A Thousand Miles

Part 39

"Running this company wasn't my first choice, either," he said.

That was an unexpected revelation. "What was your first choice?"

A wistful smile emerged to illuminate his features in a new way. JoLynn smiled too, suddenly fascinated by a side of her father she'd never seen before.

"I guess my first choice would have been full time student. Forever. I just had a love for the subject matter. Especially Texas history. After I graduated from college, I was deciding which graduate school to apply to. And that's when your grandpa had his first heart attack." He turned to the window, pressing his fingertips to the glass absently. "I knew a little about the business, I'd worked here in some capacity since I was fourteen. So, I came home for the summer to help him keep things in order while he recovered."

"And you never left." JoLynn said softly.

Her dad turned from the window and smiled at her. "This became my first choice. As it turned out, I was fairly good at it. And this region's history is so intertwined with the oil business...I guess I started to look at working here as taking my place in history. Not a big place. But a place all the same."

JoLynn traced the pattern of lighter, inlaid wood on the surface of her desk. It had never occurred to her that this hadn't been his first choice. To her, he'd always been the embodiment of Travis Industries. This company was his whole life. But now...to hear him admit that it hadn't been his first choice, and by that admission giving credence to the fact that it hadn't been hers...now she knew he understood her hesitation to join the ranks here. He had always understood it. Maybe his impatience for her to give up Traveling Texas and join him here wasn't a lack of confidence in her abilities at all. Maybe it was just the opposite.

She swiveled her chair around until she was looking up at him. He appeared to examine something on the street outside, but JoLynn sensed he was really long lost in his own memories. She stood and crossed to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her with a smile, reaching out and taking her hands in his.

"I see you, JoLynn," he said.

Unexpected tears pricked her eyes.

"I've always seen you, and your strengths, although it may not seem to you as if I have. And today you may feel lost here amidst all the trappings of a big company. But you are strong and capable and independent. And it's only a matter of time before it clicks for you, like it did for me. And if it doesn't, you can go with my blessing and follow your heart somewhere else."

He drew her into an embrace.

It already was clicking. Her place was here, she'd begun to feel it even before she'd returned home. Though overwhelmed by the idea of her father's company today—standing here in the face of it, an undercurrent of excitement for a new journey had been turning her heart this direction for several days.

"I'm thinking that public relations might be a good place for you to start."

"Public relations?"

"You have a strong presence on screen, and you're a good writer. You have a natural way with people when you meet them for the first time. You'd be a beautiful face for the company. Goodness knows the public is probably tired of mine by now."

"You think so?"

"I know so." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then he released her. "But first, let's go check out the mail room. Maybe after that I'll treat you to a cup of coffee in the break room."

"Oooh, the mail room and the break room."

"Think you can handle all that in one morning?"

Yes. She smiled and nodded. She could handle this.

The phone in her pocket buzzed as it received a text. She retrieved it to see a photograph of Curtis, splattered with blue and orange paint, holding a paintball gun overhead like a conquering hero, and surrounded by a passel of paint splattered kids. JoLynn laughed, then showed the picture to her dad.

"It's Curtis."

Her father held the phone at arm's length and squinted. "Curtis, huh? With such an abundance of energy he should work in the oil field."

"He could do it." JoLynn said absently as she scrolled back a few messages, landing on Shane's I miss you.

Her heart grew heavy again. Mel and Curtis were happily installed in their new places. She was starting fresh after falling into the safety net of her family. And the new pieces of her life were already beginning to click—as her dad had put it. She read his message over again, imagining how his voice would sound if he were to call and say the words to her.

Yes. All the new pieces were clicking, except one.