A Father's Name

Chapter TEN

ON WEDNESDAY, TYLER was struck with an overwhelming realization as he arrived at work. Something that he wouldn’t have believed before life, as he’d known it, had fallen apart.

He liked being here at Tucker’s Garage.

The fact that he’d see Angelina every day was part of it, but not all of it. He simply genuinely liked the work.

If someone had asked him before everything happened, he’d have said he never wanted to do car repairs again. He’d had his fill of mufflers and oil changes growing up. He’d accepted being a mechanic out of desperation. He needed a job and no one else wanted to hire a convicted thief.

When George Tucker had offered him a chance, Tyler expected to punch in each day, do his time, then punch out. He assumed the actual job would be a grind and that he’d hate it.

Yet, as he walked into the garage today, he looked forward to it, found a certain peace here despite occasionally having to listen to the noise of air hammer and impact gun. He liked the feeling of accomplishment when he figured out what was wrong with a vehicle, then fixed it. He even liked the faint smell of exhaust and oil that seemed to permeate garages, no matter how good the ventilation system.

Tyler almost laughed at the thought as he digested this new insight.

When he was young, and his father was too drunk to repair a car, Tyler had done it and he’d resented it. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t be responsible for putting food on the table. When Tyler couldn’t figure out a problem, or what to do about it, he’d haul his old man’s sorry ass out of bed and make him show him.

He’d hated it. Hated every minute. Hated missing classes to do a repair. Hated the ever-present oil under his fingernails.

But now?

He smiled as Joe and Lou teased North about his new girlfriend. He’d been with Jen since the Fourth of July outing. And they were going strong, which meant the teasing at the shop was even stronger.

“Come on guys,” North said, “she didn’t dress like Star Trek characters or Star Wars. She dressed as Sookie Stackhouse.”

“Who?” the other two guys asked.

North shook his head in disgust. “A girl who dates vampires in a book series and on a television show. I know old men don’t follow popular culture, but it’s a big show. Vampires are a huge trend.”

“Vampires?” Joe asked. “Come on, North, aliens and starships aren’t enough, now you’re dating a vampire?”

North grimaced. “Jen’s not a vampire and neither is Sookie. Sookie’s part fairy, but mainly human.”

“Oh man…” Lou said.

Tyler laughed and the guys turned around.

“You gonna weigh in, Ty?” Lou called.

Joe nodded. “The kid’s dating a vampire…”

“She only dressed like a girl who dates vampires for a convention,” North protested.

“Yeah, that’s right, she’s half fairy,” Joe’s tone was serious, but his expression was anything but.

“I’m not getting into this,” Tyler said, laughing. “I know when it’s best to stand back and let you guys go at it.” He left his three colleagues arguing about vampires and went to check the worklist. As he listened to Lou and Joe giving North a hard time, he was struck all over again by the realization that he liked it here.

He was good at his job, and he loved coming here each day.

That was something.

He was beginning to understand how important that was.

Angelina appeared with Jace on her hip. And Tyler realized it wasn’t only Lou, Joe and North that he liked working with.



“Just checking in with everyone,” she called to them with a smile. “Jace and I are heading to my office to make some calls.”

“Poor Tucker,” North called out. “It has to be torture to call people and be all nice and accommodating.” He glanced at Lou and Joe, apparently hoping they’d join in and tease Angelina, but the two of them simply waved at her and started back to their work stations.

“Hey, at least it’s not paperwork,” Tyler said as she walked by him and he chucked Jace on the chin.

Angelina groaned. “No, the paperwork comes after the calls.”

Tyler laughed. “I could take care of some of it for you this afternoon. I think Lou’s giving me a light load so I can help you.”

“I should go yell at him and assure him I don’t need to be coddled, but instead…” She left the sentence hanging, ran over and hugged the very confused senior mechanic, and winked at Tyler as she took Jace back to her office.

Only a few more days and Jace wouldn’t be coming in with him.

