Hold on My Heart (26 page)

“Probably not enough.”

“Grandma would give me some money, too. Dad, I really want to go on this trip. I haven’t been anywhere in ages. Not since we went on vacation with Mom before we moved.”

That tugged at him. They’d gone to Gatlinburg and stayed in a little log cabin. They’d panned for gold at a touristy amusement park and ridden an old-fashioned steam train. Somewhere in a shoebox, stuffed away in a closet, were pictures from that trip. Nostalgia for that vacation threatened to overwhelm him. Rachel had been a child then, a child who adored him. If he could get a little of that back, his life would be so much better.

“How long have you been seeing this kid? What did you say his name was?”

“His name is Jake, Dad, and he’s very nice. And other than that silly cow thing, he’s actually very responsible. I think you’d like him.”

No, he wouldn’t. He’d hate him. On principle alone, he was obligated to detest this kid who probably felt about Rachel the way Tom felt about Libby. The notion of it made him shudder to the marrow of his bones.

“I have to think about this trip, Rachel. I’m not for it, but I’ll give it some thought.” He’d try to, at least. But he wouldn’t like it. “And honestly, with you living at your grandparents’ house, you should probably ask them, too. Grandma might have plans for you for Thanksgiving.”

Her sigh came from her toes. “I already asked them. Grandpa said no.”

“You already asked them?” That was a kick in the gut he wasn’t expecting. Tom gripped the steering wheel more tightly, and that water balloon in his gut dropped another inch. “And now you’re asking me? So, if Grandpa had said yes, would you have even told me? Or would you have waited until you’d gotten back?”

She stared straight ahead. “Of course I would have told you.”

“Told me or asked me?” Now it was getting really hot inside the truck. Tom adjusted the vents to blow on his face.

“What’s the difference?” she asked.

“Uh, there is a significant difference. I’m still your father, Rachel, no matter where you live, and you can’t just leave the state without getting my permission.”

“I wasn’t going to. You’re getting mad at me for something I didn’t do. You’re reacting with emotion instead of logic.”

Tom bit back his retort. Her comment was straight from the Dr. Brandt handbook. At least Rachel had been listening. But he still felt like he’d very nearly been played.

“Okay, using logic, Rachel, if I’d said yes, were you going to go back and tell George you had my permission and therefore you could go? You can’t pit us against each other, because that’s not okay.”

“I wasn’t trying to do that. Honestly. But why do I have to get two sets of permission? That’s not fair. If I only get to do things that both you and Grandpa agree on, I may as well lock myself in my room right now because I’ll never get to do anything, or go anywhere, ever.”

His anger faded a notch. After all, what kid wouldn’t try to work the system to his or her advantage? And if Dr. Brandt had taught him anything, it was that Rachel’s behavior wasn’t personal. His daughter wasn’t doing this to mess with him. She just wanted to go skiing. Still, he couldn’t resist saying, “Isn’t that a little melodramatic?”

She huffed and crossed her arms. “No more melodramatic than you being so certain that I’ll get knocked up on this ski trip.”

“Rachel.”

“Well, seriously, Dad, isn’t that what this is about? You and Grandpa both being worried that I’ll be just like Mom? If I was going to Colorado with a girlfriend and her parents, I bet you both would’ve said fine.”

He wasn’t certain about that. But her point was annoyingly plausible. And effectively ruined most of his arguments about her going.

“Look, I know you’re smart and reasonably cautious,” he said. “But it’s my job to keep you out of situations you’re not ready for. Trust me, Rachel. Things can get out of hand pretty quickly when you’re faced with the opportunity.”

She turned toward him. “Dad, seriously? Do you have any idea how easy it is to create the opportunity? I don’t need to go to Colorado for that.”

Splat
went the water balloon. “I don’t think that point is really helping your case here, Rach. It just makes me want to pull you out of high school and lock you in a shed.”

She took a big, exaggerated breath and exhaled, loud and slow. “Dad, I’m going to try really hard here to look at your intentions instead of your actual words, okay?” Another Brandt-ism. “And what I hear you saying is that you want me to be safe, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, I want me to be safe, too. I don’t drink or do drugs. I do all my homework. I never miss my curfew. And my boyfriend’s parents want to take me skiing and stay in a condo with, like, nine other people. Trust me. If Jake and I were going to hook up, it would not be there. So is it really such a big deal for me to go?”

Sullen, silent Rachel was a lot easier to maneuver around. This new kid was too smart for him.

“I can’t wrap my head around all this right now, Rachel.” He pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and turned off the truck. “You have to let me think about it, okay? I do hear what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to agree. And I’m not crazy about undermining George’s opinion. Frankly, you should have asked me first, but it’s not going to smooth things over with me and your grandparents if he says one thing and I say another.”

She stared at him for the space of a heartbeat. “If I lived with you, we wouldn’t need Grandpa’s opinion.” Her voice was quiet but deliberate.

Tom’s heart sped up, and tripped and fell, and got back up.

“Rachel, don’t use that as a bargaining chip to make me change my mind about this trip.” His voice was just as quiet. “I couldn’t take that.”

She looked at him, her eyes big and serious. “I have been thinking about it a little bit, is all. I haven’t made any decisions, but I’ll be able to drive next summer, and then I could live with you but still go to the same school. Assuming I had a car.” A tiny smile crooked at the corner of her mouth.

Tom felt the pull of her teasing. Another tactic from the good doctor. Lighten the mood with humor. His daughter just might have a career in psychology. “So, a skiing adventure in Colorado and a new car? That’s what it’ll take to make you move back in with me?”

