by Peter Styles
“All right,” I agreed. “It’ll just be a few hours, I’m sure you’ll handle it fine. I do trust you, Tempy.”
“Even after today?” As sarcastic as she tried to make her tone, I sensed it really was a serious question.
“Even after today.” I flashed her a smile, and saw just a ghost of one at the corner of her mouth. “But all kidding aside, look—you can’t get yourself into fistfights like that. I joke about it, but it’s not the way to solve problems. If someone at school is giving you a hard time, then you need to take it to a teacher, the principal, or tell me.”
“It’s not that big a deal,” she groaned. “I can handle stuff like this on my own, if it was serious I would talk about it but it’s not and no one has to look after every little thing I do. Just drop it, okay?”
Well, that door slammed right in my face. I had one last ploy to get her to talk, though. If not about this, at least at all. “How’s your hand? Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine.” She did flex her fingers, though, and there was the start of a bruise on her knuckles. Must have clocked that Smallwell kid something fierce.
I left it, for now. “Just be careful. You can fracture bones from punching people…and I’m not talking about the other guy. I mean in your own hand.”
We pulled into the driveway. She grabbed her backpack from the floor, and I put the truck into park.
Tempy kicked the door open. “I have my key, Dad. You don’t need to walk me to the door.”
I held tight to the gear stick and made myself show her that I trusted her. “All right, then. I’ll call you as soon as I get back to the diner.”
She sighed dramatically. “Whatever.”
The passenger door slammed as she spun and walked away.
I waited until she was inside. She waved at me and shut the door. We lived in a quiet, older area of Worthington with bigger homes and streets lined with stately shade trees. Nice as it was, I had an alarm system that Tempy knew how to set. She would be safe. That wasn’t my worry. What concerned me was a daughter who was keeping secrets and refusing help.
The whole way back to the diner, I prayed silently to Elaine for some guidance. “I could really use some help right about now to tell me what to do here.”
There was no answer. There never was.
I dropped Tempy at Ethan and Caleb’s the following morning. She’d done fine for an evening, but all day… well, I wasn’t quite there yet.
While Caleb escorted Tempy back to the family room, I laid a hand on Ethan’s arm to get him to stay behind for a minute.
“What’s up, Wyatt?” Ethan looked like the epitome of the all-American guy and was great with Caleb’s three kids, so I hoped he would have equal success with Tempy. Maybe because he was young, and cute, and not her nosy father.
“Tempy got into a fistfight with a boy at school yesterday,” I explained softly. “She won’t talk about what happened, so the principal suspended her for the rest of the week. I haven’t been able to get her to talk either.”
Ethan’s eyebrows pinched with sympathy or concern. “So you want me to try?”
I grimaced. “Not so she knows you’re doing it. Just maybe give her the opportunity to open up, vent, whatever.”
Ethan gave me a friendly slap on the back. “No problem. She have any work to do?”
Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that yesterday when I’d picked her up. “I don’t think so. First day of school and all.”
Ethan grinned. “Well, maybe she can help me with some of mine.”
“Aren’t you about to get into medical school? That might be a bit beyond her.”
He snorted. “Don’t count on it.”
From the back of the house, I heard the television and alongside it the deep rumble of Caleb’s voice. He really had it going with the whole dad thing. I guess he’d have to with three kids. Of course, Ethan was a huge help.
Vance could have been, too. Hell, he was, for a while. I pushed the thought away. I’d made my decision. It was too late now to change it.
“I’d better get to the diner.” I shook Ethan’s hand and accepted a short, one-armed hug before I turned to go.
Driving into Worthington’s quaint business district always gave me a feeling of homecoming. When so many small communities had lost the unique character of their original centers of town, it was a relief to see this one thriving. Part of that was due to the investments that Elaine and I had made. Maybe I had more of a stake in the Worth part of Worthington than I thought…or wanted to admit.
Todd was already there double-checking the day’s order. Maybe I was making some progress on at least one front.
He rubbed the back of his head and gave me an anxious grimace. “So, I’ve gone through the order again to make sure we have everything.”
I patted him on the back. “Good job. How was the breakfast crowd this morning?”
“A little thin, but I think part of that is everyone getting back into the swing of the new school year.”
“It’ll settle down again. Don’t expect quite the same numbers early in the day now that school’s in session. We’re likely to see the dinner crowd pick up, though.”
Todd smiled, looking relieved. I wouldn’t exactly say he was back in my good graces, but things were looking up. I’d withhold judgment until I was sure we weren’t going to have more repeats of the botched orders. With Tempy back in school, I depended on the assistant managers I had in place to do their jobs. That way I had the freedom to make sure I did mine as a parent.
It had been so crazy right after Elaine’s death. I thought I was prepared to be a father. What I hadn’t expected was needing to take on the role of both parents. I had been entirely unprepared for it and equally adamant I could do it on my own. I would be super dad. Vance had met me at the grocery store during that phase and for reasons I didn’t understand back then, he had taken an interest and helped me out. As despondent and overwhelmed as I had been, I could now admit I wouldn’t have made it without his help.
