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man let him finish and then immediately said, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
    He’d had his arms up, coming toward Carmen, and if Robert hadn’t been there to stop him, Carmen’s injuries would have been far worse than some splashes with a hot drink. It was taking everything he had not to punch the son of a bitch.
    “You caused hot liquid to land on Ms. Jimenez. That’s battery, Mr. Sage. And by virtue of your size, your proximity and your aggressive posture, I’m adding criminal threatening to the list of charges.”
    Frank Sage said nothing. Then he looked at his daughter. “I didn’t mean to upset the table. I caught it with my legs. And I wouldn’t have hurt her. I was...surprised. You surprised me. This wasn’t the way it should have happened. Not with some stranger here.”
    Alexa stared at her hands.
    Carmen stepped forward. “No closer,” Robert said.
    She nodded and sat down. “I believe Mr. Sage when he says that he didn’t purposefully lift the table. And I’m sure we did catch him by surprise this morning with some very difficult news. If Mr. Sage feels that he can now have a reasonable conversation, I think we should forget the last five minutes and move forward. Alexa has a lot of decisions she needs to make and she needs her father’s help.” She motioned for Alexa to take her seat again.
    No, Robert wanted to yell. In his head, he could still see Sage lunging over the table, his big hands ready to wring Carmen’s neck.
    “Please,” Carmen said, looking at him. “Robert?”
    Damn. Like he was going to be able to deny her anything. He squatted next to Frank Sage. “You’re lucky. She’s a nice person. I’m not that nice, in case you were wondering.” He pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Sage. “Take this, as a little reminder that I’m going to be watching you.”
    He stepped back and watched while Carmen used the towel to sop up enough of the liquid to keep more from hitting the floor. Then, the three of them conversed for a few minutes. She talked and Alexa and Sage listened. Then it was Alexa’s turn. Sage said very little. After a few minutes, Carmen stood up. She extended a hand to Sage. He hesitated, then extended his own arm, giving her hand a quick shake. Then he left without a backward glance at the two women.
    Alexa stood up next, hugged Carmen, said something that made Carmen smile and then left. Carmen finally looked at him.
    She was sitting at a dirty table, a large splotch of brown liquid on her pink shirt, with more on her face and in her hair, and he’d never seen anyone more beautiful.
    He moved over to the table. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked.
    She looked down at her shirt. “Oh, yeah. This is the look I was going for.” With two fingers, she rubbed at the sticky substance on her face. “By the way,” she said, “thank you. I mean it. I know I wasn’t very gracious about you being here but you were a big help.”
    He nodded. “What’s next for Alexa and her parents?”
    “They’re going to tell her mom tonight. Alexa didn’t want to tell her first because she was afraid that her father would be mad at her mom, thinking that she’d been hiding information from him. This way, he’ll see how surprised his wife is by the news. Then they’ll have to start talking about next steps. Alexa is determined to have this baby and take care of it. She probably could do it by herself, but it would be a whole lot easier if she had her parents’ help.”
    “And where do you come in?”
    “I’ll continue to work with her throughout the remainder of the pregnancy and then after delivery, too. There are resources available to both her and her baby that I can help her with.”
    “Sage didn’t look happy.”
    “He’s not. Hopefully he’ll work himself into the stage of acceptance. If he can’t, then I’ll help Alexa with finding a new place to live. I’m not going to let her live with somebody who can’t get over his