Page 3 of Over and Above (Mount Hope #4)

Chapter Three

Magnus

As soon as Eric stomped into The Heist, I had zero doubt what he was there for. Luckily, it was mid-afternoon on a slow day when most of the town was at the park for various parties. We had a few late lunch guests lingering at tables, but the bar area was empty enough to hold all of Eric’s considerable ire.

“We have to talk.”

“About why you’re avoiding me?” I was nothing if not direct. Subtlety had never gotten me anything in life. Which included Eric, for reasons only my libido understood. He was cranky, chronically overscheduled, and had apparently taken a near-instant dislike to me, our great conversation that night in March notwithstanding.

“I’m not avoiding you.” His eyes went all shifty as he clenched his hands. He was a terrible liar. And also hot as hell—tall and lanky with lean muscles, pale skin, and a rugged jawline that vacillated between clean-shaven and fuzzy. He had more hair on his head than me, but it was closely cropped and streaked with silver in a way that only added to his appeal.

“Your housemates come in all the time.” I wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily, even as I gestured to an empty barstool. “Your ambulance crew was in just last week.”

“I’ve been busy.” Eric pursed his lips and ignored my request to be seated. “And now we have a much bigger problem, as you well know.”

“Yep.” I nodded, pointing again at a barstool. He was likely going to be here a bit, getting all he wanted to say in, and he also looked like he needed a shot in the worst way. “I’m glad Maren finally told you, honestly.”

“Wait.” Eric’s forehead creased. “How long have you known?”

Oops. I undoubtedly shouldn’t have used the word finally, but like subtlety, my tact sometimes got lost in my honesty. “A couple of weeks? Not long.”

“Long enough.” Eric snorted.

“I told her to tell you and get it over with.” I gave up trying to get the man to sit, and instead, I poured him a shot of tequila. He’d appreciated the nuances of reposado last time, but the one I selected this time would do the trick whether he sipped or hammered it.

“You gave my kid advice?” A muscle moved in Eric’s jaw. His protective papa bear routine was going to get old real quick, so I passed him the shot.

“Was I supposed to come tell you myself?” I kept my voice easy but firm. “Because that would have been all kinds of messed up. She and Diesel are twenty. Not fifteen.”

“I hate that they told you first.” At last, Eric slammed the shot, wincing and shuddering in a way that went right to my dick. And since that part of me needed to take a backseat to more pressing matters, I busied myself with wiping the bar as Eric continued, more subdued now. “I always thought Maren and I could talk about anything. Everything.”

“Well, Diesel can’t keep a secret.” I shrugged because I was pretty sure Diesel had been on the phone with me seconds after Maren called him when she’d tested positive at the student health center. “That’s a big part of it. And like you, we’ve always talked about everything openly. As far as you not knowing, she did tell you. That’s a good sign.”

“She was kind of forced into it because she was sick at the graduation party. Who knows when she would have shared otherwise…”

Ouch. I had a better idea now of why Eric was so upset that I’d known before him.

“She wasn’t afraid you’d be angry if that helps. I think she wanted to tell you.” I leaned against the bar, trying to figure out how best to share my read on the situation. “She’s terrified of disappointing you, especially with not returning to college in the fall.”

“Maren can still go…” Eric started to protest, then exhaled, shoulders slumping. “She’s already decided, hasn’t she?”

Fuck. I couldn’t seem to stop stepping in it where Eric was concerned. “You’ll have to talk to her, but do you really want her alone and pregnant at college? And then alone with a newborn a couple of hours from home?”

“No. Of course not.” Eric gave a decisive nod. “You’re right.”

“I am.” I took a moment to bask in my rightness by smiling at him, but Eric continued to frown deeper than the Columbia Gorge.

“At least here, she’ll have people to support her.”

“Them.” I corrected him gently before he and that huge friendship circle of his could close ranks around Maren. I had to stand up for my kid as well. “Diesel’s involved too.”

“I know.” Eric winced like he’d pounded another shot. “Maren said he’s excited.”

