Page 88 of The Perfect Distraction

Chapter Twenty-Three

Beth and Colton were sitting in the living room when Joey came rushing in the back door after Lynne dropped him off.

He didn’t seem at all surprised to see her sitting there, and he launched right into a summary of the adventure movie he’d just seen. After he finished, he hopped up from the couch and said, “I’m hungry.”

“Hold on, son. There’s something I, well, we want to talk to you about first.”

“Am I in trouble?” Joey asked, slumping back down.

“No,” Colton said while Beth tried not to laugh.

“You know how Miss Beth and I have been hanging out together?”

“Yeah,” Joey said, looking bored.

“Well, that’s because we like each other—a lot.”

“Kind of like me and Adam except he’s not my girlfriend,” Joey said.

Colton’s eyes went wide, and Beth giggled.

“I already know that Miss Beth is your girlfriend, Dad. Everybody knows it.”

“Everybody?” Colton looked shocked.

“Yeah. Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Mason, Adam, his mom…”

“Okay, okay. I get it,” Colton said, throwing up his hands.

“Are you okay with this, Joey?” Beth asked, feeling like it was the right time to speak up.

“Yeah. Can I go get a snack now?”

“Just one more thing. If you ever have any questions…” Colton began.

“Or feel uncomfortable about anything,” Beth added.

“Make sure you come and talk to me,” Colton said.

“That goes for me too,” Beth said.

“I will,” Joey said, getting to his feet again.

“Okay. You can go now,” Colton said, waving toward the kitchen. Joey took off like a shot and then, seconds later, ran back through the living room clutching a big bag of pretzels.

“I’m going up to my room,” he said and raced up the stairs.

“Does he ever walk?” Beth asked, laughing.

“Never.”

After they heard his door shut, Colton said, “He took it pretty well, don’t you think?”

“Um-hmm. I don’t know why I was so nervous, especially since he referred to me as your girlfriend once before.”

“Really? When?”

“At the beach that day you were mad at me.”