Page 42 of Tangled Up With You

The only sound that filled the otherwise deafening quiet was the clink of silverware against dishes as we ate. The few bites I’d taken sat like a brick in my stomach.

After ten agonizing minutes, Connor broke the silence. “This is really good, butterfly.”

My stepfather slapped his napkin down on the table. “I’m gonna murder your ass.”

Oh goody. Everyone was talking again.

My mom reached over and put a calming hand on her husband’s arm. “Will you relax? You aren’t going to kill anyone.”

“Am too. I’m gonna kill him.” Micah picked up his fork and held it in his fist like he would a hunting knife, the gesture meant to be threatening.

Used to ignoring her husband’s ridiculous antics, my mother looked at me with a gentle smile. “It all makes sense now. No wonder you were so sick before. I should have known. When I first got pregnant with you I couldn’t keep anything down.”

I leaned forward and braced my chin on my fist, eager to hear stories about when my mother was pregnant. “Really?”

“Yeah.” She nodded on a laugh. “Your grandmother went through the same thing. She said it was the fiery hair. Made morning sickness even worse. I didn’t believe her, of course. But then you were born, and, well...” She waved her hand at my strawberry hued hair.

“So you think I’ll have a little redhead too?” The thought made me smile.

Mom returned my dreamy look. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“I think I’d like a little redheaded girl, just like her mom,” Connor said, his dimples coming out and pointing right at me.

“You don’t talk,” Micah barked at him. “This is all yourdamnfault, so you sit there quietly and eat yourdamndinner.”

I heaved out a sigh. “Mike, will you please quit threatening him?”

“Is it Mike?” Connor’s confused gaze darted between me and my mother. “I thought it was Micah.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but of course Micah beat me to it. “Only Ivy calls me Mike,” he bit out. “You can call me Mr. Langford. OrLieutenant.” He hooked a brow upward. “Tell me,Connor. You got any outstanding warrants? You wanted in any other state? What’s your criminal history look like? You a drinker? A gambler?”

“Ignore him, please,” I said to Connor, rolling my eyes at my stepfather’s ridiculousness. “His name is Micah. I called him Mike when I was little. The nickname sort of stuck.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared Connor down. “And you’re not allowed to use it.”

Good lord, was he pouting?

I tossed my napkin down and pushed away from the table. Stomping into the kitchen, I snatched the sonogram off the fridge and brought it back into the dining room. I handed it to my mother. “I’m a little over nine weeks.”

“Oh my God,” she breathed, her eyes growing damp and her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she looked at my little baby blip in the picture. “Look at that.” She sniffled. “My baby is having a baby.”

“Look, I know this didn’t happen the traditional way, but it happened.” I cut my eyes to Micah. “I’m not a kid, I’m a consenting adult. Connor and I did everything we were supposed to do to prevent this. It happened anyway.”

Micah’s face grew red, and I was willing to bet he wanted to slap his hands over his ears and shoutla la la la la.

“I’m keeping the baby. Connor and I have talked about it, and we are going to co-parent. He moved into Sylvia’s carriage house to be close. We might not be doing things the way people would expect, but we’re going to make it work. We’re going to love this baby and we’re going to make sure it’s happy. How we do it is going to look a little different from the norm.”

Connor reached over and took my hand in his, lending me his strength. I’d been wrong for suggesting he not be here for this, and I was so glad he hadn’t listened to me. Having him here made this easier. Made me feel stronger. I smiled at him, mouthing a silentthank you.

He shot me a wink that I felt in my clit, but I pushed the sensation away and looked back at my parents. “Do you guys have any questions for us?”

Dinner went a bit smoother after that. While Micah never stopped staring daggers at Connor, he at least quit with the verbal threats. When Mom pointed out the baby in the sonogram picture, I watched as he visibly melted, staring at Chickpea in a way I could only describe as proud grandpa.

Mom told us more stories from her pregnancy, which gave way to telling Connor about some of the crazy things I’d gotten up to when I was a little girl. By the time dinner was over my stress was gone. My mother pulled Connor into an affectionate hug, welcoming him into the family.

When I walked them to the door, Micah hung back after my mom and I shared our goodbyes and she headed to the car.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably and tugged at his collar. “Look, I know I’m not your biological dad, but blood has never mattered to me. I want you to know, you’re my daughter. No matter what. And if you ever need anything, I’m always here.”

---