Stumbling Into the Holidays (Stumbling Through Life #3) - Molly O'Hare Page 0,9

Ben got into the attic, he crawled over to the last two boxes of decorations. As he walked carefully across the beams, he made a mental note to eventually put in a floor up there, so he wouldn’t have to worry about stepping on the wrong part.

Lord knows the disaster that would happen if Holly ever got a wild hair across her ass and decided to go into the attic.

There would be no question about it.

That would be a disaster.

As Ben grabbed the two boxes, stacking one on top of the other he took a step back toward the hatch only for his heart to stop.

At that exact moment, he heard the distinct sound of their front door slamming open, and one angry Holly yelling, “What the hell is going on here?” echo through the house.

Unfortunately for Ben, the jolt somehow made him lose his footing as he slipped.

Before he knew it, Ben was falling through the ceiling.

Chapter Four

Holly thanked the Universe today was only a half-day at the library. Especially after Mildred showed up. She wanted nothing more than to go home and relax. Holly wasn’t really angry anymore; she was just stressed.

She really did want everything to be perfect. She knew she needed to take a step back and breathe. But it was hard.

A mischievous smile spread across her face as she walked up the steps of her home. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t excited to show all the traitors what outfit they’d be wearing for their Christmas card.

Her smile grew wider as she thought about it.

Holly even paid for expedited shipping so everything would arrive on Monday.

And no one was gonna argue with her about it. Everyone was going to dress up and be happy or they’d have her to deal with.

Her eyes narrowed.

That went for Waffles too. Ripley didn’t mind wearing clothes but every time Holly tried to dress Waffles, he’d lose his mind.

Clearly, the jerk now thought clothes were beneath him.

Not this year, though.

That asshole was gonna wear his elf costume whether he liked it or not!

As Holly opened the door her eyes nearly popped out of her skull as the wind was almost knocked out of her. It was like a bomb had gone off in her living room.

A Christmas bomb. One that left nothing but destruction and sparkles in its wake.

There were ornaments all over the floor. One of which was being batted around by Twitch. Waffles was chewing on the Santa plush doll Holly had bought for Ben last year. There were boxes knocked on their sides with lights, garland, and decorations spilling out. You name it, it was happening.

Then to top it off, their Christmas tree was in pieces scattered all over the room. “What the hell is going on in here?”

Before Holly could take another step into the living room though, a loud crash rang throughout the room.

Then there was Ben.

Holy crap on a freaking cracker!

Her husband was now in their living room surrounded by pieces of their ceiling and insulation. Thank all the things he miraculously ended up somehow on their couch.

As Holly raced over to her husband to make sure he was okay, John stormed out of the kitchen a sandwich in his hand. “Holy shit.”

Holly ignored John as she skidded to her knees next to Ben. “Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” he answered, dazed as he blinked a few times.

“Are you sure?” Holly’s heart raced as she checked all around and other than the colossal mess that was now everywhere, Ben seemed to be okay. He was extremely lucky he ended up where he did. Oh my God, she was going to have a heart attack. This was it.

This was her moment.

Might as well say goodbye now.

“Dude, you fell through your ceiling.” John took another bite of his food as he laughed.

“Did I?” Holly watched as Ben’s eyes scanned around the room before glancing up to the giant hole that now resided in their living room.

“Yes, you did!” Holly’s heart officially stopped. “What the hell, Ben?”

“Everything is fine.” He sat up slowly brushing off the insulation from his body.

“Everything is fine?” Holly’s eyes widened at his nonchalant attitude. “Everything is fine?”

“Yeah,” he replied, his eyes squinting at their ceiling.

Something inside of Holly snapped. “Everything is not fine! Ben, you just fell through the ceiling.”

Ben did a once-over of his body again. “I really am okay. I’m not hurt at all and I didn’t break anything.” He patted his ribs to