Cheat Codes

by Emily Goodwin

  “So now you’re mad at me?” My voice gets higher pitched than I’d like. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t ask for your permission to date Archer. I forgot he belongs to you and you alone.”

  “Dean,” Archer starts, and Jackson runs back into the dining room, holding a bag of Sour Patch Kids he took from my purse.

  “Can I have these, Aunt Winnie?”

  “Sure, if your daddy says it’s okay.”

  Jackson jumps up and down and toddles over to Weston, asking him if he can have the candy.

  “Enough,” Dad says, voice booming over everyone. “You both have valid points.”

  “Really, Dad?” I throw up my hands. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot we went back fifty years and I needed approval from the men of the house before I can date someone. Why don’t you arrange my marriage and line up a dowry too?”

  “Quinn, you’re overreacting,” Mom says softly. I have a tendency to do that, and it never went unmentioned growing up. “Calm down, everyone. This is a sensitive subject, but yelling and pointing blame isn’t going to solve anything.”

  I lean back, heart racing. Archer’s arm is still around me, and I rest my head on his shoulder. I’m starting to feel sick again.

  “Dean,” Mom starts. “Quinn is right, and she and Archer are free to date whoever they want, including each other. Quinn, you have to understand the shock it gives to all of us to find out you two are a couple. I certainly didn’t expect it, though I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Dean rounds on Mom. “And how are you okay with this?”

  Mom gives Dean a stern look, silently telling him to calm the fuck down and stop being such a possessive asshole. Archer is his own person and doesn’t need Dean’s permission to do anything.

  “Who wouldn’t want to date Quinn?” Mom asks seriously, and if things weren’t so tense, I’d tell her to stop. “And Archer…I hope this means we’ll be seeing you more often.”

  “Seriously, Mom?” Dean spits out. “She’s dating my best friend.”

  “I’m sorry, Kara,” Owen says seriously. “I think the truth is coming out. Clearly, Dean doesn’t want anyone else getting in with the good doctor because he wants him all for himself.”

  “Shut up,” Dean deadpans, annoyed with Owen already.

  Owen makes a face like he doesn’t understand Dean’s disdain. “Why else would you be so possessive of Archer? What really went on behind closed doors in that dorm?”

  “You’d be pissed if she was dating your best friend.”

  “I would be too,” Logan interjects, a smirk on his face. “We’d have bigger problems than this if Quinn wanted to date Owen’s best friend.” He turns to me and winks. “But I think I’m safe there, right sis?”

  “You are all ridiculous.” I shake my head. “Archer and I are a couple, Dean, deal with it.”

  “Look,” Archer starts, looking across the table at Dean. “I should have told you, and I’m sorry for that. But I really care about Quinn, and we’re happy together.”

  “That’s what matters,” Mom presses. “You both deserve to be happy. Yes, it’s a surprise, but we love you both and want you to be happy.”

  “How long has this been going on?” Dean asks through gritted teeth.

  I open my mouth just to snap it shut again. We slept together before we became a couple, and once Dean knows I got knocked up from what was basically a one-night stand, he’ll be even more pissed.

  “A while,” Archer answers for me. He turns in, looking into my eyes. “Your mom is right. Who wouldn’t want to date Quinn? She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and I’ve wanted to ask her out for years but didn’t because I didn’t want to piss you off,” he admits, selling it so well I almost believe it.

  “What changed?” Weston interjects.

  I got her pregnant, I imagine Archer saying. Instead, he tightens his arm around me. He doesn’t feel tense though, not like I do. “I caved and kissed her. I haven’t been able to look back since.”

  He’s telling the truth, to an extent. Is he telling the truth about liking me for years too?

  “Grammy, Grammy,” Jackson says, tugging on my mom’s sleeve. He’s holding something else now and is asking her what it is.

  “I don’t like this,” Dean huffs. “You don’t have my blessing.”

  I shake my head. “Sorry to tell you I’m not losing sleep over it. I haven’t before, and I won’t now.” I take a small drink of water, hoping to settle my stomach. Dean will come around eventually, like Archer said. It’s going to be a rough road, but we’ll get down it.

