If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(64)

Jeremy stared at Hal in disbelief. He could not wrap his head around the idea that his father had quit drinking five years ago. "You seriously want me to believe he stopped drinking completely five years ago? Why? Why would he do that?"

"He crashed his car into a tree. He woke up injured and sick and finally realized how low he'd sunk. I took him from the hospital to rehab. He came back to town a month later and he's been on track ever since."

"So it's my fault he slipped up, something else for him to blame me for," he said bitterly.

"He doesn't blame you; he blames himself." Hal paused. "I know you think this isn't your problem, and I can't say that it is, but your father has tried to change, and I wanted you to know that. He would love to get to know his granddaughter."

"I can't have him around Ashlyn."

"You can make sure it's a good experience. He's back on track, Jeremy. He's going to meetings every day. He's trying. This is a pivotal moment for him. He needs you to give him a second chance."

"A second chance? He's on about twenty now."

"Then let's call it twenty-one. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your daughter. She has a grandfather, and from what I hear she doesn't have much else in the way of family. Neither do you. I don't think it's too late for you to fix this relationship."

"That would take a miracle."

Hal smiled. "We are in Angel's Bay, a place where miracles happen."

"Not any that I've seen."

"There's still time."

Jeremy shook his head. "I know you're my father's friend, and you want to help him, but I have to protect my daughter. If he wants to change things, it's on him. If he can show me he's sober for more than a few days, maybe I'd consider talking to him again, but I can't make any promises."

"All right. I had to try. Good luck, Jeremy." He got up and gave his seat to Barton.

As Barton sat down, he said, "I was going to rescue you, but I didn't want to get in the middle of that conversation. It sounded heavy."

"I don't blame you," Jeremy said, sipping his coffee. "Hal says my father got sober five years ago, that he didn't fall off the wagon until I came back to town. He wants me to give him another chance."

"What is it with people needing a million chances?" Barton asked, no sympathy in his voice. "Your dad is an asshole. Sorry, but that's the truth. If he wants to change things, he should stop being an asshole."

"That's what I told Hal." He appreciated that Barton actually saw the relationship the way he saw it.

"In fact, I think you should leave this town and move to Los Angeles. I talked to Jeff Kinsey again this morning. He wants a meeting with you. He's ready to pay you more money than you ever dreamed of and let you call your own shots. If you need time to be with your kid, he'll wait until you're ready. It's the perfect job for you, Jeremy."

"Is it? Private military contractors are more about profit than patriotism. We've both seen that."

"It doesn't have to be one or the other. Kinsey is an honorable guy. You like him. You know him."

That was true, and if he was going to go into private security, Kinsey would probably be the best choice. He just didn't know if he wanted to make that move. "I told you I'd think about it. That's all I can give you right now."

"What else will you do? Your future won't be in Delta, Jeremy. You know that. Your shoulder will never be able to handle the demands of our job. And even if it could, you've got a kid now. You can't leave her with an hour's notice."

"You're not telling me anything I don't know. Just give me some time. I've got a lot on my plate."

"All right, I'll back off," Barton said, putting up his hand in surrender. "So on another note, what's happening with you and the hot blonde next door?"

"Nothing," he said, but the word didn't come out as convincingly as he would have wanted.

Barton gave him a knowing smile. "Yeah, right. You're into her. Have you slept with her yet?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'll take that as a yes. And I'm happy for you."

"Don't read anything into it. She's leaving in a few weeks, just as soon as she finishes cleaning out her aunt's house."

"Leaving in a few weeks makes her the perfect woman in my book. Are you taking her out tonight?"

"We haven't made plans. I'm thinking about taking Ashlyn to the movie in the park."

Barton smiled. "They still have those? Man, this place never changes. It is as hokey a small town as any you'll ever find."

Jeremy had always thought so, too, until recently. "You should come."

"I have no interest in that, and, even if I did, I have my mother's birthday party tonight. It's her sixty-fifth, and the entire family is coming, so I have to be there. She told me she'd leave me out of the will if I didn't make it. Not that she has any money to leave me," he joked.

Jeremy smiled. Barton was as far from a mama's boy as anyone he'd ever met, but if there was one person who could make him do something he didn't want to do, it was his mother. "Wish her well for me."