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I giggled. “I do have great taste.” Eileen came jogging up to me, her paws tapping against the wood. “Hold on, girly,” I said, setting my pan down on the patio table. Then I bent, scratching her behind her ears just like she liked. “Who’s a good girl? It’s you!”

Dad said, “Gonna spoil her.”

“More than the man who is about to make her a separate plate tonight with cut up bits of steak?”

His cheeks heated slightly as he set the spatula down and then closed the lid on the grill. “Oh hush. And then tell me you brought cheesy potatoes.”

I peeled back the foil to show him what I’d made, and he bent his knees, throwing his head back, and hooting at the sky.

Eileen barked too, and I shook my head at the pair. “Incorrigible.”

Dad laughed. “Want a beer?”

“Yes, please.”

He went into the house, grabbing one, then came back out on the deck with me, sitting at the table. Eileen lay on the egg chair he got specifically for her.

“How’s the electrical stuff going?” I asked him as I sipped on my drink. “Everything working like a charm now?”

Dad frowned. “It cost a little more than I was expecting.”

I frowned. “How much more?”

He shook his head. “Not for you to worry about, sweetheart. But we’ll be having bean burgers on the grill for a while instead of beef. Now, tell me about the salon. How are things there?”

I gave him a long look. He looked older than he had even a month ago. Had I missed something?

“Tell me about work, Mags,” he said.

I wanted to press more, ask him if he needed help financially, but I couldn’t really afford much either. All my money was going to the down payment for a salon. The banker said since I didn’t have collateral like a house or a newer car, I would have to pay more up front or forget my dream of owning a salon.

Letting out a sigh, I said, “It’s been busy, which you know I like. But I’ve had less time to really settle back into Cottonwood Falls.” I shrugged. “And I’m still trying to come up with a service project because Rhonda wants to make sure I’m giving back to the community.”

“You’re coaching that softball team with Rhett. Shoot, they should be paying you for putting up with him.”

I looked down at my hands, thinking I should paint my nails when I got home. “Rhett hasn’t been so bad.”

Dad was quiet, and when I looked up, he had an eyebrow raised. “’Not that bad’? He completely wrecked your heart and was sleeping around this town the day after and every day since like you didn’t mean a damn thing to him.”

Each word put more of an ache to my chest. Dad and I usually stayed away from the topic of Rhett, especially since it had been so many years, but Dad didn’t let go of people hurting me.

“It’s been a long time, Dad.”

He shook his head. “The sooner this softball season is over and you don’t have to spend time with him, the better I’ll feel.”

Never mind the fact that Cam’s majorly crushing on his bestie and that I might be crushing on Rhett again too.

But what I didn’t tell him wouldn’t hurt him, right?

Dad stood up, going to the grill and putting burgers onto a plate. After setting the meat on the table, he went inside and brought back out a plate with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles. He held the ketchup and mustard under his arm.

I began dishing potatoes onto my plate while he dressed his bean burger. For the rest of dinner, we chatted about an audiobook series he was listening to during his drives, and then he casually slipped in, “Your mom called me yesterday.”

I nearly choked on what little was left of my burger. “What?”

He nodded. “Apparently she set up a new life insurance policy and wanted to list you as the beneficiary. Needed your social.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Did you tell her to go to hell?”