One to Tell the Grandkids (3 page)

“Oh, good. Your rational self seems to have kicked in.”

“Yeah. Crap, how did this happen?”

“Looks like you should have spent more time paying attention in sex ed instead of giggling when the teacher was trying to teach a class of freshmen how to use a condom properly.”

“I did, too. I giggled my ass off in that class.”

“I know. Are you calm enough now to think before you speak? That woman, Taryn, is probably pissed and scared.”

Slate grabbed the glass in front of him and shot it back. He waved Oni over. “Can I have another?”

“Uh, no. No other shot,” Caleb said. “You’re going to need a clear head for this one.”

“You’re coming with me, right? I can’t do this on my own. I need to borrow some of your calm, or I’m going to freak right out on her again.”

He looked so much younger than he was and scared. Slate had always brought out a protective side of Caleb, and it had never been stronger than it was right then. “Of course I’ll go with you. I said I would.”

Slate sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

Chapter Three

“H
e looked so dumb. For Patch’s sake, I hope my DNA is dominant,” Taryn said, going over the first meeting for the umpteenth time.

“You think maybe his stupefied expression had something to do with the fact you screamed the news he was going to be a father, Tare?”

“You blame me for yelling?” Taryn crossed her arms and hunkered down in the booth, glaring at Rob.

“Of course I don’t blame you for yelling. I’m just saying, why don’t you wait before you decide he’s a dimwit?”

Taryn didn’t answer her friend. She was hurt and scared and certain Slate’s being dumb was the best case scenario. He could be any number of things she didn’t want to deal with, let alone let anywhere near a baby. She wondered why she’d thought it was a good idea to find Patch’s father in the first place.

“Here goes nothing,” Rob said.

Taryn followed his gaze to the door where Slate stood with his friend. In retrospect, she didn’t understand how she had only remembered that one tattoo. The man standing in the doorway had quite a few more. A full sleeve disappeared up under the concert T-shirt he wore. His hair, back up in a ponytail, was pulled sufficiently away that she saw a tattoo curling from behind his ear down to his neck.

None of his ink was unattractive, but Rob had been right—tattooed guys were not normally her type. She was drawn to his eyes, though. Tranquil blue eyes and soft hair she wanted to touch again just to see if her memories had done it justice. Bitterness roiled in the pit of her belly. She hated the way her hackles raised at the sight of him. Regardless of the situation, she didn’t want to hate her baby’s father.

“His friend is a different kind of eye candy, too,” Rob said, trying to inject some lightness into the situation. “A little too proper for my tastes but still not difficult on the eyes.”

Taryn hadn’t spared much thought for the man who had jumped in to save Slate from the stupidity spewing from his mouth. He was a handful of inches taller and broader across the shoulders than Slate. His hair was a lighter brown and quite a bit shorter, though it was still on the longish side.

“Whatever. Let’s get this over with.” She raised her hand to wave the two over. When they saw her, she clasped her fingers together on the table in an attempt to get them to stop shaking. As they sat down and everyone was introduced, Taryn watched Slate closely. Everything about his expression and posture screamed his discomfort. She was sure he was hating every minute of this.

“I want to apologize for my reaction earlier. You gotta understand I was caught off guard, and all sorts of scenarios were running through my head when you showed up out of nowhere. The last thing I expected was for you to tell me you were . . .”

“Pregnant?”

His gaze dropped to the table. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, well. I promise you’re not the only one surprised by all this.”

“I have a couple of questions, if it’s okay?” The way he fidgeted in his seat was driving Taryn crazy, but she waved for him to continue. “Okay. Well, um, please don’t take this the wrong way, but—”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” Taryn already knew what he was about to ask. “Despite how it may seem, I do not sleep around. It just so happens you’re the only person I’ve slept with in over six months. I already told you. Yes, it’s yours. Yes, I’m sure.”

His eyes flicked to hers, and she was taken aback to see he looked as irritated as she felt. “That wasn’t what I was going to say.”

“Listen, I shouldn’t have bothered you with any of this. It’s not like I need your money or anything. I can raise this kid on my own. It’s pretty obvious we’re two different people, and someone like you doesn’t need to be burdened with a responsibility like a baby.”

“Hey.”

The sharp protest came not from Slate, who looked livid, but from his friend. What had he said his name was?
Caleb
, she thought.

His eyes looked amber—the dark color of whiskey when it was held up to the light. And they were glinting with anger as he glared at her.

Caleb took a deep breath, as if calming himself before he spoke. “Listen to me, both of you. This could get very ugly very fast, but it doesn’t have to. You’ve already established that this is a surprise and not a good one. Assumptions from either side aren’t going to help.”

“What are you? His boyfriend?” Taryn muttered, but there was no conviction in her voice.

“Why don’t we all start over,” Rob said, his voice raised a fraction to talk over the beginnings of any argument that might have cropped up over her comment. “I’m Robin, and that’s Caleb. Concerned friends.” He put his hand on Taryn’s shoulder. “This is Taryn, and you are Slayton. Taryn is going to have a baby, and everyone is going to come at this as the adults they are.” He squeezed Taryn’s shoulders. “Right?”

“I’d like that chance,” Slate said. For the first time since he sat down, he looked at Taryn directly. “Please.”

Taryn closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before she felt calmer. She was glad Rob had convinced Mel to stay behind. She wasn’t as coolheaded as he was, and she would have stoked Taryn’s anger. Opening her eyes, she nodded at Slate. “Okay.”

“What I was going to ask earlier was where you lived.”

“Why would I have taken that the wrong way?”

“I don’t know. It’s kind of a creepy question coming from a stranger, isn’t it?”

