New Beginnings (126 page)

“And he was.”

Mary squeezed my hand before standing. “Let me see about coffee and dessert.” I watched her clear the plates and load the dishwasher after she waved off my offer to help.

“Here we are,” she said, setting a big piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting on a plate in front of me.

I dug in, moaning with satisfaction. “This is amazing. I was just telling Mac last night she should start a business selling her cookies and cupcakes and stuff. But you two should totally go into business together. After all, you’re the one who taught her everything she knows about baking, right?”

Mary paused before setting two coffee mugs on the table between us. “You’re serious? Mackenzie is going to start a business… selling baked goods?”

“Yeah, she didn’t tell you about it?”

“I haven’t talked to her yet today,” she said, reclaiming her seat. “Wow, I can’t believe that.”

I was surprised by Mary’s reaction. She seemed stunned. “I think she’d be great at it, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah, definitely,” she said, bringing the coffee mug to her lips. “She inherited our love for baking, that’s for sure. Mine and her grandmother’s.” She smiled. “Everyone used to tell my mama she should open her own bakery.”

“But she never did?” I asked, trying to pace myself instead of scarfing down the cake the way I wanted to.

“No.” She shook her head sadly. “Those were different times. Besides, my family didn’t have the kind of money for a venture like that. Everything we had was tied up in surviving.”

“Would you do something like that if you could?” I asked, regarding her carefully.

Mary wasn’t the type of woman to ask for help, but something told me the idea of going into business with her daughter intrigued her. If I could help both of them realize their dream, that would be the ultimate win for me.

“I’m getting too old to start something new,” she said, laughing.

“Come on,” I said, nudging her elbow with mine. “You’re one of the most vital, energetic grandmas I’ve ever met. You could totally do this if you wanted to.”

“But this is Mackenzie’s dream. Maybe she doesn’t need any help with it.”

I knew how close my wife and her mother were. She would love to have Mary’s help getting this business off the ground. “Why don’t you talk to her about it? See what she’s thinking before you decide against it.”

Mary bit her lip, looking as though she was trying to contain her excitement as the idea started to take root in her mind. “Maybe I will.”

“Good. So listen, there’s another reason I stopped by. As you probably know, Zane’s taking driving lessons.”

She chuckled. “Yes, I remember how anxious I was when my girls got their driver’s licenses. I used to wait up for them every night.”

“Well, he’s been bugging me about getting him a set of wheels, and I was wondering whether you still had Bill’s old car?”

It was classic Mustang, just like the first car he’d ever owned, and he’d planned to restore it when he retired, but he passed away before he could. He loved that car, the memories it held and the potential fun and excitement it represented. It was a part of him, and I thought bringing it back to life so Bill’s grandson could drive it would be a nice way to honor him. Besides, I knew Zane would love that car once his uncle got finished with it.

“Of course I do,” she said, smiling. “You know I could never sell it. Bill loved it too much.”

I was almost afraid to ask, but since that had been part of the reason for my visit, I did. “Would you consider selling it to me, for Zane? Seb said he’d work on it for us, and trust me, when he gets finished with it, it would be everything Bill envisioned.”

“I’m sure it would.” She broke into a wide grin. “I can’t think of anything Bill would love more than seeing one of his grandsons enjoy that car.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” she said, clapping her hands. “He would love that!”

I pulled my checkbook out of my pocket. With a pen poised above it, I said, “Name your price, Mar.”

“Put that away,” she said, slapping my hand. “I don’t want your money, Ryker. You’re family. Besides, I know Bill would want Zane to have it.”

I knew Mary could use the money but was too proud to take it. “I’m not taking that car unless you let me pay you for it. End of discussion.”

In its current condition, I knew the Mustang was worth about six thousand dollars, but I suspected Mary didn’t know the market value. I wrote her a check of ten thousand, sliding it under the plate before she could see it and object.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she said, frowning.

“There’s just one more thing.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell Mac about this. I want it to be a surprise.” Mac knew how much her dad loved that car. I had to believe she would be almost as excited as Zane when she saw it restored to its former glory.

