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Dad beckons me forward into a hug. When I embrace him, I can feel his bones through his suit. “You remember Joshua,” he says, stepping back.
“Yes. Hi,” I say to the man standing next to him. Joshua Lansbury has been working for Dad for a decade now. He’s tall and good-looking, with wavy dark-blond hair and straight, white teeth. His suits always look impeccable and well-tailored. I don’t know anything about menswear, but they have to be expensive. Today he’s wearing a light gray suit and a dark blue tie with a starburst pattern in a lighter blue that matches his eyes.
“Hello,” he says, flashing me a charming smile. ‘To what do we owe the honor of your presence, Aurora?”
“I go by Rory now,’ I reply, smiling back. “Dad has been asking me to come visit for a while now. I thought it would be more fun if I surprised him.”
“You should have said something, Aurora,” Dad chides me, frowning. “Did you just get into town? I’ll call the house and have a room made up for you.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I’m staying with a friend,” I lie. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Nonsense,” he says, cutting me off. “It’s ridiculous for you to stay anywhere else. It’s just the two of us rattling around in that house. You’ll have a whole wing to yourself.” He peers at me. “I know you don’t like Stephanie. You won’t have to see her if you don’t want to.”
I blink, taken aback by his bluntness. Dad never talks like this. In fact, as far back as I can remember, he has never acknowledged that there would be any reason at all for me to dislike his second wife. I never thought he even thought about the situation enough to care whether or not I did.
Dad turns to Joshua now. “Joshua, change of plans. I’m having lunch with my daughter. Go back to the office and have Tonette call Stephanie to prepare Aurora’s old room.”
Joshua hesitates for just a split-second before giving my father a brief nod. “Should I have a car sent back to pick you up?”
“My daughter can drive me back,” Dad answers, look at me for confirmation.
“If you don’t mind riding in my wreck of a car,” I shrug.
“Go now,” Dad tells Joshua brusquely. It might be my imagination but I think I see a flash of irritation on Joshua’s face, though if so, it’s gone as quickly as it comes. He says his goodbyes to both of us. “I do hope I’ll have the pleasure of seeing you again soon, Aurora.”
“Rory.”
He nods. “Right. Rory.”
Joshua leaves and I take a seat next to my father, who signals to a waiter. “Please cancel his order,” he says, waving to the empty chair where Joshua was sitting, “and bring my daughter a menu.”
“No need,” I say. “Can I just get a chicken Caesar salad? And just water to drink.” The waiter moves away.
“So.” Dad shifts in his chair. Am I imagining it, or is he having trouble getting comfortable? “You decided to surprise me, eh?”
“It was kind of a spur of the moment decision to come.”
“Where are you living, now? Still in Indiana with your mother? How is she? Doing all right?”
I didn’t expect him to ask me about Mom. He usually doesn’t.
“She’s fine,” I answer, and close my mouth so I won’t elaborate. Her life is none of his business.
“What are you doing for work these days?” he asks.
“I’m, uh, between jobs.”
His face curls into a frown of disapproval, which makes my insides churn. I resist the urge to make excuses. But then, to my surprise, he gives me a grudging smile. “Well, that will make things easier in one way, I suppose. Less baggage, as they say.”
“What do you mean?”
He eyes me. “I’d like you to come back to Ironwood to work for me.”
I blink at him. “What?”
The waiter returns to the table with our lunch orders. He sets my salad down in front of me, and a fish entree in front of my father. When he moves away, Dad turns to me.
“Aurora, I have stomach cancer. Second time around. The first time, the chemo and radiation damn near killed me. I’m not going through that again.”
