to give him one more chance, but Adam well remembered how Tyler must be feeling—caught between two groups of kids, trying to leave the one behind but not feeling like he fit in with the new crowd, who didn’t trust him.
Steph tried to include him whenever she could. She insisted he eat hot dogs sitting on a log beside her, not realizing that another young man glowered at the two as they laughed over something. Tyler might have competition for her attention.
As the teenagers were picked up one by one, and the sun was setting, Adam ended up sorting through tack with Tyler in the barn, the double doors behind them wide open.
“Did Steph leave?” Adam asked.
Tyler just gestured with his head behind them. Adam turned and saw Steph talking to the boy who’d been glowering at her earlier.
“Did you get a chance to say good-bye?” Adam asked.
“She’s busy. It’s not like we’re together or anything.”
Adam caught the other boy giving Tyler a victorious look before he sauntered away to his own car. Adam hoped Tyler missed it.
The two of them straightened the tack room in silence for a while, then Adam considered that since Tyler had asked him personal questions, he could do the same.
“This might be none of my business,” Adam said, “but I was wondering how your brother’s doing.”
Tyler shot him a scowl. “What do you know about my brother?”
“Only what Brooke told me, that he served his time and was out.”
Tyler took down rope and re-coiled it, though Adam thought it was just busywork to keep from talking.
“My dad was in jail a couple times when I was a kid,” Adam said. “Then he had a hard time getting another job.”
Tyler’s shoulders briefly sagged before he stiffened. “He’ll find a job. I know he’s trying. He doesn’t ever want to go back to jail.”
And there was the crux of the boy’s worry, that his brother wouldn’t find a job and end up hanging with a bad crowd again, leading to worse things.
“You’re straightening out your problems,” Adam said. “He will, too. I had to confront the same thing in myself.”
“Yeah, yeah, your dad went to jail.”
“No, I spent two nights there.”
Tyler stilled, then turned to face him, his expression one of wary disbelief. “What you’d do, get drunk?”
“No, that was my old man’s problem. I stupidly stole a car to joyride.”
Before Tyler could catch himself, his mouth sagged open. “What—you? Sergeant Perfect Marine?”
Adam chuckled. “Now that’s a nickname. Never knew I was perfect. Don’t tell Miss Thalberg that, or she’ll find plenty more for me to do around here.”
“But . . . what happened?”
Adam leaned back against a beam that rose up through the ceiling. He had Tyler’s full attention—the boy didn’t even try to pretend to work.
“My parents didn’t give a crap about what I did growing up,” Adam began slowly. “But, of course, when I screwed up, they had to notice. My screwups just kept getting bigger, until I landed with a bad group in high school. I had to prove I was big and cool enough to be in charge, you know?”
Tyler nodded silently, his eyes focused on Adam.
“So I stole a car—and it happened to be the football coach’s. My parents were going to let me rot in jail, but Coach McKee stood up for me, just like your mom stood up for you.”
“How’d you know that?” Tyler demanded.
“It’s a small town, isn’t it?”
“What did the old guy do to you?”
“Let me serve my community service with him as a manager on the football team. I found better kids to hang out with, and Coach—he didn’t preach to me, just showed me how to take responsibility. It felt good. And since Coach impressed me, I decided to do what he’d done, and enter the service. But whatever you choose to do is up to you. As long as you go forward, not back, you’ll find the next stage of your life.”
Tyler let out a heavy sigh, his expression bleak. “It’s hard to get away from those guys, you know?”
“I know. But you have to do what’s best for you and your family. Your mom is dealing with a lot, right?”
Tyler nodded. “She cries at night. She’s worried I’m going to do something stupid like Cody. Cody’s worried about that, too.”
“It’s good that they both care. That must help.”
Tyler pushed away from the rail and headed toward the open door. He paused, and said over his shoulder, “Thanks.”
Adam followed him a minute later,