“You’re not fond of gettin’ up early?”

“No.”

“You get up early to work out with me.”

I just looked at him.

He grinned and did it slowly. He also pulled me closer. Last, he looked in the direction he was taking us.

“Evening services it is, Slick. But not tonight. Next week. Happy to get closer to God to ask Him in His house to look after my girl when basketball stars and guitar players with motorcycles are in the mix.”

“Indeed,” I agreed but the word was weighty which earned me a squeeze of his arm and him tipping his head down to give me another grin.

He moved us into the living room where there was a football game playing on Jake’s extortionately large television and children all around consuming orange dip with red and green bits in it, doing this utilizing corn chips.

Jake, in Jake fashion, seated me himself. He did this in an overlarge club chair with matching ottoman that was really meant only to seat one but he made it seat two, albeit snugly.

He then commanded, “Eath, get Josie and me another bowl a’ that and bring in a fresh bag of chips.”

Ethan jumped off the couch and raced to do as his father bid. Therefore, in no time at all, I was confronted with a bowl of dip held in Jake’s big hand, the bag of chips resting in his lap.

It was time to make my judgment.

And I was much surprised to find the dip tangy, spicy and of a very smooth consistency that was quite nice and the chip was fresh, crispy and salty.

An excellent combination.

“It pass inspection?” Jake asked as I went for another chip.

I looked to him to see him studying me, lips again quirking.

“It’s not camembert,” I shared. “But it’s tasty.”

His lips stopped quirking and he yet again grinned as he went for his own chip.

Football game watching commenced and I found I liked sitting very snugly in Jake’s chair with Jake watching it with our lively company around. Ethan very into the game, thus shouting a lot. Conner and Jake often commenting about players, plays or calls. Myself engaging in conversation that had very little to do with football and much to do with fashion, makeup, skincare, and accessorizing as well as commentary on the good-looking players on the field with Amber and the Taylors.

After the first game ended, Jake ordered us all to the kitchen where we prepared our tacos (the meat, Jake explained to me, had to simmer awhile “for it to be real good, honey”).

Although I saw the envelope from which he’d poured the spices, and thus suspected the fare would be mediocre, he was not wrong. The tacos were delicious. Ethan and Conner microwaved the rather spare remains of the dip and spooned it into their tacos and I decided to try that should I have another taco afternoon at Jake’s for I thought it might be rather appetizing.

We ate in front of the TV and Amber and the Taylors had taken our used plates and cutlery back to the kitchen and refreshed our drinks when it happened.

The doorbell rang.

“Amber,” was all Jake said and she surprisingly dutifully got up and went to the door.

The front door was not close (there was an informal living room that looked more like a romper room for teenagers with a large sectional in it that had two laptops and a tablet scattered on it, as well as exploding backpacks on the floor, and also a dining room at the front of the house).

Not being close, we only heard murmurings and no one seemed overly bothered they had company.

Until Amber came back and my head snapped her way when I heard the trembling tone of her voice.

“Um…Dad, Con…uh, Mr. Earhart and Mia are here to talk to you guys.”

Mia?

The young woman who confronted Conner and Ellie at the football game?

I felt Jake’s body get tight next to mine, heard Con mutter, “What the hell?” but my eyes were riveted to Amber’s face.

She looked afraid.

Suddenly, I was out of the chair because Jake put his hands to my waist and shoved me to my feet.

Then I was moving toward the front of the house because Jake was also out of the chair, had grabbed my hand and was dragging me there.

He did this rumbling, “Con, with me and Josie. Amber, keep everyone in here.”

But Jake did not need to issue this order to his eldest. Conner was at our heels. I felt him there.

I just didn’t know why I, too, was attending this impromptu and clearly not welcome meeting.

I thought little of this the minute I hit the foyer and saw the man standing there.

He was not as big or fit as Jake but then again, not many men were. They were much the same age, I guessed. But even not as large or conditioned as Jake, this man was no pushover.

The other thing he was was enraged.

Utterly.

