The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(73)

“Fuck you! I’m committed all over the place! I was with Bridget every day while she was dying! I’ll be Austin’s father till he’s old and gray even though he’s got your DNA! I took care of my parents the best I could! I’m a teacher, a coach, a friend! I don’t take this shit lightly!”

“Was one more commitment, the one that actually feels the best, just too much for little you?” Cooper asked. “Because she’s already got a heap of worries and struggles and I think you probably just broke the hell out of her heart.”

“I’ll fix that up,” he said sulkily. “But right now I think I’m getting the flu!”

“Flu of the brain, that’s what. If you don’t run after her right now and beg for another chance, you’re not getting any sympathy from me when you’re too late.”

“I don’t need your sympathy. I also don’t need your advice. It’s not like you’re that slick with women!”

“Listen, Spencer,” he said, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table with him. “I understand you might be a little gun-shy—what you went through with Bridget, that would be rough. But Devon’s a good kid and she’s been through a lot, too. Maybe you’d be better off working on holding each other up than taking a break to think things over.”

“Cut it,” he said, drawing a finger across his throat.

“All right, then, if that’s the way you want it, do it your way. Just trying to share the wealth of my experience. You could be alone a long time. Just trying to be useful, bud.”

“You wanna be useful? How about a beer? And some silence.”

“Whatever,” Cooper said, going into the bar. But he didn’t bring back a beer.

* * *

When Devon got home, Mercy was still napping. Mrs. Bledsoe was sitting on Devon’s couch, reading one of her novels. She slowly stood as Devon came in the house. “How is he feeling?”

“He’s feeling like the ass he is,” Devon said.

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Bledsoe said. “You’ve been crying.”

“Wasted tears,” she said. “It’s probably my fault. I probably pushed him into a serious relationship. I didn’t mean to, but I think I did. Because he asked me to give him some time to think about this. About us.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling. “Don’t worry too much about that, lovey. Men have an enduring reputation for things like that.”

“Asking for think time?”

“No. For being stupid.” She shook her head sadly. “I don’t know what it is. Men do things like that regularly. Take these silly time-outs. Like it erases all the important things on their minds. Haven’t you noticed?”

Well, no, she hadn’t. Because when had she had a man? There had been a couple of boyfriends when she was young and then there was Jacob, who didn’t count at all because he was not a steady guy: he was a benevolent despot. Spencer was nearly her first. The first guy to love and want her exclusively.

“I had a husband, a son, a grandson and I eat up these romance novels. Everyone knows men can’t stand to be confronted with their feelings. They’d rather wrestle alligators.”

“Maybe I should read more of those,” Devon said.

“I have a few recommendations and a ton of books if you ever want to borrow a few.”

“Maybe I will,” Devon said. “I think I’m going to have a little free time all of a sudden.”

Seventeen

Ashley cornered her mother in the kitchen. “Can I talk to you and Mac tonight? For a couple of minutes? Just you two?”

“Of course. Is anything wrong?”

“Not at all. I have something to run by you. It’s not really for the whole family.”

“You’ve got me on pins now,” Gina said.

“Is Mac here tonight? He’s not working?” When Gina shook her head, Ashley said, “See you here right after dinner? When the kids have scattered?”

“Perfect.”

Before the dishes were even done, Mac and Gina sat expectantly at the kitchen table. Eve had gone to their room to talk to Landon on the phone while the younger kids were in the basement with the piano, computer and TV. Ashley looked at her mom and new stepdad and laughed. “I really didn’t mean to alarm you. I wanted to talk to you about Eric.”

“What is it, honey?” Gina asked.

“I went shopping with him, you know. And we had lunch. And he was telling me that someone has been after him to sell his body shop. At first he just said it wasn’t for sale, but then he started thinking about it and wondered if just maybe he shouldn’t do it. I guess the offer is pretty good, but I don’t have any idea what that means. But...he said he’s been looking around at other things, other opportunities, if he did decide to sell. He said it’s almost an offer he can’t refuse. I told him I hoped it didn’t mean he was moving even farther away and he said there was a potential thing in Thunder Point, but he was worried about it—he asked me if Thunder Point was big enough for the two of us. Everyone would take one look at us and know—he’s my father.”

“Oh, jeez,” Gina said. “How do you feel about that?”

“I’m okay with it,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve introduced him as my biological father to people we’ve met. It doesn’t bother me a bit. In fact, I’m kind of proud that he wanted to meet me once he found out about me. But then the conversation went to you guys. He doesn’t want to put it to you directly—he doesn’t want to blindside you. He said it might make you two uncomfortable. You know, dredging up the past, which was kind of a scandalous past for you. Mom, I know you didn’t have it easy when you were this teenage mother with the missing boyfriend. Then, he reminded me, add to that the fact he went to prison. Holy crap, huh? I mean, that isn’t a big deal for me—I didn’t go to prison! And he’s pretty embarrassed about it, but he said he’s never tried to hide it. He said it wouldn’t work to try to hide it—it would always be found out eventually, so he admits it and that’s all there is to it.” She shrugged. “He turned his life around. It’s a good thing.”