Back Where You Belong Read online

  “Tyler, pull the van over.” There was no mistaking the order in Lacy’s voice.

  One quick glance in his rearview mirror, and he eased the vehicle along the side of the road. Lacy jumped out and opened the sliding door. Olivia leaned into her outstretched arms and sobbed while Lacy crawled in to embrace her.

  He wanted to beat his fist against the steering wheel as his daughter keened a cry like a wounded animal. A rage, deep and violent, coiled in his stomach and snaked its way through every cell of his being. Who would hurt his little girl like this? Why? For God’s sake, why? And, why the hell was he just now hearing about this? When had his daughter started keeping secrets from him?

  He unbuckled his seatbelt and shifted in his seat to watch Lacy comfort his child. A pang of isolation settled in his gut. For years, he and Olivia existed in a rather exclusive world. Granted, her BFF, as she called Cassidy, and his foreman Pete shifted in and out of their lives, but basically it was just him and her. When she had a problem, he was the person she came to, but not with this. It galled him that he’d been shut out of this part of his daughter’s life.

  Still, there had been those nights she was sullen and withdrawn. He attributed it to seeing her mother or too much homework or a stage she was going through. He should have questioned her more, should have been more on top of things. Now his little girl had turned to someone else.

  “Tyler, how far are we from your ranch? Could we take the girls home and have a talk?”

  Paternal protectiveness reared its nasty head. By damn, if his daughter was going to talk to anyone, it would be him. “We’re closer to your place than mine. I’ll take you to the Double L. Olivia and I will talk among ourselves later.” He used the tone of voice his men knew well. The tone of voice that told one and all the subject was not open for discussion or negotiation.

  Turquoise eyes narrowed on him for a few long seconds, making him feel like a first class heel.

  “Very well.” Lacy closed the van’s sliding door and returned to her seat.

  Cold silence filled the vehicle for the remainder of the ride to the Double L.

  Tyler felt a portion of himself shrivel and wondered if it was his heart. Or his self-respect.

  He shouldn’t have cut Lacy off the way he did, but Olivia was his daughter. Not hers. Maybe the idea of dating again wasn’t such a good one. He hadn’t thought it all through. What good was bringing a woman into Olivia’s life for a short spell and allowing his daughter to get close to her? Then, if he was left high and dry again, his child would lose another female figure in her life. How unfair was that?

  Damned unfair. And he wouldn’t do it to her. She’d been his sole responsibility even before Anna Beth finally moved out. Fatherhood was something he took very seriously.

  Once they reached the ranch, Olivia finally spoke. “I thought we were taking Lacy out to dinner. Like a real family.”

  Tyler winced at the disappointment in her voice. “Not tonight.” He got out of the van to open the back door so he could help Lacy retrieve her purchases.

  She yanked them from his grasp. “Goodbye, Tyler.” Anger flared in her eyes. They’d gone from turquoise to stormy blue.

  He reached to cup her elbow after he closed the back. “I’ll see you to the door.”

  “No need.”

  “A man always…”

  She whirled on him. “Don’t hand me that ‘man’ nonsense. I’m good enough for you to take to bed a time or two, but I’m not good enough to help your daughter with a terrible situation. You arrogant, self-righteous Neanderthal. How are you going to help that darling girl when you haven’t got a clue?”

  Temper flared so hard and fast, he could barely breathe. “Wait just a damn minute.” He didn’t like that she was ninety percent right. Nor did he like her ability to zing in on the real problem.

  Lacy marched toward the back door, ignoring him.

  In a few quick strides, he caught up with her. “I’m her father, dammit. She should bring her problems to me, not you.”

  “Fine. Too bad you won’t be able to help her.”

  He followed her up the steps to the back porch. “Just what the hell do you mean by that? I’ve always helped my daughter with whatever she needs.”

  “Do you know what it’s like to be afraid? What it’s like to step into a room, a school, a shopping mall and be on the constant lookout for the kids who make your life a living hell? No, because you just intimidate people until you get the results you want.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”

  She turned to glare at him, her eyes darkened with anger. “What I know is you’ve allowed your male pride to keep Olivia from getting the help she needs.”