She giggled and tipped her head back against the seat. “No, of course not. It’s just Grandma and Grandpa have been really nice to me, but they’re also really old, and I think they kind of want to move to Florida. All their friends go down there for the winter, and they’re stuck up here taking care of me. I don’t know. Maybe it’s time.”

He couldn’t breathe. He wanted her to come home so badly. He’d tried and tried to convince himself it was okay if she stayed with Anne and George, that he could manage by himself, if it’s what she wanted. But here she was saying maybe, just maybe, she’d come home.

“I haven’t decided anything yet. Please don’t get that look on your face,” she said.

“What look?”

“The one you get when you’re really excited about something. I just wanted you to know I was considering it. And I really need you to start talking to Grandpa.” She reached out a hand and touched his sleeve. “Because if I try to tell him this on my own, he’ll talk me out of it.”

“Has that happened before?” His joy turned sour.

She shrugged and pulled her hand back. “Sort of. Anytime I suggest moving back in with you, he gives me ten reasons why I should stay with them. He’s pretty convincing. And then there are the piano lessons, and the new clothes, and the laptop. I have to admit it, Dad. I have a pretty good setup over there.”

At least she was being honest. Now there were two ways he could take this. The selfish, domineering path that shot down all those perks and made her feel guilty for staying so long, or the loving path that gave her some autonomy.

“You do have a good setup there, and they do love you, even if that makes George come down so hard on you. I don’t blame you for staying. And I won’t blame you if you decide to stay longer because I can’t offer you all of that. But I’ll say it again, Rachel. I’m your dad, and I love you. There is a room for you at home, and it’s always ready for you. I will talk to Grandpa. I should have done that sooner, and I’m sorry. But I’ll make sure he understands this is your decision.”

Her sigh was light with relief. “Good. Can we eat now? Because I’m starving.”

T
om pulled up in front of the ice-cream parlor at seven thirty the next morning to find a brand-new green pickup parked outside. The windows were a little foggy, and the sun was just starting to rise, so it was hard to see into the cab. He got out of his truck, his feet crunching on the gravel as he walked closer to it.

The truck’s door opened, work-booted feet came out, and suddenly Tom was face to face with his old friend Steve.

“Tom Murphy! You keeping banker’s hours? I’ve been waiting here for fifteen minutes.”

Steve’s beefy hand rose up and grabbed Tom’s, giving him a bear-quality shake.

“Steve, good to see you, man. I haven’t seen you in ages.” He hadn’t seen any of his friends in ages, come to think of it.

“Too long, for damn sure. How the hell are you?” Steve smiled wide.

“I’m all right. How are you? And Abby and the kids?”

“Fat. Everybody at my house is fat. Including me. But we’re good. Steve Junior started his senior year at Monroe High, Bonnie is a sophomore, and Grace is in eighth grade. Can you beat that? Where does the time go, huh? How’s Rachel?”

“She’s good. So, what brings you over here at this time of day?” His curiosity was burning.

Steve took off his hat and scratched his balding head before putting the hat back on. “Well, here’s the thing, Tom. My daughter is on that, what-cha call it? Facebook. And she sees this story about how old Hot Air Hamilton fell out of the bell tower and broke his neck.”

“His ankle.”

“What?”

“He broke his ankle, but it was still pretty serious. He’s supposed to stay off his feet for two months. And he knocked his head pretty good. Got some staples in it.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s probably what my daughter said. You know how girls are. I only listened to about half of her story. So anyway, a few of us guys were down at the bar, and we start talking about Pete Hamilton and his ice-cream place, and Joe says to me, ‘Isn’t Tom Murphy working over there?’ And a couple of other guys said, ‘Yeah, and it’s just the two of them.’”

Steve belched and thumped a fist against his chest. “Excuse me. Breakfast burrito. So anyway, we decided you could probably use some help.”

A lump lodged in Tom’s chest. A lump that had nothing to do with his own breakfast. Steve had always been a good guy, the kind to help an old friend. Even one he hadn’t seen in almost a year.

“Wow, Steve, I’m not sure what to say. That’s really generous of you. I could certainly use an extra set of hands for a couple of hours.”

Steve’s ruddy cheeks got ruddier still. “I hope you need a whole lot more than that, because I’ve got about sixteen guys coming over the course of the next two weeks.”

“What?” The lump in his chest increased, like a snowball rolling downhill. Only this one filled him with warmth.

“Yep,” Steve said. “Once we all started talking, it didn’t take long to figure out you’d done stuff to help just about every single one of us at one time or another. Remember that time my water heater busted while I was out hunting, and Abby called you to come and fix it?”

Tom waved that away. “That wasn’t a big deal. I could hardly leave her for four days with three kids and no hot water.”

“Well, it meant a lot to her. And it meant a lot to me. And then you helped Ed replace that plate-glass window his idiot son broke. And you fixed Conner Maxwell’s leaky roof, and helped Joe Martin install that basketball hoop. And what’s more, not a single one of us could think of a time you’d asked for help back. So, we’re here to pay up.”

“Sixteen guys?” It may as well have been a platoon of marines. Sixteen sets of hands on a project this size and he’d be done in record time.

“Yep, sixteen, give or take. Couple of them had other guys they were going to call, too. Lot of us had old man Hamilton as a history teacher, not that I ever learned anything. Except crazy animal facts. He was full of those things.”

Tom smiled. “He still is. But man, Steve, this really means a lot to me. You just have no idea. This project is a little behind schedule, and I am anxious to get it done. But I can’t pay anybody.”

Steve waved his hand, dismissing the comment. “You’ve already paid us, remember? With all the help you’ve doled out. This is payback time. Although I’m sure some of the guys might like some beer.”