“Please. Have a seat,” Molly said, without a trace of warmth. “Caitlyn?” she called.
Her daughter ventured into the room. Her averted face meant she didn’t look at either Trevor or Richard. Some instinct made Richard grip his son’s shoulder and give a single, reassuring squeeze. If what was coming was what Richard expected, Trevor needed to know he had support—so long as he did act with any sort of decency and honor.
Richard sat at one end of the sofa, Trev at the other. Mother and daughter took the chairs facing them.
“What’s this about?” he asked bluntly. Trevor, he saw, was staring balefully at Caitlyn.
“Caitlyn is pregnant,” Molly said, equally blunt.
He jerked with shock. He’d expected it, yes. But he knew now that he hadn’t really. Maybe this was what it felt like to drive to the hospital when you got a call telling you your kid had been in a car accident. You might bargain with God the whole drive, but you didn’t really believe this person you loved more than any other in the world could actually die.
Before he could say anything, Trevor leaped to his feet. “You’re just saying this because you’re mad,” he accused.
Face bleached pale, Caitlyn gaped at Trevor. “I wouldn’t!”
“Sit down,” Molly ordered, and maybe long practice gave her voice enough snap his son obeyed. Dropped, as if his knees had given out.
“But we used…” His face went stark.
“We didn’t the first time,” the girl mumbled.
“I pulled out.” Color slashed over his cheeks as he darted a look from his father to his former girlfriend’s mother. His mouth opened, closed then worked a few times.
All the breath left Richard and he bent forward, elbows on his knees, and let his head sag. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. Was his gifted son really that stupid?
There was a good long silence after Trevor’s so brilliant remark. “And you actually believed that was good enough?” Molly’s incredulity was almost disguised. Almost.
“The guys say there’s hardly any chance…”
“The guys are idiots,” she told him crisply.
Back to the wall, he glowered at Caitlyn. “How do I know it’s mine?”
She gasped and jumped up in turn. “You…you…you jerk.”
“I’m just asking. I’ve seen you with Jed Sawyer.”
“He’s a friend!” Her voice vibrated with outrage.
“How am I supposed to know?” Trevor snarled.
Molly looked at Richard. “Is this how you encourage him to take responsibility for his actions?”
His head went back. “You’re blaming me?”
“He’s your son.”
“I didn’t even want to have sex!” Caitlyn was yelling. Tears ran down her cheeks. “But I liked you. You knew I wasn’t ready.”
Oh, hell. Trevor was back on his feet, too, his shoulders hunched like an angry bull. Or maybe it was one that felt threatened. “You could have said no.”
Richard found himself rising to his feet, as well. This felt like a bar brawl in the making. He was stunned, angry, scared, all at the same time. And deeply ashamed of his kid.
“And then you ditched me.” The girl’s eyes were wild, her hair seeming to have gained volume and fire from her emotions. It wasn’t really that red, was it? Not compared to her mom’s.
“You’re the one who got weird!” Trevor bellowed. “I had a thing for you. If you’d told me no, I would have been okay with it.”
“Oh, right. Oh, sure.” Caitlyn’s hands were curled into fists at her side. “When I tried to talk to you, you made fun of me. You told me I wasn’t grown-up. That it was your mistake to hook up with a little girl.”
Richard groaned, which brought Molly’s furious gaze back to him.
“Well?” she demanded.
Voice reaching near hysteria, Caitlyn kept on as if the two parents weren’t in the room. “You wanted a girl who was ready for something ‘real.’ Remember that? One who didn’t still play with Barbie dolls. You got what you wanted, and then you told me to run along!”
“Well, you’re getting yours back, aren’t you?” Trevor spat. “Bet you’re really satisfied. It’s all my fault. Like you weren’t there.” Except he added a few more words, ones that had Molly’s eyes going slitty.
Richard raised his voice. “Sit down! Both of you.”
“Finally, some sense,” Molly snapped.
He turned a dirty look on her. “You should have known better than to have set us up like this.”
“Set you up?” Now, finally, she shot to her feet. “This is how you take responsibility?”