Wayward Son (Jensen Family #3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

eyes full of regret as he looked his son in the ey e. “Go home Gavin. We’ll talk when we get back.” He
released his son’s shirt and stepped back.
    “I’m sorry dad. I never meant to hurt her.”
    “I know. Go home.”
    Although tired and quite sore, Suzanne decided it would be best if she
refereed the conversation b etween Paul and Gavin
later that evening. She had to hand it to the younger Jensen, he was sincerely
contrite and promised to try harder at keeping a lid on his temper. He also
agree d to extensive
anger management counselling which would require him stayin g in a group home for a few weekends.
    Agreeing that he thought some space would be good, Gavin hid his dismay.
He wasn’t sure separation from Paul would be a good thing. They were beginning
to communicate and although he hadn’t admitted it, he loved the ma n. Paul had shocked him when he’d pushed him back against
the wall but he hadn’t been afraid. Even if Paul had struck him which Gavin
believed was something he would never do, he knew with pain came anger and he
would have reacted. Maybe he should focus on working
on that.
    Regardless of having to spend weekends away, things were looking up. He
had been accepted, albeit under strict guidelines, into the college of Paul’s
choice and he had a part time job at the local leisure centre. He was surprised
that he’ d gotten the job given his propensity for
violence but the manager had said she’d give him a go. He was currently having
training and loving every second of it.
    He found his calmer demeanour did him lots of favours. Life at home was
becoming more settled and he enjoyed the easy banter
Paul shared with Suzanne. He was beginning to see that the relationship between
his parents had never been as good as the one Paul shared with Suzanne and
silently vowed to keep more of an open mind the next time the subject was raised.
    The damage to his room had been repaired on one weekend when he was in
the group home and although he’d withdrawn some money from his bank account and
handed it to his father to pay for the furniture he’d smashed, he soon realised
on checking t he balance that the money had been
returned to his account.
    He’d talked about his mother extensively in his group sessions. Strange
how easy it was to open up to a group of complete strangers. It had helped but
it also served to deepen the pit inside him a s
talking about her only made him miss her more.
    Slowly, thanks to his new job, he was beginning to make friends. He found
Paul was incredibly flexible when it came to things like having friends over
and the latest time to be home. He was far more lenient than Carmen had been. Gavin appreciated his, you have a phone, keep in
touch with me ethic and discovered if he checked in with Paul regularly, he
could more or less stay out as late as he liked.
    As the start of the new school term drew nearer, there was talk of getting Gavin a car. The college wasn’t an easy
walk from the house and the busses were notoriously unreliable. Paul had
started to look for something suitable for his son. They had finally hit common
ground and spent hours discussing cars.
    “Have y ou found anything?” Paul leant over
Gavin’s shoulder as the boy trawled through car sites on the internet.
    “Not yet. I know what I want but haven’t found the right variant yet.”
    Pulling up another desk chair, Paul sat beside him, watching his son
flick bet ween websites. Clearing his throat, he slid
a cheque onto the keyboard. “Gavin, this is the money from the sale of the
house. Your mother wanted you to have it. You can spend it o r if you want or I can put it in a high interest account for a rainy day.”
    Ru nning a finger over the cheque, wow that was
a lot of money, Gavin felt a deep pang of grief. God he missed his mother. “How
come I get it?” He asked.
    “It’s what was specified in the will and it’s not like I need the money.
Even if it had been left to me, I would have given