Gramps sipped his mug of coffee and rubbed the bristles on his chin. "I've enjoyed spending time with Troy. Not much at cleaning fish, but he sure catches 'em well enough."

Gramps winked at Troy.

"I'm serious, Dad," Troy's mom said. "I told Drew to leave us alone. I don't want him treating Troy like a yo-yo."

"Well," Gramps said softly. "It's a tough thing Troy's been through. Oh, I know you've done everything a mom could do, Tessa; and I guess I have, too. But it's different, a boy and his dad."

"See, Mom?" Troy said, excited at the direction in which things were headed.

"Still," Gramps said, turning his blazing eyes on Troy, "your mom has a point. You're at that in-between time of life, Troy. You're not a kid anymore, but you're not quite a man. It's a hard time, and I think maybe, if your dad really means what he says, well, when you're a man he'll still be there, and the two of you can get acquainted and see where it goes. Jumping in on the parent wagon at this point doesn't do anyone much good."

"Gramps," Troy said, standing so fast that his chair fell over, "I can't believe you're taking her side. I took off last night, and I should have stayed gone."

CHAPTER NINE

" HEY, MISTER," HIS MOM said, raising her voice and banging her mug so that coffee splashed out onto the tabletop. "I thought we were over that. I let it slide; now you're tossing it in my face?"

"What am I tossing?" Troy said, bending to flip the chair upright before backing away toward his bedroom. "I've always dreamed I had a dad. I knew he was out there, somewhere. Now he found me. Do you know how good that feels?"

"For now," she said, standing up. "For the moment."

"Why? Why just for the moment?" Troy asked.

"Because I know him, Troy," she said, her hands clasped and her voice almost pleading. "You don't. You saw him pull up in a hundred-thousand-dollar car with a fancy pair of cowboy boots. I know who he is, and I know what he did-to both of us."