Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

In July, when all the kids were off for summer break, Anya buckled down for three straight days of exams. On the last day, she aced her driving theory test, too. With that behind her, Leo whisked her away to his hometown, Willowtown, for a visit with the Calder family. James had sprouted up a bit, and Henry was now rolling over like a champ. Anya, cradling her little brother, jokingly threatened to smuggle him back to Havenbrook with her.

Leo was quick to spill the beans, "Hey aunt and uncle, Ms. Anya's got plans to snatch Ash. Better keep an eye on her!"

Anya shot back, "Chad, you traitor!"

Leo muttered under his breath, "Well, duh. If I don't rat you out, I'm the one who'll catch the heat."

The Calder family's staff got the memo to keep a close watch on Anya, just in case she got any more ideas about running off with the kids.

This infamous "child-snatching" reputation followed her from the Cedillo family, though ever since she had her own little one, the "kidnappings" had mysteriously stopped.

Meanwhile, Henry was busy every day coming up with new ways to "care for" his baby brother, often startling the staff into whisking him away to Grandpa.

One afternoon, Henry caught sight of Grandpa Hansen playing a game on his phone. Not impressed by Grandpa's gaming skills, Henry tried to snatch the phone, reaching out with little coos.

Hansen tried to calm him down, "Henry, my boy, no snatching. Grandpa's got a call coming in."

Right on cue, Hansen's phone rang. He lifted it out of Henry's reach and answered, "Hello?"

Henry put on his best "I'm not happy" cry, frustrated he couldn't get his hands on the phone or his little brother.noveldrama

The voice on the other end hesitated, hearing the fuss, "Hansen, is that a kid raising a ruckus over there? What's with the crying? So, the rumors are true, you're really on babysitting duty for Andre at home."

Recognizing the voice as an old buddy from way back, Hansen, in the midst of toddler chaos, tried another tactic. Pointing to the crib, he said, "Henry, don't grab Grandpa's phone. Grandpa will play with you in a minute. Go see if your brother's awake while I take this call."

The caller was an old friend from years back, from the days when Hansen wasn't retired yet and had close ties with the Hernandez family over in the Western city of L. The Hernandez Group had become top dogs over there, but as the years rolled on, the old pals had drifted apart.

"Old Mu, don't even get me started. Back in the day, you were raising two kids on your own, and your granddaughter was a real handful. I never got how tough that was until now. My youngest grandson is running me ragged."

"At least you've got it a bit easier with Andre and Mrs. Cedillo around to help. My Aimee was a little terror, spoiled to bits. Patrick and I couldn't handle her even together. Luckily, she's grown up now, married to Patrick, and a mom herself, so not as wild. But she's still stubborn as a

mule, wouldn't listen to a word. Wanted to jet-set across the globe right after having a baby."

The two old friends swapped tales of woe, one who had already been through the

child-rearing gauntlet, and the other right in the thick of it.

"My grandson gives me a run for my money, but I can't imagine life without him. Funny how that is, huh?"

"Isn't it just? Back in the day, Aimee was everything to us; we'd chase after her every single day. If she left home for even a few days, we'd do whatever it took to get her back. It's been so long since I've had to look after a kid, I almost forgot what it's like."