Excited was probably pushing it in terms of Diesel’s reaction, but if Maren was reading him that way, maybe he was doing something right.

“He’s in love with her. Trust me that he’s as scared as she is.” I kept my tone as pragmatic as my personal feelings on the subject. “He’s trying to be as supportive as possible.”

“Is he pressuring her to move forward with the pregnancy?” Eric’s voice went cocktail-skewer sharp.

“Enough’s enough.” I leaned forward over the part, getting up close and personal with his face, and not for the sexy reasons I’d spent months hoping for. “I get it. You’re shocked your kid is pregnant. And you’ve been in grief mode for what, fifteen months now? I’m willing to overlook your grumpiness most of the time, but you don’t get to talk shit about my son.”

“I’m sorry.” Appropriately repentant, Eric hunkered down, chin almost touching his empty shot glass.

“And the answer is no. The first question Diesel asked me was how to support Maren’s decision. I told him to simply keep loving her, whatever choice she made. But she’s been pretty adamant from the start that she’s keeping the baby no matter what.”

“I’ve gathered that.” Eric’s voice was burned-toast crisp, but his pained eyes kept me sympathetic.

“Since that’s what she wants, Diesel wants to be involved as much as possible.” My pride at how he was stepping up laced my words. Like Eric, I wasn’t exactly happy, but I was proud of my kid. And lord knew the situation didn’t need Eric and me trying to out miserable each other. “Diesel loves Maren, and I think that’s a big part of his excitement. He wants a life with her.”

“They’re kids.” Groaning, Eric rested his head on his hands.

“I wasn’t much older than him when Diesel’s mom sprung the news on me.”

Eyes widening, Eric opened his mouth. From anyone else, I might expect a crack about the strength of my bloodline’s swimmers, but here, I braced for a parenting-related judgment.

I held up a hand. “Think before your next comment, please.”

“Sorry. Continue.”

“It was a far different situation in that Flo was never the most stable person to begin with, nor were we particularly serious.” Those were massive understatements, but Eric didn’t need my life story that minute. “But when the paternity test said my name, I stepped up, and I expect Diesel to do the same. And I’m going to give him the one thing Flo and I never had.”

“What’s that?”

“Support.” I bent so he had no choice but to meet my gaze. I could be easygoing and charming all day long, but when I meant business, people knew it.

“Oh.” Eric’s mouth made a pained circle. He briefly closed his eyes, then opened them, voice becoming more resolute. “I want to be supportive. I do. I’m just not sure where to start.”

“You start the same place we all do: you love your kid.”

“Of course.” Eric looked two seconds away from one of Maren’s classic eye rolls. He and Maren weren’t biologically related, but they shared almost as many mannerisms as Diesel and I did. “But it’s still hard.”

“I wasn’t done.” I let my voice be stern because maybe Eric needed a little sternness right then. “And then you respect that your kids get to make their own choices. Their own missteps. Live their own lives. I wouldn’t have chosen this path for either of them.”

“I know.” Eric groaned again, so I kept right on being the firmness he and the situation seemed to need. There’d be time enough for soft words and touches later.

“But this is what’s happening.” I brought him a basket of house-made chips and another shot of tequila. “And you and I are going to be?—”

“Don’t say it.” He slugged back the shot, grimacing so hard I had to chuckle.

“Grandpas. And I speak from experience here that if you keep acting like Maren’s making the biggest mistake of her life, you will only drive her away faster.”

“I know.” Eric’s lower lip wobbled.

“Hey.” I reached out and touched Eric’s forearm. “It’s going to be okay. It is. But I’m going to tell you something Diesel never would. His mom used to talk all the time about how getting pregnant was such a mistake. An accident. I had to work time-and-a-half to get that kid to see he’s the biggest blessing of my life. Don’t do that to your future grandkid.”

“My future…” Eric trailed off, expression going from worried to hurt to downright dumbfounded. “We really are going to be grandpas, aren’t we?”

“Yep.” I dearly hoped the universe had some larger plan at work here to throw Eric and me together like this because being co-grandparents with someone who so obviously disliked me would be less than fun.