"Hey Alan," Ethan said, walking right up to the old man crouched down by one of the plants in the row of grapevines.

Alan nearly fell over, startled that anyone had found him. Ethan tried not to laugh as Alan stood himself up and dusted off his jeans. "Hi there, Ethan."

He was wary. In a weird way, Ethan was glad for that. Alan wasn't really his favorite person right now. But he had promised Mom that he'd get to know Alan and break the ice and whatever.

Before he came out searching for his soon-to-be stepfather, Ethan had texted his brother, telling him the horror he'd walked in on. He didn't tell Charlie why he and Hailey were staying with Mom and Alan in California. But Charlie had responded with a bunch of skull emojis and then reminded Ethan that the important thing was that Mom was happy and that Alan was a good guy and Mom wouldn't be with him if he wasn't. That was a good reminder. An important reminder. Because both Ethan and Charlie knew that their mother was the only person in the world whose opinion and judgment they could always trust.

So here he was, trying to give Alan the benefit of the doubt. It was hard when all Ethan could think of was Alan bare chested and holding Ethan's topless mother. God, he'd have to bleach his brain or something.

"Can I do anything or…?" Alan said, trailing off. The awkwardness was palpable. Alan wasn't helping. He was an awkward kind of guy. And so was Ethan, really. At least they already had that in common.

"Yeah, so, I wanted to thank you for letting me and Hailey come to stay," Ethan began.

"Oh sure. Anything you guys need," Alan answered.

Ethan hesitated. "It's just…I know this is technically your house and all. Like my mom lives here and stuff, but it's your house."

A gentle, understanding smile appeared on Alan's face, and Ethan found that expression strangely comforting. Alan explained, "I bought the house, it's true. But title to the house is in both our names. And once we're married, everything will be both of ours anyway thanks to California community property."

"Oh." Ethan didn't really know what else to say to that."

"Here, do you wanna walk with me?" Alan offered.

"Yeah, sure." Ethan fell into step beside him. "What are you working on?" he asked. It was easier to talk while they were walking.

"Well, we've only had the place for a couple months and we were focused on getting everything moved in on the inside that I haven't spent much time out in the vineyard. Thought it would be good to get used to the land," Alan said.

Ethan asked, "Are you gonna make wine?"

Alan chuckled. "No, I don't think I have it in me to take that on. Not anytime soon, at least. But it would be nice to be able to grow something and maybe work with a winemaker to help put our grapes into something good," Alan mused.

"Have you always been into wine?"

He let out a bark of a laugh at that. "No, not at all. When your mom first met me, I was drinking whatever beer anyone had on tap or in a can. I tried to take her out to a nice restaurant one time and they handed me a wine list and I never felt like such an idiot. Two PhDs at a table, and we ordered the cheapest bottle because we couldn't figure out the difference."

"Yeah, Mom's never been into fancy things," Ethan agreed. He remembered one time when he was maybe twelve on Mother's Day when he and Charlie had saved up their allowance and Dad helped them buy a diamond bracelet for her. She had been excited and thanked them, but later, when he walked by her room, he overheard her talking to herself asking what the hell she was supposed to do with a diamond bracelet. Ethan never let Charlie or Dad get her fancy jewelry after that.

Alan hummed knowingly. "No, she definitely isn't into fancy things. But she does deserve the best of everything. And I guess I should apologize for…uh…"

"We don't have to talk about it," Ethan said quickly. "I talked to Mom this morning. She said you were hiding from me because of that."

"Yeah, well…"

"It's fine," Ethan insisted. "We can pretend that never happened."

"Fine by me."

A slightly uncomfortable silence fell between them as they made their way around the perimeter of the vineyard.

Alan was the first to break it. "If it's not too much for me to ask…how are you doing with all of this?"

The question took him aback. Obviously this was why he and Hailey were here. Hailey was pregnant and her family were very important in their small-town Texas Southern Baptist church. The only decision they'd made was to spend the summer in California with Ethan's mom. But they'd found out Hailey was pregnant and then had finals two weeks later and they'd just arrived last night. There hadn't been much time to think about anything yet.

It struck Ethan in that moment that no one had actually asked him how he was doing. They hadn't told too many people but the first question was always how was Hailey doing or what are you guys going to do? And Ethan knew he was a very small part of this. He was responsible for getting Hailey into this situation and he would support her for whatever she decided. But it was her decision.

"I don't know," Ethan finally answered. It was the truth. "I guess…yeah, I don't know. It's crazy to even think about the idea of being a dad. I'm like barely an adult. Not even. What am I supposed to do with a kid, you know?"

"I know the feeling," Alan answered dryly. That made Ethan laugh, which he was grateful for.

"I mean like…its all on Hailey, right? Like she's the one who's pregnant and it's completely her decision on what happens. So it doesn't really matter how I'm doing, you know?" Ethan tried to explain.

"I think you're right, supporting and respecting whatever decision she makes, but that doesn't mean it doesn't atter how you feel about it. I can't imagine going through what you're going through. I've never had anything like that, and not to stray too much into forbidden territory, but it's not like it's a possibility for me ever again. But you've got feelings, Ethan. You're a part of this, too. If Hailey does decide to have the baby, you'll be a part of it. And if she decides not to have the baby, I think it'll be a hard moment."

Alan's honesty and kindness and insight were entirely unexpected. Ethan never imagined that Dr. Alan Grant, the Dinosaur Man, could actually have feelings. Especially after the childish way he'd hidden away all day. Ethan had expected him to be gruff and uncomfortable about emotions and stuff. But he wasn't. Not really.

Ethan had a rush of affection for this man his mom was going to marry. And even without the knowledge of the past Alan shared with Mom, Ethan felt like he finally sort of understood what Mom had been saying about Alan. He was unexpected and he was kind and he had a good heart and he was funny? Strange revelations. But in a good way.

"Thanks," Ethan said quietly. "I guess I didn't think of it like that, but you're right. I've been trying not to do anything to pressure Hailey at all and I've tried to take care of her, but I am a part of this, too. And I might be a dad. And if that happens, I want to be a good one."

"I don't have any experience in the matter, but I think the fact that you're even thinking about it means you probably will be a pretty good dad. If it comes to it."

Ethan smiled to himself. Maybe Alan would make a pretty good dad, too. Stepdad, at least.