A Father's Name(78)
And as she got ready to paint, she thought about her upcoming showdown with Tyler Martinez. He was right. She deserved the best. Somehow she was going to have to convince him that while he was right about that, he’d overlooked the fact that he was the best for her.
She didn’t think they made a T-shirt for that.
CHAPTER TWELVE
AT THE END OF THE NEXT day, Tyler had Mrs. Kovalski drop Jace off at the shop for him. He had the baby settled on his hip as he walked across the lawn to George Tucker’s and knocked on the door.
“Hey, Jace,” Angelina’s father said as he opened the screen door and scooped the baby into his arms. “Come on in, Tyler. What’s up? You need me to watch Jace?”
“No. Well, yes, but not now. Now, I’d like to talk to you.”
George went to the kitchen table and sat down, indicating the other chair across from him. “Sounds serious.”
“It is,” Tyler assured him as he took the seat.
George handed Jace a spoon and the baby happily beat the table as George said, “Shoot.”
Tyler had spent the better part of the week mulling. He’d talked to Mr. Matthews again and had finally acknowledged there was nothing he could do to stop the ADA from clearing his name. He looked at Jace and part of him still worried about the baby. He wanted to be sure that Jace understood what his father had done and why.
If Mellie and Jason had done anything differently, then Jace might not be here, Mr. Matthews had said. In my book, that makes them both brave. Doesn’t negate Jason’s mistake, but it does make him human. And maybe that’s what Jace will need. A father who was brave and human.
Somehow, Tyler would see to it that Jace understood it all. That he knew about his father, mistakes included.
“I don’t want to get into specifics yet, Mr. Tucker, but you hired me when everyone else ignored me. You gave me a chance to rebuild my life. And now, my name is going to be cl…cleared.” He stumbled over the words. “I’m not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is. I have a chance to go back to my old life, or…”
“Or?” George asked as he gently guided Jace’s spoon back to the table top and away from his face. When Tyler didn’t answer immediately, George repeated, “Or…”
“Well, it’s the or I want to talk to you about.”
An hour and a half later, Tyler left George Tucker’s house and he had a plan.
TUCKER GENERALLY AWOKE on Mondays with optimism. The upcoming week was a blank slate. It could be something amazing.
She stared at the tank of the Sportster she was hoping to finish today.
Saying goodbye to Bart on Friday had been tougher than she’d imagined, but she’d talked to him yesterday and he was having a great time. The orientation weekend had been fun, he’d assured her. Knowing that made letting go easier. She’d spent the last eighteen years preparing for this day. The fact that it had arrived and he was adjusting wonderfully meant she’d done her job right.
She knew that her relationship with Bart would change. He’d grow up, move out and find a life for himself.
She simply hadn’t expected the rest of her life to be in upheaval as well.
“Hey, honey, I talked to Bart last night,” her father said as a way of announcing himself.
She set the spray gun down and turned around to face her father. “I’m glad he called you. He sounded good, didn’t he?” She climbed to her feet and smiled.
“Yes, he did,” her father agreed. Then abruptly he said, “I wanted to talk to you about my selling off some of my shares.”
Her mind was full of Tyler, about how she was going to approach him and confront him. The last thing she wanted was to pick up this fight again. She’d thought after their last discussion her father had given up. “Pops—”
“No,” he held out a hand, “hear me out. I have an investor in mind and all I want you to do is meet the person. It would do my heart good to know you at least gave this a listen. You have the final say, but Angel, I think this could be a match made in heaven. Everything I wanted for you, and maybe everything you wanted, even if you didn’t know you wanted it,” he finished cryptically.
“Pops, It’ll do my heart good? That was pretty low. And I’m sure that I know exactly what I want and a partner isn’t it.” Her father simply waited, not responding, and Tucker sighed. “If I meet with the investor and say no, you’ll back off? Not just back off, but drop the subject entirely?”