RECLAIM MY HEART(40)

Tyne felt her own chest paining.
“Wolf captured one of the whipped man’s tears and carefully carried to it to the Creator. ‘Forgiveness,’ Wolf proclaimed. ‘Forgiveness is the greatest human quality.’
“The Great On kThd to it toe was pleased. ‘You have done well. And you are correct. Forgiveness is what sets humans apart from all the rest of creation, and it is what fills their future with hope.’”
She knew the story had come to an end by the expression on his face. Jasper reclined against the chair back and gulped down his tea like a man dying of thirst. The ice cubes thunked against the bottom of the glass when he set it on the table.
“Ah, that was delicious,” Jasper pronounced.
“That was a beautiful story.” Tyne spoke out of politeness, really, since the story had left her a little confused.
Yes, the point of the fable had been forgiveness. But who was she meant to forgive?
Zach? Had her son said something to Jasper about her being angry with him?
Lucas? But he hadn’t done anything that needed forgiving.
Then it dawned on her. The last thing she’d said before Jasper had launched into his tale.
I feel sick every time I think about how I’ve kept them apart for so many years.
Then another correlation in the story clicked. Like the forgiven thief, she’d had honorable motivation for her behavior. If she thought about it a while longer, she’d be willing to bet there were other lessons to be found in the story.
The smile she offered Jasper was bright. “A really beautiful story.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
With a basketball tucked between his elbow and hip, Lucas answered the knock at the door. He never expected to see Rob Henderson on his doorstep.
After welcoming the man with a handshake, Lucas said, “Tyne’s in the kitchen.”
Zach came into the living room from the hallway, surprise making him stop short. “Hey,” he said to Rob, lifting his hand.
“Hi, Zach. How are you?” Rob looked at Lucas. “Could you tell Tyne I’m here?”
“Sure. Hang on.” But Lucas had only taken a step toward the kitchen when Tyne appeared in the doorway, a tea towel in hand.
“Rob,” she greeted, and Lucas couldn’t help but notice she didn’t smile.
“This is the quickest I could get here,” Rob said to her.
She dried her hands on the towel. “I thought you might come at the weekend. I didn’t expect you to just drop everything and race out here.”
He shrugged. “You sounded pretty serious on the phone. Like…?well, like something might be wrong.”
It got quiet, and the silence swiftly grew uncomfortable. Lucas wasn’t sure who to address, Tyne or Rob, so he tossed out, “Zach and I were going to shoot some hoops, but if you’d rather he stuck around to visit…”
“No, no.” A lock of Tyne’s blond hair slid over her shoulder when she shook her head. “You guys go ahead. Rob and I need to talk.”
When a woman used those words, it rarely meant something good was about to happen. Suddenly, he was reluctant to leave the house, but Zach tapped him on the shoulder.
“Let’s go,” his son said, and Lucas followed out the front door.
Lucas paused at the edge of the yard. “Instead of going to the Center, let’s head over to the church.”
“But there’s only a half court there.”
He lifted a shoulder as he tossed the ball to Zach. “We’re practicing some shots. Half court is all we need.”
Holding the ball at chest level between both hands, Zach turned his head to gaze up at the house. He looked at Lucas. “She’ll be all right, you know. It did feel a little tense in there, but I’ve never seen ’em fight before. I’ve never even heard Rob raise his voice. Do you know what’s going nThd teon? Did you know he was coming?” He stepped out into the street as he talked, bounced the ball once, then tossed it to Lucas and started walking toward the church.
Lucas fell into step beside him, and rather than answer his question, he asked one of his own. “So they get along well?”
The instant he asked, he regretted it. Zach was savvy enough to figure out when he was being pumped for information. Tyne and Rob’s relationship was none of his business.
“I dunno.” Zach shrugged. “They get along okay, I guess. I try to avoid ’em as much as possible.” Zach reached over and stole the ball Lucas was bouncing. “They go out to dinner and stuff. Just the two of them. And when they’re at the house I make myself scarce. Go to my room. Or down the street to hang with a friend.”
Before Lucas could ask why, Zach explained, “Nobody likes feelin’ like a third wheel.”
Lucas wondered if Tyne knew how Zach felt. If they were going to marry, if Rob was going to become Zach’s step-father—
Some dark emotion congealed deep in Lucas’s gut. He was just starting to deal with the new experience of being a father, and now he had to contend with the idea of sharing his son with a step-father.
“Do you like Rob, Zach?” He shouldn’t press, but he couldn’t help it.
Zach kept his gaze directed straight ahead. “I don’t really know ’im. We’ve watched a few games on ESPN when Mom’s running late at work, but…” He shook his head, letting the rest of his thought trail.
“Well, they’re getting married. How do you feel about that? Has your mom ever asked you?”
He shook his head. “Nah. But why should she? It’s her life. And I won’t be living at home forever. I don’t care what they do.”