Laurel thought for a moment that Tyler was going to be quite spoiled by the time he was fully recuperated from his surgery if he grew accustomed to receiving presents every day, but she decided to worry about that later. She watched as he ripped into the package and exclaimed in pleasure over the toy inside. After instructing him to thank his grandfather, she sent him into the den to play with the new toy.
“Can I get you anything, Carl? I just took a banana nut cake out of the oven. It will be cool enough to frost in a little while.”
“I’m not hungry, but I’d take a cup of that coffee if it’s still fresh.”
“It is. I’ve been chugging it by the pot today.” Motioning him to the table, she filled a mug and carried it to him. She knew he drank his coffee black, and that he liked it strong.
Taking a sip, he nodded approval. “It’s good. You always make good coffee.”
“It’s not that hard. The coffeemaker pretty much does everything on its own.”
He grunted. “Doesn’t stop some people from ruining it, anyway.”
Cradling the mug between his hands, he cleared his throat. “I take it Jay’s not here?”
“No. He left early this morning before I woke up. I don’t know where he is.”
“He’s always been one to go off by himself when he’s troubled. He’s probably walking a beach somewhere. He says he thinks better when there aren’t any other distractions around him.”
And he would see her as a distraction, rather than a help, Laurel thought sadly. “He wouldn’t talk to me. He didn’t tell me what happened to upset him.”
Carl sighed. “He should have talked to you.”
“He didn’t.” She looked down at her hands as she added in a near whisper, “He rarely does.”
“I made some mistakes with Jay,” Carl admitted. “I spent so much time teaching him to be strong and independent that I might have overdone it a bit.”
Laurel moistened her lips. “I tend to be a bit too independent myself. It’s the way I was raised also, though for different reasons.”
Carl had been trying to teach Jackson to be a self-sufficient adult, while Laurel’s mother was more interested in making her own job as a parent easier. But maybe the end results had been eerily similar.
Clasping her hands in her lap, she leaned forward a bit in her seat. “Carl, will you tell me what happened? I need to know.”
Carl shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “That’s not really my place, Laurel. I just came by to see if there was anything I can do for you. And I was kind of hoping Jay would be here, and that he would be willing to talk to me.”
“Talk to you about what?”
Carl merely shook his head. “He’ll tell you. When he’s ready.”
Laurel wanted to snarl in frustration. In fact, the sound that escaped her came very close to a growl as she leapt to her feet. “Why do I even try? I’m not a part of this family. I never have been.”
“Now, Laurel—”
“You know it’s true. Donna has disapproved of me since Jackson brought me home and introduced me to her.”
“It wasn’t that she disapproved. She just didn’t have much chance to get to know you before you and Jay got married. And then almost immediately afterward there was Tyler, and all her attention turned to him. She loves that little boy, you know.”
“I know. And I would never deprive him of the love of his grandparents. I just wish…”
She didn’t actually know what she wished. She wouldn’t try to deny that the rift between them was as much her fault as Donna’s.
“If it makes you feel any better, Jay isn’t talking to me, either,” Carl said glumly.
“No, that doesn’t make me feel any better at all.” She sighed and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “But I wouldn’t worry about Jackson staying mad at you for long. You and he are so close.”
The look that flashed across Carl’s usually implacable face startled her. It reminded her all too much of the pain she had seen in her husband’s eyes at that same table only a few hours before.
“Carl?”