I shook my head. Maybe it had been seeing him again yesterday at school, but I couldn’t seem to get Vance out of my head. I needed to. The question was, did I want to?
The lunch crowd took care of that problem. One of the cooks had called in sick and we were scrambling to get orders cooked and out front in a timely manner. It was rare that I had to man the grill, but I stepped in and enjoyed the couple of hours it gave me to focus on a task and quiet the thoughts bouncing around my skull. By two, things had slowed down, and I had a chance to sit down for a few minutes.
I had just finished my own lunch when Vance walked through the door. I felt as though every eye was on him as he made his way over to my table and stood next to it a little hesitantly.
“You have a few minutes to talk?”
His voice was as soothing to my ears as it always had been. I set my sandwich aside, trying hard not to check to see if everyone was watching us. “Now’s not really a good time, Vance. Not that I minded seeing you before, but...”
Vance’s brows rose. “Uh, I wasn’t talking about that. I meant, do you have time to talk about Temperance?”
Well, fuck. Heat flooded my face as I gestured to the seat across from me, realizing we were probably attracting more attention the longer I kept Vance standing. I wouldn’t have treated any other customer that way. Smooth. Way to be inconspicuous.
“Yeah, I know. Obviously. I just mean, I’ve got that handled,” I informed him, my voice probably a little colder than it should have been as I tried to regain some psychological ground.
Vance smiled. It seemed genuine, if a bit reserved. “I’m sure you do. I’m sure you’re a great father. I remember how in love with Temperance you were when she was a baby. I know that would never change. I just meant that I think I might know what’s going on at school. It might be a good idea for us to go over that.”
“Right.” I glanced at the clock on the wall over the menu board. The last place I wanted to hold this conversati
on was in the middle of my diner, but I didn’t want to do it at my house either. Too many memories. “I’ll be done here in a couple hours. Why don’t we meet at the gazebo in the park? We can walk and talk.”
Vance nodded. “Okay. See you then.”
I tried not to track his movements as he left, but it was impossible not to watch him. He had an easy grace about him that had always drawn me. It still did. My heart beat a little faster, something that hadn’t happened since I walked away from Vance all those years ago.
5
Vance
I nearly changed my mind about meeting Wyatt a hundred times. It had taken me a long time to move on. Now, after spending so many years doing my best to stay out of his way so that things wouldn’t become awkward, I was deliberately putting myself into that very situation. It seemed to be the very definition of insanity, or at the very least a guarantee of future pain.
Ultimately, I had no choice. My first glimpse of Temperance in my classroom tugged at my memories. She seemed disconnected from the people around her. I could certainly relate to that. While I hadn’t been an only child like she was, I might as well have been. So many years had separated me from my siblings, it was difficult to relate to them and vice versa. Even my parents had struggled, finding it far easier to provide me with material things than with the gift of their own time.
I hoped that wasn’t the case with Temperance. I couldn’t imagine that Wyatt wasn’t involved in every aspect of her life, but then I hadn’t been a part of any of that. However, I did have information that I thought Wyatt needed to know. I also wanted to help. Temperance wasn’t my child, but she was one of my students. For this year, at least, we had a connection.
As I approached the gazebo, I saw Wyatt already standing in the shade of its interior. Would I ever get over the sight of him? On the outside, people found intimidating. I did, at first. But then I had seen him in moments in which his inner being had been laid bare—grieving, worried, passionate. Beneath that muscular, larger-than-life exterior beat a genuinely good, loving heart. He was a man who cared about this town, cared about people, and cared about his family.
It was why he was here now. No matter that he wasn’t remotely interested in me anymore, he would do everything in his power to help his daughter. So would I.
I hung my thumbs on the pockets of my khakis as he watched me step up into the gazebo and lean against the railing. “Thanks for meeting with me,” I said.
Wyatt bobbed his head. “Of course. It’s about Tempy, I’m all ears, you know that.”
For a moment his lips stayed parted, as if he might say something else.
He didn’t, so I got to the point. “I found out more about Kirk Smallwell today, the kid Tempy got into a fight with.”
“What would that be?” Wyatt crossed his arms over his broad chest. I know he didn’t do it intentionally, but the move drew attention to the swell of his pecs beneath the soft cotton of the polo shirt he wore. My body responded instantly as if we were still lovers.
“Kirk has a history of bothering girls. There were some incidents last year…” I couldn’t go into the specifics. That was against school policy even if they were in his academic record.
Wyatt stepped back farther into the gazebo and I mounted the steps to join him in the shade. The interior was several degrees cooler than it had been walking across the park in the relentless sunshine of the summer afternoon. Under other circumstances, it could have been very romantic. It wasn’t much of a leap to imagine him taking me in his arms, pressing kisses along my jaw and whispering in my ear how much he had missed me.
“Seems pretty straightforward to me then,” Wyatt said. “The kid needs to go.”
Not the romantic interlude I had pictured. I sat on the built-in bench that surrounded the interior of the white, wooden structure and braced my hands on each side of me. I needed to focus. “It’s not that simple, Wyatt.”
