Page 53 of Finding Storm

“You local?” Dad asks. “Stevie can give you a ride to where you need to go.”

“I’m not local,” Nick answers. “I’m from LA.”

That brings my eyes to him. He’s not looking at me now.

He’s from LA. What’s he doing here in Lake Havasu?

“You here on vacation?” Dad asks, saying the next thought in my head.

We get a lot of tourists through here. A lot of boaters from March to September. Students come here in droves for spring break.

Spring break was when my ex’s dick decided to take a detour into another vagina.

Not that he’s ever admitted it, but I figure it wasn’t his first detour into unknown territory.

Just the one that I caught him doing.

“Something like that,” Nick answers vaguely.

“So, you got somewhere to stay then?” Dad probes, and I know where this is going. “’Cause no saying how long it’ll take to fix her.” Dad pats a hand to the rear bumper of Nick’s car. “Not until we’ve looked her over. We’ve got a couple of jobs to finish today. We’ll try to look at her tonight before we close, but if not, definitely first thing in the morning.”

Nick’s eyes come to me again. “No problem.”

Why does he keep looking at me?

“And to answer your question,” Nick continues, “no, I don’t have a place to stay, so if you could point me in the direction of a hotel, I’d really appreciate it.”

Dad beams. “Ah, great.” He claps his hands together. “Well, Stevie is your woman if you’re looking for a bed for the night.”

There are a few things that happen in this moment.

I get whiplash from moving my head so quickly to look at Dad.

Nick makes a choking sound.

And Beck bursts out laughing.

“Dad!” I exclaim. I rub a hand to the back of my now-sore neck.

I can feel my chest going hot. It’s going to be all red and blotchy; I just know it. It always happens when I’m embarrassed.

Dad looks back at me, confused. Then, dawning happens as he hears the words back in his head. His mouth drops open. His eyes dart from me to Nick and back to me, finally resting on Nick.

It’d be comical if it wasn’t so embarrassing.

“God! No!” he says to Nick. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded. Christ, no! Stevie runs the B&B with my mother. I meant, you can stay there. Not in Stevie’s bed!”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard my dad speak so quickly. Or seen his face go quite so red.

Beck’s still laughing. He’s almost doubled over from it.

I’m dying a silent, quiet death.

I daren’t even look at Nick.

“Jesus, Dad,” I groan.

Dad ignores me and just keeps on talking, “We all live there. At the B&B. Our part of the house is at the back. So, it won’t just be Stevie there. We’ll all be there.”