The Delacourt Scandal

“I repeat, Michael is here a thousand percent. Can’t you be satisfied with that? It’s no wonder he works himself to death. You take what he does for granted, and it’s never enough.”

“That’s absurd.”

Tyler leveled a look straight at his father. “Is it?”

“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. You sound like your mother. She’s always on my case about showing more appreciation for the job he does.”

“It couldn’t hurt.”

“Well, once you’re back here full-time, you’ll pick up some of the slack, take a little of the pressure off Michael.”

“I’m not coming back,” Tyler responded, quietly but emphatically.

His father reacted as if he’d uttered blasphemy. “Why the hell not?”

Tyler gave a resigned sigh. “You know why not, Dad. How many times do we have to have this conversation? I tried to do it your way. I’ve worked in every department in this place. The job I love, the one I’m suited for, is on the rigs.”

“That’s Corrigan’s influence talking,” his father said impatiently. “I knew it was a mistake letting you go over there and work for him.”

“This has nothing to do with Daniel.”

“It has everything to do with him. If the man had an ounce of gratitude in him, he’d follow my wishes and send my son packing.”

Tyler grinned ruefully. “Yeah, I heard you’d told him I wasn’t coming back.”

“And he couldn’t wait to run to you, could he?”

“Gee, he seemed to think it might be my decision to make. Now there’s a crazy notion, isn’t it?”

“Don’t get sarcastic with me, boy. I’m still your father.”

“I know that.”

“Then give me a little credit. I know what’s best for you.”

“No, Dad, you don’t. You know what you want for me, not what I want.”

“If it’s money you’re after…”

“Don’t be absurd, Dad. This isn’t about money. I know what you pay your top executives. It’s more than I could make working eighty hours a week for Daniel, and that’s saying something.”

“Then I just don’t get it.”

“I like the physical work, the challenge, being outdoors. I’d suffocate being cooped up in here all day.”

“Dammit, Tyler, working those rigs is dangerous. There was a time when I was learning the ropes that I did it, too. Came damned near to getting killed in a fire on one of them. Your mother would never forgive me if anything happened to you.”

Tyler saw the ploy for exactly what it was, a pitiful attempt by his father to shift the blame for his own hardheadedness onto his wife by suggesting that she was the one who feared for Tyler’s safety.

“Then I’ll just have to see that nothing happens.” He met his father’s gaze evenly. “And if you want me to, I’ll explain my decision to Mother. I’ll assure her you did your absolute best to keep me right here in Houston.”

For just an instant his father looked so thoroughly bewildered and defeated that Tyler almost relented. Then he stiffened his spine and his resolve. This was the way it had to be.

“Dad, this is for the best. Someday I’ll be too old to work the rigs. If I’m lucky, there will be a nice desk job waiting for me then.”

“Don’t count on it.”

Tyler matched his father’s scowl. “Would you rather I went to another company?”

Red patches darkened his father’s cheeks at the suggestion. “Maybe that would be for the best. It would get you away from the influence of that hooligan.”

Tyler wasn’t sure which of them was the most shocked by the response. “If that’s the way you really feel—”

His father’s anger dissolved. “Blast it all, Tyler, that’s not what I want! You’re a Delacourt. What would people think if you turned up working for one of our competitors?”

“That you and I had a falling out,” Tyler said readily. “They wouldn’t be off the mark, either.”

“Well, I’m not going to be fodder for anyone’s gossip. If you insist on risking your life, then you’ll do it on one of my rigs. They’ve got the best safety record in the business—Corrigan’s seen to that. The man costs me an arm and a leg with all his precautions.”

“Do you begrudge him the money he spends so that you can boast about your safety record?”

“Of course not,” his father retorted impatiently. “Do you have to twist everything I say?”

Tyler laughed. “Just imagine what I’d do if you had me underfoot every day.”

Slowly a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of his father’s mouth. “I suppose there is a positive side to this ridiculous decision of yours. At least we won’t be butting heads on a regular basis.”

“Just holidays and special occasions,” Tyler suggested wryly.

“Better make it more often than that, or your mother will have my hide,” his father countered.

It was as near as Bryce Delacourt was likely to come to an admission of affection, and Tyler found it oddly moving. “We definitely can’t have that, can we?” he replied lightly. “Thanks for seeing it my way, Dad.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice, did you? Go on, now, before Corrigan calls up and accuses me of stealing his best worker.”

“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll stick around till the weekend, let Mother fuss over me a little. Daniel can manage without me a few more days.”

“That’ll make your mother happy,” his father agreed. “To tell you the truth, I won’t mind seeing you around the house a little more myself.”

His words surprised Tyler. It was the closest he’d ever come to admitting that he missed one of his children. Instead he chose to grumble about their desertion of the family business. For the first time Tyler realized that what his father might mean but couldn’t say, was that he hated the fact they’d drifted out of his life. Nor was he ever likely to admit that he might be the one who’d driven them away through his attempts to control them.

“Dad, you do know that we all love you, don’t you?” Tyler said. “That hasn’t changed just because we’ve chosen to go our own ways.”

For a fleeting instant he thought he detected the sheen of unshed tears in his father’s eyes, but before he could tell for sure, his father bent over the stack of paperwork on his desk.

“You be sure to stop by and see your mother,” he said. “I’ve got work to do.”

Tyler hesitated, wanting to say more but not knowing exactly how. He settled for pausing beside his father’s desk long enough to give his shoulder a squeeze before leaving the office. As he closed the door behind him, he thought he heard Bryce sigh.