“Do you really think that’s the kind of secret you want to keep from your wife, Ryker? She might have an opinion about it.”

“Trust me, it’s the right call,” I said, kissing her cheek. “Thanks for everything. Lunch was great.” Setting my hand on her shoulder, I said, “I’ll ask Seb to have his guys pick up the car so they can start working on it right away, if that’s okay.”

“Sure, whenever you like.”

“And talk to Mac about the business idea. I know she’d love to have you on board.”

“Thanks,” she said, patting my hand. “I just might do that.”

***

When I returned to work, I stopped into the store to see how the training was going. Nex had instructed the manager to teach the boys everything they needed to know about the store, and judging by their intent expression as they watched the computer screen over his shoulder, that’s exactly what he was doing.

“Hey, Ryker,” the store manager, Jordan, said when he spotted me. He reached across the counter to shake my hand. “Thanks for the help. Nice that I don’t have to worry about hiring anyone this summer.”

“Yeah, I probably should have given you a heads-up, Jordan. Sorry about that.”

“No worries,” he said, grinning. “Perfect timing, really. I was just going to post an ad today, so it worked out great.”

“Good.” While we were conversing, I noticed Zane was checking his phone, something that was a no-no on the sales floor. “Uh, can I have just a minute with them, man?”

“Sure,” Jordan said. “Take your time. I was just gonna take a quick break anyhow.”

I waited until Jordan wandered into the back room and the other sales associate on the floor was busy with a customer before I asked, “Has Jordan gone over policies and procedures with you guys yet? What is and isn’t allowed on the floor?”

“Yeah,” Cole said. “He covered that first thing.”

I nodded toward the phone still clutched in Zane’s hand. “So, what are you doing with that?”

He shrugged. “I was just making plans to hook up with a friend later. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“First of all,” I said, leaning over the high glass counter, “Jordan’s your boss here, not me.”

“Yeah, but you own the whole damn place,” Zane said, smirking. “So that makes you his boss.”

If there was one thing I never wanted my kids to have, it was a sense of entitlement. They worked hard in school and sports and reaped the rewards. I didn’t want this job to be any different.

“Let’s be clear on one thing,” I said, narrowing my eyes at my eldest son. “You don’t get special treatment here. You come in for your scheduled shifts on time. You don’t call in sick unless you are. You take the allotted time for lunches and breaks, and you’re respectful of Jordan and the other employees. Is that understood?”

“Yeah,” Zane said, glancing down at his shoes. “Sure.” He cleared his throat before stealing a glance at me. “What’s got you in such a pissy mood? You and Mom get into it again or what?”

I glared at him before pointing at the door. “Outside. Now.” I waited for him to follow me, walking a safe distance away from the building before I said, “What the hell’s with this attitude?”

“Nothing,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his baggy denim shorts.

I knew he was in a mood for a reason, but I’d learned a long time ago that was just part of being a teenager. I’d been moody and hostile when I was his age too. As his dad, I understood, but as his boss, I wasn’t going to stand for it.

“Listen, if you’re not happy about being here, feel free to go and find a job somewhere else. But make no mistake, you will be working this summer. I don’t need you lying around the house doing nothing, or worse, sneaking around behind our backs like you did the other night when your mom was out.”

“You haven’t told her about that, have you?” he asked, looking alarmed.

“I said I wouldn’t and I haven’t.” I still felt guilty about not coming clean with Mac, but she was a worrier and I suspected the Brit thing had already blown over, now that he knew she had another guy she hadn’t told him about. “But that was your one free pass. If I hear about you lying to us again, I will tell your mom and you will be punished.”

He nodded, looking sullen.

“Look, kid,” I said, clamping a hand down on his shoulder, “I remember what it was like when I was your age. Truth be told, I made a hell of a lot of mistakes. And I just don’t want to see you go down the same road I did.”

“Yeah, but how am I supposed to learn if you guys won’t cut me some slack?”

I knew he had a point. Words didn’t teach, and some lessons had to be learned the hard way.

