Free Not So New in Town by Michele Summers Page B

you. And if he ever cusses at you, I will tear him apart.”
    “But…he’s just a kid. He doesn’t even know me. I don’t think—”
    “No excuses. You can’t let him talk to you like that, Luce. It’s disrespectful. You need to show him you’re in charge.” They held their whispered conversation over the convertible’s top.
    She pressed fingers into her forehead. “Remind me never to have kids.” She massaged her temples and then reached for the door handle.
    Brogan couldn’t agree more. He remembered how hard his mom had struggled to rein him in while working a full-time job.
    He slid behind the wheel into a tension-filled car. Lucy twirled her hair and gnawed her bottom lip, and Parker sat in stony silence in the back. The urge to smack his own forehead against the steering wheel overwhelmed Brogan as he wondered what he’d gotten himself into.
    Brogan backed up and pulled out of the parking lot, and Parker broke the uncomfortable silence. “Who are you anyway?”
    Lucy swiveled in her seat. “Parker, this is Brogan Reese, a good friend of your mom’s and…er, mine.”
    “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. So what’s he, like my dad? Decided to come home and play daddy all of a sudden?”
    Lucy gasped. “Parker, that is rude—”
    “This is bullshit!” Parker exploded. “I don’t need some long-lost daddy. I’m doing just fine.”
    Yeah? The kid’s attitude said differently. Brogan wasn’t Parker’s dad, but it was obvious the kid needed one, or someone to keep him in line. He’d heard enough. He hit the brakes in front of the school and stopped. Alarm widened Parker’s blue eyes as he caught Brogan’s expression in the rearview mirror. Brogan turned and blasted the little snot with his fiercest scowl.
    “Let’s get something straight. I’m not your daddy. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of gossip in this town, but none of it is true about me being your daddy. And if you don’t believe me, I’ll be happy to take a paternity test.” Parker crossed his arms over his skinny chest. “But I’m gonna be your worst nightmare if I ever hear you speak to your aunt Lucy or your mom like I’ve heard just now. Do you understand?” he growled.
    Parker stared out the window. “Yeah, whatever.”
    “Nope. Not good enough. Apologize to—”
    Lucy’s small hand gripped his wrist, pressing his nautical rope bracelet into his skin. “Brogan, it’s all right. He didn’t mean anything—”
    He didn’t give Lucy a chance to finish. “Apologize to your aunt… now .”
    Parker cut his sullen gaze to him and held it for a few beats, but when he looked at Lucy, he swallowed hard and lowered his lids. “Sorry, Aunt Lucy.”
    “Sure, Parks.”
    Brogan eased Lucy’s death grip on his wrist. “How many beers did you drink?” he asked Parker in a calm voice.
    “I didn’t—”
    “How many?”
    Parker shifted in his seat, turning his cell phone over in his hands. “One. Not even. I only had a few sips. Give me a Breathalyzer test if you don’t believe me.”
    Brogan waited. Parker lifted his stubborn chin. “I don’t even like the stuff. It’s kinda gross.”
    Brogan remembered that too. “Okay. I believe you.” He settled back in his seat, more than ready for this night to be over.
    Parker leaned forward, grabbing Lucy’s headrest. “Aunt Lucy, you gonna tell my mom?”
    “Um, well, I don’t know. She’s going to ask, and…”
    Pure panic replaced the tension as Parker spoke. “Don’t! I swear not to do it again. She doesn’t have to know. I’ll be real quiet when we get home and go straight to bed. Please, Aunt Lucy. It might upset her…and something might happen to…you know…her.” Parker’s voice trailed off as he struggled to tamp down his emotions. The impulse to shake his fist at the skies and howl at the moon came over Brogan. One more screwed-up boy trying to wrestle the world without the guidance of a father.
    Lucy glanced at Brogan, searching for answers. What the