Free A Rocker and a Hard Place by Hunter J. Keane Page B

dinner. T.J. did most of the talking; Tyler kept stealing glances in my direction.
    “I’m getting really good at the guitar,” T.J. announced over dessert.
    “Oh, yeah?” Tyler’s face lit up.
    I hadn’t had much of an appetite all through dinner, but the pie could not be denied. Glenn’s wife really knew how to bake a pie.
    “Will you show me some chords later?”
    “Maybe.” Tyler glanced at me yet again. “I think your mom and I need to talk first.”
    “About what?”
    Tyler smiled faintly. “Grown up stuff.”
    “Like sex?”
    “T.J.! Seriously, what are you watching on television?” I didn’t know what bothered me more, his knowledge of adult activities or the fact that he was pretty close to being right.
    “It’s on the news, Mom,” T.J. explained diplomatically. “That Senator just got in trouble for it.”
    He was right. We couldn’t even watch the news now. “No more television. Read more books.”
    “I already finish three books in a week.” He smiled proudly. “Maybe if Tyler teaches me guitar lessons I won’t have as much time to watch television.”
    The boy had a point. “We’ll see. Go practice on your own and we’ll be there in a bit.”
    T.J. sulked on his way to the living room. He didn’t like being left out, and he liked giving up his new friend even less.
    “He’s gotten very attached to you,” I observed, not sure if that was a good thing.
    “I’m not going to leave.” Tyler sensed my unease. “I’m here for good. Well, mostly.”
    “What the hell does that mean?”
    It sure didn’t sound like he was planning on sticking around permanently. I could feel my Tyler-wall slowly going back up.
    “Don’t get all excited. I just have to go out to California for a few days to take care of some stuff.” Tyler was trying to make it sound like it was no big deal, but I could see that he was nervous.
    I got up from the table, pushing my chair back so hard it almost fell over. “Outside.”
    We went out onto the back deck and I waited for the door to shut before I said, “If you hurt T.J., I will never forgive you.”
    “Whoa. Slow down.” Tyler held up a hand in a halting gesture. “I’m not going to hurt him.”
    “You can’t come and go as you please. T.J. won’t understand that.” Not to mention that I would only be even more confused.
    “I promise, it’s just for a few days to take care of some things. And I’m not leaving for a while. In a week or so. I’ll try to time it so that I’m gone while he’s at camp.” Tyler slowly started to smile. “You’re a pretty scary momma bear.”
    “You hurt my kid and I will do more than hurt you,” I said, but I returned his smile.
    “Good.” Tyler’s eyes narrowed. “Why did the boyfriend take off?”
    “His name is Connor. And he wasn’t too pleased about you crashing our dinner plans.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the whole story. Chances were good that he had overheard everything anyway.
    Tyler didn’t look happy though. “You told him about me?”
    “I did. All of it.”
    “Do you trust him? That’s some pretty personal stuff you revealed. About both of us.” Tyler sounded peeved.
    “Of course I trust him. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me or T.J. He loves us.”
    Tyler flinched. “Do you love him?”
    “That’s none of your business.”
    “You didn’t answer the question.”
    I flushed with anger. “I didn’t and I’m not going to. I don’t owe you anything.”
    “Actually, you do. You owe me the first ten years of my son’s life.” The words came out so harsh they physically stung.
    I snapped back as forcefully as if he had slapped me. “How long have you been holding that in?”
    “Too long.” Tyler took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Look, I’m sorry. I would love to tell you that I’m not still upset about all of this, but that would be a lie.”
    “Ditto.”
    “I’m just trying to figure out where I stand. With T.J. and with you.” Tyler