Page 17 of A Little Thankful

“You’ve got it, Sage,” Hunter said, as he turned to Mace and Forrest, obviously wanting their buy in.

“Absolutely,” Mace finally said after a moment of hesitation.

“Let’s do this,” Forrest said, after he took in a deep breath.

WHEN WE WALKED back into the house, my family, including my niece, Sami, were all in the kitchen helping my mom clean up after dinner. I knew my mom wasn’t a fan of pizza, but she’d gone along with it because my dad had stepped in and ordered them. Normally, she would have ordered in some elaborate three course meal for everyone. She actually only cooked on holidays, and for bake offs. Not that she couldn’t cook an outstanding meal, she just preferred not to.

“Dr. Charles… is everything okay?” my dad, Vernon, asked. I could tell he was physically upset to see her standing in hiskitchen. “Why are you here? Is something wrong? I didn’t see you come in.”

“Everything’s fine,” she told him.

I stepped up. “Dr. Charles is here to take some paternity DNA samples.”

“No fucking way,” Sami said, grinning. “That’s so cool.”

“Watch your mouth,” my mother, Martha, scolded.

“She’s just expressing herself,” my aunt Sylvia countered. No matter what, she always defended Sami. On one hand, it was nice to see such loyalty, but on the other, it made for a self-absorbed teenager.

“She can express herself without swearing,” my mother countered.

“No F… ing way,” Sami goaded, leaving out the important letters.

“That’s much better, darling,” my mother said, looking straight at me. “So let me get this straight. All three of these fine local men might be Autumn’s father, which means you had sex with each of them during one month. Is that right?”

“Yes,” I told her. “Over three days, to be exact.”

“We were trapped in your cabin,” Forrest said.

“The roads were out,” Mace added.

“It just kept raining,” Hunter tried to explain.

“No fucking way,” my father said. “And it’s not our cabin. It belongs to Sage’s grandparents.”

“This is so cool,” Sami repeated.

My mom threw my dad a scathing look.

“What? I’m just expressing myself,” he countered.

“Yes, so cool,” Dr. Charles mumbled. “Now, where can I find Autumn?” She held up a sheathed swab stick.

“I can show you,” Grandma Iris said, excitement in her voice. I knew she already loved Autumn, which made me so happy. She was the best grandma ever. “Just follow me.”

“Sami, maybe you should join Grandma?” Aunt Sylvia told her Diva daughter.

“And miss the fireworks? No way.” And she dropped down on a bar stool to watch.

“I don’t know where to direct my anger,” my father said.

“Dad, don’t be angry. You have a beautiful granddaughter. That should make you happy, not mad,” I told him.

“And what about you? Are you going to marry one of these guys? Or what?” he asked.

“One step at a time. Let’s wait for the results of the paternity test,” I said, trying to get him to calm down.

“Then what?” my mother asked.

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