And he and Angelina would call whatever-it-was-they-had quits.

Somehow he’d adjust because that was what was best for Angelina. Bart would be gone and for the first time she’d be on her own. Solo. Independent. Able to do anything and everything she hadn’t been able to do with a child at home.



He’d miss her, but he’d find a way to live with it because it was the right thing to do. He loved her enough to want her to have more than a felon.

Some of his happier mood faded.

He knew that dating Angelina would be selfish, but that didn’t keep him from wishing things were different. He, more than most, knew that a man’s name meant everything, and he’d seen to it his name meant as little, or less than his father’s had.

He went to work and tried to ignore his rapidly darkening mood.

An hour later, North called, “Hey, Ty, phone!”

Tyler crawled out from under the Smart Car he’d been working on and wiped his hands on a rag as he walked over to the phone. He picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Tyler, it’s Henry Rizzo.”

Tyler’s happy mood when he came into work wasn’t just darker, it shattered. “Yes, Henry? Is there a problem? I’ve done everything I was required to do according to my parole officer.”

His attorney was silent a moment and then asked, “You’ve got a few letters lately, right?”

Tyler thought about Angelina’s finding the most recent one. Certified this time. “Yes. I’ve got them. But my understanding was, I’m not legally required to meet with them.”

“You read them, the letters? You realize this could be major?”



“No,” he said. “Uh, I read the first one, and I’m not interested, so I’ve tossed the others.”

“Not interested in being exonerated? In having the court clear your name, without any prodding on my part, without my filing a motion?”

He thought of Angelina and wished he could give another answer. If his conviction was wiped, as if it never happened, maybe they could…he could… He shook his head. Mrs. Matthews used to say if wishes were horses even beggars would ride. When the Matthews took him in, he’d admitted that sometimes wishes did come true. He had a family, albeit a borrowed one. He’d been granted a wish. But as an adult he was aware, lightning didn’t strike twice.

He knew that if he exonerated himself, Jason would pay the price, and through osmosis, Jace.

Tyler knew what it was like to grow up with a father whose mere name was an embarrassment. He wanted more than that for Jace. He couldn’t live with himself if he saved his name at Jason’s and Jace’s expense, so he said, “Yes, Henry, I’m sure that I don’t want to pursue this. That is exactly what I’m saying.”

“And I’m saying the judge and ADA requested a meeting with you informally over lunch on Friday. They asked me to call you and strongly encourage you to be there.”

“I don’t want to go.”

“Listen, Tyler. I’m your attorney and I can’t imagine many instances where I would tell a client to meet with an ADA and the judge who sentenced them, but I’ve talked to Jackie, the ADA, numerous times since this all came out. And I think you should meet with them.”

“They’re not going to change my mind.”

“Then look on it as a chance to convince them of that. However, as your attorney, I’m going to suggest you rethink your position. Carrying around a record is tough. Carrying one around when you didn’t commit the crime and could have been exonerated? That’s asinine. You could have your old life back.”

Angelina came into view outside the garage with Jace in her arms. Jace squirmed and she set him down and he sprinted to North, who scooped him up and twirled the baby a little too vigorously for Angelina’s liking. She walked over to them and scolded, while North and Jace both laughed. Pretty soon Joe and Lou joined the group and Jace jumped from person to person, a small dictator with his minions willing to do his bidding.

They all loved him.

He was part of their family.

And Tyler realized that despite himself, so was he.

“Tyler?” Henry said. “You still there.”

“Yeah. And I heard you. I could have my old life back. But you’re wrong, I can’t go back. I think we both know that.”

“Then you could build a new life, one with a clear name.”

That was something different. If clearing his name would have made him the man for Angelina, he might have agreed, but even then—he looked at Jace so happy—he wouldn’t do it. The price was too high. “I—”

“You only have to meet with them Friday,” Henry interrupted. “Noon, lunch at that restaurant in the Convention Center’s hotel.”

“If I meet with them, that will be it? They’ll back off?”

