“Hi, Katy,” Becky said after she’d climbed out of the shower and was back in her room, dressed. She knew her dad was downstairs, her mom too, and she’d heard Trevor and Jack up and about.

“Becky, nice to hear from you. You never call me this time of day. Is everything all right? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”

She could hear babbling in the background and another voice, Steven. She could picture her sister looking after the two guys in her life. “On my way in shortly. Dad’s driving me,” she said and pulled at her lower lip, sucking it in between her teeth. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.

“Your car broke down?”

She shook her head, but her sister couldn’t see, of course. “No, I kind of screwed up, which is why I’m calling.”

“In what way? Just hang on a second, Becky. Let me go into the other room.” She could hear Katy say something to Steven, and then a door closed, and there was quiet. “Sorry about that. It’s just a crazy busy morning. I have to get Fletcher breakfast, and Steven has to be in to work. So you said something happened?”

It was more than that. She’d pictured the advice her sister would give her, and now she didn’t think it had been such a great idea to call. “I met someone, and, well, long story short, things kind of blew up, and…well.” She cleared her throat, because there was silence on the other end.

“You met someone, as in dating, and—you’re not pregnant, are you?” Katy gasped, and Becky laughed, though it wasn’t funny.

“No, I’m not pregnant,” she said, or she wouldn’t be after she took that pill. “But it’s kind of bad. I was with him last night and overslept. My phone was off. Mom and dad had been calling, and they now know. They demanded he bring me back, and of course they hadn’t met him. Well, they had, but that’s another story. He drove me back to the ranch, where Dad and Mom were waiting up, and I’m not sure everything dad said to him, but they know we were…”

“Having sex!” Katy laughed. “Oh, Becky, seriously, that is so mortifying that it’s hilarious. Sounds about as bad as them catching you in the act. They didn’t, did they?”

“No, Katy, but it’s a little more than that?”

“Well, what’s the biggie? I think it’s great you met someone. You’re nineteen, Becky. Time to have your own life. I was married, you know. I’m sure Mom and Dad will chill out eventually. They didn’t ground you, did they?” She actually laughed again on the other end.

“This is not funny! No, it was worse, since I never intended for Mom and Dad to ever meet Tom. I knew he wasn’t the kind of man you bring home to your parents and knew they’d never understand because of who he is.” This time there was silence on the other end.

“Who is Tom?” Katy sounded worried now.

“He was the ER doctor who stitched up my finger. He’s older than me, and if they only knew what he said to me, what he wants from me, I’m pretty sure Dad would kill him.”

There was a sigh on the other end. “I have to get going, Becky, but I want to talk to you about this more. Why don’t you come on down for the weekend? We can spend some time together and talk.”

There was a tap at Becky’s door. “Sure, actually, that sounds great. Listen, I’ve got to go. I love you, sis,” she said, then hung up as she got up from the bed and pulled open the door. She took in her dad standing there, waiting.

“Was wondering whether you were going to hide up here all morning,” he said. Then he gestured to her neck and the hickey she’d forgotten to cover up. Right, turtleneck. She felt her face heat.

“And that…” He stopped talking and then stepped back. “Downstairs in five, and then we’re leaving.” He walked away, and she listened to the creak on the stairs as she pulled open her drawer and found her only turtleneck. It was black and thankfully lightweight. She lifted off her cream shirt and tossed it on her unmade bed, then pulled the turtleneck on. She took one last look in the mirror and grabbing her phone when it dinged with a text from Ian: Don’t forget three at the coffee house.

As she went to answer, she saw two more from Tom: Come to the ER before your first class. Morning after pill and talk. The next one had likely come in when she’d been talking to Katy. Hey, text me back, tell me you got this!

Then her phone rang, Tom’s caller ID on screen, and her dad called up the stairs, “Becky, move it.”

“Hello?” she said and lowered the phone. “Coming, Dad!”

“Hey, you didn’t text me back.” Tom sounded distant, and she could hear noise in the background, probably the hospital ER.

“I just got your text and was about to answer.” Had her nose grown? She grabbed her purse and stepped into the hall, getting her butt moving before her dad decided to come back upstairs.

“After your dad drops you off, come to the ER. Ask for me at the front desk. Just tell them your name and they’ll page me.”

“Yeah, your text said that. Listen, I was just going to pop into the clinic after school and take care of it.”

“I think not. Just show up. Told you last night I’d take care of it. It was stupid and careless, and…” There was a lot of noise in the background, and he came back on. “I’ve got to go. Just show up here.” Then he was gone, and she stared at the phone and started to the stairs, seeing her dad at the bottom, waiting for her, go cup of coffee in hand.

“Sorry, Dad, just a…” She hurried down the stairs.

“Mm-hmm. Go and get something to eat,” he said to her when she hit the bottom step. Then he stopped her, his hand touching her chin. “Hey, take a minute.” He slid his arm around her, hugging her, as he walked her to the kitchen. “Eat something and get that panicked look off your face.”

She wasn’t really hungry. Coffee, though, would be perfect. “I’ll grab an apple, and we should go,” she said. Her first class was at nine, and Tom expected her at the ER. She’d be cutting it close, and she wasn’t up to telling her dad any more of her personal fuckups.

Her mom handed her a piece of toast with what looked like almond butter. “Take the apple to go. Eat the toast now, and here’s coffee and lunch.” Her mom had an insulated lunch kit packed and handed the other coffee to her dad.

“Thanks, Mom, but you really need to stop making lunch for me.”

Her mom gave her a hard look and something else that said much more. “You’re still my daughter, Becky.” Then she gestured with her chin. “Your dad’s waiting.”

She watched as her father kissed her mom. The exchange was brief, but it said so much. She tucked the lunch kit in her backpack and stuck the toast in her mouth, holding it with her teeth. She reached for her coat and pulled it on, then grabbed her purse as her dad held the door. Outside, he held open the passenger door of his pickup, and she scooted in.

She watched as he walked around the front of the truck and then slid behind the wheel, slid the key in the ignition, and started it. He pulled on his shades in the bright sun and took in the gauges as if reading the details before shoving the truck in reverse. He backed out and drove. Not a word was said, and she took a sip of the warm dark brew.

“So I want to talk with you about Tom and the fact that you were a little careless last night.”

Her heart sank. This was not a discussion she wanted to have with her dad. He didn’t glance her way as he drove down the highway, but she could tell he’d been thinking some heavy thoughts. She said nothing.

“I’ve never let a man tell me anything about my daughter or tell me he’s going to handle things, to make it right, and I’m not so inclined to let this go. Your mother and I have sat you down and talked with you about safe sex. You’re an adult now. This isn’t something you mess around with.”

La la la! she wanted to scream. This couldn’t be happening. “Dad, I hear you, but I can’t have this conversation with you. I’m going to see Tom at the ER as soon as I get to school, and we’ll take care of…” She wasn’t going to say this to her dad—the morning after being so fucking stupid pill. “Is there a lecture coming?”

Her dad glanced her way again, his shades on. She couldn’t tell a thing he was thinking. “You should have one, but, more importantly, you need to know we’re a family. You seeing this doctor who’s so much older than you, almost a ten-year difference, I can’t quite wrap my head around it. Is he a good guy? Is he decent? You didn’t bring him around…”

“Dad,” she started, but he held up his hand.

“Let me finish, Becky. We’ve taught you better than this, or so I thought. You want to see Tom, you bring him around, you bring him for dinner. You bring him out to the ranch so we can get to know him. It’s non-negotiable. There’s no more sneaking around, understand?”

Loud and clear. But what worried her more than anything was that her parents would soon figure out that Tom was not the type of man a girl could bring home to meet her family.