Chapter 45

Jason winced. Dad raised his eyebrows, then sighed deeply, sitting forward again and clasping his hands between his knees. “Okay,” he said. “I guess we’ll start there. I’m not throwing you out or disowning you, kid, you got it?”

Shane blinked the burning sensation away.

“I’ll admit I don’t know what to do here, or what to say, or what this even means in the long run, but…end of the day, you’re still my son. And maybe that doesn’t mean shit to some people, but in this house, family is everything.”

Shane clenched his hands into fists in his lap and blinked rapidly.

“I just don’t know what to say,” Dad said uselessly. He was staring vacantly at the coffee table, his eyes glazed. “I never thought for a second this would ever come up. Hell, I was all set for the ‘why you shouldn’t throw your life away for a girl’ talk when you finally coughed to liking that ginger lass.”

Shane managed a shaky smile, and shook his head. “Not my type,” he said weakly.