldn’t get ’em out.”
    â€œAnd whose fault was it he dropped them in the first place?” Jake said, wiping the smirks from their faces. “The next dentures I buy had better be for myself.”
    He filled the bowls and passed them around the table before sitting down. Andy frowned, shoving his away.
    â€œStinks!”
    â€œNo, it doesn’t.” He slid the bowl back to the pouting toddler. “Now eat your soup.”
    Andy stared at the bowl, his lips quivering, and huge tears welled up in his blue eyes. “At least try it, son.”
    The dreaded spoon passed the pouting lips, and tomatoes spewed in all directions. The older boys shoved their chairs back, exaggerating the situation. Defeat was something he’d faced several times over the past few years.
    â€œAll right, calm down,” he said, taking charge again. “Wash your faces and get clean shirts. We’ll go to the Pizza Plate.”
    He waited until the boys left the table before tasting his soup. “Soap!”
    The local hangout was usually packed, but he didn’t have a choice if they were going to have a hot meal. Smelling the warm, garlic-filled air starved him, and after forty-five minutes of standing in line, his stomach introduced itself to his backbone. They were seated at their table, waiting for the pizza to arrive, when he noticed a little girl with red hair. He instantly thought of Maggie.
    â€œGive it back!” Andy cried.
    Bruce held the pizza-shaped placemat out of his brother’s reach. “You’re such a baby. I’m just looking at it.”
    â€œAm not! Daddy, make him give it back.”
    â€œCry baby!”
    â€œDaddy!”
    â€œThat’s enough.” Jake retrieved the paper from the older boy. He felt a slight tug on his sleeve and for the second time since lunch, found himself gazing into cool green eyes. “Hello, Maggie. What a nice surprise.”
    The girl’s eyes traveled from one boy to the next, clearly