“Yes. I can see to it that they do.”

Tyler sighed. “Fine. I’ll meet with them on Friday.”

“You won’t regret it, Tyler,” Henry said. “I’ll meet you there.”

“No, Henry. I don’t need an attorney for this. I’ll show up and tell them thank you, but that’s it. I’m not doing it.”

“I’ve only been involved in criminal cases for a few years, Tyler. And I’ve had a lot of different clients. Some who were innocent. Some who weren’t. I had one person who readily admitted she was guilty of the charges, but claimed she was an accidental arsonist. Carly’s the one who made me rethink my career as a contract lawyer and switch to criminal law. And I think I’ve made a difference. But with all the guilty and the innocent I’ve repped, I’ve never had one who was innocent and was happy letting the world think he was guilty.”

“You know why—”

“I know what you’ve said,” Henry said. “But I think you’re wrong. Everyone in question thinks you’re wrong.”

“But you’re tied by attorney-client privilege, right?”

“Right,” Henry assured him, punctuating his response with a heavy sigh. “But go to lunch on Friday and hear them out.”

Tyler agreed and hung up the phone. He knew he’d do it all over again. But for a while, he missed his old life. He missed the name he’d built for himself. Now…

Now, he had a new life. He had friends who’d already shown they’d stick by him no matter what. Family.

It was a heady feeling.

As Jace came into his arms, Tyler acknowledged it was a feeling he would never give up.

Later that day, he talked to Lou about extending his lunch hour long enough on Friday to get into Erie and go to a meeting, promising to make up the time. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“I know that. You go, we’ve got Jace covered.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. It’s going to be kinda lonely when he starts in with that sitter next week.” Lou sounded wistful. “The younger guys don’t remember what it was like when Tucker had Bart, but I do. Having Jace around reminds me of that. You should have seen Tucker then. She was just a kid herself, but she was an amazing mom. She put that kid first from the minute she found out about him.”

Tyler nodded, not the least bit surprised. “That sounds like her.”

“She’s not someone who’s quick to share herself, but when she gives her heart, she doesn’t hold anything back. She gives herself completely. None of us would ever want to see her hurt. And if you’re in trouble again, she’ll be crushed.” Lou’s look was full of dire warning.

“No, I’m not in trouble. Nothing like that.” Then without thinking, he added, “I’d never do anything to hurt An—Tucker if I could help it.”

Somehow calling her Tucker made him feel more distant—and distance was what he needed. He’d get the new efficient systems up and running, and then with Jace safely placed with a sitter, he’d hardly have to do more than wave to An—Tucker each day.

“I’d never hurt her,” he reiterated.

Lou nodded. “So, that’s the way of it. I’m not surprised. She’s a special lady.”

“Too special for me,” Tyler assured him. “And she knows it.”

Lou’s expression said he didn’t quite believe it. He studied Tyler, and finally nodded. “All right, then. But it’s not only you being in trouble that will break her heart…” Neither of them needed him to say more.

“And I’d never want that to happen. That’s why Tucker,” he congratulated himself for not even hesitating over her name this time, “and I have always been very clear about the nature of our friendship and the fact that it can never be anything more.”

“I think you’re both fooling yourselves, but who am I to have an opinion on it? As long as she isn’t hurt, you and me, we’re square. As for Friday, we’ve got you covered here.”

“Thanks, Lou. I’m going to go check it out with Angelina, too.” Damn. “Tucker,” he corrected.

“Sure. You check with her, kid.” Lou shot him a knowing smile that Tyler chose to ignore as he walked down the hall to Angelina’s office. The door was ajar, and she was talking. He peeked in and saw she was addressing Jace, who was playing with some blocks in the middle of the floor.

“…and then I said, no way. He’s the most annoying man I ever dated.”

He knocked and stepped in, ready to defend himself against her claims. “Who’s the most annoying man?” He knew he should hope she’d say him, but he found himself taking umbrage at the thought.

“Gary Johnson.”

