A Father's Name(15)

Tucker shook her head, sending her short curls flying. “So we can come and show our respect.”



“You didn’t know him.” She’d never even met Jason or his parents, so he didn’t understand.

“No, but we know you. You work for us. We want to be there for you. That’s what friends do.” Her expression didn’t brook any arguments.

Tyler hadn’t understood Angelina back when he’d asked her out and she’d said no, despite the fact he was pretty sure she wanted to say yes. He didn’t think he was being conceited when he thought she was as attracted to him as he was to her. He understood her even less now. He simply said, “Thanks.” He leaned down to the baby. “Hey, Jace.”

Jace immediately held up his hands to be lifted.

“He’s not shy about what he wants.” Angelina laughed as Tyler picked up the baby. “Bart has begun referring to us as Jace’s minions. He’s got everyone at the shop totally under his thumb.”

“I don’t know how to thank you both. To thank everyone at the shop for picking up the slack for me.”

“Like I said, helping out—that’s what we do. You should have seen him with North. North’s got a Star Trek phaser app on his phone and was thrilled that Jace thought it was as cool as he did. The rest of us simply mock it, but Jace and North played with that thing for more than a half hour. I’m afraid that first it’s going to be phaser apps on a phone, and next thing you know, North will be taking Jace to ComicCon, or DragonCon.”

Jason had been a huge science fiction buff who’d kept trying to tempt Tyler into joining him by giving him books or DVDs to watch. Tyler realized that his friend would never again rave about how brilliant Buffy the Vampire Slayer was, or threaten to give him a Star Wars ringtone.

He noticed Angelina was still talking. “…and Lou and my dad took turns playing honorary grandpa with him. They were talking about taking him fishing. I put a stop to that. I figured I’d fail as babysitter if I let him become fish-bait. But I’m sure they’ll be asking to borrow him sometime. They used to take Bart.”

Tyler didn’t know what to say. He was an ex-con, but no one at Tucker’s garage seemed to notice. They simply accepted him as one of their own. “Angel, I—”

“Tucker, remember, Ace?” She smiled as she said the words.

Without thinking, Tyler leaned down and kissed her. It started out as a quick buss on the cheek, but she turned her head, and his lips were on hers. It was a tender kiss of friendship that quickly turned into something more. Something Tucker actively participated in and then abruptly pulled back from, looking flustered. He didn’t wait for her to holler at him, he simply took the baby and walked to where he’d spotted Jace’s carseat.

“Don’t forget his diaper bag,” Tucker said, following after him, bag in hand.

He started toward his truck.

“Thanks. I seem to be thanking you a lot.”



“We look out for each other. No thanks expected.”

He knew she meant that—she didn’t require or expect gratitude. She didn’t even recognize how extraordinary that was.

He looked at the small woman in her holey jeans and a t-shirt that had a motorcycle on it and read Ride It Like You Stole It. Her hair was a mass of crazy curls and she didn’t have a bit of makeup on. All that being said, she was beautiful and everything in him wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.

But he didn’t. He felt guilty for wanting to. After all, his best friend was dead. How could he be thinking about women when Jace was gone? It said something about him, he admitted as they agreed to switch vehicles and fished his truck key out of his pocket for Tucker. “I’ll call later on.”

“Okay.” She stood in front of him for a minute, as if weighing something in her head, then moved swiftly and kissed his cheek.

Before he could do or say something that would totally unman himself, Tyler got in Angelina’s black Pilot and headed back into Erie, where Jason’s parents were waiting.

He glanced at the baby in the rearview mirror. Jace was chortling a string of noncoherent syllables to himself, happy and content. Tyler caught the word Da, and felt choked up. He remembered the day Jason had called him to tell him Mellie was pregnant. The baby didn’t know he’d lost everything.



But Tyler did and his heart ached for him. For Jason’s parents.

And, though it made him feel small to think it, for himself.