  He scoffed. “Where? From you?”

  In a split instant, she opened the door, stepped inside and slammed it in his face. The finality of the banging door jarred a few cracks in his temper. The click of the lock further fractured it. Slowly, common sense seeped in. He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. What the hell caused that explosion?

  His confusion and anger over being excluded from something that hurt his daughter made him overreact. Frankly, all this teenage drama made him damned uncomfortable. Anger, he understood. Happiness, sure. Annoyance and determination, yes. But these explosive teenage emotions made his eye twitch. And why run and hide from people? Hell, just stand your ground.

  There was a term some women liked to use—clueless male. Guess that would be me right about now. He had a feeling he just ruined a good thing, and hurt a very special lady in the bargain.

  Well, hell.

  When he turned to walk back to the van, his legs were nearly as heavy as his heart. How had such a great day morphed into this mess? He glanced at his vehicle and saw a heart-shaped face pressed against the glass, huge tears running down her cheeks.

  Double hell.

  Tomblike silence carried the van home to the Star-D. No sooner had he turned off the engine then both girls scampered out of the vehicle and into the house. Guess he’d get no help carrying in their many packages. Just as well. He wasn’t in the mood for chatter. Hadn’t one chatterbox just slammed the door in his face?

  He carried an armful of bags into the house and down the hall to his daughter’s room. “Olivia, here’s your new stuff.”

  “Take it back.”

  “What?” Great, more teenaged drama.

  “Take it all back to the mall. I don’t want any of it.”

  By the sound of her voice, she was in full tantrum mode. Something he hadn’t dealt with in years.

  “Now, Angel, you’re just being ridiculous. You love this stuff.” He rattled the bags.

  The lock clicked on her door, and she yanked it open. “I love Lacy, too. But you made damn sure I won’t ever get to see her again. You acted like an ass, Daddy.”

  “You watch your mouth, young lady.” He dropped the bags and made a step. “I’m your father and I won’t be talked to like that.”

  “Fine.” She slammed the door in his face. The lock clicked, again.

  Well, hell.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lacy was in the middle of a major crying jag when her cell rang. She pulled it from her purse and noted it was Olivia. “Hello?”

  “Lacy.” Sobs followed. “I’m sorry for the way he acted. Give him time. He’ll be sorry, too. I’ll see to it.”

  “Oh, my beauty, you can’t control people. He’s hurt because you opened up to me and not him. You’re his whole life, you know.”

  Hadn’t he said she would always come in second to his daughter? She didn’t realize the full meaning of that statement until today when he shattered her heart.

  Still, she was proud of Tyler. He took his role as a father seriously. If only her own father had. She was pleased this thirteen-year-old would never know such rejection. Olivia had Tyler, a man who doted on her. Heck, he even drove a van for her soccer team. How many bull riders did that?

  “I can’t talk to daddy about what’
s going on in school. He just thinks I’m being weak or melodramatic.”

  How many teenagers felt that way? Alone, scared, frantic. Hadn’t she felt that way herself? At least she was older. Had she gone through this as a thirteen-year-old like Olivia, no doubt she’d fallen apart.

  She sat on the edge of her bed. “I’m always here for you. Night or day. I’ll keep my cell with me all the time. Call. You hear?”

  “O…okay.”

  “And cut your dad some slack. He’s never been through anything like this. He doesn’t know what it’s like. Just like we don’t know what it’s like to have our insides jarred apart while riding a bull.”

  She ended the call and dropped her head back on the pillow, worrying about Olivia. She worried, too, about other kids who were victims of bullying, both in school and online. Slowly, an idea began to form.

  Over the next two weeks, Lacy thought long and hard, planning and implementing strategy for her grand idea. As Grandma used to say, when life handed you lemons, you made lemonade. Lacy was making a large batch. Really, now that she thought about it, she should have done this before, instead of hiding. She should have stepped onto her Texan soapbox and raised holy hell.

