“What do you care, man? I’m just in your way. You were probably glad I was gone.”
“Then why am I here?”
“Because Ann sent you.”
Hank shook his head. “No, it’s more than that. I never wanted you to leave, Jason. I wouldn’t put Ann through this kind of pain for anything in the world. Don’t you realize how very important you are to Ann? I love her, so I wanted to be a father to you, but I didn’t know how. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I’m just as much afraid as you are?”
“Afraid? Right,” Jason scoffed, but Hank could tell that the idea intrigued him.
“It’s true. You know, I never had much of a family life myself. My dad left before I was born and my mom, well, she wasn’t around a whole lot. I got pretty used to being on my own. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so I had no idea what family life was like. Todd was the best friend I had and his family wasn’t too great, either, so I’ve always been real careful not to get too involved with anyone. I figured that was just asking for trouble. Know what I mean?”
Jason’s brown eyes were watching him with avid interest now. He nodded slowly.
“When I came to stay with Ann in the Keys, I didn’t expect to like it there. It was a place to stay, that’s all. I’d only met Ann once and, to tell you the truth, we hadn’t gotten along all that well. As for you guys, well, the idea of a bunch of kids scared the daylights out of me. What did I know about kids? Not much. Then I started getting to know you all. Tracy and the others, they made it easy, but not you. You were just the way I was when I was your age. You’d built this wall around you and I didn’t know how to get past it. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so hard on you. Nobody made it easy for me. Nobody loved me the way Ann loves you. I figured you ought to learn to appreciate what you had. I thought maybe that job would teach you something about responsibility, about pulling your own weight.”
“I just thought you wanted me out of the way,” Jason finally admitted. “I figured the minute I was making some money, you’d be trying to talk me into leaving.”
“Hey, I may make mistakes, some of them pretty good-size ones, but I’m not dumb. Do you know what Ann would do to me if I tried to get you out of that house?”
Jason grinned suddenly. “You mean after she chased you around with a butcher knife?”
Hank grinned back. “Yeah, after that.”
“Maybe tar and feathers.”
The idea seemed to appeal to him a lot. Hank tried not to wince at the enthusiasm. “Oh, I think she’d probably think even that was too good for me. She loves all you kids and she’d do anything in the world to protect you.”
Jason’s expression suddenly became troubled. His voice dropped to a nervous whisper. “How mad do you think she’s gonna be that I ran away?”
“Oh, I think a month in your room ought to about cover it,” Hank said lightly.
Jason squirmed. “I guess that’s better than being tarred and feathered.”
“Considerably,” Hank concurred. “Ready to go back?”
“Can I ask you something else?”
Hank nodded.
“Are you and Ann gonna get married, like Tracy said?”
“If I have my way, we are. How would you feel about that?”
“It’s not up to me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. What you think is very important to her. She’ll never do anything if she thinks it would truly hurt one of you.”
Jason’s expression suddenly grew cocky. “So it’s sort of like you need my permission, huh?”
Hank had to choke back a laugh. “Sort of.”
“I guess that sort of changes things, doesn’t it?”
He stood and ruffled Jason’s hair. “Not that much, kid. Not that much.”
Jason looked increasingly uneasy as they drew closer to Liz and Todd’s. “Maybe we could just tell her that I went for a walk,” he suggested hopefully.
Hank returned his look seriously. “But that would be a lie.”
“So, big deal. She wouldn’t worry so much, then.”
“She wouldn’t have worried if you’d told her that before you ran away. Since you didn’t, the worrying is already done.”
“Yeah, I guess. It was worth a shot, though.”
Jason’s footsteps began to lag behind as they approached the house, but Hank was already calling out. Ann came racing through the living room, Liz just a few steps behind her. Since Jason was standing perfectly still just inside the front door, she came to him and took him in her arms.
“You cost me ten years off my life,” she said in a voice that was thick with emotion.
“I’m sorry,” Jason said, his skinny arms going awkwardly around her.
She looked from Jason to Hank and back again. “Is everything okay?”
Hank nodded. “I think everything is going to be just fine.”
She cupped Jason’s face in her hands and scanned his expression closely. “What about you? What do you think?”
Hank felt his breath catch in his chest as he waited for Jason’s reply. He had a feeling his future and not just Jason’s hung in the balance.
“I guess it’ll be okay.”
Ann wrapped the embarrassed boy in another tight hug. She looked at Hank over Jason’s head.
Thank you, she mouthed silently.
He nodded.
Everything was going to be just fine, he told himself repeatedly over the next few days, but it was hard to believe it. Ann never let any of the kids out of her sight for long. She also did everything she could to avoid being alone with Hank. She’d even stopped running, claiming that
