Page 86 of Good at Being Bad (Rock Canyon, Idaho 8)

They walked around the corner and into the living room where a glass door led to the patio. Ellie saw a man with thinning salt-and-pepper hair and glasses turning meet on a barbecue, and she thought that Mike looked more like his mom than his dad.

Mike slid the glass door open. “Hey, Pop.”

Kent Stevens turned around and Ellie grinned at his Grill Masters Are Sexy apron. “Sorry, son, I didn’t hear you come out. Who’s the pretty thing you got with you?”

Ellie held her hand out, and cringed inwardly at being described as a pretty thing. “Hi, I’m Ellie Willis.”

Kent took her hand, and squeezed it. “It’s good to meet you, Ellie. You’re Edward Willis’s girl, right?”

“Yes, that’s my dad.”

“Used to play golf with your dad once upon a time. A hell of a player.”

“Dad thinks anyone who beats him is a hell of a player because he thinks he’s the best,” Mike joked.

Kent laughed. “Well, not to toot my own horn.”

Then Ellie saw Mike in his dad, and relaxed.

“Please, have a seat and tell me all about yourself.” Kent waved his hand toward the patio furniture and Ellie went to sit down. She noticed that Mike didn’t join her and gave him a look that said, “Don’t leave me alone.”

“I’m just going to check in on Mom, okay? I’ll be right back.”

Ellie couldn’t argue in front of his dad so she sat, vowing revenge.

“You like football?” Kent asked.

“I’ve actually had very little exposure to sports. Except for snowboarding.”

“Ah, well, I love football. Mike could take it or leave it. It used to drive me crazy trying to get him away from his computer to throw a ball around or watch a game, but what are you going to do?” Kent took a long draw from his beer bottle and stood up. “You want a beer?”

“Sure, thanks. Where is your bathroom?”

“Head inside and it is your first door on the left.”

Ellie went inside, and on her way to the bathroom, paused to check out the wall of family pictures. She was smiling at a picture of Mike when he was probably six or seven and missing his front teeth when she heard his tense voice coming from the other side of the kitchen door.

“So what, we can’t have two desserts?”

“I just don’t like not knowing what is in it, that’s all. It looks very rich.”

“Why don’t you ask her then, Mom?”

A flash of anger raced through Ellie as she realized they were talking about her and her cake.

“You’re just being dramatic because you like things your way,” Mike said.

“No, your father doesn’t like a lot of sweets and neither do your aunts, uncles, and your cousins who will all be here within the hour.”

“Well, with all those people, sounds like Ellie did you a favor. You’ll need another dessert to handle that crowd.”

Ellie swallowed hard. Mike hadn’t mentioned his entire extended family would be there. Just the thought of being paraded in front of all of them, and having to perform made her palms sweat again.

“He was a cute little bugger, huh?” Kent asked, making her jump.

Laughing nervously, she nodded. “Yeah, he was.”

There was a knock at the front door and Kent said, “Show time.”