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“I'll take a pint of the house draft,” I replied.
“Same.” My dad nodded.
Gracie smiled between us. “Like father, like son.”
My dad winked at her as she hurried away.
“You just can't not flirt,” I commented dryly.
He winked at me. “I've known Gracie since she was in diapers. That wasn’t flirting.”
Just then, Rex Masters paused by the table with his wife, Georgia.
“Hey, Rex,” my dad said.
I smiled up at him. “Good to see you, Rex. How's it going, Georgia?”
Her eyes twinkled with her smile. “Pretty good.”
“Having a father-son dinner?” Rex asked.
I felt a little twist in my heart. Ever since I’d learned the truth about my family, it felt as if someone had shafted a thin knife in my heart. Not deep enough to kill me, just deep enough to hurt like hell.
My dad and I usually had dinner every other week or so. It wasn't a hard and fast schedule. We’d always had a tight relationship. My father hadn’t even known the truth either, and it didn’t bother him. He didn't even give a damn. He’d asked more than once, “Why does it change anything? I'm your father in every way that matters.”
It explained a lot about my mom. But then again, maybe not really. It wasn't as if her lying was a shock. She went through most of her life lying and charming.
“Yep,” my dad was saying. “Just like you and Cade.”
Cade and I had grown up together. With his father the police chief in Willow Brook and Cade one of the superintendents on one of the hotshot crews at Willow Brook Fire & Rescue, I saw them both almost daily.
“How's your grandbaby?” my dad asked.
A wide smile cracked across Rex's face. “Right as rain.”
“Being a grandpa suits him,” Georgia said.
“Well, doesn't being a grandma suit you?” my dad teased.
She smiled warmly. “Sure does. It's the best of both worlds. We get to fuss over them, love them, and spoil them, but we also get to sleep through the night.”
My dad chuckled, and I thought about the fact that he was going to love being a granddad.
“Well, we're heading home,” Rex commented. “Just stopped to say hi. Good to see you two.”
“Same. You coming to cards this week?” my dad asked.
Rex nodded. “You bet.”
An older group of men in town had been playing cards together for decades. They alternated locations and kept the betting pool low. “Next Wednesday, right?” Rex prompted.
“You got it. My place,” my dad replied.
At that, Rex and Georgia waved and started walking, pausing again to greet somebody at another table. A few minutes later, after our beers had been served, I took a breath, deciding to just dive right in.
“Well, Dad, on the topic of being a grandparent,” I began.
My dad's brows hitched up. “Yeah?”
