Page 38 of The Maverick’s Legacy

Jesse looked away guiltily. “He told you, right? That the football team is going to their district game next weekend. They’ll be spending the night in a hotel. Oscar wants to go.”

“He told me,” Carly confirmed. “You’re worried.”

The side of Jesse’s mouth quirked up. “He’s never spent the night with someone who wasn’t family. I can’t go because Grayson and I managed to screw up the HVAC install, and a professional is coming out to take a look at it, but they can only get to the ranch Saturday morning. I need to be on hand. Coach Finn assured me that he’d keep an eye on him, and he’s been really good with Oscar so far, especially when he gets overstimulated, but what if it becomes too much? We’re talking about a football stadium where the college a few towns over plays. That’s a big crowd and a lot of screaming. What if it’s too much for Oscar?”

“Have you talked to his school counselors? Teachers? Did any of them have any advice?”

“I talked to the counselor. He specializes in autism, and he seemed to think that Oscar would do all right as long as he wears his headphones.”

“So…”

“It’s still far away.”

Carly looked at Jesse sadly. “I know you’re worried, but I think Oscar really needs this. He loves you—I know he does—but do you ever think that maybe you’re not giving him enough space to figure things out on his own and it’s making him resentful?”

Jesse stiffened. “It’s my job to protect him.”

Carly’s palms went to her hips. “I’m just saying he’ll be in good hands if you let him go. The school has assured you of this. Let him live a little. Worst case scenario, my cousin Remi and Shane are going to the game. I can ask them to keep an eye on Oscar, and if things get bad, they can always bring him home.”

A muscle ticked in Jesse’s jaw before he said stiffly, “You think they’d do that for him?”

“I know they would,” she responded.

Jesse nodded before glancing back at the closed door of the house. He lost some of his rigidness as he let out a deep sigh. “I’ll think about it.”

He took a step toward Carly and brushed his lips lightly against hers. “Thanks for driving Oscar home. I should go talk to him. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay.” She squeezed his arm before he left.

Carly felt uneasy as she got back into her car. She hated the tension between father and son. But as much as she probably shouldn’t have, she didn’t regret speaking up on Oscar’s behalf. For so long growing up, she’d felt helpless—like she didn’t have any control over her own life. She hated that Oscar might even remotely feel like she had. He’d made it more than clear on multiple occasions that he resented his father’s hovering.

Carly cared for Jesse. Deeply. And because of that, she worried that if he didn’t loosen the reins a little on his son, he might end up losing the one person he loved the most.

Chapter Fourteen

A couple of days later, Jesse picked Oscar up from school. His son scowled when he saw him, but hopped into his truck.

“Are you making sure that I don’t walk home again?” Oscar said, slouching in the seat.

Jesse counted to ten before he answered. “I thought we could work on the house this evening.”

Oscar turned his head away to look out the window. “I’m surprised you trust me with a paintbrush.”

Jesse put the truck in Drive. “Of course, I trust you.”

“Then why won’t you let me go on the trip this weekend?”

Jesse gritted his teeth. They had been having this argument for the past few days.

“I trust you,” Jesse repeated. “But what if the crowd will be too much—”

“Carly said her cousin and her fiancée will be there, didn’t she? If it gets to be too much, I’ll ask them to bring me home. Or I’ll let Coach Finn know.”

Jesse really regretted Oscar overhearing him tell Grayson that Carly had offered her cousin’s services. Oscar had been relentless about his request to go with the team ever since. The thing was no one saw how bad his son could get because he wasn’t severely autistic. Jesse had and he worried that despite all the reassurances, they wouldn’t be able to handle him. Oscar was already struggling with making friends in school. In a town as small as Tenacity, it’d break Jesse’s heart if Oscar was ostracized.

“Let’s focus on the house today, okay?” he practically pleaded.

Oscar didn’t answer or say anything else for the rest of the drive. One of Oscar’s favorite songs from his childhood came on the radio. He used to hum to it loudly from the back seat when he was a kid. Now there was nothing but the sound of the beat competing with the crunch of the dirt road under their tires.