“Your mother and I have tried to give you space,” Dad said carefully. “We let you go off to Toronto on your own, despite our reservations, because it was building toward something. Now you’re telling us the direction is gone and you still don’t want to come home.”
“Dad, I love and respect you both but listen to what you just said. You let me go? You’re proving my point.”
Eric shifted against the doorframe, arms crossed, jaw working. He was biting back whatever he wanted to say. Hell, I could practically hear his teeth grinding.
“Caleb, this is ridiculous.” Mom’s voice rose. “You have no plan, no job. What are you going to do at Chantel’s that you can’t do here?”
“Breathe.”
The word hung in the air between us. Mom’s mouth opened, then closed. Dad’s hand found her hand. Across the room, Jamie wiped at her eyes and looked away.
“I’m not rejecting you.” Fuck, why was it so hard to explain this? “And I’m not saying you did anything wrong. But I need to figure out what comes next. On my own.”
In the silence, my heartbeat slammed against my ribs.
Until finally, Dad broke it. “We just want to know you’re not giving up.”
“Giving up? You know I’d never do that.” I held his gaze. “This is just a recalibration. I might not have a detailed plan yet, but I’ll figure it out. Just give me some time.”
The furrow in Mom’s brow was still tight. “And what will you do while you’re figuring it out?”
“I’ll find a job. I’ll keep busy. And if anything goes sideways, I’m living with the toughest doctor in the province. Pretty sure she’d have me stabilized before the ambulance even got the call.”
The corner of Dad’s mouth twitched. “Don’t be a smart-ass, son. It’s not all that endearing.”
“I’ll check in. I’ll come for dinner. I’ll answer my phone when Mom calls at eight in the morning on a Saturday.” I looked at her. “Which I know you will.”
“Fine.” She pressed her lips together, fighting a smile she didn’t want to give me. “But I expect you to be making a real plan. Not just partying at Zane’s.”
Well, someone has a big fucking mouth.
“I promise once I figure out what I’m doing with my life, you’ll be the first to know.”
Dad smiled, and I could see something that looked like pride fighting through the worry in his eyes.
“Okay, problem solved.” Eric straightened. “Caleb, give me a hand in the kitchen.”
I followed him, mentally bracing for whatever lecture he was about to deliver. He’d been too fucking quiet with Mom and Dad, which meant whatever he had to say wasn’t fit for their consumption.
The second we were alone he spun on me. “Tell me what’s really going on.”
“I told you?—”
“Come on,” he interrupted. “I know there’s something more to this story. Something you’re not telling us. You’re not acting like yourself.”
“I’m never myself around Mom and Dad. I’m always putting on a show, and I’m tired of it.”
“For fuck’s sake, you little shit. Tell me what the real fucking problem is now, or I swear to Christ…” Only Eric could say I love you with unspoken threats of bodily harm and a string of F-bombs.
He really was my hero. Not because he cared for me like I was one of his kids or because he loved me unconditionally. Not even because he’d put his own life on hold to help save mine. It was the honest way he treated me—there wasn’t an ounce of bullshit between us.
“I met a woman,” I said, my grin giving me away.
The pinch between his brows faded. “Another one?”
“No, this one’s different. She’s beautiful, funny, and incredibly bold. And she kissed me.”
His hand landed on my shoulder, squeezed, then fell away. “That’s fantastic, but please don’t tell me you quit school so you could move closer to a pretty girl.”