  Well, until they find out about the baby. Last night, Archer told me not to worry about my family’s approval, and it hit me how much I seek it. My whole life they’ve supported me, told me how proud they are of me, and protected me. My parents worked their asses off for me, and all four of my brothers would take a bullet for me in a heartbeat.

  I’m a grown woman with a good job, a healthy bank account, and my own place. It’s not like I’m sixteen and pregnant. And as far as baby daddies go, I hit the jackpot with a sexy surgeon.

  Still, I’m terrified to see the disapproval in their eyes. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow, deviating from my plan to further liquor my parents up, remind my mom how much she desperately wants another grandchild, and then spring the news on her.

  My stomach protests and my throat feels sick. I’m definitely not ready to tell them now. I just need to make it through dinner and then go lay down, preferably with Archer’s arms around me.

  Jackson gives my mom something, and I realize what it is a moment too late. He was digging through my purse to get the candy, but that’s not the only thing he took from there.

  And now Mom is holding the ultrasound pictures.

  26

  Quinn

  The air leaves my lungs, and if it weren’t for Archer’s arm around me, I might have fallen over. Mom’s eyebrows pinch together, and she tips her head looking at the images.

  “Where did you get—” Mom tips her head, eyeing the photos. The blood drains from my face, and I can’t open my mouth to form the words to warn Archer.

  “This has your name on it, Quinn,” she says quietly. And then it hits her. Her mouth opens, and she lets out a gasp. The ultrasound pictures fall to the table, and Dad picks them up.

  It doesn’t take him long to come to the same conclusion. He stands up so fast his chair scoots out from behind him and falls over.

  “You knocked up my daughter?”

  A hush falls over the room, and I swear even the dogs stopped sniffing around the table to look.

  “Quinn,” Mom starts, still looking confused. She picks up the chair and reaches up for Dad’s wrist, pulling him back down. “What…when…are you sure?”

  “Wait a minute,” Owen says, reaching across the table for the ultrasound pictures. “You’re pregnant?”

  I cover my face with my hands, unable to deal right now. Archer’s arm tightens around me. Now he’s tense. Stunned silence holds the room in an awkward pause, and the calm before the storm is even worse than one-hundred-mile-per-hour winds.

  “Yes,” Archer says, and I don’t know how he’s able to sound so calm and certain. It must come with the territory of being a doctor. He has to deliver bad news and can’t come undone when he talks to patients. “She is.”

  “You. Knocked. Up. My. Sister,” Dean says slowly, letting it sink in. And then he jumps up, fists curled. Weston’s faster and stronger and easily shoves Dean back into his chair.

  I peel my hands away from my face, heart in my throat. Mom is looking at the ultrasound photos again, but her expression is unreadable. Dad grinds his jaw, eyes narrowed as his gaze shifts back and forth between Archer and me.

  “How far along are you?” Kara asks quietly.

  “Almost seven weeks,” I reply, having a hard time finding my voice.

  “First you date my sister, then you get her pregnant,” Dean says through clenched t
eeth. “Fuck you, man.”

  No one scolds him for his language. Jackson went into the living room anyway, and I can hear him playing with some sort of Mickey Mouse toy.

  “Grow up, Dean,” I snap. “It’s not like we did this on purpose.”

  Dad shakes his head. “How did this happen?”

  “You don’t know how babies are made?” Owen says, trying to lighten the mood. “You have five of them, I thought you’d have figured it out.”

  Dad sits back down, finally giving into Mom’s persistent tugging. “Can you explain how the two smartest people I know could do something so stupid.”

  “Harold,” Mom scolds. “That’s enough. We didn’t plan our first one either.”

  “Seriously?” Weston exclaims, then shakes his head. “That’s not important right now.”

  Dad waves his hand at Owen. “Your brother’s slept with half of Eastwood and he’s never knocked anyone up.”

  “Not that we know of,” Logan mutters under his breath.

