Page 27 of Tempted

Chapter Nine

Victor paced the floor, moving in circles. He glanced at his watch for the fifth time in several minutes. Where the hell was Adam? His plane had landed fifteen minutes ago. Not wanting to panic, Victor looked at the flight schedules again. Flight 1625 from Raleigh/Durham: landed.

He’d give it another five minutes before he bothered the poor woman behind the information counter again. Victor couldn’t help wondering if he’d have to spend another summer like the last one. Adam had barely said two words to him voluntarily, and whenever Victor tried to force the issue, the two of them would argue back and forth.

Adam was now fifteen going on sixteen and he wished they were closer. Victor had made a lot of mistakes in his life, his biggest was allowing the rift to grow between him and his oldest son. Having had the chance to bond with Tyler and Chelsea in the past weeks, he realized how important they were to him. That was why he didn’t plan on letting another holiday go by without trying to bridge that gap between him and Adam.

Just as Victor headed toward the wary looking woman behind the booth, he spotted his son out of the corner of his eye. He had to blink to make sure he was seeing correctly. He hadn’t seen Adam since last Thanksgiving. This gangly young man walking toward him couldn’t be his son. The gangly, awkward he remembered boy was taller, broader and had clear skin.

Victor’s heart swelled with fatherly pride, but the joy was short lived upon seeing the irritated expression on Adam’s face. The younger man’s lips were twisted into a grimace and the dark blue eyes, so like his were slightly narrowed with what looked like disdain.

He held his hand out in greeting. “Hello, son.”

Adam took the offered hand and then dropped it almost as soon as he shook it. “Sir.” He nodded formally as if he were being introduced to a stranger.

Victor sighed. “I know you’re supposed to address authority figures as 'sir’ or 'ma’am’ at your military school, but you’re home now. Dad will do.”

Adam shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is. Let’s go get your things from the baggage claim and get home. Tyler and Chelsea are anxious to see you again. They haven’t stopped talking about your arrivalfor days.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on the teenager’s face before disappearing just as quickly. “That’s nice,” he answered noncommittally.

Victor had a feeling this summer would be harder than he thought. They gathered Adam’s luggage and hauled it to the car. Halfway home, Victor could no longer take the silence. “How was the last semester of school?”

“Fine.”

“I trust you’ll be on the honor roll again?”

“Yes.”

“Are you still playing rugby?”

“Yes.” Adam kept his gaze averted.

Victor wasn’t sure how much more of these one word answers he’d be able to take so he tried another tactic. “Is there anything interesting you’d like to do this summer? Go anywhere special?”

“Not really.”

“You can’t lie around the house for the next few months. You’ll need to find something to occupy your time.”

“Then I’ll get a job.”

“That isn’t what I meant, Adam. Besides, you don’t have to get work if you don’t want to. There will be plenty of time for that when you get older. Now is the time to enjoy yourself and just be a kid.”

Adam remained mutinously silent.

“I want you to have a good time this summer, son, and I can’t make that happen if you won’t open up to me.”

“I don’t think you really want to know the answer to that question.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.”

Adam finally looked in his direction. “If you really wanted me to enjoy my summer, you would have let me stay with Kevin and his family.”

“I let you spend Christmas and Spring Break with them, although Chelsea and Tyler were very disappointed when you didn’t come home over the holidays. They were both excited about giving you their presents.”

Adam shrugged with an apparent nonchalance that was fast getting under Victor’s skin. “I came during Thanksgiving,” the boy murmured.

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