Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,15
caught Tyler just staring off into space.
I had to reach up, practically jump and snap my fingers in his face to get his attention.
“Hey,” he said to me. “You okay?”
“If someone asks me that again, I’m going to snap,” I said.
“Sorry. It’s a habit.”
“I’m okay. You’re not.”
“Says who? Crosby?”
“You two are being idiots,” I said. “But you… right now… you’re dazed. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
I punched Tyler’s arm. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Ma, Mila just punched me,” Tyler said.
“Mila, don’t hit your brother,” Ma called out.
“Really?” I asked Tyler.
He grinned. “I could always get you into trouble with her. But never Dad. You could have burned the house down and Dad would have said he was proud that you started a fire.”
“What the hell is with you and Crosby right now?” I asked. “You’re both acting jealous.”
“I’m not jealous. What the hell can I be jealous of?”
“I don’t know. But something is off.”
“Mila,” Tyler said. He looked down at me. “I have a daughter. I have Olivia. We’re trying to plan a wedding. I run a business. And Olivia is pregnant. There’s a lot of shit happening in my life right now. On top of that, I have a family that never lets up for a second. Including a pain in the ass sister… who also happens to be pregnant.”
“My pregnancy is not your concern,” I said.
Tyler opened his mouth to argue back.
That’s when Thomas announced, “You are not riding a goddamn horse, Edith!”
Right on cue, Lucy came running across the restaurant to collect her dollar because Thomas said a curse word.
Lucy took the dollar with pride and she even had the nerve to wink at me.
The kid was going to end up a millionaire by the time she was eighteen with this deal in place. The Justa family had no filter.
When Lucy walked away, Edith took the towel she had on her shoulder and threw it on the counter. She strutted toward Thomas, who was now standing.
The faceoff made me shiver.
I saw fear spread across Thomas’s face.
“You want to repeat that, husband?” Edith asked.
“Shit,” I whispered.
“She’s going to kill him,” Tyler said.
“Psst, Ma,” I whisper-growled.
Ma looked back at me and shook her head.
“I said what I said, Edith,” Thomas said. “You are not riding a horse.”
“Since when do you control my life?” Edith asked.
“Why do you want to ride a horse? That’s dangerous. At your age?”
“Oh, boy,” Zeke muttered.
He and Arthur stood, leaving their coffee cups behind, and they bailed on Thomas.
“Wait,” Thomas said, putting his hands out. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re not old. You’re just…”
“What?” Edith asked. “Too old to do something? Last time I checked I can do whatever the hell I want to. Crosby has a ranch. He has horses.”
Everyone looked at Crosby.
He waved his hands. “Leave me out of this.”
“I don’t want you to fall and get hurt, Edith,” Thomas said.
“That’s for me to worry about,” Edith said. “I’m not going to live in a bubble for you, Thomas.”
“Then I’m just going to leave here,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to hear this talk anymore.”
“Then go,” Edith said.
Thomas let out a growling sound and stomped toward the front door.
All of us stayed silent and watched.
When Thomas got to the door, he looked back. “You’re still making dinner, right?”
“Of course I am, you big fool,” Edith snapped.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” Edith said.
Thomas stormed out of the restaurant.
“That’s how you two argue?” Tyler asked.
“Of course it is,” Edith said. “We can disagree and still love each other. He’s an idiot, but he’s still decent in bed. So I’ll keep him around.”
“Oh, I never want to hear that again,” Crosby said.
“What?” Edith asked. “You think Thomas and I-”
“I might throw up,” I said.
Edith stopped talking. “Well, to hell with all of you then.”
She slapped the kitchen door and disappeared.
“A horse?” Tyler asked.
“I don’t know,” Ma said.
“She wants to learn how to ride a horse,” Crosby said. “I didn’t realize it was that big of a deal. I told her to stop by the ranch. Cliff can help her.”
“Good job, Crosby,” I said.
“Good job getting pregnant by a rock star, Mila,” Crosby threw back at me.
“Hey!” Ma yelled. “Crosby! Don’t you dare say that!”
“Oh, it’s fine,” I said. “Crosby is just jealous because he knows he can’t get a sock pregnant. That’s all he’s got left to hump.”
“Stop this,” Ma said. “I don’t want to hear this.”
“You’ve washed his socks before, Ma,” Tyler said.
“I will come over there and knock you out, Tyler,” Crosby warned.