And then she walked off.
Tanner turned to eyeball Troy. “Romeo?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Is Brittney the girl you made the heart in the sand for?”
Nothing.
“Is she the girl whose mother is going to call me about your visit?”
A very weighted, very loaded silence.
The list of things the kid didn’t want to talk about was getting longer by the minute. And the tension in the truck cab was ratcheting up.
“It’s not what you think,” Troy said tightly in a tone that suggested he didn’t expect to be believed but desperately wanted just that.
Tanner knew that was Troy feeling backed into a corner—a bad place for a teenager. Trying to lighten the mood, he said, “You get to kiss the girl in the play, right?”
Troy blinked and then…grinned. The kid actually grinned.
Tanner soaked up the beautiful sight and put the truck in gear. Some things were worth waiting for, he supposed. He drove them home and turned to Troy. “We still have something to discuss.”
Troy sank into his seat again, crossing his arms. He couldn’t have looked more defensive if he’d tried. “Nothing to talk about. People get disappointed all the time, it’s just a fact. Grandma’s disappointed I’m not a little kid that she can dote on. Mom’s disappointed she had me. The color purple sucks. Life goes on.”
Tanner stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you want to discuss being disappointed in me for being in the play over football? Or getting caught sneaking around?”
“Okay, now wait a minute—” But Tanner was talking to air because the kid was already half out the door. Tanner snagged him by the back of his sweatshirt. “Not so fast.”
“I’ve got homework.”
“Which you don’t give a shit about,” Tanner said. “Talk to me. Grandma loves you from your head to your fifteen-year-old punk smartass. Your mom loves you. I love you—and for the record, I always have, always will. And what the hell does the color purple have to do with anything?”
Troy sighed and let his head fall back against the seat. “Don’t try to tell me that the football thing didn’t hurt.”
“We already discussed this.” Tanner looked around to see if he’d stepped into some weird time warp, but nope, it was just him and the kid. And the kid was…well, it was a little bit like looking in a mirror circa his high school years. Still, he was definitely missing a couple of pieces to this puzzle. “Okay,” he said, “because I’m feeling a little out of the loop and a whole lot behind, we’re going to do this slowly. Football first. Go.”
“I suck at it. Okay? Is that what you want to know? I’m not Tanner Riggs, and I never will be.”
“Well, thank God for that,” Tanner said fervently, then let out a mirthless laugh when Troy just stared at him. “Jesus. Do you really think I want you to be me?” he asked. “I made a boatload of mistakes, Troy. I hope to God you don’t follow my path and make as many as I did.”
“Like get your girl knocked up?” Troy asked.
Well, yeah. That. Tanner was pretty sure he shouldn’t be craving a drink just to have this discussion with his teenager, but again, more proof he was about as far from a perfect dad as a guy could get. The most important thing he had to do here was walk slowly through the minefield, and not just because Elisa had never really been his girl but because he’d grown up knowing his dad had been able to walk away from him. And that shit…that had done a number on his head for a lot of years.
No way was he going to ever let Troy go through the same thing. “My actions were the mistake,” Tanner said carefully. “Sleeping with a girl before I understood the ramifications enough to protect us both was the mistake. You’re not a mistake. Never you, Troy.” He felt his throat tighten and his eyes burn. “In fact, you’re the very best part of my life.”
Troy stared at him, obviously a little blown back by Tanner’s vehemence.
“Now if we’re straight in that department,” Tanner finally said, “let’s move on to the other points. Are you sexually active with this girl? Are you using protection?”
Troy blinked. “I told you it’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what that means, Troy.”
Troy looked out the window, jaw tight.
“Okay,” Tanner said, knowing pushing right now wasn’t the answer. “Next point. No one, and I mean no one, wants or expects you to live up to whatever dubious distinction the name Tanner Riggs brings.”