Page 23 of The Convict Gets His Girl

Chase blinked in surprise. What camping trip? He'd completely missed that conversation. But he still knew what his dad meant. He clenched his napkin in his hand. "Because of my prison record?"

Ava frowned and scolded him, "Chase."

Just his name, and it made him feel an inch tall. He shrugged uncomfortably. "What? Not talking about it isn't going to make it go away, Mom."

It hadn't gone unnoticed that both of his parents had ignored any discussions of prison in the past year. They acted like he'd just been gone to summer camp or something.

Henry snorted, breaking the tension at the table. "Got that right. I feel like that with the whole Destini secret."

"Dad!" Jewel hissed beside him.

Henry shrugged. "Like he said, not talking about it isn't going to make it go away. Camp ends in a few weeks, doesn't it? She'll need to get registered for school."

Jewel bit her lip and nodded, looking down at her plate and pushing her noodles around.

"What grade will she be in?" Hunter asked.

"Tenth grade." Silverware scraped and clanged as the conversation paused. No one said anything as Hunter and Jewel continued talking about Destini.

Chase's chest grew tighter and tighter, like he was watching a movie of his life play out before his eyes.

"She used to love soccer. Parker's going to be impressed when he sees her, but I'm not sure I'll be able to convince her to try out when she gets here. She's currently obsessing over science. Grades are average except she's a math and science whiz. She's already finished all her math graduation requirements and wants to take some college math classes in the fall. I told her maybe in the spring after she gets used to the new school."

Jewel's face flushed as she talked about Destini, the pride clear in her tone and the way her eyes lit up. He could stare at her all day, listen to her all night.

Jewel swiped on her phone and showed them pictures of Destini. If Destini was such a great math and science kid, maybe she was his after all. He'd always been top of the class for those subjects too, which was why he had gotten his accounting degree.

A ranch hand interrupted at the door to say Medusa was foaling, and everyone at the table stood.

Ava laughed and waved her hand. "No, no, let's finish dinner. Hunter, you and Jewel go check on the mare, and come get us if you need help."

Chase's chest grew tight as he watched Jewel and Hunter walk out the door, screen banging behind them.

"Don't they look good together?" Ava asked as she looked out the front window.

Gemma snorted and shook her head, spinning her fork to get more noodles. "I don't think so, Ava. They're two completely different people now. Even back then, they fit together as well as fire and water."

Henry looked out the window and grunted but didn't say anything. They finished dinner, and Chase did the dishes, knowing Hunter wouldn't be back to help. He'd tried to step up and help around the house, show his parents he wasn't completely useless as a convict.

They'd not given him many chances, though. He made his way upstairs to find his dad squinting at the computer.

"What are you up to?" Chase asked, sitting down in the spinning chair and glancing at the screen.

"Organizing the finances. Need to clean this up before talking with Hunter about it for Money Monday tomorrow."

Chase eased his chair closer and watched. The numbers leaped off the page at him, forming patterns as Bill clicked. His hands itched to take over, to help, to prove himself.

"I can help, you know. I did get my degree while I was gone."

Bill grunted, but didn't say anything. When he'd been in prison, he'd only talked with Hunter and Landry on the phone. He'd been angry about the entire situation and had blamed his parents.

No, that wasn't right. Tasha would chastise him for even thinking that. He had been angry because he'd hoped they'd have gotten him out of it. He'd been angry because the judge had dated his mom back in the day and was still mad that she'd chosen his dad instead.

But the accident itself had been his fault, and he'd been mostly mad at himself. He hadn't wanted to talk to his parents because he was so ashamed of what he'd done, he couldn't face them.

When he'd finally processed those emotions, years had passed. By then, he wasn't sure how to bridge the distance between them on the phone. He'd decided to wait until he got out, clinging to his phone calls with Landry and Hunter to keep him grounded in life on the outside.

Now that he was out, there was an uneasy tension between him and his parents. They didn't want him to do anything on the ranch that any other ranch hand couldn't handle.

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