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Jack sauntered into the house and grabbed me by the backside, then spun me around. “I worry about you,” he said before leaning over to plant a kiss on my barely-there tummy. “Don’t we?” he told my belly in a high-pitched silly voice. “We worry about Mommy. She needs to just sit down and look pretty while we do all the work. ”
I burst out laughing and ruffled his hair. “You’re an idiot. ”
He looked up with a grin. “Yeah. But I’m your idiot. ” Jack kissed my stomach again before walking into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, reached in, and tossed Dean a beer. “Heads up,” he shouted as Dean jumped and moved to catch it.
“Dick. ” Dean popped open the can and took a long gulp. And then almost spit it right back out at the sound of my best friend’s voice.
“Ah, I can’t believe you guys are back here! I’m so happy. ” Melissa bounced into the house and straight into my arms. She glanced at Dean and Jack, giving them a curt smile before pressing her ear against my stomach. “How’s my little baby?” she cooed, then rubbed my belly like it was a fucking good luck charm.
Why does everyone do this?
Jack and Dean scuttled out the sliding glass door to the backyard. The cowards.
When they’d left, I folded my arms over my chest and said flatly, “Still not talking to Dean, I see?”
She tilted her head to one side. “He’s not talking to me, not the other way around. ”
I frowned. “You broke his heart. What do you expect?”
“I expect you, of all people, not to take sides. ”
“How can I take sides?” I said with a huff. “You never even tried. ”
Melissa’s face fell as tears filled her eyes. “That was harsh. ”
“I don’t understand you. At all. You’re the one who told me to fight for Jack, to not give up on him. You pushed me to love him and give him a chance,” I pointed out, then took a deep breath in and out to fight the nausea I felt growing. “More than once. ”
“So?” she snapped.
“Soooo,” I said pointedly. “You never follow your own advice. ”
“How do you even know I want to?”
“Because I can see it in your eyes. You miss him. And there’s something you’re not telling me. Come on. ” I grabbed her hand and yanked her toward the garage.
“Where are we going?” She tried to tug her hand away, and I only pulled her harder.
“Get in the car. ” I opened the passenger door and shoved her inside. “I’m sick of this and we’re going to the only place where you’ll listen to reason. ”
“Oh my God. No. ” She pressed the button to unlock the door and I hit it again, just as fast, using the child safety locks to trap her in the car. “You cannot Gran-ify me!” she screamed out, pounding on the side window.
“Stop beating up my car! And seriously? Gran-ify you?”
“Yeah!” she cried out. “Where you bring me to Gran and Gramps and they say the most perfect things and I leave there in tears because you were right all along and I was an idiot. ”
I wanted to laugh, oh so badly, but stopped myself. “Let’s just see what they have to say. Maybe they won’t be on my side?” I offered, silently knowing that they would.
I mean, I hoped they would. They’d better.
“So you’re saying they’re actually neutral? Ha! I’ll believe that when I hear it. ”
A few minutes later I pulled into their driveway, hoping they wouldn’t be upset at our unannounced arrival. Giving a quick knock, I didn’t wait for a response before opening the front door and shouting, “Gran? Gramps?”
“Cassie? Is that you, dear?” Gran shouted from the kitchen.
Of course. They’re always in the kitchen.
“Is that our Kitten?” Gramps called out and I stifled a laugh.
