RECLAIM MY HEART(56)

Unable to think of a reply, she blurted, “How did you know where to find me?”
He just looked at her, then his gaze slid off her face as he said, “I’ve been here before. Years ago. During…?you know.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “I came to talk with the uncle.”
Just one more strategy in his plan to drive a wedge between her and Lucas back then. The anger that flared in her must have shown in her expression.
“Besides that,” he added, “these days, between the on-line property records and Google, you can find anything…?or anyone.”
She offered a vague nod.
“Look, honey,” her father said, “I’m not proud of how I acted when—” He stopped short, then started again. “All of us could have made better decisions.”
“I made the best decisions for me,” sh>me when—e said tightly.
But she knew in her heart he was right. She could have kept the channels of communication open. She could have accepted the help they were willing to offer rather than letting her pride get in the way.
“I’m sure you did, honey. I didn’t come here to fight. Honestly, I didn’t.” He pulled his hands from his pockets, laced his fingers and steepled his thumbs at the apex of his diaphragm, close to his heart. “I came to tell you that your mother and I love you. That we’re sorry. That we’ve missed you terribly, Tyne. And we want to know if there’s anything we can do to be invited back into your life. Anything.”
For an instant, she forgot how to breathe while tears threatened to spill, and before she knew what was happening, she was in his arms. He smelled of familiar, spicy after shave and happy memories.
Yes, there had been good times, plenty of them, when she’d been a child growing up in Oak Mills. Their annual summer Saturday at Dutch Wonderland, even after she’d grown too old for the theme park. The hours her dad had spent pushing her on the tree swing he’d put up for her. The drives into the Pocono Mountains to see the autumn leaves. The picnics with fried chicken, creamy coleslaw and, of course, some scrumptious sweet her mother would make for them.
The laughter. The warmth. The love. She’d been so focused on the bad over the years that she’d forgotten all about the good times. And all it had taken to open the flood gates of her memory had been two tiny words.
We’re sorry.
“I’ve missed you too, Dad,” she whispered against his neck. Tears squeezed out of her closed eyes, but she brushed them away before he released his hold on her.
He was as choked by emotion as she. He cleared his throat, his smile unsteady.
“Come to dinner tonight, honey,” he said. “Your mother would be so happy to see you.”
Tyne’s smile slipped, then it disappeared altogether. “I’m not here alone. Zachary is with me. My son.”
“Bring him along. We want to meet our grandson.”
“And Lucas,” she added. “I’m here with Lucas.”
“Bring him along too.” There was no hesitation in his voice as he merrily added, “It’ll be a family reunion.”
She paused, waiting for logic or instinct or some random sign of nature to tell her she’d be foolish to accept her dad’s invitation. But she felt nothing, heard nothing, and finally she smiled.
“Okay. We’ll come.” She remembered the cake sitting on the counter waiting to be filled and frosted. “I’ll bring dessert.”
Hours after her father had left, she whipped the heavy cream and sweetened it, filled the cake layers with cherries and was just smoothing the last of the chocolate butter cream frosting on top when she heard Zach and Lucas come into the house.
“Ma!” Zach shouted. “Is that chocolate cake I smell?”
“It sure is,” she called back.
He barreled into the kitchen, smiling. He clutched his bow in one hand and held the other out for her inspection. “Will chocolate and cherries cure a blister?”
“Another one?” She took his hand in hers for a closer look.
“Two,” he said proudly.
“He’s getting better with that thing.” Lucas came into the kitchen on Zach’s heels. “He’s hitting the bull’s eye more times than not.”
Her son’s fingers were grubby, but she could see small white blisters that had formed on the tips of his middle and ring fingers. She studied them longer than was necessary on purpose. When she finally looked up at Lucas, she floundered for words.
She lifted her eyes to her son’s face.
“Chocolate heals whatever ails you,whatever yo finally she told him, grinning.
“Mmmm. Can I have a piece now?” he asked.
“Oh, no. It’s for later.”
“But I’m wounded.”
“Don’t touch that cake.” She reached for a towel. “We’ve been invited to dinner,” she told them, striving to keep her voice cheery. “And I accepted. We’re taking that with us.”
“Where’re we going?” Zach asked, eyeing the left over sweetened whipped cream in the bowl on the counter.
“Wash your hands first,” Tyne ordered. “You don’t want those blisters getting infected.” She dried her fingers on the dishtowel while Zach moved to the kitchen sink and turned on the water.
Lucas moved closer to her.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked him.
He nodded, and then said, “So?”
“So…?what?”
Lucas didn’t speak, just looked at her peculiarly.
“You never said where we’re going to dinner, Mom.” Zach lathered liquid soap between his hands.