He ran his fingers through his already-disheveled hair and then looked up from his mug at Quinn and Holly. “I just need to do something that will make Claire realize I’m in this for the long haul, that she can depend on me. For some reason she thinks I’m this playboy who can’t settle down.”
Evan turned to look at him. “Uh, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you have a new woman on the back of your Harley every week. Or that you took off for six weeks.”
“Which was two weeks longer than you really needed to be gone. The new subdivision out west was already under way. You didn’t need to stay out there that long. Our partners on that project had everything under control, ” Quinn added.
Jake looked away from them. Yeah, he’d been gone weeks longer than necessary for Manning Construction, but he had his own business plans and it was too early to tell them yet.
“Wait, I’ve got it!” Holly yelled, flailing her arms around.
“Yay! Mommy!” Ella clapped. They all smiled at her and then she went back to coloring.
“Trade in your Harley and get a minivan.”
Everyone went silent. Jake felt the room start spinning, and he was having a hard time focusing. He clutched the edge of the quartzite counter as chills ran up and down his spine. And then a cold, clammy sweat dripped from his pores. He heard laughter, voices, but it sounded as though they were coming from a dark tunnel. Was he having a stroke? A large hand slapped him on the back. Hard.
“Breathe, Jake, breathe,” he heard Quinn say in the distance.
“Have some water.” He accepted the glass of water and forced himself to take a large gulp.
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
Everyone laughed.
“Jake, getting rid of the Harley would symbolize the end of your wild days, that you’re ready to embrace your future as a dad. And a husband.” He could tell from the sound of her voice that she was actually being serious. Helpful even.
He shook his head and closed his eyes, but not before catching Quinn turning around to hide his laughter. Traitor. “Holly. I’m not getting rid of the Harley.”
She smiled and crossed her arms in front of her. “How about the minivan?”
That word again. Maybe he was allergic to the word, because he felt the room start teetering again.
“You’re hyperventilating,” Evan said, though he didn’t look too concerned as he leaned back in his chair.
“What if you got one that said ‘Sport’ on the back? I’m sure that means it’s peppy.”
Jake stared at his beautiful sister-in-law and wondered when she had become so evil.
Quinn turned to Holly. Finally, the man was going to set his wife straight. “That’s a good idea, honey. Jake, really, it’ll have so much room for all the kid’s toys and the food shopping. And those car seats and strollers take up tons of room. And if you get leather seats, the baby vomit is easy to wipe up.”
He stared at the two of them.
Evan piped up. “And minivans are great when you start gaining that middle-aged family-man potbelly. Very forgiving.”
Jake touched his flat stomach absently. “Forget it. No flipping way am I getting a minivan! No, no, no. Thanks for nothing, guys.” He shot them all a dirty look and walked over to Ella.
“Bye, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He ruffled her brown hair and gave her a quick kiss on the head.
“Wait,” she said, and then thrust a piece of paper up at him. “Dat’s Uncle Zake and Auntie Care.” Jake looked at the scribbles on the paper, aware that his niece had somehow come up with her own interpretation of what happened between him and Claire.
“Thanks, honey. I’ll be sure to hang this on my fridge, okay?” The entire front of his fridge was filled with pictures from Ella. This was the most interesting piece in the collection.
She nodded, pleased with herself.
He walked out of the kitchen with a final, pissed-off look in his brothers’ direction. Was he really mad at them? Okay, maybe not. He would have done the same thing if either of his brothers had done something as stupid as he had.
As he reached the front door he heard Holly call out his name. He sighed and turned around to face her.
“Jake, I’m sorry for teasing you.”
He shrugged. He deserved all of this. He deserved much worse than this. He was a total screwup, exactly like their father told him.
She came to stand in front of him, reaching out to touch his arm. “Claire is my best friend. She may come across like she’s got it all together, but she does need you. I’m not saying any of this to make you feel worse, it’s just you are someone….”