Page 14
My sister laughed like a fucking hyena for a solid hour.
“You took her to the hospital? For her period? Oh, my God! That’s priceless! Damn, you’re a hero. News flash, big bro…what a girl really wants when the red menace arrives is a spa day and to be left the fuck alone.”
Yeah, so…after removing the flashing light from my SUV and assuring Nancy at dispatch that the emergency I’d been chasing was most likely a false alarm, I headed home and called Layla. I would have preferred to call my mother, but she had enough on her plate with Dad, and no way was I going to get Jess involved—I could handle this on my own. Except I didn’t know what to buy or what to say, and while my sister was a pest, she was a loving aunt, mother, and she had a couple of decades of experience with periods to know the score.
Layla arrived with supplies and instructed me to make myself useful and buy some ice cream. That I could do.
On the way to the market, my cell buzzed with an incoming text from Rhys.
Where are you?
Fuck me. In the midst of the nonemergency emergency event, I’d forgotten to pick my son up from hockey practice in Elmwood. I took a deep breath, called Layla to let her know there’d be an ice cream delay, and texted Rhys to apologize and let him know I was on my way. Trust me, he’d have been more miffed by an actual phone call at this point.
Fifteen minutes later, I spotted him in front of the rink with a group of fellow hockey enthusiasts—two other boys and one girl. And yeah, I noticed immediately that Rhys was holding her hand. The pretty blond wearing a cropped tee and shorts had to be Kelsey.
My radio sounded with a crackle as Rhys nodded in acknowledgment. I tuned out the police radio, more intent on watching this puzzlingly older version of my son exchange fist bumps with his friends, hike his hockey bag over his shoulder, and quickly peck the girl on the cheek.
When had this happened? I could have sworn I’d taught him how to tie his shoes and ride a bike just yesterday. Could this tall, handsome teen really be the same little boy who’d snuggled next to me with a blanket and his favorite stuffed animal, begging for more stories?
“You’re late,” Rhys huffed, though he didn’t seem upset in the slightest. He gave an up nod to his buddies and flashed a sweet smile at the girl.
“Sorry about that.” I figured Gretchen could share our misadventure if she chose to. That wasn’t up to me. Of course, I immediately realized that my sister was the town’s biggest sieve. If there was a hot story to be had, Layla was on top of it. She wasn’t malicious, though. She wouldn’t embarrass Gretchen.
But I added it to my list of worries anyway.
“No prob. We were just hangin’ out. Those guys are all from Elmwood.” He typed furiously on his phone, adding, “Except for Kelsey. She’s from Fallbrook.”
“Kelsey,” I repeated. “Um…is she your, uh…girlfriend?”
Smooth, Reg. Real smooth.
Rhys’s fingers stalled on his screen. “I don’t know. I think so? We met last summer at camp, but…yeah. I like her.”
“That’s great.” My voice was doing something weird. It was too deep. I sounded as if I were interrogating a suspect. I cleared my throat and tried again. Only this time, the words wouldn’t stop. “You’re young…definitely too young, but I know that hormones spike and sometimes it’s too late to put the brakes on and that can lead to some serious complications.”
“What are you talking about?”
I swallowed hard. “Nothing. I just…if you need protection—”
“Protection?”
“Condoms,” I clarified.
“Oh, my God! I’m fourteen, Dad!”
“Almost fifteen.”
“What is this? We haven’t done anything!”
“Whoa!” I put a hand up and chanced a quick glance his way. Poor kid was beet red, wide-eyed, and obviously mortified. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make this weird.”
“Well, you did.”
“I just…”
Crackle crackle
I should have turned the rover off an hour ago, but I was damn grateful for the static interruption now.
