Locked In Amber Ch. 13

Spencer moved over to the nearby cooler and pulled out a draft root beer. He silently lifted it in question to Amber, but she shook her head and lifted the bottle she was already drinking. He turned back towards Ed. "And what do you do exactly? Amber said you were working on some generators or equipment for a lab or something?"

Ed accepted a plate for the steaks from Sophia who had just come out the door. "That job was generators. I also specialize in more sophisticated equipment."

Spencer brightened. "Oh yeah? Like what? I have a couple of clients that run scientific instrumentation." He moved closer to the barbeque to engage.

As the two men were talking, Kat and Amber began dishing out the food. Kat nudged Amber and nodded her head towards them. "So what's up with your dad? He seems awfully cool with Spencer. I would have thought he'd be as prickly as a cactus. Did you put something in his drink?"

Amber watched the two, her spoonful of potato salad momentarily hanging over the bowl. Spencer was nodding and asking questions, completely intent on what her father was saying. Her father was gesturing as if describing something. "Well, it didn't start well," she said quietly, aware that Sophia was only a few feet away. "You should have seen it last night. Dad came home unexpectedly and found Spencer waiting for me in the living room while I was changing upstairs. It was... well, it was pretty intense. Then Sophia showed up and completely disarmed Dad, we left, and had our date. I came back in the middle of the night to find out that Sophia was sneaking out. Then this morning, Dad and I had a big fight and somehow, that cleared things up. I don't know, but I'm not going to complain."

Kat just stared at her for a second and then started giggling. "What is up with you lately? Every time I check-in, you drop some Alpha Class WTF. Are you trying to make up for lost time?"

Amber shrugged and smiled.

Kat just shook her head. "So how was the date? Was teal a big hit?" She had a grin on her face.

Amber returned the grin. "I believe he said it's his new favorite color. I'll tell you more later when we're not quite so public." She subtly gestured at the other three people nearby.

"I AM going to hold you to that!" Kat replaced the lid on the salad she was dishing out. "Annnnd, were there any issues?" she asked in a more serious tone. "I know you were a bit worried."

Amber shook her head with a smile. "Not a single one. Everything went totally smoothly." Kat gave her a high five and then grabbed her for a hug.

"What are you two girls so giddy about," Ed's voice cut in as he stood next to the table with a plate of delicious-smelling steaks.

Kat glanced at Amber. "Oh, I was just telling Amber that I was happy that she and Spencer were dating. He's a good guy."

Jesus, that was smooth, thought Amber.

Ed sat down at the table next to Sophia, who was busy slicing the bread. The other three sat on the opposite side, each grabbing a plate of food.

"Yes, well, about that." Ed rubbed his chin and Amber froze, her knife halfway through a slice of meat. "Spencer, I owe you an apology. Last night, I was tired when I came home. To my surprise, there's a young man in my house that I've never met. Says he's going out with my daughter. Didn't know you."

Spencer was looking at him. "It's understandable."

"Perhaps," Ed continued, his deep voice trailing off. "But, even after Amber came down, I never really gave you a chance. She and I had quite a talk about it this morning. Anyway, it is clear to me that my daughter thinks a great deal of you and I need to trust her on that. And you've given me no reason to question it. So, while I may be a stubborn mule at times," here he glanced at Amber and smiled before returning his attention to Spencer, "I'm mature enough to admit my mistakes. I apologize for the implications I made last night about your character."

"Thank you. I accept." Spencer nodded towards Ed. "And I do understand. She's the most important thing to you, so it's natural to be protective." Amber reached over under the table and squeezed his hand.

Ed just nodded and went back to cutting his steak. Amber saw Sophia slip her hand under the table and pat him on the knee.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Kat stepped up and broke it. "Sooo, I have an announcement." Everyone looked over at her in curiosity.

"Are you pregnant?" Amber blurted out.

"I... What? No," Katelyn laughed. "I was just informed today that I passed my detective's exam and will be officially promoted on Monday!"

Amber squealed, shoved her chair back, and stepped over to give Kat a huge hug. "I'm so happy for you! I knew it! I KNEW it! I've known it since 8th grade!" Everyone else started laughing and offering their congratulations.

With the tension broken, everyone dug into their meals with animated conversation, questions, and a feeling of camaraderie.

******

Sometime later, everyone had finished their food and was working on some ice cream. The fall evening was coming to a close, but no one was in a hurry for the time together to end. They had passed dinner peppering Kat with questions about what her new job duties would be like, Spencer had asked Ed some more questions about the remote labs and their equipment, and Sophia had told them some funny stories about her travels in Italy.

As they were finishing up, Sophia stood up and said, "Edward, I would love it if you would take me on a walk before the evening is completely gone."

He looked up, a bit taken aback. "Oh, uh, sure," he rumbled. He stood up and stepped back as she passed by him. Sophia intertwined her arm in his and they set off towards the gate.

Amber saw her dad flinch a bit and caught a brief look as he glanced down at her arm and then back at the three of them. He's nervous! He doesn't know what to do. Ohh, she's snared him good. It was such an odd sight to see her father in such a state, that she couldn't help herself. "It's okay, Dad, she's just holding your hand!" she called out after him. "It's not like she's boinking you or anything!"

"AMBER!" her father chastised her as they passed through the gate.

"DON'T DO ANYTHING WE WOULDN'T DO!" she called out as they were almost out of sight. Kat couldn't hold it in any longer and busted out laughing hard. It was contagious and Amber and Spencer soon followed.

Once they had calmed down and caught their breath, Kat said, "Oh, God, that was too funny. But your poor dad—Did you see the look on his face? You may have crossed a line."

Amber started clearing the table. "Yeah, I saw the look. But I also saw something else." The other two stopped picking up plates and looked at her questioningly. "I also noticed," she continued with a grin, "that he didn't stop holding her hand."