Page 9 of Now and Forever

His face flushed. “It was very nice and I’m fine, Mrs. Nash. I’m so glad to meet you in person.”

He was surprised by how much shorter she was than he’d expected. He guessed it was because Malcolm was so tall. Her scruffy, blond curls were pulled back in a short ponytail, and she wore a yellow cotton tank and floral capris on her petite frame. What had seemed like a smattering of freckles across her nose when they’d Skyped, were decidedly more numerous in person.

“Seth, you can call me mom or Debbie. Whatever makes you comfortable. But I refuse to let you refer to me as Mrs. Nash.”

A jolt of emotion pierced him at the suggestion he call her mom. Maybe someday he could call her mom, but not yet. As much as he wished he could, he wasn’t ready.

He swallowed past a lump in his throat. “Okay, Debbie.”

She grinned up at him before grabbing him in another big hug. “I can’t believe you guys are finally here!” Debbie gathered up his hand in hers then started leading him to the house. “Harry’s getting ready to grill. You haven’t eaten already, have you? We notoriously eat late, so I understand if you stopped along the way.”

“We had lunch, but that was it.”

“Oh, goodness. Then you must be starving, you poor thing. I’ll have to talk to Malcolm about making sure he’s watching out for you.” She shook her head as if she disapproved of the whole situation. “I understand that he’s very invested in his schedules and is a natural organizer, but he has someone else to consider. It can’t be all about him.”

Seth almost choked. He glanced behind him to see where Malcolm was, but he was still fussing with the truck. Debbie was fleet of foot.

Malcolm’s mom wouldn’t let him go, even after they’d entered the house, or they’d made their way to the expansive backyard.

“This is my husband, Harry.” She elbowed him. “NotMr. Nash. Would you like to eat outside? It’s such a beautiful night.”

Before he could respond, Seth’s dad broke into a wide grin. Now he knew where Malcolm had gotten his height from. If anything, Harry was even a bit taller.

“You must be Seth!” Malcolm’s dad held out his hand, and Debbie finally released him so he could shake it. “Great to meet you. Grab yourself a beer from the cooler.” He pointed to the blue container on the brick patio. “I’m throwing on some steaks here in a bit. How do you prefer yours?”

They were coming at him from all sides.Breathe.

“Mom, dad.”

Malcolm’s arm slipped around his waist and Seth exhaled.

Daddy.

“Are you guys barraging Seth with questions?”

Debbie crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “We’re notbarraginganyone. We haven’t seen you in at least a year and you’ve been keeping Seth from me, so forgive me for being a tad excited.”

Malcolm snort-laughed. “That’s what you call a tad? And there hasn’t been some horrible conspiracy preventing you from meeting Seth. We’ve just been waiting for the right time.” Malcolm jostled him. “Did I hear someone say there was beer?”

Harry laid out several steaks on a wood plank. “Son, there’s always beer.”

“Excellent. I’ll grab one for me and Seth. And Seth takes his steak medium.”

Seth didn’t miss the slight hesitation from Harry as he and Debbie exchanged glances. He looked away, not sure what it meant. Malcolm reached into the cooler and retrieved a large black bottle with an intriguing white label of what appeared to be a cartoon werewolf.

Seth leaned in to whisper into Malcolm’s ear. “Is that one of those craft beers?”

They didn’t keep beer at home, and after Seth’s original beer experience at Woody’s bar, he hadn’t been interested in trying any more. However, they’d gone out to a pub a couple times and Malcolm had ordered what he called a Stout craft beer. Seth had been surprised at how good it tasted. But he still couldn’t have very much alcohol at once, and he especially needed to keep his wits around Malcolm’s parents. He knew that’s why Malcolm had only chosen one bottle for them to share.

“Yeah. This one is one of my faves.” He grabbed the opener off the round, frosted glass table that was part of the fancy, white wrought-iron patio set. “Here, baby. Take a swig.”

Seth accepted the bottle and took a healthy swallow. It went down smooth, the heavy beer leaving a pleasant aftertaste. Malcolm took back the bottle.

“Good, isn’t it?”

“Verygood, Daddy.”

Debbie gasped and Malcolm froze, the bottle from which he’d been about to take a drink only inches from his lips. Seth flushed hot and wrenched himself from Daddy’s hold. Without saying a word or looking back, Seth raced from the yard and through the house until he reached the truck. He yanked the door open then jumped inside, locking himself in. Tears spilled from his eyes and he lost all control, weeping and shaking.

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