John pushed his ratty trucker cap off his head and scraped his mop of graying-brown hair out of his eyes. “Uncle Ben loves to run up my electricity bill.”
Ben gritted his teeth, but kept a smile. “LED, old man. No more than a nightlight in the bathroom.”
John grunted. “Well, come on in. Least we can do is get a pizza into you for your trouble.”
Ben glanced down at Brit. “Want to go grab some menus? We’ll be right behind you.”
“There’s coupons in the drawer.”
“Got it!” Brit raced off, veering only slightly thanks to her rig.
John crushed his hat in his hands. “What brings you out?”
Ben shrugged. “I have late shift tonight. Figured I’d come and hang with Brit. Spread a little Christmas cheer.”
His brother grunted. “Looks good.” He zeroed in on the bushes. “Ice cubes?”
“Yep. We’re going to put penguins on top when I come back. I bought them last year and stashed them in your garage.”
“Good luck finding anything in there.” John sighed. “Thanks for hanging with the kid. I got hung up.”
“You missed a science fair.”
“Ah, fuck.”
Ben clamped a hand his shoulder. “Just tell her how awesome it is as soon as you walk inside. She’s got it set up so it’s the first thing you see.”
John tipped his head back, his gaze focused on the sky. “I’m fucking up left and right lately.”
“It’s tough. But since Cindy left, you’ve been doing great.” Ben shouldered him. “Might want to use the calendar app on your phone though.”
John juggled his iPhone out of his pocket. “I don’t even know how to use this thing except to snap a picture of kidzilla.”
“Have Brit show you. She gets a kick out of being bossy.”
“Christ, yeah, she does.”
Ben grinned. “Hey, one more thing.”
John turned around. “Yeah?”
“Tell me that wasn’t you at Blackstone’s.”
John’s brows beetled down and his brown eyes went flat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Dammit. He could read his brother’s tell every damn time. “Fuck, Johnnie. Really?”
John shook his head. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“Brit had her accident weeks ago. Why now?”
“I tripped over the bike in the fucking driveway. I don’t even remember driving over to the store.”
Ben sighed. “Yeah, well, the manager over there happens to be my landlady.”
John’s bloodshot eyes widened. “Are you shitting me?”
“I wish.” Ben had gotten a rundown of the entire incident thanks to Jaime. “They called the cops.”