“The guy who won’t take no for an answer? What did he do now?”

“Oh, get that look off your face. My honor doesn’t require defending. Anyway, I’m quite capable of defending myself. Something Gary Johnson is now intimately aware of.”

“What did you do?” Tyler asked.

“I told him in no uncertain terms that the only way I’d ever go out with him again would involve the end of civilization as we know it, the demise of every other male, and it would still probably require my own personal lobotomy to make me say yes.”

Tyler found himself grinning at her very vivid description. “I take it he got the picture?”

“Sadly, no.” She shook her head in disgust. “But then I reminded him that my friend Laura has a husband who’s a cop and I would actively pursue a restraining order if he bothered me again. And I’d be sure his employer got a copy.”

“Ouch.” He knelt down by Jace, who obligingly shared a block with him.

She nodded. “Yeah, I think he finally got the picture then.”

She seemed confident, but Tyler still didn’t like it. “If he gives you any other trouble…” He left the threat hanging.

Rather than appreciating his concern, Angelina grimaced. “Thanks, but I don’t need you, or anyone else, rescuing me. I’m not looking for a white knight, I’m looking for a partner.”

“That’s not what I hear.” He put another block on top of the other, making a two block tower, which Jace promptly swatted, then cackled with glee as it fell into ruin.

“I was referring to a partner in life,” Angelina said, “not a partner here at the business. You’ve been talking to Pops?”

“No, but in case you missed it, the guys in the shop gossip like women in…”



Angelina’s scowl told him he’d be hard-pressed to find an analogy that wouldn’t offend, so he simply backtracked and said, “Gossip like a magazine about the newest celebrity craze.”

“Nice save,” she said.

“Thanks. I didn’t come back here to gossip or trade quips. I wanted to be sure it was all right if I took a long lunch on Friday. Lou said it was, but I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of our…friendship. I need to take this meeting.”

“If Lou said okay, it’s okay with me. He’s pretty much taken over the scheduling in there, although he hates it as much as I hate this…” she waved at her computer screen.

“Can I do anything?”

“No.” He made another two block tower, which Jace immediately knocked down and chortled over. He kissed the baby’s head. “I should probably get used to dealing with things on my own. You and your dad rescued me with this job, and then with Jace. I need to take care of this solo.”

He started for the door, but she called him back. “Tyler. Is everything okay?”

“You mean about the meeting?”

She nodded.

“It’s an annoyance, nothing more serious.” He tried to give her his most reassuring face and wasn’t sure she bought it.

“If you need anything, you let me…all of us, know.”



“I will.”

He started toward the door again, but turned back. “Want to come over to my place after work?” Since they’d decided that this week was it, he wanted to make the most of every minute with her still.

“Yes. I got a new t-shirt I can debut for you.”

He groaned. “You look way too happy about it. I think I’m nervous.”

He managed to get all the way out of her office this time, the sound of her laughter ringing in his years.

Tonight, he’d make a memory that he could hang onto when his time with Tucker was over.

And somehow on Friday, he’d convince the judge and ADA to drop the talk of clearing his record, then return to this new life he was building for himself.

The only way he’d like this new life better was if he kept Angelina in it, but doing that would be selfish. She mocked him when he said it, but it was true…she deserved more than he could give.

But for tonight, he was going to give her everything he could.



TUCKER PARKED IN TYLER’S driveway and went to the backdoor instead of the front. She realized that next week, she’d probably revert to being a front door guest. The thought brought down her happy mood, so she immediately pushed it aside.

Live in the now.



That was her mantra for tonight. And right now, she going to spend time with Tyler and Jace.

Bart said he had plans with his grandfather for the evening, so she didn’t even need to feel guilty about skipping out on one of their last mother-son nights together.

“Tyler?” she called as she pushed open the screen door and walked into the farm kitchen.

“Don’t come up here. I’ll be right down,” he called.

Curious, she thought and wondered what he was up to.

