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“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know. In any case, thank you for le
tting me whine. I just keep thinking about worst-case scenarios and I need to stop that. We’ll get through it.” she said, sounding almost like she believed it.
Reaching across the center console, he put his hand on her thigh. Squeezing, he said, “We will.”
He’d talked a good game a second ago, but he really felt like he might throw up. They’d stopped for breakfast. Pancakes had been a terrible idea. They sat like a lump in his stomach. Elle’s level of concern about today only made his own escalate. He was really starting to be concerned that this would turn ugly.
Twenty miles later, they pulled into Elle’s parents’ driveway. They lived in a residential area. The lawn was well manicured. The house was small, but neat. There were birdbaths, bird feeders and squirrel feeders everywhere.
He took it all in and said, “Holy mother of god, Elle. This could be your front yard six months from now.”
“Nope. I’ll just keep on cramming that shit into my backyard. My front yard has all the decoration I can stand.”
Smirking, Jim got out of the truck and walked around to her side. Elle opened the door as he crossed around the front and slid out. Reaching down and taking her hand he asked, “You ready, sweetheart?”
The front door burst open and Irene came rushing out. She immediately pulled Elle into her arms and said, “Oh, my baby is having a baby!”
Jim stood there awkwardly while Irene got a little weepy then pulled him into a rib-crushing hug. Jim winced and said, “Good to see you,” as he patted her back awkwardly.
“Congratulations, honey. It’s good to see you again.”
She looked at them both apologetically and said, “Fair warning, Earl is pissed. At least he’s unarmed.”
He reached down and took Elle’s hand again and said, “Thanks for the warning.”
As Irene led them into the house, he saw Earl sitting stone-faced in a recliner staring at the television. He turned his head briefly to look at them as they walked in the door. The moment he made eye contact with Elle, Jim felt her tense. He saw the look that Elle had been dreading slide down over his features.
Jim gave her hand a squeeze and moved to the sofa. Shit. This wasn’t going to go well at all.
Earl looked at Jim with disgust and said, “So are you going to marry my daughter?”
Wow, okay, Jim thought. Let’s cut right to the chase.
“Elle and I decided that we were going to let that happen in its own time, sir. Right now, we’re both just focused on the baby.”
Earl gave him a measured look and said, “A baby needs a father.”
“Agreed, sir. I intend to be a father. We don’t have to be married for me to do that.”
Earl turned his head toward Elle, giving her a hard stare, and said, “What were you thinking? You aren’t ready for a baby. You’re being stupid.”
Seeing her eyes fill, Jim winced.
Clearing her throat, Elle said, “Excuse me,” and moved quickly out of the room.
Jim watched her leave, then heard a door open and close.
Pinning Earl with a stare, he said, “Sir. I can appreciate that you’re unhappy with the situation. Feel free to be as angry as you’d like with me, but don’t do this to her. She was terrified to come here today to talk to you about this because she didn’t want to disappoint you.”
“Wait a minute, I—” Earl said, blustering.
Holding up a hand, Jim said, “We used protection and it failed. We both know we’re not ready for this, but neither of us liked the alternatives. Please, just cut her some slack. That’s all I’m asking for. She’s scared and needs your support.”
“I just want what’s best for her,” Earl said with a frown.
“Me too,” Jim said.
A moment later, a tiny smirk on his face, Earl asked, “I don’t have to be nice to you though, right?”
