“My Kids”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “My kids and me.” — suggested by Lexi

“Mack, get down from there!” I scold, walking up to the fence. “You know Mr. McKinley doesn’t like it when you climb all over his stuff like that.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Mack says, sliding off the hay bale. He hangs his head as he passes me; he’s definitely faking his apology.

“Mack, get back here,” I say sternly. He stops mid-step before turning slowly. “I want you to go apologize to Mr. McKinley.”

His eyes widen. “Mom,” he whines, “do I have to?”

“Yes,” I say. “Now go.”

Mack lets out a sigh and trots off toward Mr. McKinley.

“Mom?”

I turn to see Rose running toward me. She almost trips over her own feet as she runs.

“What is it, honey?” I ask, bending down to smooth the hair on her head.

“I’m hungry.”

I glance over the top of her head to see that there isn’t any food left. “Neil was supposed to get the food today,” I sigh. “Let me go speak with Mr. McKinley. Just wait here.”

“Okay,” Rose says before running off again. I chuckle as she drops down and rolls in the mud.

I trot over to Mr. McKinley, passing Mack as he rejoins his sister. When I reach Mr. McKinley, I release a soft bleat. He pats me on the head with a smile and I lead him over to the feed trough. After another quick pat, he disappears into the barn before re-emerging with a big bag of feed. My kids run over immediately and all three of us dig in.

Final Comments: This one was really fun to write (thanks E.L. Stew for the prompt hint hehe). I just wish that my wording was better…

Overall Rating: 😂