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He agreed. “Tell me you’ll give me more than two weeks warning for your wedding.”

I laughed. “I promise. It’s moving that direction, but I think it’s still too soon for us to move in together.”

His eyebrows drew together. “Why would you move in when you have the rental?”

It struck me that so much had passed that I still hadn’t told him about losing the rental house. Cam’s wedding and reuniting with my mom seemed like such bigger topics. But I might as well ask now. “Our landlord is ending our lease early. Think I can stay in my old bedroom until I find a place?”

Now his lips pulled down. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Seriously?” I asked, confused. “I can chip in for groceries and stuff.”

“It’s not that.”

“You got the electric fixed, didn’t you?” I asked.

His frown grew deeper.

“Dad, what is it? You always said I was welcome at home.”

He glanced down. “It’s Cam’s night. Let’s just enjoy the music.”

“Dad, I can’t just enjoy the music now. I can tell something’s wrong. What’s going on?”

He shook his head, letting out a long breath. “It’s embarrassing to say.”

“Tell me,” I urged him, forgetting about the music altogether.

“The house is going into foreclosure.”

I covered my mouth, stepping back from him. “Foreclosure?How?”

He looked around, whispering, “Can we go outside to talk?”

“Please,” I said, needing an explanation and needing it now. I followed him outside to the front steps and around the side of the building, feeling everyone watching us on the way. But this couldn’t wait until tomorrow. “Dad,” I said when we had a semblance of privacy. “Tell me what’s going on.”

He shook his head, and I could feel the tightness in his voice as he spoke. “I lost one of my biggest contracts a couple months before you came home. I had to use up what little savings I had to keep the lights on while I looked for other options. And then the electrical issue came up, and I had to file a home insurance claim on it. I have a high deductible plan, so I had to miss a couple mortgage payments to cover it. And then the truck broke down, and I’ve had to pay that because insurance only covers collisions,andI’ve been out of work while it’s getting fixed. I’ve been hurting, but I didn’t want you to worry about it.”

Concern filled each of my veins as I took in my dad, looking so much older than I’d ever noticed. “But can’t you miss a mortgage payment or two?”

“I’ve missed six. The bank technically only had to give me four, but since I’ve been good this long, they let it slide. But I’m out of options, Mags. I either lose the house or sell my truck, and with it being in the shop, I don’t think I could sell it soon enough to make a difference, then there’s the issue of me getting another job since I’ve been out of work and they had to find another trucker...”

I could feel the ache, the worry gutting him from the inside out. He must have felt all alone, dealing with this while putting on a brave face for me. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He ran his hand through thinning hair. “I didn’t want to tell my daughter that her old man’s a failure.”

It was just that much of a reminder that even though I loved and looked up to my dad, he was still human. Things could come up and take you off the path you thought you were on in just a few months’ time.

“How much do you owe to get out of foreclosure?”

His brows furrowed. “Maggie, don’t you dare put your life on hold for me. I’m a grown man—I can figure it out.”

“I can’t let you be homeless, Dad,” I said, my voice breaking. “What other kind of job are you going to get with your back the way it is? Where would you rent?”

“Worst case scenario, I’ll sleep in my truck,” Dad replied. “Please, don’t worry about me.”

Frustration bubbled up in my chest. “Don’t worry about you?Dad, if you would have set your pride aside for a second, you could have told me, and we would have worked out a plan months ago. But instead, you kept it to yourself, and your house, the home I grew up in, is going to be taken away!”

“Mags...”