RECLAIM MY HEART(28)

Zach moved to the door, but before leaving he glanced at Tyne. “I’m going to Uncle Jasper’s.” Then he was gone.
The living room felt oddly quiet now that all the shouting had stopped.
“Well,” Lucas said with a forced chuckle, “you have to admit there’s been some improvement. The last time he left angry, he didn’t tell us where he was going. And did you notice? He didn’t slam the door.”
Tyne sat down on the edge of the nearby easy chair. “This isn’t funny, Lucas.”
“I know.” He sat down on the sofa, sliding his palms up and down his thighs. Their knees were mere inches apart and he could feel the heat of her. Damn if she wasn’t gorgeous when her eyes were lit with anger. “I was only t SI h="rying to make you smile. Lighten the tension a little.”
“Oh, god, it was awful, wasn’t it?” She smoothed her palms together absently. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe there for a few minutes. I think I should find a counselor. Someone to help him deal with his anger.”
Lucas nodded. “He does need to learn to control his tongue.”
Her hands fell limp in her lap. “I want you to know he’s never acted like this before. Never treated me like this, I mean.”
Something outside the picture window drew her gaze and he took the opportunity to study the delicate curve of her jaw.
“We were close, he and I,” she said softly. “It’s only natural that we would be, I guess. All we had was each other, really.” Her gaze met his. “I told you before that things seemed to change a couple of years ago, and I put it down to teenage hormones. But he’s never been disrespectful, Lucas. Not like this.”
“I believe you.” A faint citrus scent drifted on the air and he realized it was coming from her skin or her hair. “If this behavior, this belligerence, is something new, I’d say you caught it early. Maybe a counselor would be a good idea.”
Tyne nodded, but although she was looking at him, he got the distinct impression that she was miles away in thought. He noticed the navy flecks in her pensive blue eyes. She blinked a couple of times, and he knew immediately she was once again focused on the present.
“I don’t dare take him to see them,” she whispered.
Tyne didn’t have to identify them, he knew of whom she spoke.
“I don’t want to see them.” Her voice grew stronger. “And I sure don’t want them anywhere near Zach.”
When Lucas told Tyne that they should focus their efforts on Zach, he’d meant every word he’d said. The past had a way of tangling everything in knots. Questions about the events that had taken place when they’d been teens had driven him nuts, but he’d done his best to follow the plan, focusing on the problems at hand, the problems in the present. Until now.
“How did all this happen, Tyne? What happened?” he asked. “How did you end up on your own? Raising Zach alone?”
Her whole body seemed to wilt and she closed her eyes. “They were so disappointed. I had just started my first semester—”
She’d been accepted into Millersville University while Lucas had been forced to work for a couple of years and save up funds for college.
“—and I showed up one day and announced, ‘Hey, Mom and Dad, I’m pregnant.’” She pressed her fingertips to her mouth and shook her head. “They had such dreams for me, Lucas.”
As the only child of the Whitlocks, Tyne was destined to shine, even if her parents had to hold her down and apply the shellac themselves. When they’d been dating, Lucas would listen as Tyne lamented all the favors her father had called in from his cronies just for her. Tedious obligations as she saw them. To an Indian living hand to mouth they’d have been huge breaks, golden opportunities, and he couldn’t deny the slight pang of jealousy he’d felt. But he hadn’t let envy keep him from encouraging her to take advantage of anything her father could offer. As a teen contemplating their futures, he’d come to the conclusion that hers had seemed as bright as the sun next to his flimsy flashlight.
“And they were determined,” she continued, “that their dreams for me would come true.” She sighed. “They insisted on an abortion. I flat out refused. They badgered me with their reasons; I was too young, I had my whole life ahead of me, a baby would destroy my chances to get an education. They were distraught and disillusioned. And, hell, so was I. They wouldn’t leave me alone for two minutes, afraid that I’d contact you Sd cistraug—which they had forbidden me to do. They threatened me with everything they could think of.”
Tears glistened in her eyes and she glanced away; his heart wrenched.
“They were right, Lucas. I was too young. I couldn’t imagine having a baby. I was a teenager.”
He noticed that she’d laced her fingers tightly in her lap.
“Then they suggested adoption.” Her gaze remained fixed on the spot somewhere in the far corner of the room. “And I finally came to the conclusion that maybe they were probably right.”
Her anguish was almost palpable. “Tyne—”
She cut him off with a shake of her head. “Let me finish. I need to tell you.” She pressed the curled fingers of one hand to her chin. “I went to my aunt’s in Florida for the duration of my pregnancy. By summer, I’d changed my mind all over again. I’d fallen in love with my child even though I hadn’t set eyes on him yet. I couldn’t give him up.” Her hand lowered to her lap. “My parents were livid. They called me every day, arguing and pestering me. But I was adamant.