24. Wyatt

Chapter 24

Wyatt

"Fern, wait!" She ducked out of my arms and sprinted up the stairs when my fucking mother barged into the house. I'm torn between wanting to run after Fern and tell her everything will be okay, and facing the apparent repercussions of bringing her here without checking in with my family that they weren't using the place.

Mom stands in my way, hands on her hips, while Grand and Lolly laugh hysterically behind her. "Wyatt Henry De Luca," she repeats. And that does it.

"Do not use that name, Mom. I've asked you so many times."

She shakes her head, appalled. "That's your response right now? An irritation about semantics?"

"It's not a fucking irritation. God, you know how much I hate any connection to that name. It makes me sick." I try to shove past her after Fern, but she places a hand on my shoulder.

Mom's face softens. "Wyatt, baby. We need to talk. Your friend is okay. Nobody is going to chase her down." I grit my teeth, wondering if Fern is spooked enough to jump out the window upstairs and ski to freedom. I decide she's not that foolish and I follow Mom over to the sofa, thankful she didn't head for the wooden table I still need to clean off.

"I think I know her," Grand says, glancing up the stairs where Fern disappeared. "Is she a student? She is. She's one of my students." Grand laughs, joining us on the couch. "Imagine that!"

"Glad you find this so amusing," Mom snorts. "Wyatt, what are you doing here? You know there's a schedule for the ski house."

This is the first I've heard of a schedule, but it shouldn't surprise me, knowing my family. I wonder how many times this happens—someone bringing a romantic partner out here only to be thwarted by another Stag looking to relax in peace and quiet. I glare at my mom. "I thought you were in Texas with the national team."

She sneers. "That was days ago. This is my relaxing wind-down after our loss. Which you'd know if you checked the AirTable your uncle set up."

Lolly holds up her phone. "It's an app, dear. See? Your dad is coming out tomorrow, and we think maybe Birdie can join us on Saturday!"

I drag a hand down my chin, and then the oven timer scares the shit out of all of us. "That's the casserole," I mutter. I jump up to pull it out of the oven before it burns when a thought occurs to me. "Why didn't Aunt Alice say anything if she knew you guys were coming? She made me all this food … "

Mom arches a brow. "You told your aunt you were having a …" Mom bites her lip. "Romantic getaway? Here?"

"Well." I stare at the French toast mixture. "Not exactly. But I asked her what food would be good for a few days away with someone I'm trying to impress and —" I end my sentence abruptly when Fern appears at the stairs with her bag, eyes red like she's been crying. "Hey," I shout, rushing over to her. "You don't need to leave. I told you I'd take care of you."

Fern tries to hide her face, and I put together what Grand just said. She's one of Grand's students. I'm one of Fern's students. Fuck.

Grand stands and reaches for a plate, helping herself to some of the casserole. "I think we should all sit down and eat and have a conversation." She starts walking toward the table.

"No!" Fern and I shout together before my grandma can sit at the head of the table.

Grand arches a brow and pivots toward the island, lowering herself into one of the bar chairs. She pats one next to her and looks at Fern. "Have a seat, Ms. Montgomery."

I stand frozen as Fern sinks into the chair next to Grand. Lolly mutters something about running to town for coffee, and Mom stares at all of them like she can't tell what's going on.

Finally, Mom says, "Well, Wyatt, introduce us." She crosses her arms over her chest, adopting a stance I've seen her take while bossing around professional athletes on the soccer field.

I lick my lips. "Mom, I mean Lucy Moyer … this is Fern Montgomery. Fern, this is my mom, and I guess you know my Grand … what are the odds of that?"

Fern looks pale and Grand slides her a glass of orange juice she procured from my cooler. Smiling, Grand reaches for the champagne I had chilling in there alongside it. "You were doing it up right, Wyatt. Mimosas are a great idea, I think. Lucy?" Mom shakes her head.

Still looking pale, Fern sips at her drink. "Cheers," Grand says, holding up her flute. She smacks her lips and pats Fern on the arm. "Fern—can I call you Fern when we're not in class?" Fern nods. Grand smiles. "Fern, I think it's great that you and Wyatt are having a good time together. My wife Holly will be the first to tell you I'd forget about that scheduling app for the house, too. There's plenty of room for all of us here if you two want to stay."

I groan and Mom huffs. She mutters something under her breath about disinfectant and I flush, knowing there are a few surfaces here I planned to scrub before we left. Grand squeezes Fern's hand. "And isn't it interesting that you're here during our class time, and I'm here, too? I guess we both played hooky today." Grand smiles, fussing with one of her earrings. She looks over at my mom and asks, "Am I remembering that you were trying to keep things quiet when you started dating Hawk? That was right after that terrible incident with the hot car." Grand winces and looks over at me.

I remember when I met her—when she used a brick to smash the window in my father's car to get me out of the heat, saving me from suffocating. The weight of the memory washes over me in nauseating waves and I sink into the chair on the other side of Grand. Mom swallows and reaches for a champagne flute. "Hopefully that was a very different circumstance," Mom says, sparing a small smile for Fern. "I'm sorry we didn't get to meet each other properly. Fern, is it?" Now Mom's smile is genuine. "I've never gotten to meet one of Wyatt's girlfriends before."

Fern's eyes widen. "Oh, it's not…I'm moving…"

I clear my throat. "We're just hanging out for now, Mom." Realizing I can change the subject to much easier material, I add, "Fern got accepted into a PhD program in London."

Grand claps her on the back. "That's wonderful. Is it related to math? You've been so interested in that fractal article."

Fern nods and starts talking about algebraic geometry, which keeps them all from asking about my contract, my father, my mess and my forbidden entanglement with my TA. By the time Lolly gets back from the store, the four of us have finished all but one slice of the breakfast casserole and I've managed to spray the table clean while scrubbing up the island from our meal.

I get the sense Fern doesn't want to actually finish out our second night here—not with my mother and grandmothers—so I hurry upstairs to change the bed linens. I come down to find Fern white-faced while my grandmother promises not to mention her to Professor Yoon, the big shot math guy in charge of Fern's job. Grand waves a finger in the air. "I know Jae-won from the LGBTQ faculty summit. We go way back. But they don't need to know we were both skipping class today." Grand meets my eye and I know I'm going to have a lot to discuss with her once I get Fern back home.