“You’re the laziest person I ever saw,” Josh said, then, without thinking what he was doing, he bit her earlobe, and before he realized what he was doing, he was kissing her neck.
Carrie stopped struggling and leaned back against him, her eyes closed in ecstasy.
It was at that point that the worried Choo-choo, who didn’t understand what was being done to his mistress, bit Josh on the leg.
One minute Carrie was being kissed and the next Josh’s shout sounded in her ear. Squealing in pain as Josh released her, Carrie saw him go after Choo-choo with his hands made into claws.
“Run, Choo-choo,” Dallas called.
When Josh caught the little dog and said he was going to wring its scrawny neck, both children leaped on their father, trying to knock him down. Josh dropped the dog, held both of his children in his arms, and twirled them about. Choo-choo, who seemed to think Josh was hurting the children, snipped at him again, so Josh, still holding the kids, went after the dog.
This time, Carrie leaped on Josh, and the four of them went tumbling to the ground, while Josh yelled that they were too heavy for him and they were going to crush him. Dallas started giggling, then Tem got the giggles and Carrie joined in. Josh rolled over and over, the three of them in his arms, all the while protecting them from the rough ground.
When they had rolled far enough to reach the edge of the woods, Josh flopped on his back, his arms flung outward, and declared that they had worn him out, that he was dying.
Carrie, with both children, was half on top of Josh, half on the ground, and she saw right away that this was a game the children had played many times before.
“What will make you live again?” the children said in unison, their voices ecstatic with happiness to once again see their father laughing.
“Kisses,” Josh said quickly, and both children began kissing their father’s freshly shaved cheeks with damp enthusiasm.
“You too, Carrie,” Dallas said.
Josh opened his eyes. “I don’t think—”
He didn’t say any more because Carrie moved her body full on top of him and pressed her lips to his. She had to displace a couple of kids to command all of his body to herself, but she did it without a thought.
She hadn’t had much experience at kissing, but Josh seemed to have had some. Putting his hand behind her head, he turned her head, then, with a few delicious movements of instruction, showed her how to open her mouth.
Carrie had never felt anything so divine in her life as kissing Josh, and her enthusiasm made up for her lack of experience. She tried to put her arms around Josh, but she couldn’t lift him so he rolled over until she was beneath him, never once breaking the contact of their lips.
Putting her arms around his chest, she pulled him to her as tightly as she could, and when the tip of his tongue touched hers, she moaned and tried to pull him closer.
When Josh pulled away from her, she made a sound of protest, then opened her eyes to look at him. He had turned his head to look at his children.
His children had placed themselves flat on their stomachs, one on each side of Carrie and Josh, their heads propped on their hands as they unabashedly, interestedly, watched their elders kissing.
Carrie could feel her face turning red.
“I think you like Carrie’s kisses best, Papa,” Dallas said solemnly, as though making a scientific discovery.
Josh didn’t miss a beat. “She had some jam on her mouth. I was trying to get it off.”
“On her tongue?” Tem asked in disgust.
At that, Carrie and Josh, still wrapped together, began to laugh.
“I don’t know how anyone ever has two children,” Josh said as he got off Carrie then reached down a hand to help her stand. “After the first one, a man has no privacy.”
“The husband and wife sleep together,” Carrie said, batting her eyelashes up at him. “In the same room with the door closed.”
Josh grinned. “You win. All of you win. Now, did I hear someone say that Carrie is great at fishing? A girl who can fish? Ha!”
After that, challenges were issued and accepted, with the boys against the girls. Carrie went to get the fishing poles, but Josh declined her fancy English pole and said that he had his own. Tem groaned when his father unearthed two of the rattiest-looking old bamboo poles that had ever been seen.
“We can’t beat her with those,” Tem wailed.
“Then we’ll cheat,” Josh whispered.