Best of Three (Counting on Love) (3 page)

Emma sighed and pulled her purse out of the passenger seat.

Nate Sullivan was here.

This couldn’t be good.

Emma made her way up the walk, reflecting on the last conversation between Dena and Nate.

He’d caught the kids in bed.

Nate had stormed over to Dena’s place, convinced that she would be equally concerned and angry and that they could form a united front when talking to Shannon and Michael about the risks they were taking.

But Nate didn’t know Dena.

It took a lot to get her friend upset. Dena was laid-back, probably too much so when it came to Shannon, frankly. Emma loved her but she didn’t always agree with her parenting style. Emma had been stepping in to give Shannon advice and to admonish her as needed since Shannon had been two years old.

Shannon had two parents—in every way that counted. Dena was the easy one. The one who praised her and thought she walked on water and told her she could do anything she set her mind to. Emma was the one that reminded her that “anything she set her mind to” would require a college degree and some money. Emma and Dena were a good team. When Shannon was upset or hurt or sad, Dena was the shoulder she cried on. When she got into trouble or had a decision to make, Emma was her rock.

It worked for them. Had been working for the sixteen years Emma had known the Watson girls.

But Nate didn’t know that. Dena was Shannon’s mother and he insisted that she take responsibility and discipline her daughter.

Discipline wasn’t really Dena’s thing.

Emma let herself in through the kitchen door and immediately heard the raised voices.

“You are telling me you have
no idea
where your daughter is right now?” Nate said, frustration clear in every word.

“I know
exactly
where she is,” Dena shot back. “She’s with Michael. And that’s all I need to know.”

Emma sighed. This was going to be fun.

She tossed her purse on the table and propped her cane against the wall as she glanced into the living room. Dena was in the recliner where Emma had left her that morning before her appointment with Nate. Dena had been throwing up since one a.m. and Shannon had called her to ask if she could bring some crackers and tea over.

Nate stood a few feet inside the front door. He looked pissed off.

“You don’t care that our children are out doing god-knows-what, without even telling us where they are going to be or who they are going to be with?”

“I trust my daughter,” Dena told him.

“Then you’re naïve.”

Oh, boy. Emma hung back. If Michael and Shannon were going to get serious—and she suspected they were on a direct path to very serious even now—Nate and Dena would have further reasons to interact. Emma couldn’t jump in every time. She leaned against the counter and gripped the edge to keep herself in place.

Dena wasn’t a fighter and Nate was…Nate. But she’d give them another minute.

“I know my daughter. Shannon is a good girl and I’m thrilled that she met Michael. He’s so good for her,” Dena said. “I’m happy any time she’s with him.”

Yeah, Dena felt very strongly about that. Since Michael had stolen her heart, Shannon was considering staying closer to home for college, was smiling a lot more and was feeling more confident and sure of herself. Michael
was
good for her. Getting Dena on the let’s-break-the-kids-up bandwagon was never gonna happen.

“We can’t ignore that they’re too young and have too much ahead of them,” he said, clearly exasperated.

It was nice to know someone else could get that same you’re-making-me-nuts tone from him.

“They’re potentially fucking up their future!” he added loudly.

And that was her cue.

“Imagine my delight at getting to see you twice in one day, doc,” Emma said as she came into the room and crossed to where Dena sat. Her friend looked like hell.

Nate scowled at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here every day,” she said. “But especially when my friend is sick and being yelled at.”

He had the decency to look sheepish. “I need to find Michael.”

Emma gathered up the two empty cups by Dena and gave her friend a smile. Emma would handle Nate. Nate was used to telling people what to do and having them jump to do it. He was used to people caring about his opinion and following his instructions.

Emma didn’t really do that.

“I thought he was taking Shannon out for her birthday,” Emma said easily, moving to the kitchen to deposit the cups in the sink.

“He’s not supposed to be going out.”

Emma looked at Nate through the doorway. Even though they were in two different rooms, they were maybe forty feet apart. “What do you mean?”

“He’s grounded.”

Emma laughed. “How do you ground an eighteen-year-old?”

“You tell him he’s grounded,” Nate said tightly.

“And I can see that it’s working like a dream.” She didn’t miss Nate’s glare before she turned to fill the teakettle with water. She set it on the stove, then said, “What’s the problem exactly? He’s taking his girlfriend out. They’re here in the city. There are no plans for elopement. I don’t think you need to worry.”

She turned, startled to find Nate had crossed the room and now stood towering over her. He was a lot bigger than she was. She knew his stats from the football team. He was six-two, two hundred and twenty-five pounds. She was five-six, one hundred and sixteen—give or take two pounds depending on how the weekend had gone.

“You know where they are.”

He said it in an accusatory tone.

She met his gaze. “Yes. They’re fine.”

“Where are they?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to go wherever they are and drag Michael out of there?”

“Yes.”

She raised the other brow. “You’re kidding, right? You wouldn’t actually go storming in somewhere and yank your eighteen-year-old son out in front of his friends and girlfriend?”

“He’s with friends? Somewhere public?” Nate asked, not at all answering any of
her
questions.

Emma crossed her arms. “If you think I’m going to tell you that, you’re nuts.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“I’ll punch you in the face.”

He looked taken aback at that. Good. If he thought he could
pay
her to squeal on the kids he was more than nuts…he was a jackass. And thought she was too.

“Then what do you want?”

They were in the middle of an argument and her mind still went to very inappropriate places with that question. She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m not going to tell you. If Michael wanted you to know, he would have told you.”