And his incensed eyes were glued to Conner in a way that I genuinely feared he might cause him bodily harm.

Without thinking, I pulled my hand from Jake’s and took a step back. My shoulder hit Conner and I stopped, forcing him to stop with me.

Then my eyes moved to Mia and my skin started prickling.

She was up to something. I could tell by the light in her eyes and the smirk on her lips. In the face of her father’s extreme fury, she should not be smirking.

Something was wrong and whatever it was, she was behind it.

“Neal, what’s up?” Jake asked casually but cautiously and I looked to him to see he, too, was positioned between the man and his son.

The man named Neal tore his gaze from Conner and looked to Jake.

“We gotta talk,” he bit out. “Private.”

Jake studied him only a moment but did it closely. He then nodded and held out a hand to the living room, which was a room that had a door, unlike the others on the bottom floor.

We trundled in, me holding back which meant Conner had to hold back and this meant I maneuvered it so that Conner and I were the last to enter the room.

I kept him well removed from Mia and her father and twisted to ask him quietly, “Please close the door, sweetheart.”

I could see by his face he was confused, perhaps a bit angry, and also very wary.

He closed the door.

When he turned back to the room, so did I.

“What’s this about?” Jake asked.

Neal didn’t delay in laying it out.

“Mia’s pregnant.”

Oh my.

He wasn’t done.

“Your boy got my girl pregnant.”

The room became stifling. I felt it coming from all directions as I watched Jake’s face turn to marble.

But I heard Conner clip, “That’s complete bullshit.”

“Mind your boy, Jake,” Neal instantly demanded in an irate rumble.

Jake turned to Conner but said nothing when Conner repeated, “It’s total bullshit, Dad.”

“I can’t believe you,” Mia hissed at this point and I looked to her.

And it was then I knew that if she was going to instigate this kind of drama in order to salvage her wounded pride and inflict pain on the one who wounded it, she should be a much better actress.

“And I can’t believe you,” Conner shot back. “You know that’s totally whacked.”

“It is not!” she snapped.

“If you’re pregnant, whose is it? ‘Cause it sure isn’t mine,” Conner returned and the air in the room grew even heavier.

“Con,” Jake said in a warning tone.

“You need to be real careful, son,” Neal just warned.

“May I ask how you know you’re pregnant, Mia?” I queried at this juncture and I saw her eyes come to me but felt her father’s do it.

“Can I ask who you are?” her father inquired.

I looked to him but Jake answered. “Neal, this is Josie Malone. She’s close to the family.”

“I wish it was better circumstances, Neal,” I said quickly but softly. “But really, it’s rather important to know the basics of what’s happening here so we can have a constructive discussion.”

“I took a pregnancy test,” Mia stated before her father could reply.

I looked to her.

“A drugstore one?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Do you have the results with you?”

Her face got hard but I noted it did this to hide the shifty. “I freaked when I got a positive and threw it away.”

“I bet you did,” Conner muttered and the air shifted again so I turned to him.

“Please, sweetheart,” was all I said.

He held my eyes and shut his mouth, his jaw going hard.

I turned back to the room and looked at Mia’s father. “I’m very sorry, Neal. I know this is extremely upsetting for everyone but I hope you can understand that if this news is indeed true, much needs to be discussed as much may change. Indeed, entire courses of the lives of very young people. We’ll have to ask for Mia to take another test so we know what we’re dealing with.”

“She says she’s pregnant,” Neal returned.

“She’s also recently sustained a break up with our Conner and I myself witnessed her behavior at the game so I know that she was understandably upset about that,” I told him and his eyes narrowed.

“Are you sayin’ my girl would make shit like this up?”

I shook my head but held his eyes.

“I’m saying that this is a volatile situation but in the end what may come of it affects all parties and thus all parties should be involved in every step of the process.” I looked to Mia. “I’m happy to go get a test right now. I’m of the understanding it takes little time to take them. You can do it here and then we can resume this discussion.”

Her face got harder but I saw her mouth move in a telling way before she stated, “I’m not takin’ another test. Taking the first one was bad enough.”