Scraping my hands over my face, I exhaled, trying to put myself in his position. He was still trying to figure things out, like which girls where worthy of his time and trust, and I knew from experience how difficult that could be, even for an adult, never mind a teenager.

“I’m really trying to cut you some slack, Zane. But you need to meet me halfway here. I invited you to work here because I’m proud of you. I think you and your brother will be good reps for my business.” When he didn’t respond, I said, “I don’t have to tell you how much it means to me to have you here, do I?”

“No.”

He kicked at a stone on the ground instead of looking at me, and I realized how sheltered he’d been. He had no idea how hard my life had been at his age or much I’d had to sacrifice to pull myself out of the hole and make a new life for myself and my family.

“Come over here with me for a minute,” I said, gesturing to a group of picnic tables in an open, grassy area where employees enjoyed their lunches and breaks. “I know you have to get back to work, but consider this your break. We need to talk about something.”

He didn’t look thrilled at the prospect, probably assuming I was going to give him a lecture about responsibility, but that wasn’t my intent.

When we were both sitting on a table, shoulder to shoulder, I said, “So, I know I don’t talk about my childhood much. You know it wasn’t easy, but you probably don’t realize how hard it was.”

He shot a sidelong glance in my direction to let me know he was invested in what I was saying. “Hard, how?”

“My old man was tough on us when he was around, which wasn’t often. We could never really count on him. He was a mean drunk, hated his life, and took it out on all of us.”

“When you say he took it out on you…?”

“Yeah,” I said, lacing my hands between my bent knees. “He beat the hell out of us. I took the worst of it ’cause I was the oldest. But I would have taken it every damn day to prevent him for whalin’ on my mama the way he did.”

“Jesus,” Zane whispered. “I knew it was bad, but not that bad.”

I stared straight ahead, watching people coming and going from the building I’d created. Thinking back to the kid I told my son about, it was hard to imagine I’d found the confidence to believe I was capable of achieving anything. According to my old man, I was worthless, would never amount to anything. And for years I believed him. Until I met Mac and she made me believe I was worth something. I owed her and her family everything.

“It took me a long time to stop hating him.” I slipped my dark glasses over my eyes, not trusting myself to contain the tears. I didn’t talk about it often, but when I did, it always brought everything right back to the surface as though it had happened yesterday instead of twenty-five years ago. “But eventually I did, ’cause all that hostility was tearing me up inside.”

“Is that why you got mixed up with gangs?”

I thought about correcting him, reminding him that it was a motorcycle
club
, but his perceptions were accurate, and I knew it didn’t matter what I called it. It was a part of my past, and I wasn’t ashamed of it.

“I guess so. I wanted to feel safe, to belong. I thought if my old man came back, intent on doing me in the way he’d threatened to, I’d have all the backup I needed. I had brothers who’d always have my back.” This time I wasn’t talking about my biological brothers, and I sensed my son knew that.

“Your own father threatened to kill you?” Zane asked quietly. “Man, that’s harsh.”

“Yeah, it was.” I braced my elbows on my knees, covering my mouth with my linked hands. “But you know what? I’m glad I got him for an old man.”

“You are?” Zane asked, looking stunned. “Why?”

“He taught me a lot. Like what kind of father I didn’t want to be.” I swallowed the tears, thinking how hard I’d tried to be the kind of parent my kids could look up to and admire. I knew I hadn’t always succeeded, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort. It was just a matter of being human.

“I worked my ass off for this,” I said, gesturing to the acreage surrounding my gated complex. “Not because I was on some ego trip and needed to prove something. I did it for you and your brother and your mom. Because I wanted to give you the kind of life I’d never had.”

“I get that, Dad,” Zane said, bumping shoulders with me. “Sorry for being an ass earlier. I know how hard you work for us, and we’re grateful, seriously.”

I wrapped my arm around his neck, tightening my grip just enough to make him chuckle. “Then start acting like it and quit giving me and everyone else a hard time.”

“Yes, boss,” he said, saluting me.

I jerked a thumb toward my truck. “Maybe you’d best lock that phone in the truck until quitting time. I’m not sure I can trust you with it.”