“We’re meeting tomorrow morning, so whatever he does tonight will have an impact on that. I wish it could play out otherwise, but I just don’t see it at this point.”

“Stop whispering and get out here,” Lenore called to them.

Asa sat next to PJ, placing himself between her and her dad but far enough away that he was out of punching distance, which was probably for the best. PJ might not forgive him if he broke her dad’s jaw.

Food was passed around as everyone attempted to make small talk.

Shawn refilled his wineglass. “Asa, I saw a motorcycle you built for my friend Ernie Patterson. Really excellent work.”

“Ernie is a big guy; he needed that big fat back end.”

“You have a Softail, don’t you?” Jay asked, and they talked bikes and then shifted to cars and racing. Asa hoped Jay stepped up and took care of this thing with his dad like he’d promised, because he could see himself hanging out with Jay. He was a little stiff, but he wasn’t a bad guy.

“Motorcycles are dangerous,” Howard finally said.

No denying it. Asa nodded. “They are. I’ve known plenty of guys who’ve ended up in the hospital after getting into accidents.”

“But you do it to look cool? Is that it?”

Asa wondered if Howard had always been like this, or if he’d started off all right and ended up an asshole.

“I do it because I like it. I try to make it safer, but I do it knowing and accepting it is an inherently dangerous activity. Some things you do despite the risks.” He wanted to say more, but he kept his tongue. For PJ’s sake.

“That makes you a bad bet for my daughter, doesn’t it?”

“Dad. You’re being rude,” Shawn said.

“How am I being rude? It’s a valid question.”

Asa was pretty done with this piece of shit. “Mr. Colman, your daughter would be too good for any man. I’m a grease monkey. I bang out dents for a living. But I’m an honest man doing an honest day’s work for what turns out to be a very comfortable living. For whatever reason, Penelope loves me, and of the two of us, I think I’m the one who understands how special that is. I have no plans to mess that up.”

“How about you?” Shawn asked their dad. “Can you say the same? That you have no plans to mess up how much PJ loves you? Because I don’t think you can right now.”

Howard’s face darkened. “You shut your mouth, Shawn. This is none of your concern. You think I haven’t noticed how you’ve all started to challenge my authority? And how it all coincides with this thing insinuating himself into Penelope’s life? And she’s such a goddamn needy woman she’s got to let him latch on.”

Asa stood up and PJ did as well, holding her hand out. “Asa, please.”

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to apologize to your daughter for that ugly accusation.”

“Get the hell out of my house. He’s common. Trash! Trying to get at our money through her thighs.”

But it wasn’t Asa who dealt with that insult, but Lenore, who slapped her husband’s face.

“How dare you say such a vulgar, cruel thing to our daughter?”

Red faced, a hand on his cheek, Howard replied, “It’s true. Look at her. She tarts up her natural good looks with crazy hair colors and all those tattoos. She consorts with these people.” Howard indicated Asa. “She dropped out of college. She quit the job we gave her after that failure and this, the biggest failure of all, this creature who is clearly using her and she’s too stupid to see it. Pretty fades, Penelope; what will you do then?”

PJ had gone totally pale. Asa helped her away from the table and back into the house. Shawn had intervened between his parents and Jay was telling everyone to stop talking and calm down.

Julie came in and pulled PJ into a hug. PJ tried not to cry, but Asa saw the strain and knew it was only a matter of time.

“I’m so sorry he said that,” Julie said. “He’s such an asshole. He’s wrong, PJ. You are smart and strong and you are successful. Don’t let him make you doubt that. You’re coming tomorrow, right?”

PJ nodded and then everyone spilled inside as Lenore shut the sliding doors behind her.

“It’s not enough that the whole neighborhood heard you? Calm yourself, Howard.”

“Me? You slapped me in the face!”

“Take me home, please,” PJ said to Asa. He didn’t bother saying anything to anyone else, heading to the front door with PJ. But her father wasn’t done.

“Yes, get her out of my house. You’ve been nothing but a disappointment to me since the day you were born.”

Asa turned, heading back toward Howard, but Julie stepped in his way, her hand on his chest. “You’ll only make things worse. He’ll call the cops if you touch him. PJ is about to lose it; take her home. We’ll deal with him. I promise you.”

“You all keep saying that and I’m not seeing it.” He turned, gathered PJ up, and took her away from that scene as fast as he could.

PJ was numb until about three blocks from Asa’s house. Then it hit her that her father had just said all he had, and in front of Asa. Hell, to Asa.

Humiliation burned through her as tears sprang to her eyes. His mother had made tamales for their first meeting, and her family had done this to him. Twice.

Yes, she’d been growing away from her dad over the years, but this steady erosion of not just his paternal relationship with her but his basic civility had given way to something far worse.