Page 83 of Protect My Heart
‘She’s not just some girl. I met her at Noah’s wedding. I told you about her.’
‘After the wedding, yes, but that was it. You didn’t mention her again until she showed up in town.’
‘Lying to people is not how you were raised,’ Mom says. ‘Why would you do something like this?’
‘It was Mia’s idea. She was afraid her parents would be upset if they found out we weren’t together. They’re old-fashioned. They think you have to be married to have a baby.’
Mom smiles a little. ‘I will say we’re very happy about the baby. I can’t wait to be a grandma!’
Dad looks at her. ‘Martha, we talked about this on the way over. Don’t be getting soft on me because of the baby.’
Mom shuts down her smile and looks back at me. ‘Yourfather and I think you should call this off now before things get out of hand.’
‘I can’t. I told Mia I’d do this, and now it’s done. And you saw how happy her parents were. They would’ve been devastated if they’d found out she was pregnant and alone.’
‘So how exactly does this end?’ Dad asks, folding his arms over his chest. ‘You planning to actually marry her?’
‘No. It’ll end when she leaves. She’ll tell her parents it didn’t work out and we called off the engagement. By then her parents will have had time to accept the pregnancy and get excited about it, which will hopefully help them get over the disappointment of us not getting married. And Mia will probably have a job by then, and an apartment, so they won’t have to worry about her, or they’ll worry less than they would now when things are more uncertain.’
‘What do you mean when she leaves?’ Mom asks. ‘She’s really not staying here?’
‘You heard what she said at breakfast. She’s moving back to Boston at the end of August.’
Dad’s brows furrow. ‘And you’re okay with this? With your child living on the other side of the country?’
‘No, but what am I going to do? I’m not leaving Haydon Falls. My life is here.’
Dad glances at Mom, then back at me. ‘You and Mia have talked about this? And neither one of you is willing to move?’
‘She can’t. She needs to take care of her parents. Her mom’s in good health, but her dad’s health isn’t very good. You saw how hard it is for him to get around. Mia wants to be close to them to help them out. And I want to be close to you and Mom. It doesn’t work for either of us to move.’
Dad rubs his hand over his jaw and glances at Mom again. ‘I still don’t think this is right. You’re messing with people’s lives here, including your own.’
‘Yeah, well, this wasn’t supposed to happen. We were only going to tell Mia’s parents about the engagement. Nobody else was supposed to know.’
‘You really thought that was possible in a town this size? After that show you put on at the restaurant, everyone in town probably knows by now. How are you going to explain this to people?’
‘I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet.’
‘You were going on dates with other girls just a few weeks ago,’ Mom says. ‘And now you’re engaged and having a baby? Just think how that looks.’
‘You always told me not to worry about what other people think.’
‘Yes, but you’re a teacher, Jason. Your students look up to you. What are you going to tell them?’
‘I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. I haven’t thought about any of this because this wasn’t supposed to happen.’
Dad shakes his head. ‘Maybe next time you’ll think of these things before getting yourself into messes like this.’
‘Are we done here? I need to get back to the apartment in case Mia shows up.’
The door opens and Brody walks in, with Sawyer right behind him. They both have huge grins on their faces.
‘What are you two doing here?’ Dad asks.
‘We came to congratulate the groom,’ Sawyer says, laughing. ‘So Jason, when’s the big day?’
‘Shut up,’ I say, because it’s not funny. My parents are right. This is a fucking mess.
