Page 36 of Daddy Issues

“Everything okay?” Graham asks as he walks back toward his seat. I’m thanking whatever is in my corner right now that Mila isn’t here to witness this explosion. That she’ll be shielded from this.

My mom waves the pregnancy test around in a flippant way as if it’s obvious.

“Someone’s pregnant, and apparently it isn’t Hannah, who we’d all expect to be this early into her marriage, all things considering.”

Liam releases a growl that reverberates through his chest for everyone at the table to hear. My eyes focus on the condensation dripping down my water glass, the little clear drips bubbling and slowly starting their descent. My ears are ringing now, and surely that’s not normal. I sway slightly on my feet, my hand resting on the back of my chair to stabilize myself.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, just let it go,” Hannah says to Liam in an effort to calm him down.

“It’s not Harlow, so that leaves . . .” everyone in the room looks my way, but the only pair of eyes I feel are Graham’s, forcing mine upward to meet his.

“Hailey?” he asks, his eyes squinting, his head tilting slightly to the side as he looks down at my belly, as if I could possibly be showing this early, and it would answer all of the impending questions. I close my eyes and nod my head slightly, admitting what everyone has already figured out.

To my surprise, Graham takes quick, measured steps in my direction, forgetting our current company, and places one of his large hands on the side of my face, the other on my lower abdomen, immediately enveloping me in his warmth and comfort.

“Honey, you’re pregnant?”

“Yes,” I reply hesitantly, my eyes flitting back and forth between his, trying to read his expression.

“Happy Father’s Day?” God, I’m a nightmare. Who says that? Graham chuckles and pulls me into a deep hug, his lips pressing to the top of my head. The room erupts in an uproar that pops our little bubble, my eyes going wide with panic.

“What the fuck is going on?” my dad nearly roars from across the table where he stands abruptly, his chair flipping backward behind him.

“Whoa, Dad! Easy!” Hannah shouts as Liam stands up and walks to get between my dad and Graham.

“Jay, we should talk, and not like this,” Graham rushes the words as he steps in front of me, the hand on my belly pushing me behind him.

“The fuck we will, Graham! Are you fucking mydaughter?”

I flinch at his crass words in front of our family about me. Even if that’s exactly what Graham has been doing.

“Jay, we’ve been friends a long damn time, let’s talk in private.”

“Answer the goddamn question! Is that your baby inside my daughter?”

Graham meets my dad’s eyes straight on, his voice steady when he speaks. “Yes, it is.”

“She’s half your fucking age, Graham! What the fuck have you done? Hailey, was this consensual?”

“Whoa, Jay, I get you’re pissed, but don’t fucking go there. Don’t say another word that you’ll regret,” Liam warns, his voice coming out in a tone I’ve never heard from him before—strong and domineering, one he must reserve for moments like this.

“He’s been fucking my little girl! He’s fucking dead to me!” I wince at his words, my heart sinking into the bile currently churning around in the pit of my very sensitive stomach.

“How long, Hailey?”

I move around Graham to face my father’s wrath, my eyes flicking to Hannah, who’s standing, bracing her palms flat on the table, her face full of sympathy. Jesus. Is this how she has felt all these years with our parents? She needs a hug. Hell, I need a hug and we aren’t even through this yet.

As I step next to Graham, his hand leaves my body and slides down my arm, clasping my palm. What’s left of my heart squeezes tightly. Wiping away my tears, I clear my throat of the knot currently threatening to choke me.

“Not long after I moved in with him. I pursued him. Graham fought it and tried to let me down easily, but I was persistent.”

“You’re a goddamn child, Hailey! You didn’t know what you were doing, he’s a forty-two-year-old male, he knows exactly how wrong this is!”

I see red. I don’t know where the courage comes from, but I finally find my voice. I won’t stand here and allow anyone—especially my father—to twist this into something sick and wrong, to make Graham out to be a predator.

“STOP right there, Dad. We’re done here. I have sat back for over twenty years and watched you and Mom rip apart Hannah, and now, the moment I am not your perfect little girl, you jump at the first chance to do the same to me. Say whatever you want to me, but I won’t stand here and let you make Graham out to be a monster. He’s the most caring, loyal, loving man I’ve ever met, and you could learn a damn thing or two about parenting from him. If he’s half the father to our baby as he is to Mila, they will always feel loved and cared for. This is our life, I’m an adult, and it’s not for you to judge.”

Taking a deep breath, I look up at Graham, whose eyes are already on me, glassy with unshed tears, and all the love and admiration in the world.

---