Harley
“I swear to God, Will. If you don’t stop moving my stuff, I’m going to tell Dad about you charging your game coins to his credit card.” I point my finger at my little brother, threatening him as I see he’s completely switched everything on my desk.
His eyes go wide as what I’ve said sinks in. It’s almost as if the good luck he’s been having flashes before his eyes. The realization comes in waves as his eyes brighten and then darken again.
“Nooooo,” he begs, his voice a tinge too whiny for me. “I have a good thing going right now.”
“It might be a good thing, ya know? Teach you a lesson. The good thing is gonna be limited if you don’t leave my desk alone. Why did you mirror it all?”
“Dad brought me in,” he complains as he blows out a breath. “And I got bored waiting for someone else to get here. We’ve been working for over an hour. I thought we were going to go for breakfast, but that was a lie.” His tone is annoyed.
“Then why didn’t you go out there with him and learn how to be a part of the business? Maybe once you get a little work done, he’ll buy you breakfast,” I grumble as I start setting everything back the way it was.
“I did, but he got frustrated when I did something wrong.”
It hits me right then. Did he do it on purpose? Glaring at him, I scrunch my eyes. “Did you do it wrong on purpose to irritate him? Ya know, so you didn’t have to continue helping?”
He smiles widely, dimples like Dad’s staring back at me. “Not me.”
“Out!” I point to the door, yelling at him. “Go tell the guys to put you to work, you little shit.”
“Love you, Sis,” he sing-songs as he leaves.
Sighing heavily, I have a seat, putting my head in my hands. If there’s anyone who can push my buttons, it’s that tween terror who just left. I’d do anything for him, but he does everything to get on my nerves.
“Why’d Will fly out of here like his feet were on fire?” Dad asks as he comes in, tipping his coffee cup back.
“Because I called him on his bullshit.”
He laughs. “I remember Roni sitting in that seat calling you on yours.”
I’m about to say something when the smell of Dad’s coffee hits my nose. It goes through my nasal passages, down the back of my throat and right to my stomach. There’s nothing there as I haven’t eaten yet, but I know immediately I need to find a bathroom or a trashcan. I slap my palm over my mouth in the universal sign of throwing up. Dad steers me in the correct direction, holding on tightly to my arm and pushing me down toward the toilet when we get close enough.
I don’t know how long I kneel on the tile floor. As I stop heaving, I become aware Dad is squatting behind me, his large hand moving up and down my back.
“Breathe through it,” he instructs. “In through your nose, out through your mouth. Again.”
His voice is soothing and, finally, my stomach stops rolling. Completely depleted, I slump before leaning forward and flushing. Dad gets up and busies himself. He shoves a wet paper towel toward me. Turning, he faces me, gripping the edge of the sink. “How far along are you?”
“What?” I do my best to play it off.
“Your mom.” He rubs his hand along his jawline, seeming to be deep in thought. His voice is quieter than I ever remember it being. “She was sick from five weeks to four months with you, your sister, and Will. As soon as she smelled my coffee every morning, she’d hit the bathroom. It was how we knew she was pregnant with Will. Neither one of us even suspected it at the time. So don’t play with me, Harley. How far along are you?”
“About six weeks.” I feel like I’m going to be sick again as I watch his jaw twitch. “Are you mad?”“No.” He shakes his head.
“Disappointed? Please don’t be disappointed; I don’t think I can handle it.” I curl my arms around my stomach, doing my best to protect myself.
“Neither, Harley. I’m worried. Are you okay?”
Swallowing roughly, I nod as I wipe at my mouth and get the sweat off my face. “Yeah, I just didn’t know how to tell you. Bishop and I were going to.” My eyes pool with tears. “But you walked in here with your coffee.”
He chuckles. “So this is my fault?”
“Obviously.” I cut my eyes up at him.
“Anyone else know?”
“Justice,” I confirm. “And since she knows, I’m going to assume Caelin does too.”
“Yeah.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Those two are sickening. Can’t even keep a secret for the sake of keeping one.”
“Excuse me, you and Mom are the same way.”
He hitches himself up on the sink. “No, that’s a lie. If it’s for the better or peace with her, I’ll keep it from your mother. With that being said.” He gestures at me. “Does this need to be a secret?”
It would be so easy to let him tell her so I wouldn’t have to see her unguarded reaction, wouldn’t have to hear it. “I wanna be the one to tell her, if that’s okay with you.”
“Harley, this is your news to tell. I’m not here to force you to do anything. You’re an adult. This is your child.” His gaze travels to my flat stomach. “And you need to do what you feel is best.”
“You’re not going to force Bishop and I to get married, are you?” I squint up at him. “That’s so old-fashioned.”
“No.” He laughs. “The two of you can do all the deciding on whatever you wanna do. All I care about is that you’re taken care of. So, anything you need, know I’m here.”
“I know, Dad. I love you.”
“Love you too, kiddo.”
He reaches out, helping me up off the floor.
“Rinse your mouth out, but don’t brush your teeth,” he warns. “That always made your mom puke again. I’ll be back in just a second.”
I have absolutely no idea what he’s doing, but I trust him with everything. Always have. If there’s anyone Justice and I have been able to count on our entire lives, it’s our dad. He appears back in the doorway, holding a little tin out to me. “These are from my own collection, but I’m willing to share them with you.”
Reaching out, I grab the tin, laughing as I read the writing on the top. “Preggie Pops. What the hell?”
He shrugs. “Your mom used them and when she wasn’t pregnant anymore, she didn’t like them. One day I needed some candy and popped one in my mouth. I’ve loved them ever since.”
“You are one in a million.”
“I know.” He leans down, kissing me on the cheek. “These are my little secret, so I’ll hold yours as long as you hold mine.”
Tears pool in my eyes again. My dad, the one who is tough when he needs to be, can be the softest person when it comes to the people he cares about. “Thanks.”
“No biggie. I’m gonna be a cool grandpa, right?”
Hearing him call himself a grandpa is almost too much for me to deal with. Thinking of him getting older always hurts, but to know he’s going to move on to the next portion of his life is enough to make my throat close. I fight past it, as hard as it is. “The coolest,” I whisper.
“Good.” He grins. “C’mon out when ya can. Any of the work in here can wait.”
As he leaves, I open the tin, grabbing a piece of the candy and tentatively putting it on my tongue.
Glancing up in the mirror, I realize I look different and pretty soon others are going to know. Whether I want them to or not. But first, I gotta finish telling my parents. One down and one to go.