  Plans that turned to strategy became reality. Her methodical nature always helped her excel at whatever she set her mind to. She designed an interactive anti-bullying website and then advertised it on the Internet. The number of hits was both astounding and heartbreaking. The stories teens shared were tragic. There were so many affected by this senseless cruelty. Could she help in some small way? She had to try.

  With every step she made, she wished she could share it with Tyler. Too bad they weren’t speaking. She’d texted him once and he’d ignored it. Fearing more rejection from yet another man, she stopped trying to contact him.

  During the days, she kept busy with web-design work and her new project. At night she cried for Tyler, wishing he was prepared to allow her into Olivia’s life, too.

  She developed a series of lectures to present to schools, and the first school she scheduled was Olivia’s.

  The night before she planned to speak, she gathered her courage and called Tyler. He deserved to know what would happen tomorrow.

  “Tyler, this is Lacy.” She twisted her sleep shirt between her fingers.

  “Yes, I recognized the number.” He certainly sounded cold.

  “How…how are you?”

  “Do you care?”

  She swiped at a falling tear. No way would she cave in. “I’m calling to tell you I’m speaking at Olivia’s school tomorrow at an afternoon assembly.”

  “You’re what?” he bellowed. He was silent for a few beats as if he were processing what she said. “Why?”

  “I’ve developed a website called TAB, Teenagers Against Bullies. I’m going to share some things with the students and encourage them to join. It’s a safe, online place for kids to share their experiences and—”

  “Are you freakin’ kidding me? Are you going to name my daughter? Do you have any idea what that would do to her if the rest of the school found out? I won’t have it.”

  “Do you know why she’s being teased? Has she told you?”

  “I’m not going to talk to you about this. I’ll be at her school tomorrow, and if you mention her name, you’ll have to deal with me. Is that clear? I protect what’s mine.”

  What part of her wasn’t tied up in knots was trembling with anger. How could she tell him she had no plans to divulge Olivia’s plight. He wouldn’t believe her anyhow. The man was clearly in protective-poppa-mode.

  “So be it, Tyler. Good-bye.”

  She set her cell on the stand beside the sofa. Her hands covered her eyes and she cried. Like a fool, she’d hoped once he heard her voice, he’d soften. She’d dreamed all day of various scenarios where they made up. Tyler’s attitude and tone of voice told her any chance of reconciliation was totally in her mind, certainly not in his.

  Once more, that damn video had taken something from her—the only man she’d ever loved, and a very sweet teenager. After several minutes of sobbing, she reached for the box of tissues and slowly pulled on her cloak of inner strength, tired of being the victim.

  ****

  Tyler was tired of feminine drama. He got out of his truck and slammed the door, prepared to enter Olivia’s middle school. Last night when he hung up from talking to Lacy, Olivia was standing in the hallway listening, arms crossed over her chest and brown eyes shooting daggers. Yeah, he was tired of that, too. Tired of her surly attitude and treating him as if he were some kind of ogre.

  “You’re coming to my school tomorrow? Why? To hurt Lacy some more?”

  “So, you know about this speech of hers?” Had she been in touch with Lacy while he’d been craving the sound of her voice? The past two weeks had been pure hell with his thoughts fluctuating from writing off his feelings for the woman he loved to begging her to give him another chance.

  “Yes, I know. We text every evening, and email. She asked my opinion on several points. I’ve been a great asset to her. What she’s doing is a very noble thing.” Having revealed that, Olivia had flounced back to her room and slammed the door.

  Tyler opened the door to the school’s office and stepped inside to register as a guest. The office manager, the mother of one of the girls on Olivia’s soccer team, smiled and instructed him to have a seat while she contacted a faculty member with whom he could attend the assembly. As he waited, his stomach cramped. What would Lacy’s speech do to his daughter? Surely she wouldn’t mention names of kids being bullied.

  A smiling young man approached. “Mr. Desmond?” He extended his hand. “Brandon Cole.”

  Twenty minutes later, he stood with Brandon, one of the Phys. Ed. Teachers, at the back of the auditorium while students filed in. Laughter, shoving, teasing created a sense of controlled bedlam.

