Saving Max

Chapter 14

"Caden"

"Bella, relax. I've got this."

"Just let me help."

"No chance in hell."

I puff out an agitated breath, tapping my foot against the floor impatiently as I try to peer over his shoulder at he computer where he's currently trying to pay the bills. When he said he didn't want me doing them this month, he really wasn't kidding.

He's been letting out a string of curse words for the past twenty minutes because he can't figure out how to maneuver the PNC banking page, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't getting old very, very fast. I had to send Max outside to collect sticks for a fire tonight just to get him out of the house. He doesn't need to witness a frustrated Caden, it's rather unpleasant.

"Okay, I'm on our paychecks. Where do I go from here?" he turns around to face me, careful to position his body in front of he screen, even though the price for the necklace isn't on the screen.

"You go to the left side where the options bar is and hit the tab that says pay bills." I instruct, trying not to laugh at him. If he has trouble getting this far, we were in for quite an eventful next few minutes.

He nods, turning and doing as he's told, his mouth hanging slightly open as he concentrates on trying to figure the rest out himself. It's pretty adorable, so I take out my phone and snap a couple quick pictures, a small smile on my face.

Even though he wants to figure the rest out himself, I stick around anyway, knowing that he'll end up asking for assistance anyway.

It's a good thing he's pretty, because he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the tool box. Well, at least when it comes to banking.

"Bella." he whines, slamming his fist against the desk, the compute shaking from the impact. It only toddles a little, but it's still enough to give me a panic attack. "This is so hard."

"Then why don't you let me help." I meet his pout with one of my own, a teasing glint in my eyes.

He shakes his head, plopping down in the desk chair as he pulls out his phone. "The answer is still no, princess." he presses the phone to his ear, a triumphant glow on his face as he sticks his tongue out at me. "You'll have a heart attack if you see the bill from the jewelry store."

I roll my eyes, deciding to go outside and help Max collect sticks, not feeling up to the constant bickering with Caden anymore. Collecting sticks is a very tedious task, but by the way his eyes lit up when I suggested it, I would venture to say that he doesn't really mind.

As I step outside, I see Max near a tree not too far off, his hands placed firmly on his hips. As I approach him I notice the frown on his face, and a streak of mud that's smeared across his cheek.

"What's up, buddy?" I question, kneeling down next to Max, nudging his side with my elbow, a bright smile on my face as I watch him.

"That stick." he points to a branch that way up the rather bare tree, a pout gracing his features as he turns to look at me. "Can you go up and get it? I tried, but I couldn't reach the next branch to keep climbing."

I puff out a breath, trying to quickly come up with an answer. I mean, just looking at the tree I know there isn't any way in hell that I can get to the branch he wants, but at the same time, I don't want to let him down.

"Um..." I scratch the nape of my neck, tilting my head to the side as I face him. "I don't think I can reach it either, buddy. I'm pretty short, too. But there are plenty of other sticks that we can have for the fire, it's okay." I pat his back, turning him away from the tree as we begin to wonder.