Chapter 16 #2
Behind them, Jordy huffed and muttered something under his breath. Debbie flicked her ash onto the gravel like she owned it. But Tyler didn’t look back at them again. Not when Justice was standing beside him like she belonged there. Not when dinner and a warm house were waiting just inside.
“Well, I’m starving, so let’s go—”
“I want to see Jack!” Jordy barked, his voice cracking with urgency and entitlement.
The interruption slammed against the sweet moment he was having with Justice, and Tyler felt the last thread of his patience snap. He opened his mouth, prepared to tell them they had ten seconds to get off the porch or he’d be on the phone with the sheriff.
But before the words could leave his lips, the screen door creaked open.
Jack stepped out onto the porch with slow, deliberate steps.
He wasn’t rushing, but also wasn’t frail.
He stood with the kind of dignity that silenced everyone instantly.
Dressed in his clean jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, his hand rested lightly on the porch post. Jack’s gaze moved over all of them as Jordy puffed out his chest while standing at the bottom of the steps.
Debbie’s eyes narrowed as she smoldered like a cheap cigarette.
Jack’s glare cut to Jordy, but then his face lit with a grin as he looked at Tyler. “Good to see you, Tyler. Can’t thank you enough for bringing dinner.”
Then his gaze found Justice. “Sweetheart, you take Tyler on in, and I’ll be there in just a minute.”
“Dad—”
“Go on, Justice,” he said, soft but firm. “And Tyler, make yourself at home in the kitchen.”
Tyler met Jack’s eyes and nodded, understanding exactly what the man was doing. This wasn’t just about sending them inside to eat. This was about Jack having his say on his own terms. Without his daughter defending him. Without needing a damn bit of help.
“Let’s go, Justice,” Tyler said gently, sliding his free arm around her shoulders.
She hesitated, her gaze flicking to her father.
Then she looked up at Tyler as trust settled in her expression.
With a slight nod, she turned toward the house, letting him guide her through the door.
The screen door clapped shut behind them, but she left the wooden door open.
Not all the way but just enough. Tyler noticed.
Hell, he appreciated it. A woman who knew how to protect what was hers.
A daughter who wasn’t about to let anyone mess with her father, even if she respected his need to stand on his own.
He stayed beside her in the living room, casserole carrier still warm in his hand. He could’ve gone into the kitchen, but instinct told him not to leave her. Not until they knew they were gone.
Outside, Jordy’s voice carried again. “Jack, if you play your cards right and talk to the developer, he’d make a deal that’d be good for all of us.”
Tyler felt Justice tense beside him, her arms folded tightly.
Jack’s voice answered, firm and clear. “Jordy, I don’t see how you figure that.
I own this land. Free and clear. It was never part of Dad’s Will.
I bought it myself almost thirty years ago.
So what’s twisted in your head or come outta your wife’s mouth that makes you think you’ve got any claim here, I truly cannot imagine. ”
The unmistakable sound of Debbie’s huff came rushing out. “Selfish! Always been so damn selfish!”
Jack didn’t skip a beat. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re going to leave. I’m going to walk back into this house and have a nice dinner with my daughter and Charlie’s grandson. That’s it. That’s all there is. There’s nothing else here that concerns you.”
Tyler could imagine the slump of Jordy’s shoulders, the way petty men deflated when their power plays failed. But he also knew some people, like Debbie, didn’t go down easy.
But Jack didn’t entertain either of them.
The screen door snapped shut behind him, the sound as final as a judge’s gavel.
He closed the door, turned toward the living room, and found them both watching him.
He raised a brow and smiled like nothing had happened.
“Tyler, I don’t know about you, but I’m gettin’ mighty hungry.
I have some salad and rolls that ought to go well with the casserole. Let’s eat.”
Justice let out a soft giggle, the tension cracking like a shell. The sound rolled through the room like sunshine, and Tyler tucked it away, already knowing it was a sound he’d chase again and again.
She crossed to her father and hugged him tightly. He wrapped an arm around her with a chuckle and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Then she took the casserole from Tyler with a quick smile and disappeared into the kitchen, already chattering about heating instructions and plates.
“I want to step outside,” Tyler said. “Just make sure they’ve actually left.”
She nodded, and he waited until he heard her and Jack talking in the kitchen before he turned and eased the door open.
The porch creaked under his feet as he stepped out.
Down the walk, Jordy and Debbie were halfway to their old sedan.
Jordy turned, saw him, and paused. Debbie didn’t.
She slid into the passenger’s seat with a dramatic huff, her door slamming shut in protest.
Jordy came back a few steps, lifting his hands in a false gesture of peace.
“I’m sure you’ve got the wrong idea about things,” he began, his gaze shifting from side to side.
“I’m not here to cause problems. But this land, and your grandpa’s land…
there’s a lot of money tied up in it. Developers want in.
There’s talk of condos, retirement communities.
They’re gonna come talk to you, I guarantee it.
All I’m saying is, you and Jack could make a hell of a lot of money.
Especially with his heart problems… he oughta be thinking about a smaller place, something in town. ”
Tyler didn’t move, didn’t blink. He let the silence sit until Jordy started to sweat under it.
“Mr. McClay,” he said finally, his voice low but absolute.
“I assure you, I’m well aware of what’s going on in this area.
You need to get in that car and drive away because the owner of this property has asked you to leave. And I second that.”
Jordy opened his mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. “Just be smart, young man. That’s all I’m saying. You just need to be smart.”
With that, he turned and stomped down the rest of the walk, yanked open the car door, and slid in beside his wife.
Tyler watched until the taillights disappeared down the lane and out of sight.
He had a feeling that Jordy and Debbie weren’t about to give up so easily.
Then, with the weight of the moment settling behind him like dust, he stepped back into the house, where warmth, food, and something far more important waited.