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She frowned. “Like when Mama tells me no chocot before dinner, then eats some?”
“Just like that,” Mason said. “Also known as celebrities who tell us to watch our carbon footprint then go and fly around the world in their private jets.”
“You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” I sighed.
“Hey, I’m not the one telling everyone to mind their green footsteps or whatever they are,” he replied.
“You should mind your green footsteps,” Grandma said. “You’ve trudged grass all over my kitchen floor!”
I laughed. “You’re in trouble now.”
“And you, Imogen, stop eating my cheesecake!”
I fake-gasped. “That was Mason!”
“I don’t care who it was! I told you to leave it alone! Both of you!” She glared at us both with the force of an army, and we both shrunk back.
Maya sidled over to Grandma. “Mrs. Jen, can I had a piece, please?”
Grandma bent over as far as she could. “A piece of cheesecake?”
Wide-eyed and innocent, Maya nodded softly.
“Gosh darn it, of course you can, sweetheart!”
I shared a look with Mason as Grandma bustled over to the cheesecake and cut her a small slice.
“There you go. You go take that to the table and be careful not to get it on your lovely pictures now.”
“And you were worried about how she’d fit into your life.” Mason snorted and stepped aside to look at Grandma. “I think she’s whipped.”
“No kidding. She’s not even that nice to me and she’s actually my grandma.” I stared, dumbfounded.
“Enough of you two,” Grandma said, waving her hand. “Go and be useful outside. Mason, you missed a spot. Imogen, well, you’re annoying me.”
“Love you, too, Grandma,” I said, walking outside. “I’ll remember that next time you want a drink.”
“I hid it.”
“Not very well.”
“It’s on the top shelf of the cupboard where you can’t reach it!” Mason said quickly, then ran off into the backyard to the mower.
Grandma gasped. “You would do that to me? Your own grandmother?”
“Oh, be quiet, woman,” I shot back. “Are you really going to set Hannah up with someone?”
“I don’t know. I just said that to annoy her.” She closed the cupboard after confirming I had, in fact, put her beloved Jack out of her reach. “Keep her on her toes, you know?”
“She’s keeping the kitten, you know.”
“Of course she is. She named it. Everyone knows that once you name it, it’s yours. Or in this case, she belongs to the cat.”
That was true.
I walked over and kissed her cheek, squeezing her shoulders gently. “You’re the best grandma in the world.”
“You’re not having a slice of this cheesecake.”
“Go away, then.”
She laughed as I walked out to the back porch where Dolly was sleeping in the sun. “Convince Mason that my hydrangeas are roses, and I’ll give you two.”
“Done,” I said. “I just have something to do first.”
I darted back inside and grabbed Maya—who had already finished her cheesecake—and carried her upstairs to the bathroom. “You wanna get Daddy?”
Her eyes lit up. “Yes, Immy!”
I passed her two water balloons and took the other four myself. Mercifully, none spilled, and we carried them downstairs. Grandma watched us with amusement as we conducted a ninja experiment to get onto the back porch without him noticing, then down onto the grass.
“Ready, set, run, and throw!” I whispered.
Maya launched herself off with a war cry Tarzan would have been proud of. Her first balloon hit Mason square in the stomach and soaked him from the waist down. Before he had a chance to react, I threw my first one at him and hit him. Maya’s second missed, but my next three all hit him.
Maya’s laugh bounced off the walls, echoing through the air as she ran away from Mason. He caught her easily, sweeping her off her feet and spinning her around in the air.
“You little monkey!” he said, tickling her and making her squeal.
“Daddy nooooooo!” She laughed, shrieking every other breath. “Noooo!”
I laughed, bent over at the waist. Oh, God, that was fun. I dropped my head so I was looking at the ground, but the next thing I knew, I was tackled from the front and sent flying backward.
I screamed as my life flashed before my eyes. I hit the freshly-cut grass with a gentle thud, and Mason flattened himself on top of me.
“And you! I know that was all you!” He resumed his tickling, but this time it was on me, and holy shit, I couldn’t breathe.
I writhed beneath him. “Stop! Ahhhh, oh, my God! Stop!” I forced out between laughs. “You’re making me wet!”
“Good. Then you’ll be ready for later.” He laughed, pinning me to the ground. “You’re corrupting my child.”
“You gave me permission for water balloons.”
“I rescind it.”
“I don’t give a damn.”
He laughed, dropping his forehead to mine. “Of course you don’t, Immy.”
“Why would I? That was fun.”
“Even though half of you is covered in grass and the other half is soaking wet?”