He stared down at me, his expression reflecting both anger and frustration. “Why not? You’re just going to let some boy hassle the girls at the middle school without doing a damn thing about it?”
Put like that, it sounded bad. It also made me feel defensive, but some things were not within my control.
“It’s not my decision. Removing a child from school is up to the principal and the school board. There are procedures that have to be followed.”
“And in the meantime, Tempy pays the price.” Wyatt’s tone was irritated. He might be angry with the situation, but right now I was the only person on whom he could focus that frustration. “So why exactly are you even here?”
That was a really good question. I hadn’t been able to get Wyatt out of my head for twelve years, hadn’t stopped loving him or thinking about him, but at least I had managed to put a bandage over the wound of his ghosting me. Until yesterday. Until I saw his daughter in trouble, saw him walk through the door and back into my life. The bandage had been ripped away, and my emotions had been bleeding ever since.
No way could I tell him that.
“I care about Temperance—about all my students. I thought,” I paused and sighed. “Hell, Wyatt, I thought maybe now that you know, you and Temperance could talk it out.”
Wyatt arched a brow, revealing just how frustrating that had been so far from his side. There had to be some way to help.
“If she won’t talk to you…maybe I could talk to her.” As soon as I made the suggestion, I realized it was a mistake. Wyatt’s gaze narrowed.
“I can talk to my own damn daughter, Vance. Thanks for your input.” He started to turn away. I couldn’t let him leave like this.
I stood, bringing us close enough I could reach out and touch his well-defined biceps. “I didn’t mean to insult you.” I spread my hands. “It’s just at this age, a lot of kids have trouble talking to their parents. They get standoffish and close off emotionally because they aren’t sure how to process emotions that feel more adult than they’re ready to handle. I see it a lot with teens and preteens. Teachers can be a safe place, a sounding board that doesn’t carry all the emotional baggage that talking with a parent does.”
Wyatt brushed his palm over his short, dark hair. Just for an instant, some of his uncertainty showed itself. “I can’t say I really like the idea of allowing someone else to parent my kid.”
I had to look down at the gazebo floor. That hurt. It wasn’t as though I was a stranger, as though I had never had any role in Temperance’s life. At one time, short though it was, Wyatt and I had shared that responsibility—the exhaustion, the joy, and the sorrow. Maybe he remembered that too. At least his next words made me think so.
“I’m sorry, Vance. That didn’t come out the way I meant it. The truth is I’m about at the end of my rope. She had a fight with one of her friends this summer. They’re still not speaking, and she’s been surly about it and it’s made everything else that much worse. I’ll talk to her again…try to, at least.”
I bit my bottom lip, wishing there was something I could do or say that would ease his burden, but he’d made it clear that neither he nor Temperance were my burden to share.
“Look, Vance, if what you’re looking for is my permission to talk to her…then you have it. Tempy’s happiness is what’s most important to me. Just—promise me—if you get her talking, let me know what she says.”
I jammed my hands in my back pockets. “I will. You can count on me, Wyatt.”
“Yeah, I know. I always could.” There was a ghost of a smile on his face before he turned and left.
I watched him go with an ache in my chest. Sure, he was walking away from me, but I was back in his life, at least for the year. It might be on the periphery. It might not ever be any closer than that, but if there was any way on this earth I could smooth things over between Wyatt and Temperance, bring them closer together again, I would do it even if it took my very last breath. The truth was I had never stopped loving Wyatt Worth, and pathetic as it might be, I would gather up any crumbs I could.
> 6
Wyatt
Meeting with Vance had rattled me. Twelve years had in no way diminished the way I responded to him. If anything, the total desert of my sex life made those stolen months with Vance assume even more importance. Maybe the only way to exorcise him would be to let him back in.
I sat in my truck with the air conditioner blowing, but it didn’t cool the heat that the thought of holding Vance close to me again caused. What was I thinking? I couldn’t just have an open relationship with him. It would be disloyal. I blew out a frustrated breath. To whom? Elaine is dead. She’s been gone for twelve years! I pushed that errant thought away.
I had worked double-time to stop the rumors that had started circulating, so paranoid back then that people might find out I had made love to a man, especially someone as young as Vance had been. Instead, I had isolated myself, devoted my entire life to my business and my daughter. I hadn’t wanted anyone to be able to question my ability as a parent and a business owner.
Business was great.
My daughter was a question mark.
With a shake of my head, I put the truck in gear and headed to Ethan and Caleb’s to pick her up. When I parked in the driveway, I heard laughter coming from the back of the house. No doubt Ethan telling more of his lame jokes. My shoulders relaxed. It was hard to stay so tense around these guys. They seemed to have it all together in a way I doubted I could ever achieve.
Especially not alone.
You don’t have to be. You saw the way Vance was looking at you. But I had to ignore that.
From around the corner of the house, I saw Tempy huddled together with Cara, laughing at something on the older girl’s phone.
“Wyatt!” Ethan called, grinning his welcome.
I clapped hands with him. “Hey, man. I really appreciate your help. How’d it go?”
He slung an arm around my shoulder. “It is always a pleasure to have her here. You know that.”