Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Chad strolled over, having not laid eyes on his little guy all day, and lifted him high into his arms. "Say 'daddy.""

Wayne, his mouth packed with food, managed a muffled, "Dada!"

Even with that garbled attempt, Chad's heart just melted.

Coleen chimed in, "Chad, what's the plan for your vacation this year?"

Catching on to what everyone was hinting, Chad said, "I'll switch shifts at the station tomorrow so if we decide to go, we're good to roll."

Grandma Aubree and Grandpa Elmer wanted to tag along too, but they were a bit hesitant to leave their beloved hometown.

Even though they'd moved away, they always made it back for a few days each New Year.

Caught in a dilemma, Coleen suggested, "Why not head back early? We can plan it all out, hustle a bit now, and then chill during the New Year."

Sure enough, the whole Irvin clan was lively, chasing after Henry, the little spark plug of the family. As soon as they heard he was going on a New Year vacation, Uncle Cooper was on board without a second thought, and Mr. and Mrs. Irvin both nodded along, their eyes glued to the energetic two-year-old.

With all the hustle and bustle leading up to New Year's, even Henry had fewer scoldings coming his way.

Mia was up and out early, back late; Andre was tied up in meetings deep into the night; and Molly was temporarily stepping in to help her mom keep tabs on their family's businesses.

When Molly ran into her cousin Saul, she didn't have that old urge to boot him out like she did in her younger, more naive days. After all, he was her mom's nephew, and sometimes you just had to play nice for family's sake.

As long as he played by the rules, he could hang onto his job. But if he messed up, they'd done right by him.

Molly couldn't shake the memory of that big fire, still unsolved, and her suspicions always circled back to the cousin standing before her.

Saul, eyeing Molly, realized how unpredictable things had gotten. He wanted back at the headquarters, but since she returned, his foothold there had vanished.

Luckily, he had other ventures to lean on.

Henry spent his days waiting for those rare moments when his mom had time to take him out for a stroll. His dad was always tied up with work; it had been ages since he last visited his dad's office.

Every now and then, his uncle would scoop him up and head to the Cedillo Group to see his grandpa.

But it wasn't long before his uncle was hustling him out, scolding, "Who taught you to turn off the computer? Your grandpa was in the middle of work! You know you caused a big mess, right?"

Feeling guilty, Henry hung his head, his little fingers fidgeting, looking all sorts of sorry.

That evening, when Mia found out, she brought him over to the wall, instructing, "Stand here straight, hands behind your back, and face the wall for ten minutes."

Henry stood obediently, not daring to budge.

"How many times have I told you not to mess with the power switch? Did your little fingers just have to itch to turn off grandpa's computer? Hand out," Mia said sternly, crouching beside him.

Understanding what she said, Henry stretched out his hand, sniffling as his mom gave his palm a gentle tap.

"Put it back and stand properly."

Aaron, returning home after a long day, found his grandson being scolded and couldn't help but feel softhearted, "It's just a computer being turned off. When you were little, you did the same thing, and we never scolded you. Why are you being so hard on him?"

Mia stopped her parents from coddling, "No way, he needs to learn discipline."noveldrama

Finally, Henry's time-out ended when Andre came home and lifted the punishment, "What kind of mischief did you get up to now?" Andre asked, scooping up his precious son.

After Mia filled him in, Andre was curious, "Dad, did Mia really turn off your computer when she was little?"

Mia's eyes darted to her dad, "I did?"