Forgotten Dawn (Forgotten Book 2)

Chapter 5

 Chelsea stepped out of the kitchen just as Chad emerged from the hall. "What's going on? I heard yelling. And where are your clothes? You know we have company, right?"

"I forgot to go upstairs and grab them before I took a shower," Chad explained.

"And the yelling?"

"Just making it clear to the stripper that I'm not interested."

"Don't you dare call her that. Her name is Anna," Chelsea admonished. "What did you say to her?"

"Just pointed out that my towel covered more than her clothes."

"You are such an ass!"

"So she said. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go get dressed."

Before Chad had made it two steps on the staircase, Levi appeared out of the kitchen. "Hey man, I gotta get going. Sorry I couldn't help more."

"No problem. Go take care of your mama. I'll see you later."

"I'll probably come out tomorrow. Maybe we can go get drinks before you head out."

"Sounds good."

Chelsea had already disappeared back into the kitchen before Levi had even shut the front door behind him. Chad hurried up to his room before he could be interrupted again. He didn't make it a habit of running around in just a towel or being mean to women for that matter. He was just having a really off day. Maybe it was a result of the nightmares or the anticipation of traveling again. Granted, he was just traveling to the next state, but it was somewhere he hadn't been before.

After dressing in a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt, he went into the kitchen to find something to eat. Chelsea was cleaning out the pantry, and Anna was nowhere to be found, so he let out a sigh of relief before pouring himself a cup of coffee and making a sandwich. His luck ran out as soon as he sat down.

"Chels, I'm going to hang out this last load of towels. Will you be ready to eat soon?" Anna asked, stopping at the washroom doorway.

Chelsea stepped out of the pantry. "Yeah, I'm just about done in here. Did you get the bathrooms?"

Anna shot Chad a dirty look. "Just the upstairs."

"No worries. I'll get it after lunch. You can do baby duty. The twins should be getting up from their nap soon."

"Why are y'all cleaning everything? It's not like it's really dirty around here." Chad sneered.

Chelsea turned her attention to him with her hands on her hips. It was the same stance their mama used when she was about to tear into him.

"Because you plan on running off again to traipse around the globe. Anna and I have to go back to work. That's going to leave our new sister all alone taking care of not one, but two babies all day. If she can start with a clean and organized house, it will be less work for her. Any other stupid questions?"

Thankfully, the phone on the wall rang before he had to respond. Anna took that opportunity to slip out of the room. Chad decided there was way too much estrogen in the house for his taste and dug into his sandwich, so he could get back to work.

Chelsea picked up the phone. "Hello... Oh hey, Amy. How much longer until you guys get here?" Chad listened in. The sooner Randy got there, the sooner they could get the rest of the wedding stuff cleaned up. "Oh, I'm sorry. Hope everyone gets to feeling better... I'll tell him. Thanks. Bye"

"What's wrong?" Chad had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Randy and Luke have come down with a stomach bug. Amy has spent the day pushing liquids and cleaning up vomit. They said to tell you that they are sorry they won't be able to help today."