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“You met the new owner already?”

I nodded, trying not to think about Hayden for too long.

“Do you like her?”

I mentally tripped over his innocent question, reminding myself that Dad was asking out of concern for me.

And definitely not because I thought Hayden was hot.

“I don’t have anything against her personally,” I hedged, shifting in my seat.

“Ah, you don’t like her.”

“I didn’t say that,” I insisted, trying to keep the petulant tone out of my voice. “She’s difficult to work with.”

“What makes her so difficult to work with?”

“She wants to change everything, Dad,” I finally admitted. I hadn’t realized how much I needed a little bit of support, how frazzled I’d become. “And it’syourstore, I don’t care that you sold it. That’s where I grew up and I don’t want it to become this giant storefront that cares more about sales than it does about people.”

“Do you really think that she’s going to do that?” he asked, a small dent forming between his thick brows.

“I’m scared that she will,” I confessed, my shoulders drooping. “I don’t even know half of the changes she wants to implement. What if she lets the whole team go and replaces us with a bunch of money-hungry salespeople?”

“Then we would have served our community for many years, and done our best each and every day,” he said consolingly. “I know how much the store means to you, but sometimes we have to let things go.”

“That was the lousiest pep talk ever.”

Dad threw his head and barked a short laugh, his hand on his belly. “Come on, you little grump.” He chuckled, nodding at the open ward. “Let’s go see your mom.”

With a huff, I followed him into the ward, my eyes snapping to the bed at the very end of the large room near the window.

Mom turned to look at the door and her smile widened. She waved at us and I all but collapsed into her hug.

“I miss you,” I murmured, pulling away to kiss her cheek.

“You and your dad are the same person,” she tutted with a giggle. “Always worried about others when you should be taking care of yourselves.”

I glanced at Dad, who stuck his tongue out at me from behind Mom. I rolled my eyes.

“How areyoufeeling?” I pressed, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. She lay her hand atop mine with a smile. “What did the doctor say?”

“Oh, you know I’m hopeless when it comes to understanding their language.” She sighed. “He came in talking about tests for pulmonary disease and I just smiled and nodded.”

“Mom, I’m being serious!”

“So am I, sweetheart.” She chuckled. “But he seems happy with my recovery, so it’s all we can ask for right now.”

I frowned, my bottom lip jutting out.

“How is the store?” she asked, and my eyes flicked to Dad’s face and back to hers.

“It’s going,” I assured her. “What you need to focus on right now is recovery. Get as much rest as you can and let me handle everything else, okay? Someone needs to eat Dad’s cooking.”

“I miss it,” she grumbled. “The hospital food they have me eating tastes like unseasoned rubber.”

“Dad’s skills are one of a kind.”

Dad beamed at the both of us, the lines around his eyes crinkling with joy.