Free Recipe for Kisses by Michelle Major

didn’t actually meet when you were here before. I’m Karen Henderson.”
    Ben shook her hand before turning to Zach. “Where the hell have you and Abby been all day? Your grandpa was worried sick.”
    “Language, Mr. Haddox,” Karen said with a soft tsk.
    Zach actually scoffed as he stood, a mature sound coming from the skinny kid. “The Rockies are playing this afternoon and Gramps is off work. He’s outside sleeping in a chair while he pretends to listen to the game.” Zach glanced at Ben. “He doesn’t care where we are.”
    Ben opened his mouth to argue, but the words that came out surprised him. “I care,” he shouted.
    “Inside voice,” Karen added.
    Ben narrowed his eyes at the woman, but she only shrugged. “What was it like in your family? Did you have to raise your voice to be heard? Sometimes there are psychological reasons why people become loud talkers.”
    “My grandpa is always shouting,” Zach told Karen. “He’s not angry all the time like Ben—”
    “I’m not angry,” Ben said then gritted his teeth when he realized he’d yelled the words. Both Karen and Zach gave him a pitying look. “I’m not angry,” he repeated in a quieter tone. “But I will be if you don’t explain why you never called Harry to pick you up.”
    “We’re working,” Zach said, as if that was the most natural thing in the world. “Chloe bought us lunch and I’m reorganizing the merchandise.”
    Karen nodded. “He’s got a talent for it.”
    “And Abby?” Ben asked, curious despite himself as to what could keep his surly teenage niece occupied in a toy store all day.
    “She’s in back with Chloe,” Karen told him, “revamping the website.”
    “What the . . .” He cleared his throat at the older woman’s raised brow. “What does Abby know about websites?”
    “A lot more than the rest of us.” Karen glanced over his shoulder toward the front of the store. “Looks like a family needs assistance with the puzzles. Want to take care of them with me, Zach?”
    The boy nodded eagerly. “You’ve got some cool 3-D puzzle balls up there. I bet we can make a quick sale.” He looked up at Ben, his bright blue eyes innocent. “I’ve made almost a hundred dollars in sales today. We’re going to help Chloe save her store.”
    Ben felt his mouth drop open. “From me?”
    His nephew smiled. “You bet. Abby says you’re going down.”
    “Does she now?” He glanced at Karen, who hitched her thumb toward the back of the store.
    “They’re in the office,” she told him.
    “Great. Because Abby and I need to have a little conversation about whose side she’s on in this deal.”
    He stomped away from them, avoiding the gazes of other shoppers and ignoring the surprised yelp of the woman behind the register when he elbowed past her and through the door to Chloe’s office.
    He had every intention of lighting into both of them then snatching his niece away from Chloe. Ben was all for competition, but turning his family against him was playing dirty even if she didn’t know what this store meant to him and his brother. In some ways he could admire Chloe for it. She didn’t seem the type to have that kind of killer instinct and he had to give her props for manipulating the situation to her advantage. But if she thought—
    His anger dissolved in an instant as he took in the scene before him. Abby sat in front of the computer screen at the ancient wood desk with Chloe leaning over her shoulder. As he watched, Chloe squealed with delight then wrapped his niece in a huge hug before pulling her from the chair to do some sort of bizarre dance to the soft music coming from the computer speaker.
    At first Abby looked as shocked as he felt, but after a moment she hugged Chloe back just as hard then tried to teach her an intricate handshake. Chloe couldn’t master it, but both of them giggled then began to spin in a circle together.
    He was speechless. He’d never seen Abby so animated. The fact that this