  “We’re glad to have Miss LaRoche speak today. I’m one of the teachers on the anti-bullying committee.”

  He looked at the young, muscular teacher, his head shaved and tanned. “The school’s got a committee on this kind of thing?”

  Brandon nodded and took a swig of water from his bottle. “Big problem in schools today.”

  “Why don’t you just squelch it? Send the offenders to detention or something.”

  The teacher reached out to signal a kid who was pushing another. The kid responded with an offensive finger. “Kids don’t scare anymore. They control us. We don’t control them. If we try to discipline, parents accuse us of picking on their child.”

  Tyler ran his hand across the back of his neck. What the heck was happening in these schools? In his day, if he’d given the finger to a teacher, he’d been grabbed and hauled to the principal’s office. Then once he got home, his pappy would have tanned his hide for being disrespectful.

  Brandon leaned toward him. “Don’t think her speech is going to do any good, but we can use her visit to show the State we’re trying to control the problem.” He smirked. “Wait ’til you see her. She’s something. Met her just before you got here.”

  Tyler narrowed his eyes. Exactly what the hell did he mean by that remark? Lights flicked on and off twice, and an older man stepped to the podium. After several minutes, he was able to quiet the students. Don’t these kids know anything about respect?

  “That’s our principal, Dan Akers. Kids hate him. Let’s move closer so I can get a better look at Lacy.” Brandon motioned for him to follow. “She’s not wearing a ring. Might ask her out.”

  Well, hell.

  Once the principal was through with his introductions, Lacy stepped from behind the curtain. An intense pain wrapped its frigid fingers around Tyler’s lungs and squeezed. His vision narrowed to a pinpoint on her. Her gaze darted over the crowd of students. Was she nervous? God, she looked fabulous in her black dress with a wide red belt. He groaned. Hell, she’d worn those red ankle-strap stilettos.

  Brandon, who stood a good six-inches shorter than he, elbowed him. “Isn’t
she something? Look at those legs. Bet she’d be a knockout if she lost twenty pounds.”

  He couldn’t reply. How could a man talk when desperation and jealousy had a stranglehold on his voice box? He thought of slamming the twerp against the wall and taking a punch at him, but seeing as how this was an anti-bullying program, now might not be the time. “You’re talking about someone very special. Show her some respect.”

  The teacher stared at him and swallowed. “You dating her?”

  There was no way he’d tell Brandon he’d messed things up with Lacy. That he’d allowed his male pride to rear its ugly head and destroy his chances with her. He merely returned the stare and nodded.

  Lacy took the microphone off its stand and walked to the middle of the stage. “I’m here to tell you a story, a very personal story. And I’m going to tell you straight off, it’s not going to be easy for me to share.” She chuckled for a few seconds. “I might need your help to get through this.”

  Very slowly, and at times emotionally, she shared what happened to her in college. She had a way of talking, of using her hands to help display emotion and of drawing and holding the students’ attention. She held nothing back. When she stopped talking about the harassment on campus and turned her back on the audience, her shoulders shook. Tyler nearly lost his composure. He wanted to go to her and carry her away.

  She turned and wiped her eyes. “Well, folks, so much for the make-up job.” There was polite and sympathetic laughter from the students.

  Step by step she laid out her plan of confronting bullies, of creating a league of solidarity against the strength of a few bullies. Of positive ways to handle various situations.

  She’d evidently done her research. Her ideas held merit.

  “Bullies come in all ages, in either sex and in various sizes. My roommate was slender, attractive and intelligent. But her actions and attitudes made her a bully. Do bullies only exist in colleges?” Lacy stopped talking and looked out at the silent crowd.

  “You’re smart. You know bullies are everywhere. I’m betting a few are here in this school. You know who I mean. Kids who like to get in your face and yell insults and threats.” She shrugged. “It makes them feel bigger or stronger than they really are.” She stepped closer to the edge of the stage. “Are there kids who laugh behind your back? Kids who take a sick pleasure in making fun of you?”