The 2014 R.L. Mathewson Chronicle Collection by R.L. Mathewson Read Free Book Online Page B

who quickly scanned the list and matched his brother’s grimace with one of his own.
                  Closing his eyes and dropping his head back in defeat, Trevor asked, “How bad?”
                  “Pretty bad,” Johnny murmured.
                  “It looks like she’s planning on making all of us eat healthy again,” Sebastian said, confirming his worst fears.
                  When would she learn? he wondered, rubbing his hands down his face.
                  You couldn’t force a Bradford to do anything when it came to food, but his wife didn’t seem to understand that. Every now and then when she went on a health food kick, she took it as her duty to make them all eat healthy. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t a single Bradford alive that was overweight, had high cholesterol, or any other health related problems when it came to food. She let some book or television program convince her that their lives depended on her making burnt tofu and they all suffered.
                  It also never ended well for her.
                  “Everything on this list is either organic or all natural, Dad,” Sebastian informed him, all business now that his junk food was being threatened.
                  He dropped his hands away and faced his sons, who looked ready for battle. “Is there anything on that list that we actually need? Like milk or butter?”
                  “She’s asking for coconut milk and margarine,” Johnny answered with a snort of disgust.
                  He leveled a look on Sebastian. “You know what to do.”
                  Sebastian hesitated with the list in his hand. “Are you sure?”
                  “Yes,” he said with absolutely no hesitation since there was no way that he was going to force his children to endure another one of their mother’s health kicks. He was a grown man and could easily grab some real food anytime he wanted it, but his children were at the mercy of their mother.
                  “She’s going to be mad,” Johnny said even as he nearly sagged with relief as Sebastian tore the much hated list to shreds and tossed it in a trash can set up near the corn on the cob table.
                  “I’ll handle it,” he said, not really sure that he’d survive the hell that his wife was going to put him through over this, but for his children, he’d endure it.
                  “What should we buy then?” Sebastian wondered out loud as he gazed around the large store with anticipation.
                  “Oh, I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Trevor drawled as his boys shared a look that only Bradfords could pull off.

Part III
                  “Dad, can we get lunch meat?” Sebastian asked, shifting impatiently in front of the ticket dispenser that would reserve their place in line.
                  “Processed meat,” Johnny murmured, looking thoughtful as he shot a warning glare at the middle-aged woman trying to step past Sebastian to grab the next ticket. “That might be pushing it.”
                  “She’s not going to buy the story that we’ve lost the list,” Sebastian murmured with the same thoughtful expression on his face as his brother’s.
                  “We’ve used that excuse before,” Johnny pointed out.
                  “Which means that she’s going to know that we know better than to bring processed food into the house right now,” Sebastian added with a worried frown as Trevor reached past his boys and grabbed a deli ticket.
                  “Let me worry about that,” he said, holding up the ticket when their number was called.
                  “So,.......,” Johnny said, standing by his right side, rocking back on his