Lakeside Reunion

If he had made better choices while in the Corps, instead of being a cocky jarhead, his life would have turned out differently. One night of drinking had changed his life. A week before his wedding to Lindsey, Bethany had showed with their two-year-old son—the kid he hadn’t known existed. He’d been forced to choose between love and honor.

Stephen chose honor.

Losing the one he’d loved, he married the one he dishonored by getting her pregnant. Even though sleeping with Bethany happened years before he and Lindsey had started dating, his choices at that time ended up turning his life upside down.

Lindsey’s heart wasn’t the only broken one when he ended their engagement. He prayed someday she would understand his choices and forgive him. But judging by the way she reacted to seeing him today, forgiveness was not coming anytime soon.

Her eyes held so much sadness. He was good at fixing things. Broken chairs, old china closets, warped cabinets. But sad eyes? Or broken hearts? Nothing on his workbench could fix those. He had tried before. Not with tools, but with promises. He had failed miserably.

Stephen pushed away from the doorway and pitched the empty bottle into the recycling bin in the corner of the garage.

Headlights flickered through the square panes on the garage doors as someone else pulled in the driveway. A door slammed, followed by another. A moment later, Tyler and Stephen’s father, Jared, appeared in the doorway. Rain dampened their hair and dotted their shirts.

“Dad! I’m home.” Tyler dropped his Spider-Man backpack near the door and crossed the room to the workbench. He scuffed his shoes through a small pile of sawdust. “Can we take flowers to Mommy today?”

Stephen gave Tyler a one-armed hug. “Not tonight. It’s raining and it’ll be dark soon.”

“But you promised.” Ty yanked on Stephen’s arm.

Stephen pried his arm out of his son’s constrictor hold and picked up Tyler. He set him on the workbench. “I didn’t promise. I said maybe. Let’s check the weather tomorrow, okay?”

“I guess.” The boy’s shoulders slumped.

Stephen trailed a finger along a dark brown stain on the front of Ty’s red T-shirt. “Let me guess—chocolate ice-cream cone?”

Ty nodded. “Papa said I could have anything I wanted. I had one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of bubble gum. Hey, did you know bubble gum was invented in 1928? It was called Dubble Bubble. There was a sign at the ice-cream shop.” Ty turned to his grandfather. “Papa, were you alive back then?”

Dad laughed and ruffled Ty’s hair. “Just how old do you think I am?”

Ty cocked his head and stared at Dad, lips twitching. “At least a hundred.” He giggled.

“If I was a hundred, could I do this?” Dad scooped up Ty and tickled his ribs.

Ty’s laughter seeped through Stephen like shellac over wood, filling in every gouge and crevice of his heart.

Dad set Tyler on his feet and playfully twisted one of his ears. Tyler leaned against him.

Stephen crouched in front of Ty. “Why don’t you take your backpack into the house and get started on your homework? I’ll be in shortly. I need to talk to Papa about something.”

“Okay. Thanks for the ice cream, Papa.”

Dad leaned over and wrapped his arms around the boy, hugging and lifting him at the same time. “You’re welcome, Ty.”

Ty grabbed his backpack and shot through the open doorway, dodging puddles as he ran for the house. As soon as he heard the back door slam, Stephen crossed the garage to the old-fashioned refrigerator with pull-down handle, opened it and grabbed a bottle of iced green tea and another Mountain Dew. He handed the tea to Dad, and then wiped his damp hand on his dusty jeans.

“Thanks for bringing him home, Dad.”

“No problem. Cradle looks great.” Dad nodded toward the workbench.

Stephen glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks. Any word on Grace?”

“Your ma called Grace’s folks, but there was no answer. Heard you had a run-in with Lindsey.”

“Which time?”

“There was more than one?”

Stephen drained a third of the soda bottle, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He gave Dad a quick rundown of both events. “I didn’t expect her to freak out when I touched her arm.”

“Maybe she misread your intentions.”

“Seriously, Dad? I have a son who cries nightly for his mom. If it weren’t for Ma’s cooking, we’d probably starve. Between Ty, work and stuff around here or Ty’s school, when do I have time for romance? Bethany hasn’t been gone a year.”

Dad held up his hands in surrender. “No need to get all defensive on me.”

Stephen rubbed the back of his neck. “She just—I don’t know—looked lost. I thought she could use a friend.”

“Your heart was in the right place, son, but you two didn’t exactly part as friends.”

Stephen grabbed the push broom and swept the sawdust Ty had scattered into the corner by the stack of two-by-fours. “I had to do what was right.”

“And broke a sweet girl’s heart in the process.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He leaned the broom against the wall. Dropping into a frayed lawn chair, he kicked the metal frame of another, signaling Dad to sit. “What if she leaves before I can talk to her, make her understand why I did what I did?”

“It’s tough, son, I’m sure, but you need to understand seeing you was as much of a shock to her as it was for you. That gal will be around for a while. She won’t up and leave her ma in a lurch.”

Stephen frowned. “I doubt she’ll be friending me on Facebook anytime soon.”

“If you were given a second chance, and Bethany hadn’t been dying, would you do things differently?”

“Would I still marry Lindsey, knowing Beth and I had a son together?”

Dad nodded and sipped his tea.

Stephen leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He stared out into the yard. The rain had finally stopped. Slowly, he shook his head. “I doubt it. As much as I love … loved Lindsey, my son needed a father. I made my share of mistakes, but this was one I could fix.”

Dad stood, placing a hand on Stephen’s shoulder. “You’re a good man. And I’m proud of you.”

Stephen’s throat thickened. He didn’t deserve Dad’s affirmation. Maybe Dad thought he had come a long way, but Stephen still had far to go. And so much to make up for.

Chapter Four

Was she out of her mind?

What possessed Lindsey to make an illegal U-turn in the middle of Center Street—good thing Stephen wasn’t around—and head up Cemetery Hill, instead of going to her mother’s house?

After Aunt Claire spilled about Max, Mom’s surgeon came in with an update about her surgery. Once they moved Mom out of recovery and into her room, Lindsey sat with her for a while. She watched Mom sleep and replayed the conversation with Aunt Claire in her head.