  “Quinn,” Dad says, exasperated, and I see it. The worry behind the anger. The questioning of my future, the disappointment. “You’re smart. And Archer,” he practically growls Archer’s name. “You’re a doctor. Don’t you know how the human body works?”

  “I do,” Archer replies, still calm. “And I’m aware that Quinn and I didn’t make the best choices, but we can’t go back and now all we can do is focus on moving forward.”

  I straighten up, hand going to my mouth. Archer takes his arm from around me and scoots my chair out, knowing I’m about to get sick. He comes with me as I run into the bathroom, gathering my hair into my hand as I crouch down and throw up.

  Archer closes the bathroom door and grabs a tissue from the back of the toilet. I wipe my mouth and let out a sigh.

  “Besides feeling sick, how are you holding up?” he asks, helping me to my feet. I rinse out my mouth and think I might throw up again.

  “This didn’t go as I planned.”

  Archer’s lips pull into a small smile and he looks at my stomach. “None of this did.” He closes the distance between us and takes me in his arms. “It’ll be okay.”

  “Dean is about ready to rip your head off.”

  “Let him try. He won’t succeed, I promise you that.”

  I rest my head against his chest. “They all look so disappointed in me.”

  “They’re surprised. You can’t blame them for that. And they’re concerned because they care about you.”

  He has a point, and I totally get it. Archer and I are both successful, independent adults, but we don’t live together. Even if we’d been dating for a few months, the news of me having his baby would still come as a shock.

  We have a lot to do before this baby is born.

  “You’re going to have to talk to them eventually. Let’s go back out.”

  I take another breath and nod, letting my arms fall away from Archer’s firm body. He smooths back my hair and kisses me on the forehead.

  “We’re in this together,” he reminds me, and the knot in my chest loosens a bit. Holding my hand in his, he opens the bathroom door and we step out. A tumult of voices come from the dining room, and everyone stops talking when Archer and I come back into the room.

  Mom’s holding the ultrasound photos and is starting to look a little emotional. Phase one might not have happened like we planned, but I might still be able to get her into phase two soon, and she’ll start getting excited about another grandbaby.

  “Are you okay?” she asks me, blinking back tears.

  “Yeah.” I step closer to Archer. “I’ve been really nauseous this whole time.”

  Mom takes in a shaky breath. “I was only sick with you. I bet you’re carrying a girl.”

  I haven’t really let myself think too far ahead, but hearing Mom say it makes me emotional. I grip Archer’s hand tighter, imagining him holding our baby wrapped in a little pink blanket.

  “Sit down, honey.” Mom rubs her lower eyelid with her knuckle. Yep. She’s getting emotional. Archer pulls out my chair for me, and Dean glowers at us both with his arms crossed. Kara looks annoyed with him, Weston’s holding Jackson, trying to distract him with videos on his phone. Owen and Logan look both concerned and pissed. And Dad won’t even look at me.

  “You had the ultrasound almost a week ago.” Mom taps the date on the image. “And you’re just now telling me?”

  “We wanted to tell you in person. Together,” Archer says, moving his chair closer to mine.

  Mom nods and picks up the images again. “I can understand that.”

  “Have you two thought this through?” Dad addresses the question to us both but looks right at Archer. “How are you going to raise this baby?”

  “Together,” I tell him.

  “How?” Dad fires another question. “You don’t live together. You don’t even live near each other. I take it Archer is going to do the right thing and move to Chicago before the baby is born. Right, Archer?”

  “We haven’t talked about it yet,” I say.

  “You need to start talking about it.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s more than just wanting to raise it together.” Dad’s voice gets louder as he keeps talking. “You have to figure out insurance and what are you going to do about work?”

  “Dad,” Logan interjects. “Go easy on her.”

  “I think I was too easy on her and that’s why this happened.”

  “She’s not a kid anymore,” Logan presses and I’m so grateful for my brother right now. “Stop treating her like one.”

  “Thanks,” I mouth to Logan when he looks over.

  “I’m twenty-six,” I remind my father in case he forgot. “A lot of my friends are married and have kids.”

  “Exactly. They’re married. You’re not.”

