Page 5

She didn’t finish her sentence, and Cass shifted slightly so he could see her face. She was looking straight ahead, toward the TV, but her eyes were glistening, wet with unshed tears.

He hated seeing her upset, but he knew there wasn’t a whole lot he could do to reassure her. He’d try anyway. He squeezed her shoulder gently and leaned over to press a light kiss to her temple. “I’m plenty happy, ma. And I love you very much.”

She closed her eyes, and if not for the hint of tension he could make out in her jaw, he might have thought she’d fallen asleep. But then the right side of her mouth twitched up in a small smile.

“You’re my sunshine, Caspian. I love you too.”

He swallowed hard and let the words buoy him as they always did. And he allowed himself to linger there, sitting with his mother, for another few minutes. Then, when she seemed settled and content again, he excused himself to go reset the router so he could finish his grad school application.

Cass finished putting away the last of the dishes just as he heard the front door open and his dad’s heavy footsteps enter. He glanced at the clock on the microwave and frowned.

“Ten thirty tonight, Dad? They’re not giving you a break this week, are they?” he said, turning around as his dad shuffled to a stop in the doorway to the kitchen.

His dad’s eyes were tired, and the older man nodded but didn’t otherwise respond. Cass forced a tight smile and motioned to the kitchen table.

“Here, sit. I made stuffed pepper soup. I’ll heat some up for you. Mom’s asleep already, but she said to tell you good night and she loves you. And . . .” Cass let his ramble trail off. His dad still stood in the doorway, staring at the ground. His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets, and his shoulders were hunched. “Dad?”

The silence that filled the room felt more than uncomfortable, and Cass wasn’t entirely sure why. Finally, his father looked up, his deep-brown eyes troubled.

“Sorry, Caspian, that sounds good. Damn good, actually. I appreciate it,” he said, offering Cass a small smile. He ran a hand through his graying hair and blew out a long breath. “Sorry, it was a long day, and I knew you were here with your mom, but I don’t like being gone all day like that and not being home on time for dinner and to help get her into bed and everything.”

Cass gave his dad a small nod and motioned again to the table. “She had a good day today,” he started as his dad moved to take a seat. Cass turned to the fridge and took out a large Tupperware filled with the soup he’d cooked earlier in the day. “It was warm enough that I was able to take her to Turtle Bay, and she really enjoyed that.”

He kept talking as he portioned out and heated a bowl of soup for his dad, explaining all about his mom’s day. He focused on the good—especially how her speech was so much clearer and how she seemed to be more articulate today. But he also had to mention how tired she’d been and how much she’d struggled with some of her physical therapy exercises they’d worked on together later in the day. He couldn’t hide stuff like that since they all needed to be on the same page with regard to her care and recovery, even though sometimes he wished he could.

He hated seeing the worry in his dad’s eyes as much as he hated seeing his mom upset. But he knew being worried was sort of part of his dad’s job description.

“She wants to make you breakfast tomorrow morning,” Cass said after he’d finished all of his updates and answered all of his dad’s questions about the day. His dad raised his eyebrows with a skeptical look, and Cass shrugged. “She said pancakes and eggs should be easy enough? Although, I think she’ll need help with—”

“—the mixing, at least.”

“Yeah,” Cass agreed, and he stood and picked up his dad’s now-empty soup bowl to move it to the sink. “So I’ll get everything out for her before I leave. I have that meeting with Mr. Peterson at the library so he can write one of my letters of recommendation. That’s not going to be a problem, right?”

He half expected his dad to question it or ask him to reschedule or something, and that wasn’t because his dad didn’t support his decision to apply to grad school but because he knew how much his dad was always so overwhelmed with everything—juggling all the long hours he put in at the power plant where he worked and still trying to make it to all of his mom’s doctor’s visits and therapy sessions. It was a lot.

So Cass was surprised when he glanced over his shoulder to see his dad shaking his head.

“No, of course not. Not a problem at all.” There was a glint of pride, maybe, in his dad’s eyes, and it wasn’t something Cass saw very often.

He pursed his lips and nodded slowly. “Thanks, Dad.”

His dad looked ready to say something else, his expression thoughtful if not a little troubled, but instead, he just gave Cass a small nod. “I’m gonna turn in. You’ll be back before ten tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“’Kay. Thanks for dinner.”

Cass felt a strange tightness in his chest as he watched his dad stand stiffly and push his chair in. And when his dad looked up at him a moment later, that thoughtful, troubled expression had morphed into something just a little softer. Cass gave his dad a tight smile. “Tomorrow is chicken potpie. Your favorite,” he said, trying to inject some cheerfulness into his voice.

His dad’s tired laugh caught Cass off guard, and he found himself smiling again.

“Ah, you really are the best, kiddo. I’m not sure what I’d have done these last few months without you,” his dad said, and then he opened up one arm and motioned to Cass. “C’mere. Your old man needs a hug.”

Something tugged at Cass’s heart, and it wasn’t that they didn’t ever hug or that his dad didn’t ever really thank him or praise him. But something just felt good in that moment, and he found himself nodding and blinking back tears as he crossed the small kitchen. His dad was a hulk of a man—six foot three to Cass’s respectable six feet, with broad shoulders and a solid build—and Cass felt swallowed up in his hug when the older man’s strong arms pulled Cass against his chest.

His dad didn’t say anything more, but the silence was much more comfortable now, and Cass let himself relax into his father’s hug, not in any hurry to move. It was several long moments before his dad straightened up, gave Cass another tired smile, and then tipped his head toward the entrance to the kitchen.

“I should go check on your mom and get to bed,” he said, and after Cass nodded briefly, his dad turned and disappeared out of the kitchen and down the hallway.