Page 310 of Keeping 13

“Whoa,” I breathed, feeling a swell of emotions surge through my chest. “She sounds like an incredible person.”Just like you.

“She was,” Mrs. Kavanagh agreed, smiling fondly. “But what I loved her most for was the day she sat me down in her kitchen and gave me the mostuncomfortabletalk I’d ever sat through in my life.” Mrs. Kavanagh smirked. “Kind of like the talk I’m about to have with you now.”

Oh god.

“I know you love my son,” she continued. “And I know he loves you very deeply in return. Therefore, I’d be a foolish woman to put my head in the sand and pretend that you’re not both experiencing urges.”

“Urges?” I croaked out, mortified.Oh my god!

“Urges,” Mrs. Kavanagh confirmed. “Like the kind of urges I found you both giving in to last month.”

Oh no.

Please, god, no…

“Johnny’s a good boy, Shannon,” she continued. “He truly is, but he loses his head around you.”

Embarrassed, I clasped my hands together and swallowed down a whimper. “I’m sorry,” I finally offered, not knowing what else to say. “For taking his head.”

“I want you to know that John and I both think you are a wonderful influence on our son,” she said, smiling. “I’ve seen Johnny come out of himself more and more since you came into his life. He’s playful again. Behaving like an actual teenage boy. I was worried that was gone for him, but you bring the boy out of him—but you also bring the reckless out of him.” Sighing, she added, “I’m not a silly woman, Shannon, love. I understand what’s happening here, and living in close quarters like this… Well, I need to make sure that you’re protecting yourself.”

“Oh my god,” I choked out, close to tears from the shame.

“I’ve had this very same conversation with Jonathan a dozen times, but I know he’s lying to me about your physical relationship.”

I blinked rapidly. “Uh…”

“And I know that if I ask you the same questions, you’ll lie, too,” she added. “I love my son, Shannon, more than words can express, but if he gets you into trouble, I will kill him. You’re in my care, love. I’m responsible for you, and I love you, and while I can supervise your relationship while you’re at home, I need to be prepared for what happens when I’mnotaround. Like this camping trip, for example.”

“Uh…” I really didn’t know what to say other than “Uh…”

With another warm smile, she asked, “Did your mother ever talk to you about birth control?”

“Um, no.” Blushing, I retucked my hair behind my ear and sighed. “She wasn’t much of a contraception woman.” It was a terrible joke, and I hung my head in shame. “No, she didn’t,” I whispered. “We didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

“So you’re not on anything?”

I shook my head, not meeting her gaze.

“How would you feel about us making an appointment with the GP?”

I peeked up at her. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t,” she said with a wry smile. “If I take you, it’s almost like I’m approving, which I most certainly amnot—at least not until you’re twenty-five, minimum—and if I don’t and something happens, I’ll have failed you both. So I’m thinking I’ll go with the first option and to hell with what anyone thinks of it.”

“Are you mad at me?”

She laughed softly. “No, Shannon.”

I blew out a shaky breath. “You won’t kick me out?”

“Never,” she vowed, squeezing my hand. “This is your forever home—youandyour brothers—and you’re going nowhere, okay? I’m just preventing something from happening—like the death of my son if he so much as contemplates putting his private parts near yours and making me a grandmother before I turn fifty.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry, run, or throw my arms around this woman. “Okay.” Swallowing, I nodded. “I’d like that—the, uh, appointment,” I quickly amended. “With the birth doctor.” I shook my head, flustered. “I mean the GP.”

Mrs. Kavanagh beamed. “Good girl.”

I smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

---