Page 132 of His Greatest Treasure

I balk. “The news?”

“Yeah. I’m announcing it tomorrow. It’s happening.”

“No. It’s not. Call it off right now. I’ll haveDad come over, and we can talk about it together,” I declare, already hunting for my phone.

He grabs my wrist and tugs. “No. You’re not calling Dad. I’m not telling them yet.”

“What?” I shout.

“Don’t yell!”

I scrub a hand down my face. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“No, I haven’t. You and I both know if I tell them, they’ll convince me not to do this the same way that you are right now.”

“If you want me to do anything other than convince you not to do this, then you need to tell me everything. You might be able to bluff your ass off to anyone else, but I’m not falling for it. Tell me what the fuck is going on, Jamieson, or I swear I’m going to call Mom and Dad and get them to come here right now.”

He pales even further, turning a ghostly shade of white. The bathroom door squeaks open as Avery slips out and comes to my side, worry shining in her eyes when I look down at her.

Jamieson collapses on the small couch across the room and swallows before speaking. “Fine. But nobody learns about this. Not even our parents.”

“Fine.”

The explanation that tumbles from his mouth has me joining him on the couch, a wild next three months on the horizon for the Bateman family.

At least I’ll have my wife at my side for this ride and every other to come.

THE END.

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