Page 26 of By Any Beans Necessary

His words hung there, sharp as shattered glass.

"Is that an apology or an insult? Because honestly, I can't tell the difference with you." Michelle's gaze followed him as he rose, every inch the belligerent bear awakening from hibernation.

"Neither. Why waste either on you," he grumbled, striding toward the door. But before his hand could graze the handle, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air.

Hershey—Jenesa’s notorious troublemaker—barreled toward Jeff, his small furry form a whirlwind of chaos. Hershey planted himself squarely in front of the exit, his tiny hands raised like a traffic cop halting cars.

"Seriously?" Jeff exclaimed, reaching for the door again. Slap. Hershey's hand connected with Jeff's, a clear 'no way' in monkey talk.

"Ouch! What the—" Jeff snatched his hand back, eyeing the feisty spider monkey with wariness.

"Good luck getting past the monkey blockade," Michelle mused, unable to suppress a smirk despite the tension still humming between them.

"Get out of the way, you furry little beast," Jeff seethed out.

The standoff escalated when Rambler trotted over with a protective gait. His stance was cautious, ears perked, sensing his monkey friend's distress. Then Duchess—the graceful border collie that belonged to Hunter—joined the fray, herding instincts kicking in as she circled the group.

"Rambler, heel," Danny tried to command, but it was no use. The K9's loyalty to Hershey was unwavering.

"Easy, girl," Michelle heard Hunter call out to Duchess, but the dogs were already embroiled in their own animal kingdom dispute.

Then, the final canine entered the chaos. Winston joined his partner's side, barking at the other dogs and monkey as if demanding they got out of the way.

"Great. Just great," Michelle muttered under her breath, watching the animals circle each other, an interspecies dance of allegiance and protection.

Jeff made another feeble attempt to push past Hershey, but the monkey was having none of it, swatting again at Jeff’s hands.

"Back off, furball," Jeff warned, but there was no threat behind his words, just a begrudging respect for the pint-sized guardian standing his ground.

"Looks like you're outsmarted by a primate," Michelle snickered as she came over to get a better look at Hershey giving it to Jeff. The corner of her mouth tilted upward as she admired Hershey's gumption. "Though I doubt that's very hard for him to do."

"Right, because you're so smart you believed an idiot that used to announce when he had to go poop," Jeff challenged over his shoulder.

The cacophony crescendoed, a chaotic mess of growls and shrieks filled the Bumblebee. Michelle's eyes darted from the tangled mass of fur and claws to Jeff’s wide-eyed expression as he half-heartedly attempted to calm the pandemonium.

"Winston, stop it right now," Jeff's voice barely broke through the noise, his command as effective as a single raindrop in a hurricane.

"Seriously, Hershey,” Jenesa’s exasperation was palpable as she scooped up the mischievous monkey mid-screech, her arms practiced and precise from years of wrangling more than just unruly animals.

"Ouch, Duchess, no herding humans," Hunter's voice was muffled somewhere amid the madness, his words punctuated by a yelp as the border collie nipped at his heels.

As things seemed to get worse, Michelle decided it was finally time to intervene. She reached out, her fingers brushing against Jeff's arm in an attempt to pull Rambler away from Winston. "We need a game plan here, not?—"

Her words were cut short as a jostling bump sent her careening into Jeff. Their feet tangled, and gravity took hold, sending them both crashing to the ground in a heap. For a moment, all was still.

"Smooth, Kenney," Jeff murmured from beneath her, his lips twitching into a reluctant smile.

"Part of my charm," Michelle retorted, the laughter bubbling up uncontrollably as she met his gaze. The tension that had been coiled tight between them unwound with their shared hilarity.

"Guess we're floor buddies now," he chuckled, the sound resonating beneath her where she lay sprawled across him.

"Seems fitting," she giggled, pushing herself up to a sitting position, still caught in the contagious aftershocks of mirth. "Bed and breakfast or zoo?" Michelle quipped, brushing off her clothes as she rose to her feet, offering Jeff a hand up.

"Bit of both, I'd say," Jeff muttered with a chuckle as he accepted her hand, pulling himself upright. His brown eyes held a glimmer of warmth as he steadied her stance. "Thanks for the save."

"Anytime," she replied, her voice lighter than it had been moments before. "Monkey, dogs, and tumbling acts," Michelle added, a wry smile playing on her lips as she glanced around at her friends busy with their own aftermath tasks, "Just another day at the B&B."

"Enough, you circus rejects," Jenesa’s voice sliced through their amusement as she finally managed to secure Hershey in his cage. The click of the lock sounding like a judge's final verdict.

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