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"So, what's going on with all the phone calls?" she asked Joel when they were alone.
"Company politics and bidding problems on the north shore proposal. That was my father on the phone. He gave me the reins to his company, but he keeps trying to take them back. He wants me to be him, but I'm not him."
Hearing the frustration in his voice, she felt sympathy. "I understand. That's a little how it was with my café, although on a completely smaller scale. But Kevin's parents ran the restaurant for twenty years, and when I started taking over, they couldn't help themselves when it came to giving me advice. Eventually, they found other things to focus on, and realized I was doing a good job. Finally, they could step back and trust that their legacy would live on. Your dad just needs to get to that point, too."
"I don't know if he can. I keep waiting, but he gets worse, not better. My father has never had a lot of respect for me. Whatever I do, it's not good enough. Sometimes, I wonder if I wouldn't have been better off doing my own thing."
"What stopped you?"
"I've worked for the family firm off and on since I was a teenager. I was groomed to take over. And I wanted to be part of something that had been running successfully for three generations. I wanted to carry on the legacy of my father and grandfather. I just hadn't realized how big their shadows were."
As Joel continued talking about his company and his father's vision for his legacy, she couldn't help wondering how he could make Whisper Lake work as a home base. And even if that was his base, it sounded like he would still put in long hours and be in a constant state of company drama. She could only imagine how exhausting that would be. Did she want to be in the middle of that?
"Anyway," Joel said, bringing her attention back to him. "I didn't mean to dump all that on you. What's next?"
"I need to take Leo home for a nap. He's going to be exhausted after this morning."
"What about later? How about dinner tonight? Can you get a sitter?"
"Probably." She wished he'd suggested the date earlier, but she wanted to spend time with him when they weren't in a group or distracted by a four-year-old. "Let me text a few people and see. What time?"
"Any time that works for you."
"I'll see what I can come up with."
"Great. I'm going to take off now and tie up some loose ends before tonight. Does that sound good?"
"Yes," she said, as he gave her a warm kiss and then headed toward the parking lot.
As she turned toward the playground, she saw Decker carrying Leo.
"Someone got too tired to walk," Decker said dryly.
"It's nap time," she said, smiling at Leo's sleepy eyes. "I can take him."
"I'll carry him to your car. Where did Joel go?" Decker asked, as they walked toward the parking lot.
"He had some business to tie up."
"He's putting in a lot of hours."
"Yes, but we're going to have dinner tonight—if I can find a sitter. I'll have to see who's available since it's a holiday weekend. But it would be nice to spend some time with Joel."
"You should do that," Decker said evenly.
"What are your plans for this evening?"
"Probably go explore. Check out some of the other restaurants in town."
"Are there any places you remember going to with your dad?"
"No," he said shortly. "I have no memories of restaurants beyond the ice cream shack."
"Then you won't have to worry about being triggered."
He frowned. "We don't need to talk about that."
"Okay. You should try Atticus—it's a Greek restaurant on Third Avenue. It's very good. I also like Paolo's Trattoria if you like Italian."
