Page 41 of The Handy Men
"Mom." Paige was horrified.
"We don't need any trouble," her father said. "Just go."
"Trouble?" Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she glared at her parents. "You are being inexcusably rude to my friends."
"And you, young lady, are deliberately sabotaging your future."
"That's my decision," she said.
"Is it?" her father asked. "Is it really?"
Anger threatened to boil over, and if it weren’t for Jack's comforting hug, she might have said or done something she regretted. She waited for the familiar panic to engulf her, but after a few deep breaths, she knew she wasn't going to succumb to an attack.
"It's okay," he said.
"No it's not," she muttered, feeling the sting of tears at the corner of her eyes.
"You want us to stick around?" Dean asked.
"No, I'll see you guys later. I want to rest a bit before I have to prepare for dinner."
"We're just a phone call away."
Paige nodded. Brushing past her parents, she gave them a tight smile as she went into the kitchen. Her luck held because they didn't follow.
* * *
Jack and Dean sat on the bench at the dock. Dean could see the ferry coming in on the horizon.
"We should have brought our poles," Jack said. "We could catch a few bunkers while we’re waiting."
"One of us should stay here in case Paige needs us," Dean fretted.
“We’ll be gone two hours tops. All ten rooms are checked in. She's going to be too busy with her parents and the food. We'd either just cause trouble or get in the way."
"Did you see the way her old man was glaring at us?"
"Fuck him." Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "Should have tongue kissed you next."
Dean punched him in the arm. "Don’t make trouble for her. She hasn't forgiven your dumb ass yet for not picking up your phone when you were with Stephanie."
"It was just lunch. I didn’t want Paige to worry about something that was a non-issue."
"Yeah, but you got caught. We both did because I tried to cover for you."
"I wasn't doing anything wrong. I didn't need you to cover for me."
Dean sighed. "I know. I shouldn't have lied. It made us both look guiltier than hell."
Jack looked out at the water. "Stephanie is still as kinky as ever. She's got bars in her nipples now. She showed me."
Dean groaned. "Please don't tell Paige that."
"I behaved myself," Jack said, holding up his palms. "I looked but didn't touch. You would have looked, too."
"Did she flash the entire restaurant?"
"Yeah, right in the open."
