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“Yes.” More laughter came from him. “What can I say? I’m fertile enough to infect my wood structure.”
Oh no. There was so much I could do with that, but Neil came up the stairs. He held a hand out. “Please stop, you two. Seeing you two joke like this is bringing back a lot of memories right now. Let’s keep the traumatic events to one thing right now.” He held his hand out, and the lines around his mouth softened into a small smile. “How are you, Denton? It’s been a long time.”
Denton withdrew completely from me and reached to shake my dad’s hand. He glanced sideways to me, but said, “Likewise, Mr. Jeneve. It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah.” My dad stood there a moment, just looking at Denton. A sad look appeared in my dad’s eyes, and his mouth twitched before he turned away. “Your parents are well?”
“They are.” Denton snuck another look to me. “I’ve heard about your recent . . .”
My dad had gone missing, but he’d never been declared missing. Just wanting to bite any future awkwardness in the butt, I clarified, “Yeah. He disappeared. The details are still fuzzy, but my bet is that he owed money to the mob. Did you, Neil? How much do you owe them?”
“Sheldon!” Beth gasped from below.
“What?”
“It’s fine, Beth.” Neil lifted a hand to appease her. “And yes, Denton, I did move away for a while, but it’s not what my daughter is insinuating.”
I frowned. “No insinuation. I stated it for the record.”
He ignored me, a forced mask of politeness coming over his face. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to catch up. Thank you again for letting us into your home.”
“Ah. Yeah.” Denton stepped inside and held the door open. “Come on in, everyone. Do you guys have any bags with you?”
As he asked, Neil held a hand out to Beth, and she was the first inside. My dad rested a hand at the small of her back. Bryce and Corrigan came next, both meeting my gaze with their own mirroring smirks.
Bryce laughed softly. “Same old Sheldon.”
“Yeah.” Corrigan indicated for me to go ahead of him. “It’s nice to know that even being framed for murder doesn’t slow her down.”
They were talking to each other, but watching me. I pointed to my chest. “Yeah. Right here. Address all statements with the appropriate pronoun, me, not her. Wait. You, not her. Right here. Stating it again. No insinuations here.”
We had stepped inside, and Denton shut the door. Overhearing our conversation, he piped in, sliding his hands into his pockets, “Oh, we all know.” He glanced at Bryce. “I heard Sheldon’s in the house? Is that true?”
Bryce’s grin grew. “I heard that, too. You think she’s around? Corrigan?”
“Nah.” Corrigan clipped his head to the side. “I don’t think she’s here. I think the mob came after her instead of her dad. She’s gone. That ship has sailed.”
“You guys are annoying.”
Bryce ignored me. “You’re right. We should make up now, for real. No reason for this distance.”
“You’re right.” Corrigan held his arms out. “Come here, you big Super Soccer Stud. Let’s be best friends again.”
Bryce stepped forward, and the two hugged each other, their arms patting each other on the backs.
“Yep. Annoying. That’s what all three of you are being.”
“Wait.” Bryce lifted his head. He turned to Denton. “We’re not including Denton. Come here. He’s the big star. He’s an A-list movie actor. That’s what Oprah told me. I watched her Master’s Class last night.”
Denton burst out laughing.
Corrigan tugged him over. “You’re right. How selfish of us. Come here. You’re so handsome, Denton. You make my lady parts throb.”
“Oh my god.” Denton was shaking his head, but he hugged both of them back. “I forgot how the three of you could be.” He glanced at me. “Sheldon—”
I flicked him off, then held my hand up and waved my middle finger at all of them. “Screw you, guys.”
“Come on.” Corrigan lifted an arm to me. “We’re just having fun. Get in here, too.”