She, on the other hand, knew every detail. She’d helped Shannon pick out her clothes and had lectured her about safe sex. She’d even given Shannon condoms. Not that she thought that would placate Nate.

Most of the night would be innocent. Michael was taking Shannon to see some obscure band she loved that was playing a very small show in an old theater downtown. Then there was some party at a friend’s house.

But Emma also knew there were plans to spend the night at another friend’s house. Together.

She’d almost said no on that one. But that wasn’t her place. Dena knew about the sleepover plans too, but was unconcerned. She was perfectly fine with her daughter being intimate with Michael. He was a great guy who made her daughter very happy. They were both adults. New adults, sure, but adults nonetheless.

In many ways, Dena had been waiting for that day for eighteen years. She loved Shannon and had done a good job raising her, for the most part. But it had been tough. Dena was the first to admit that having Shannon out on her own, hopefully settled with a great guy who could give her stability and a great future, was Dena’s idea of a dream come true. She’d always welcomed Emma’s willingness to share the load, and having a good guy able and willing to step in to help Shannon emotionally, physically and financially had been Dena’s prayer for years.

It was all out of love for Shannon. But yes, if Shannon and Michael got serious, Dena was all for it. Emma knew that even an early pregnancy that would bond them together forever wouldn’t be a disappointment to Dena.

Emma understood where her friend was coming from. But Emma did fall more on Nate’s side of the argument. Michael might do the right thing and marry Shannon if there was an unexpected baby in the picture, but that was not the ideal way to get stability and security. Not at all.

Not that she’d admit to agreeing with Nate on anything.

“Emma.” Nate’s voice dropped low and he moved in close, backing her up against the refrigerator.

Damn, this close she was unable to ignore how gorgeous his dark green eyes were. And that mouth… She had to want the guy she couldn’t have, didn’t she?

“I need you to tell me where they are.”

His hand came to rest on her hip and she took a shaky little breath. He was going to
seduce
the information out of her?

He leaned in, his mouth near her ear. “Please, it’s important.” He paused, then pulled in a breath. “Dammit, you smell good.”

Okay, the seduction thing might work.

Crap.

She closed her eyes. Maybe that would help. She put her hands up on his chest, to hold him back. Because that mouth this close was dangerous.

Not that touching him helped. He was warm and solid and smelled damned good himself.

“Nate—”

His hand slid around to her butt and he pulled her closer. “How about a hint?” he asked. “I want to be sure he’s okay.”

Emma tried to shake her head, but she wasn’t sure she pulled it off. “Shannon trusted me. This night means a lot to her.”

“Then you leave me no choice,” he said huskily.

Oh, boy. What was he going to try next? She almost couldn’t wait to find out. If he kissed her, or pulled her more firmly against him, or slid his hand to her breast…she’d tell him anything. Even that she’d been attracted to him for a good year and a half now.

The next thing she felt, though, was her cell phone sliding out of her back pocket.

Her eyes flew open as Nate stepped back, and flipped the phone open.

“Seriously?” she groaned. “That was low.”

And she’d fallen for it. Completely.

He gave her a smug grin. “And you fell for it. Completely.”

Dammit. He now had something far more important than her phone—the knowledge that he could affect her. She had a feeling that was going to be a bad, bad thing.

He started pushing buttons and she knew he was looking for messages from Shannon. Which he would definitely find if he kept going. She grabbed for the phone, but he lifted it up out of her reach.

“Nate. You can’t go through my phone.”

“Afraid I’ll call all your lovers and tell them about the six-weeks-no-sex rule?”

She made a grab for the phone again. And missed. “No. I’m afraid you’re going to ruin the relationship that your son is building with this girl he cares about a lot—and maybe even his relationship with
you
.”

She saw the change in his face. He hated that idea.

She could work with that.

This night was a big deal to Shannon. Even more, Michael was a big deal to Shannon. She was in love for the first time and it was with a guy who Emma thought was terrific. As a weird big-sister-mom-friend combo to the girl, Emma knew Michael was exactly the kind of guy she would have chosen for Shannon.

Until Shannon met Michael, her plan had been to go to college as far away from home as she could get. She wanted to get a psychology degree and counsel at-risk teens.

The idea that Shannon would go off to college in some far away city and fall in love with a guy that Emma would meet for the first time when he proposed and they came home for Christmas made her stomach cramp. She’d never once told Shannon to stay home or that she couldn’t do exactly what she wanted. But she’d wanted to. She was going to miss that kid severely.

Now Shannon was thinking of staying closer to home.

Emma loved that. Emma loved Michael for that.

Because of Michael, Emma could selfishly celebrate that Shannon might still be close enough for lunch dates and sleepovers.

Nate sighed heavily. “I will listen to suggestions. As long as they
don’t
include the words ‘leave them alone’.”

That had been her exact suggestion. She frowned. “You can’t go barging into wherever they are, and Michael’s not answering your calls, so what are you going to do? Spy on them?”

Nate’s face brightened immediately.

Emma groaned. “
No
. You can’t spy on your son.”

“The hell if I can’t. That accomplishes all of the objectives,” he said. “It helps me know where they are and what they’re doing, but it’s not barging in or dragging him away from his friends—or whatever.”

“Nate, seriously. You can’t stalk your son. That’s…creepy.”

He shrugged. “Don’t care. My job is to protect him, whether he likes it or not, by whatever means necessary.”