Rain Check?

~77~

  "You threatened her with a lawsuit!" Carly groans at the breakfast table Saturday morning. The only way he could convince his family that he hadn't got himself into trouble Friday night was to commit to breakfast with all of them on Saturday. "Geez it, Chris! Dempsey doesn't know you were the big donor!"

  With his arms crossed against his chest, his jaw tight, Chris still stands by his actions. "What she's doing to her is wrong, Carly. Plain and simple."

  "What's plain and simple to you is different than her because it's not your job on the line!"  She watches her little brother swallow hard. "You didn't think about that, did you? What this will do for Dempsey at the school?"

  His eyes drop from her gaze, staring at the half eaten breakfast in front of him. "I'm sure Chris' heart was in the right place," Lisa tells her children, placing a soft hand on Chris' shoulder. 

  "Right place or not, this could come back and bite her harder than losing that  money," Carly fumes. "If her principal is as menacing as the rumors say, Dempsey is gonna wish she had never participated in that damn fundraiser."

  "What was I suppose to do, Carly?" Chris yells at his sister, thankful that the kids asked to eat in the basement game room. "The woman I love is being treated horribly. You're damn right I was going to do something about it!" His hand slams on the table, punctuating his sentence. 

  Lisa holds up a palm towards both of her children. "Hey, hey. Calm down, both of you." She watches the two of them take a deep breath, the looks on each face silently challenging the other. "Chris, Carly has a point. You might need to think about telling Demi that it was you that night at the fundraiser."

  Chris slumps further in the chair, his head resting against the back of it. "I don't know how that'll go over, Ma. Last night was good. Like, wicked good between us. It felt like before we started dating. It felt natural, light hearted. This could all ruin that."

  Lisa leans up, putting her forearms on the table before reaching out for Chris' hands. He sits up as well, giving her what she wants. She looks at her oldest son for a moment. "Christopher, you listen to me, and you listen well. You put yourself and Demi in the situation you're dealing with now." He scoffs, knowing she's right but getting tired of hearing about it. "You're the reason that this got screwed up to begin with. You've finally owned up to that part, now, own up to this. Make sure that it can't come back and bite her or cause her to lose her job. Do you understand?"

  He nods his head as his mother squeezes his hands. "Just make her aware of all of it, let her decide what to do with it, and go from there. I'm still holding on to a lot of faith where you two are concerned."

  "You might be the only one," he mutters, facing forward to see Carly roll her eyes. 

  "Don't pull that with me! I've already told you that if this all goes south again, Demi takes your seat at family gatherings while you sit at the kiddie table." She pushes her chair back from the table, snatching up her plate. "Try and tell me I don't want you two together," she mutters under her breath as she drops the plate in the sink. "Need I remind you MY kid is the reason you have even been graced by the incredible Dempsey to begin with?"

  Chris gets up now, quietly, coming up behind his sister as she slams a few items around the counter preparing to pack up leftovers. He leans in and kisses her on the cheek. "Thank you for the reminder. Maybe I should call Ryan and thank him for knocking you up nine years ago!" He scoots quickly out of her reach before popping a kiss on top of his mother's head and heading out the front door. 

  Once in his car he decides to heed his mother's warning, giving Demi a call to see if she's available. "Hey beautiful," he says as soon as she answers the call.