Read Online Reclaim My Heart by Donna Fasano - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Donna Fasano
Tags: General Fiction
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greeting, or the moving memories of a more innocent time, Tyne couldn’t say, but unexpected tears stung her eyes.
“It’s good to see you, Jasper.” She swiped at the moisture clinging to her lashes with her fingertips when they parted. “I wasn’t sure you’d even speak to me. The way I left all those years ago. You know,” she murmured, “without saying goodbye.”
Voicing her doubts wasn’t something she was in a habit of doing. Experience had taught her that revealing her fears only left her vulnerable, but Jasper’s warmth had melted those remarks right out of her.
Her face flushed and she forged ahead. “Jasper, I, um, I’d like you to meet my son.”
Zach had been standing off to the side, waiting to be introduced, but now he moved forward. Tyne put a hand on her son’s shoulder. Having been unaware of the teen’s presence, Jasper’s expression widened with joy.
“Your son, Tyne? How wonderful.” He reached out his hand and Zach clasped it with his own.
“This is Zachary,” Tyne said. “Zach, this is Jasper Silver Hawk. Uncle Jasper.”
“I’ve been, like, wanting to meet you, like, forever .” Zach continued to shake the older man’s hand heartily. “Well, ever since I found out about you, anyways.”
Only a teen could make seventy two hours sound like a lifetime.
“Silver Hawk. I get it now,” Zach told Jasper, nodding. “The sign outside above the door.”
Tyne looked at Lucas, silently urging him to say something.
“He’s a fine looking young man, Tyne,” Jasper said. “Tall and strong.”
Lucas edged up beside Zach and clamped his hand on his son’s shouldtrun’s ser. “He looks like his old man, don’t you think?”
Jasper went still, and then he beamed. He hugged Zach to him and clapped Lucas on the back. He looked from Zach to Lucas to Tyne and finally pronounced, “This is good.”
Everyone was smiling and jovial, enjoying the moment, until it turned fuzzy and warm and uncomfortable. Tyne and Lucas caught one another’s eye, and their smiles slipped. In unison, they inched backward, stepping out of the cozy family circle.
“Did you carve the eagle?” Zach asked Jasper, seemingly oblivious to his parents’ uneasiness.
“I did.”
“It’s, like, amazing .”
Tyne followed her son and Jasper to the window to admire the sculpture and stood long enough to learn that the carving was made from the trunk of a black walnut tree that had been felled by a lightning strike, that a chisel and mallet had been the tools of choice and that it had taken months for the figure to take form. Lucas kept himself separate, studying the paintings displayed on the far wall of the shop.
The bold colors used in the landscapes were at the same time jarring and intriguing, teasing the observer into a closer look. And Tyne fell victim.
One painting in particular, with its orange sunset and sienna trees, drew her. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured to Lucas. “They’re all beautiful. Really unique, you know?” She didn’t expect an answer. “I remember when we were teens that Jasper painted, but I never realized he had such talent.”
“Neither did I,” Lucas said quietly.
“Guess we didn’t pay enough attention.”
He lifted one shoulder. “Guess not.”
They stood for several long moments looking at each other, and then they focused their attention on the art. Every time she even considered talking to him she hit this solid stone wall. She didn’t know if she’d built it or if he had. Oh, hell. She ought to be mature enough to admit the truth.
For the past sixteen years she’d done all she could to foster her independence. Knowing that she’d pretty much made her own way over the years and had raised Zach by herself offered her a deep sense of satisfaction. She’d thought she’d risen above the past. Thought it could no longer affect her. But every time she looked at Lucas, every time she tried to communicate with him, she was reminded of the stark
“It’s good to see you, Jasper.” She swiped at the moisture clinging to her lashes with her fingertips when they parted. “I wasn’t sure you’d even speak to me. The way I left all those years ago. You know,” she murmured, “without saying goodbye.”
Voicing her doubts wasn’t something she was in a habit of doing. Experience had taught her that revealing her fears only left her vulnerable, but Jasper’s warmth had melted those remarks right out of her.
Her face flushed and she forged ahead. “Jasper, I, um, I’d like you to meet my son.”
Zach had been standing off to the side, waiting to be introduced, but now he moved forward. Tyne put a hand on her son’s shoulder. Having been unaware of the teen’s presence, Jasper’s expression widened with joy.
“Your son, Tyne? How wonderful.” He reached out his hand and Zach clasped it with his own.
“This is Zachary,” Tyne said. “Zach, this is Jasper Silver Hawk. Uncle Jasper.”
“I’ve been, like, wanting to meet you, like, forever .” Zach continued to shake the older man’s hand heartily. “Well, ever since I found out about you, anyways.”
Only a teen could make seventy two hours sound like a lifetime.
“Silver Hawk. I get it now,” Zach told Jasper, nodding. “The sign outside above the door.”
Tyne looked at Lucas, silently urging him to say something.
“He’s a fine looking young man, Tyne,” Jasper said. “Tall and strong.”
Lucas edged up beside Zach and clamped his hand on his son’s shouldtrun’s ser. “He looks like his old man, don’t you think?”
Jasper went still, and then he beamed. He hugged Zach to him and clapped Lucas on the back. He looked from Zach to Lucas to Tyne and finally pronounced, “This is good.”
Everyone was smiling and jovial, enjoying the moment, until it turned fuzzy and warm and uncomfortable. Tyne and Lucas caught one another’s eye, and their smiles slipped. In unison, they inched backward, stepping out of the cozy family circle.
“Did you carve the eagle?” Zach asked Jasper, seemingly oblivious to his parents’ uneasiness.
“I did.”
“It’s, like, amazing .”
Tyne followed her son and Jasper to the window to admire the sculpture and stood long enough to learn that the carving was made from the trunk of a black walnut tree that had been felled by a lightning strike, that a chisel and mallet had been the tools of choice and that it had taken months for the figure to take form. Lucas kept himself separate, studying the paintings displayed on the far wall of the shop.
The bold colors used in the landscapes were at the same time jarring and intriguing, teasing the observer into a closer look. And Tyne fell victim.
One painting in particular, with its orange sunset and sienna trees, drew her. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured to Lucas. “They’re all beautiful. Really unique, you know?” She didn’t expect an answer. “I remember when we were teens that Jasper painted, but I never realized he had such talent.”
“Neither did I,” Lucas said quietly.
“Guess we didn’t pay enough attention.”
He lifted one shoulder. “Guess not.”
They stood for several long moments looking at each other, and then they focused their attention on the art. Every time she even considered talking to him she hit this solid stone wall. She didn’t know if she’d built it or if he had. Oh, hell. She ought to be mature enough to admit the truth.
For the past sixteen years she’d done all she could to foster her independence. Knowing that she’d pretty much made her own way over the years and had raised Zach by herself offered her a deep sense of satisfaction. She’d thought she’d risen above the past. Thought it could no longer affect her. But every time she looked at Lucas, every time she tried to communicate with him, she was reminded of the stark
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