Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Kyle,” she began.
“What is going on?” Sean set down the platter. “I thought this was about some girl from her school saying mean things on social media. What is this about a threesome?”
“Not like a sexual threesome.” Kyle looked his way as though David could save him from the land mine he’d stepped on.
He would love to let his brother wriggle on the hook, but he didn’t want Sean to suffer. “Someone is going online posting pictures of her with Aidan and Tristan and saying fairly salacious things about the three of them.”
“They’re slut shaming my daughter for having male friends?” Sean had gone a nice shade of red.
His mom reached out and put a hand over her husband’s. “Babe, they’re shaming her for having two boyfriends, and you cannot do the same. I know you’ve tricked yourself into believing they’re nothing more than friends, but they’re dating, and we don’t get to have a say in it because she’s smart and they’re all good kids. They are not having sex.”
That red shade had fled, and his stepfather had gone a pasty white. Luckily, David knew where the Scotch was. This conversation required more than beer. He stood and moved to the bookshelf behind the big desk and poured out two fingers, offering it to Sean, who took it and downed it.
“I did not think I would need to hear those words today,” Sean said, his voice steady.
“She’s sixteen. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, and she has feelings for two young men who are also good kids.” He felt a definite need to make Carys’s case. It was too easy for Carys to be held to a different standard than her brothers, and that wasn’t fair to her.
“How did I not…” Sean began, and then he sighed and sat back. “I knew and I didn’t want to admit it. She’s always been drawn to those boys.”
“They’re some of your friends’ kids, right?” He’d met Aidan O’Donnell and Tristan Dean-Miles, but he only vaguely knew their parents. “The families are all close, and doesn’t one of them have two dads?”
“Yeah. Tristan comes by the idea of sharing a girlfriend honestly. His dads have happily shared a wife for years. I just didn’t think my daughter would end up in a relationship like that,” Sean allowed.
“She’s not,” his mom said. “She’s dating them. They go out together, and there’s no jealousy. It’s a good relationship for her.”
Sean looked to his wife. “She talks to you about this?”
“A little. I think she feels more comfortable talking to her brother. She talks to David during their tutoring sessions,” his mom explained.
When his sister had struggled with Spanish, he’d offered to help her out. He’d been tutoring her for two years, and he enjoyed the time he spent with her. Without those weekly sessions, he might never have gotten to know Carys. He was starting sessions with Luke soon and looked forward to a closer relationship with his youngest sibling.
“But David doesn’t talk to us,” Sean pointed out. There was no small amount of accusation in the words.
Maybe he wouldn’t be staying for dinner. He needed to make a few things plain to his mom and stepfather. He wasn’t there to narc on his sister. “I wouldn’t have talked to you about it this time if I didn’t feel like Carys is going to have real problems. I wouldn’t betray her trust unless I thought she was in danger. This is emotional danger, and you need to know. Mom already knew some of it. But if you’re looking for someone to spy on your daughter, I’m not your man.”
“David, sit down,” Sean said quietly. “I appreciate the fact that she can talk to her brother and feel safe. You’re also the only reason she’s passing Spanish. I’m sorry. It’s hard to admit that my baby girl is growing up. I’m not going to shame her for something that is normal and natural. I’m going to support her. Please let me know if you think she needs more support than we can give her.”
This was why he liked Sean. David might not feel like he fit in with the family, but his stepfather was a good man. When David had first heard his mom was dating an ex-Green Beret, he’d thought Sean Taggart would be some macho asshole. He’d turned out to be one of the most thoughtful, tolerant men David had ever met. “I don’t think she needs a therapist, but I don’t know how this is going to play out. Some people will high-five her and others will look down on her.”
“That sounds like life to me,” Kyle said.
“Well, everything is dialed up to a hundred when you’re a sixteen-year-old girl.” His mom handed him the short ribs as he sat back down. She put a hand on his forearm, and her eyes were shining with tears as she whispered thank you.