RECLAIM MY HEART(11)

“I can’t just drop everything and leave the city for a month, Lucas.” Her blue eyes narrowed and her jaw tensed. “I have a business to run.”
“What about what I want?” Zach blurted. “Does anyone care what I want?”
Judge Taylor peered over his eyeglasses once again. “Sorry, son. You lost your vote when you ran the train off the track.” He pushed at his glasses with his index finger. “Ms. Whitlock, if you own this catering business—”
“Co-own,” she corrected. “I am co-owner of—”
“Even better.” Taylor nodded. “That means the business doesn’t depend on you alone. I suggest you do a little delegating.” He shrugged. “Or stay in town and work. The choice is yours. As for Zach, I think some time with his father is just the ticket.”
“Lucas!” Tyne whispered furiously. “Don’t do this. Don’t you dare take Zach—”
“It’s done,” Taylor stated. He looked over at the court clerk. “I grant Lucas Hawk custody of Zach Whitlock for thirty days.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Oh, but I can, Ms. Whitlock,” the judge said. “The good state of Pennsylvania has granted me that privilege. Mr. Hawk, please utilize the time to do what you can for your son.”
“I will, Your Honor. Thank you.”
“Ms. Whitlock, Mr. Hawk, as parents of a minor who has committed a crime, you’re responsible for making full restitution to the city to have that wall painted. I strongly suggest you see to it that Zach dtht that pays off the debt himself. But that’s entirely up to you.” The judge glanced over at the clerk. “You getting all this? Good.” He looked at Zach. “We’ll reconvene in thirty days at which time I’ll make my final decision on this case.” He looked at the Assistant DA. “You have any disagreements you want to raise?”
“We’re fine with this, Your Honor,” the woman said.
Taylor narrowed his gaze at the teen. “Zachary, I strongly suggest that you use this time to do some hard thinking. What’s important to you? What do you want to do with your life? Which direction do you want to go? And most importantly, what kind of person do you want to be? You need to get yourself sorted. I’ll see you back here in one month’s time.” The judge paused a moment before asking, “Do you understand what’s happening here, Zach? I’m giving you a chance to turn things around for yourself. This is a rare occurrence in this courtroom. I need to know that you understand that this is a pivotal moment in your life. “
Zach’s gaze lowered. “Yes, sir. I got it. I mean, I understand.”
“Good. That’s it, then.” A sharp thud rang out as the judge slammed down the gavel.
CHAPTER FOUR
Lincoln Highway shot straight through southeast Pennsylvania’s lush farmland. From the backseat of Lucas’s BMW, Tyne gazed out at grassy wheat fields, tidy rows of neatly-trimmed fruit trees, and squat, windowless mushroom houses. The blasting air conditioner did little to cool her temper. Shaking Lucas until his teeth rattled loose might give her some satisfaction.
She hadn’t spoken a single word since Lucas had picked up her and Zach a little over an hour ago. A fire continued to smolder inside her. It had been sparked in that courtroom when Lucas had succeeded in turning her life upside down.
Yes, he had made his suggestion for Zach’s sake. Logic wouldn’t allow her to think otherwise. And Sandy, Chip, and Gina, her friends and partners of Easy Feasts, couldn’t have been more supportive or cooperative about her needing time off to sort out her son’s problems. It would make for longer work days for a few weeks, but they were good people who knew Tyne would, in an instant, do the same thing for them. Even Rob, who rarely voiced an opinion about her son, had admitted that Lucas’s plan might be just what Zach needed. But that was classic Rob, always going with the flow, taking the path of least resistance.
So why was she feeling so betrayed? The reaction might not make much sense, but that’s what she felt. Betrayed. By her friends. By her fiancé. She wanted all of them to be as annoyed with Lucas as she was for forcing her to leave her home and her business.
She even felt betrayed by Zach.
Her son had been an absolute bear since that ill-tempered judge had exiled them for thirty days. Zach had snapped at her at every opportunity. He’d moped around the house, he’d groused whenever she’d spoken to him. He didn’t want to be on this trip any more than she did. But then this morning Lucas arrived in his sleek, silver sedan with its black leather interior and tinted windows. The car was probably worth more than what she earned in a year, maybe two. Zach had been awed, and he and Lucas had talked horsepower, torque, and acceleration speed as they stowed the suitcases in the trunk. Tyne had settled herself into the backseat, her arms folded tightly under her breasts, savoring just a smidgeon of satisfaction that her silent treatment would prove to Lucas just how she felt about his stupid plan.
But he hadn’t seemed to notice.
The three of them hadn’t even left the city limits before Lucas had plied Zach with sports talk. Lucas did most of the talking about the Eagles. Buth n Zach was crazy for football. How many arguments had she had with him during his pre-teen years over staying up late to watch the game? The conversation became more two-sided when the subject switched to the Phillies. If only Zach could remember algebraic equations as easily as he spouted off batting stats. He became almost animated. Well, as animated as a sullen fifteen-year-old will allow himself to become, anyway, when the conversation turned to ice hockey. All that talk of power play percentages and shot on goals and shutouts became as mind-numbing as a hefty shot of Novocain to Tyne.