He came back with Jace in one hand, and an overflowing diaper bag in the other. “You made it.”

“I said I would.” She took the baby from him and Jace promptly hugged her. In that moment, Tucker totally melted. As she held the toddler tight. He smelled of a bath, of baby soap and lotion. “You bathed him this early?”

“He’s got a date of his own tonight,” Tyler said.

“Oh, I figured he was staying with us.”

“You figured wrong.”

As if on cue, a car horn beeped. From the back door Tucker saw her father’s truck with Bart riding shotgun.

“They’re taking Jace for a while.”

“What did you do to make my father agree to that?”

Tyler smiled cryptically as he took the baby from her and walked out to the truck.



Tucker let the three guys load Jace’s carseat and watched as her father and son drove away with Jace, leaving her alone with Tyler.

“So, it’s only the two of us,” she said.

“Yes, and…” He stopped and looked at her shirt which proudly proclaimed, Date—it’s a 4 letter word. Come to think of it, so are the words high and heel. It showed a woman tilting on stilettos.

Tucker assured him, “I wore it just for you.”

He laughed and so did she.

“Bart got it for me for Christmas one year. I guess I grumble a lot about putting on girl clothes and I’m pretty sure high heels were invented by a man. That’s what I love,” she corrected herself, “I’ve loved about my time with you. You don’t seem to mind that I’m not a runway model. I’ve enjoyed our friends with benefits time.” And though she wouldn’t say the words, she knew she’d miss it when it was over.

She really hoped she could maintain a friendship with Tyler, but she knew it wouldn’t be the same.

“Tucker, I don’t mind a single thing about you.” He pulled her into his arms and tenderly kissed the top of her forehead. It wasn’t the least bit carnal, but simply sweet.

She could have stood like that, wrapped in Tyler, for a very long time. Too soon, he pulled back. “So, are you ready for our date.”

“I sort of thought you’d be cooking dinner…” She jerked her head at the pristine kitchen. “Are we going out?”



“Out to the living room.” He took her hand and pulled her down the hall and into…a fairyland.

He’d closed the drapes, strung small Christmasy lights everywhere, lit a small fire and had spread a blanket in front of it. There was a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket and the coffee table was spread with an array of finger foods.

“How did you get all this done?” she asked.

“Lou let me leave a little early. I’ll make up the time on Saturday for today and Friday.”

“No one’s ever…” She sniffed, determined not to cry.

“Angel?”

She’d noticed that he’d been calling her Tucker the last few days, and she figured it was his way of distancing himself, but tonight, he reverted to calling her Angel. It was too much. She felt a tear creep out, despite her blinking.

“Angel?” he repeated.

“No one’s ever done anything like this for me.”

“What. No one’s ever been crazy enough to start a fire in the middle of summer, then crank on the air conditioner so you don’t melt?”

“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t minimize this. This is romantic. It’s a sweet gesture, one no one else would do for me. Even though I’m wearing a goofy T-shirt, you have a way of making me feel as if I’m the most beautiful woman in the room.” That sounded far too sappy to her, so she tried to play it off as a joke. “Of course, at the shop, I’m generally the only woman in the room, so I guess—”

“Don’t,” he told her. “Don’t minimize yourself. Some women need to dress to the nines in order to create an illusion of beauty. You simply have to be you. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a weird T-shirt and holey jeans, or that pretty sundress you wore to the picnic. You’re always beautiful.”

Standing there in her T-shirt looking at all the trouble Tyler had gone to, Tucker truly felt beautiful. “Since you went to so much work getting ready for our dinner, maybe you wouldn’t mind if I take care of the appetizer?” She slipped her T-shirt off and revealed her sexiest bra.

“I think this might be my favorite appetizer of all times,” he said, accepting her gift.

As she made love to Tyler, she tried to ignore the thought that this was almost over.

For the first time in her life, Tucker wasn’t ready to let go of a relationship that had run its course.

For the first time in her life, Tucker wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready to let Tyler Martinez go.