“Oh.” Taryn’s cheeks heated. “I live in Orange.”

“Really?” Caleb said. “I live in Tustin.” Tustin was the neighboring city to Orange, about thirty-five miles away from downtown Los Angeles in Orange County.

Taryn offered him a brief smile before looking back at Slate. “I didn’t mean it to come out like that, but I meant what I said before. I’m not here looking for money or help. I’m the one making the choice to keep this baby, and I thought it was only right you should know. If you want to take off, I’m not going to hold it against you.”

Slate was already shaking his head. “No. Hell no. I’m not about to be another deadbeat dad.”

His words knocked the breath from her. “Oh. Then I, I don’t know where to start.”

“Um. I . . .” Slate laughed without humor. “Yeah, I got nothing.”

Caleb cleared his throat. “Can I offer a suggestion?”

“I haven’t been able to stop you so far,” Taryn said, but she gave him a weak smile to let him know she didn’t have a problem with it.

“You have some time before you have to know all the answers. Start at the beginning. Get to know each other.”

“He’s right,” Rob said. “You should do the dating thing.”

Slate and Taryn both looked at him. “The dating thing?”

“Sure.” He grinned and winked at Taryn. “Dating is where you go out with a person and have stilted conversations over dinner to see if you’re compatible at all? If nothing else, even if you don’t mesh as a couple, you can try to be friends. It would be better for Patch if you were friends.”

“Patch?” Slate asked.

“That’s what Taryn calls the baby. She doesn’t want us to call it ‘it.’”

“Patch.” Slate met her eyes again and tried for a smile. It didn’t quite work, but she appreciated the effort. “I like that.”

The waiter came over with the drinks they’d ordered. Taryn sipped her water, jealous as everyone else enjoyed their Thai teas. That minor injustice of pregnancy was something small to concentrate on when everything else seemed too big.

Since no one had looked at the menu, Robin asked the waiter for another minute, but even when the man walked away, they still didn’t move. The silence that descended over the table was deafening.

“So . . .” Caleb made a deliberate move to open his menu. “Who’s hungry?”

Amidst conversation over the correct pronunciation of
pho
, the ice broke naturally and stayed broken. Caleb and Rob acted as a buffer when conversation got stilted. They talked about safe topics—family of origin, work, bands they’d seen—anything but the only thing they should have been talking about.

Time passed, and when their food was long finished, they all began to make noises about leaving. Taryn and Rob had to collect Mel before they could get back to Orange County. Slate had missed his two o’clock appointment, and Caleb had to get back to his bar.

Outside, Slate walked over to Taryn, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. “I’m really sorry. About everything.”

“It’s a relief to at least know a little about you. It’s better. Or not, really. I don’t know how to feel. When I woke up that morning next to you, and I didn’t remember anything . . .” She shrugged, helpless to finish her thought. She didn’t want to insult him again
.
“I don’t know.”

“It felt ugly,” he said, his voice soft. “Dirty. Like someone had taken advantage of you.” He tugged on his ponytail. “That’s gross.” He shook his head and looked over at her with guilt in his eyes. “I’m not that guy. I’d never take advantage of a girl who was drunk.”

“Well, if you took advantage of me, I took advantage of you. You were drunk, too, and sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I’m not that girl either.”

His smile was slight but genuine. “I believe you.” He looked uncertain a moment before he grinned at her, the expression undeniably charming. “I’m Slayton Marcus McKenzie,” he said. “But call me Slate, ‘cause Slayton is a horrible name.”

Taryn couldn’t help but smile back as she put her hand in his. “Taryn Elizabeth Sato.” They shook. “It’s nice to meet you. Honestly.”

He took his hand back and rubbed his neck. “So.”

“So.”

“I do want to be involved,” he blurted. His cheeks were pink, and he struggled to maintain eye contact. “If you’re comfortable, I could be there. You know. For doctor’s appointments and things like that.”

Taryn eyed him, trying to figure if he was just saying what he thought he should in this situation. “You really want to?”

He pressed his lips together, but he smiled again. “Sure. I mean, it’s my kid, right? I want to know. And I don’t want you to think you have to go it alone. Just because we’re strangers doesn’t mean we can’t be partners.”

The idea warmed her. “That sounds nice. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

“Good.” He shuffled his feet. “And maybe it wouldn’t be bad to consider what your friend said.”

She arched an eyebrow. “About dating?”

“Sure.” He looked at her with a slight shrug. “Who knows, right? That’s the way it happens in cheesy movies.”

Taryn pursed her lips, not sure what to say to that. She didn’t know him well enough to know if he’d be insulted if she laughed at what an unlikely story that would be.

His grin was sheepish. “It’d be a hell of a how-we-met story.”

“Yeah.” Catching Rob’s concerned look from where he stood a ways away, she sighed. “I have to go. I’ll text you. We’ll work something out, okay?”

“Okay.” He looked at her for a moment before he stepped forward, giving her an awkward hug. “Take care of yourself. And Patch.”

“I will.”

Chapter Four

T
aryn’s family had a standing invitation. Every Sunday, both of the Sato kids, Taryn and her older brother, Michael, were invited along with anyone they wanted to bring. Everyone who came brought a dish, so there was always plenty of food, and on the rare occasion there wasn’t, pizza was just a phone call away.

“You don’t look so hot, sweet cheeks.”

Taryn fixed her friend with a withering glare. “Thanks, Mel. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

As they headed up the walk, Mel threw her arm around Taryn. “That’s why you brought me, right? So your parents will be so glad I’m not their daughter, they’ll forget to be assholes about you?”

“They’re not . . .” Taryn trailed off as a twinge of queasiness left her swaying.

“They really are. I don’t like the way they make you feel.”