  “Thanks for reminding me. I forgot I never walked down the aisle.”

  “Enough,” Mom says, voice tight. “You said it yourself, Harold, Quinn and Archer are smart. I’m sure they’ve discussed everything. It’s overwhelming for us all, and getting worked up isn’t going to help anything, especially with Quinn having morning sickness.”

  Jackson looks up from the phone. “You sick, Aunt Winnie?”

  “No, I’m okay,” I tell him with a smile. If my kid turns out to be half as sweet as him, we’ll be just fine.

  “Why is Papa mad?” he asks, turning around to look at Weston, who doesn’t know how to answer.

  “He’s not mad,” Weston finally says. “Why don’t you go play in the living room?”

  “Okay,” Jackson says and slides off Weston’s lap. He runs around to Archer. “Play trucks with me?”

  “Uh,” Archer starts, knowing he’s in hot water with my family right now. But it’s not like he’s a bad person. We’re equally at fault here.

  “Go play,” Mom says with a smile. “Consider it practice.”

  Archer gets up, letting Jackson tug him along. I sit back in the chair, arms wrapped around myself. Logan moves into Archer’s spot and puts his hand on my shoulder. He’s always the one I go to first if I need advice or just someone to vent to.

  “That’s going to be one smart kid,” he says with a grin. “With a computer genius and a doctor for parents.”

  “If it’s a boy, I hope he gets our good looks,” Owen joins in.

  I smile and look up. “As long as that’s all he gets from your set of genes.”

  Logan leans back, giving me an encouraging nod.

  “I have a video from the ultrasound,” I say, flicking my gaze to Mom’s. “You can see the heart beating and everything. I can show you if you want.”

  Mom’s eyes light up. “Of course I want to see it.” She turns to Dad. “We want to see it,” she corrects.

  Dad sighs and gets up to start clearing the table. Tears fill my eyes and I turn my head down.

  “Hey,” Logan says, seeing a fat tear splash onto the table. “Don’t cry. He’ll come around.”

  “See wha
t that asshole did,” Dean mumbles to Kara. “He hurt her. Fucking no good piece of shit.”

  “Archer didn’t hurt me,” I sniffle.

  “You’re crying,” Dean goes on, extending his hand at me.

  “Even I’m not that dense,” Owen quips. “Dad’s being an ass about this. And so are you.”

  “Are you happy with what he did to her?”

  “Stop,” I say, but my voice gets lost in a sob.

  “Of course not,” Owen shoots back.

  “It takes two,” Kara offers. “I think you are all being unfair to Archer.”

  “Thank you,” I say, using my napkin to mop up my tears. “We both had an equal part in this, okay? So just stop. I’m already pregnant and hating me isn’t going to change anything.”

  “Nobody hates you, hun,” Mom says.

  “Dad does.” This time I know I’m overreacting.

  “He doesn’t,” Mom presses.

  Owen leans forward. “Dad knows we’re all fuck-ups, but he still thinks you’re little Miss Innocent Quinn. You basically crushed his hopes and dreams for the family, but he doesn’t hate you.”

  I look up, giving Owen a glare. He cracks a smile and picks up his fork, digging into what’s left on his plate.

  “Honey.” Mom gets up and comes around to me, shooing Logan from the chair. She takes my hands in hers and looks into my eyes. “We all love you. It’s a shock, and having a baby with someone you haven’t been with for a long time can be difficult. But I know you and I know Archer. You’re both responsible, mature adults and will be great parents. I mean, look at him.” She motions to Archer in the living room. He’s on the floor with Jackson, and whatever he’s saying to the kid is making him crack up.

  “He’s a natural.”

  My hand lands on my stomach without me even thinking about it. Archer is good with Jackson. He’s been excited about this baby since the beginning.

  I can only hope we’re natural together too.

  27

  Archer

  “All things considered, that went as well as I thought it would.” I put my arm around Quinn and push off the ground, sending the glider back. It’s getting late, and everyone but Weston and Jackson have left already. Wes is working the night shift tonight, so Jackson is staying here with Quinn’s parents.