New Beginnings by E. L. Todd Page A

He never left the house in the evening. I hoped he was going to my mom’s house for dinner or something. “Wait up, old man.”
    “Yeah?” he asked.
    “Where are you going?”
    “Out.”
    “Out?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Out where?”
    He shrugged. “With some friends.”
    “You don’t have any friends.”
    “Yes, I do,” he said defensively.
    “But you only golf with them or talk money.”
    He shifted his weight like he was uncomfortable . “I’ll see you when I get back.”
    “Hold on.” I sauntered closer to him. “What are you up to?”
    “Sean, leave him alone,” Scarlet said. “He’s a grown man and can come and go as he pleases.”
    “Thank you,” Andrew said to her.
    “Nope, this is my house and my rules,” I said. “And I want to know where you’re going.”
    My dad smiled. “Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?”
    “Yep.” I stared him down. “Now tell me where you’re going.”
    “I’d rather not say…”
    He was going to my mom’s. I knew it. They were going to hook up because they were disgusting and missed each other. My evil plan had worked. “Too bad.”
    “Sean, leave your father alone,” Scarlet said.
    “I’ve always liked her more than you,” Andrew teased.
    “Spill it, old man.”
    He sighed. “I’m…kinda…going on a date.”
    What? “You mean with Mom?”
    He put his hands in his pockets. “No.”
    What? He was going out with another woman? What the fuck? “What about mom? I thought you said you wouldn’t move on for a long time? Dad, you can’t do this.”
    “It’s not what you think,” he said. “It’s just dinner. When we’re done, I’ll come back home and that’s it. Actually, it’s not even a date. It’s just a thing with a friend.”
    “People having sex after dinner is a date.” I was practically screaming at my dad.
    “I’m not having sex with her,” he snapped. “And don’t talk to me like that. I don’t care if you’re the owner of this house. You will respect me and not talk to me like that.”
    Scarlet placed her hand on my shoulder. “Sean, calm down.”
    “Mom is sitting home all alone. Why don’t you have dinner with her?”
    He gave me a sympathetic look. “Sean, I know this is hard for you. But you need to understand that your mother and I are never getting back together. I love her and I always will, but it just isn’t going to work.”
    It took all my strength not to open my mouth and blurt my mom’s secret.
    “I’m just having dinner with this woman, and that’s it. Nothing more. You can calm down.”
    “Then why are you even going?” My voice was quiet but it contained my menace.
    “I got sucked into it,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll be home in a few hours.”
    “If it’s just dinner, why are you wearing a suit?”
    “Well, we’re going somewhere nice.”
    “Like where?” I said.
    “That new steakhouse that just opened by the office, Charlie’s. We’re going there.”
    I kept my mouth shut and stared him down.
    “I’ll be home soon.” He walked out and shut the door.
    Scarlet rubbed my shoulders. “Sean, it’ll be okay.”
    “How can he go out with someone else? They’ve only been divorced for a few weeks.”
    She grabbed my face and forced me to look at her. “You know how your father is. He’s one of the greatest and most honorable men I know. I’m sure there’s a reason why he’s doing this but he can’t tell us.”
    “There’s no reason why he’d be going on a date unless he wanted to get laid.”
    “Sean,” she said firmly. “Calm down.”
    I grabbed my jacket and put it on.
    “What are you doing?”
    “We’re having dinner at Charlie’s.”
    “What?” Her eyes were wide. “Sean, leave him alone. This is his business so stay out of it.”
    “No.”
    She grabbed my arm. “Sean, I mean it.”
    “You coming with me or not?” I was so angry I was seeing red.
    “Don’t do this.”
    “Then I’ll ask Ryan to have dinner with me.”
    She sighed in