As Dara poured her a glass of wine, Beth asked, “You guys are really sure about this?”
“They’re gonna find out sooner or later,” Matt said. “And I didn’t want to put you through all this, but you know Mom’s going to throw the will in our faces.”
Beth nodded. “Yeah, she will. You guys could probably use some moral support too.”
Matt smirked. “I don’t know if I’d come to you for moral—”
“Oh, shut up.”
Dara laughed and slid the wineglass down the counter to Beth. “I am so staying out of that one.”
“Good.” Beth narrowed her eyes at her brother. “Brat.”
Matt just chuckled.
Then Beth set her glass down. “Okay, I need to be serious for a minute. Before Mom and Dad get here, I need you to know that whatever happens, I don’t want you compromising on my behalf. If Adam gets the farm, then…” She shook her head. “I’ll figure it out.”
“I just don’t want you caught in the middle if—”
“I’m already caught in the middle, because Mom’s dangling this over my head too.”
Matt winced. “I know. But what about Aspen Mill?”
Beth chewed her lip. After a moment, she sighed. “I wish I knew. But ultimately, that responsibility is theirs. Mom’s got the will, and Adam’s got the big stupid plans.” She lifted her shoulder in a tight half shrug. “We—and in this case, you—can only accept so much responsibility.”
Matt stared at the floor for a moment, gaze distant. Then he nodded, rolling some tension out of his shoulders as he lifted his gaze. “You’re right. I can’t stop Adam any more than Mom can control me.” He tilted his head to one side, then the other, as if to snap some more of that tension. “They’re adults, and so are we. If they don’t like this, they can deal with it.”
“They can go fuck themselves,” Dara muttered.
Matt laughed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. “Trust you to be more eloquent than me.”
“That doesn’t take much,” Beth said.
“Oh hush.”
All the bravado and flippant insistence that their parents could take the news and suck it evaporated with the ringing of the doorbell.
Matt and Dara exchanged uneasy glances.
She squeezed his hand. “You’ve got that pill handy, right?”
He tapped his shirt pocket. “Ready.”
“Good.”
He’d promised to keep one of his migraine pills where it was within reach. He’d also promised he’d take that pill at the slightest twinge, no matter how mild the pain. One time wouldn’t kill his tolerance, and neither he nor Dara wanted to delay this conversation another night.
Time to get it over with.
On her way to the door, Dara muttered a string of profanity in between a prayer for this night to end better than it was currently playing out in her head. Then she put on a smile and opened the front door. Her parents had arrived, so that was a relief. They were a hell of a lot easier to deal with than Matt’s.
She took them into the kitchen where Beth was helping Matt finish up dinner.
“Matt. Beth.” Mom tightened her lips. “This is unexpected.” Before either of them could even say hello, she turned to Dara. “What’s going on?”
“We just want to sit down and talk to you and Dad.”
Her parents looked at each other, scowling.
Dara cleared her throat. “Wine?”
“Yes, please,” her mother said, eyeing Beth and Matt.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
Dara pulled a bottle from the rack and a corkscrew from the drawer. She hadn’t even had a chance to open it before another engine approached outside, slowed and stopped in front of the house.
Matt gulped.
Beth fidgeted. “Why don’t I take care of that?” She gestured at the wine. “So you can…um…”
“Thanks.” Dara exchanged uneasy glances with Matt, and they both headed for the front door.
In the entryway, he put a hand on the small of her back. “Let me.”
Dara looked up at him and then stepped aside. She wasn’t going to turn down the offer of a buffer between herself and the people who were going to be unimpressed about her dating their son.
Christ. Are we fifteen or something?
She pressed her lips together as Matt opened the door.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, cheerfully masking the nerves he undoubtedly had. “Come on in.”
They came in, and the instant his mother locked eyes with Dara, she stopped in her tracks so quickly, her husband nearly collided with her.
“What’s going on?” she asked through her teeth.