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“It’s been a while since I’ve been home,” I acknowledged. “I know. I’ve been busy, but that’s no excuse.”
“Your mother is getting older, you know.”
I sucked in air between my teeth. “Yeah. As are you.”
“I’ve been holding on to being mayor because it was familiar and brings me joy. I’ve brought up at meetings the possibility of putting term limits back in place.” My father rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. I’d never seen my father with so much as a single errant whisker. “That was stricken from the bylaws so many years ago that no one even considers it anymore, but it could be done.”
“Seriously? You want term limits? Since when?”
“I can change, Clint.”
I lifted my eyebrows and said nothing. With my hour of reckoning at hand, I no longer had much at all to say.
But I could still smell the bacon cooking. And oddly enough, I heard no fighting outside the bedroom. Maybe peace had been restored temporarily across the land.
Hopefully that detente included clothes for all.
“The fact remains, no one will run because they believe Hausers have led Clintondale as it should be led since the beginning. The constituents appreciate that continuity in leadership. But if my choice is being selfish and not allowing my son to take his rightful spot—if the public finds him worthy, that is—then the answer is clear.”
Must be I was not yet clear-headed after all. “It is?”
“Yes. I will step down so you can stop running yourself ragged in service to pets. Instead, you can serve the good people of Clintondale.”
Guess just a few hours’ sleep wasn’t enough to be lucid. Got it.
“Oh. Right. How did I miss that?” I set Charise beside me on the bed. She immediately toddled to the edge and would have tumbled off if I hadn’t quickly blocked her in with pillows.
Then I faced my father squarely. Time to rip off the Band-Aid once and for all.
“Dad, I don’t want to be mayor. I never wanted to be mayor. I would be the world’s worst mayor and would tarnish your sterling legacy beyond repair.” I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry.”
He turned toward me and raked a hand through his hair. “Since when?”
“Since always.”
“But you never said. Whenever I brought the subject up, you always nodded and agreed with me. I thought you were just biding time until I stepped back.”
“I moved away, Dad. I’m a vet. Does that seem like biding time to you?”
“But you left the profession for a while. I almost stepped down then but you assured me it was fine to take my time—” He shut his eyes. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me? You’ve never beat around the bush in any other area of your life, why with something so important?”
“I didn’t want to disappoint you.” I dug the heels of my hands into my gritty eyes. “I knew you had this big eldest-son-carrying-on-the-tradition fantasy going, and I didn’t want to have to tell you it was never going to happen.”
“So you just let me believe it. Meanwhile, you distanced yourself from me and your mother.”
“I was a coward.”
“Son, I may not always agree with you and your choices, but the last thing you are is a coward. You looked the worst I’ve ever seen you this morning, and Kitty tells me this isn’t unusual for you, that you keep a bag in your car so you can sleep at the clinic if need be. So don’t you dare refer to my son as a coward.” He reached forward and dragged me in for a tight hug it took me a long moment to reciprocate.
Then he clapped me on the back and eased away. “Thank you for your honesty. How do you feel about Theo moving up in the line?”
“What line?” I felt as if I was losing IQ points by the second. What was happening?
I looked down at myself. And was I really having this big discussion with my father I’d stressed over for years in my boxers?
