He shook his head. “I never came out to my dad. Didn’t seem to be a reason to. If I’d met someone—” He eyed me. “If I’d met someone else… Well, I might’ve. But he was a traditionalist. Set in his ways. Why upset the proverbial applecart?”
“And after he died?”
A careless shrug. “Didn’t seem to be much point to looking. I had a good life. I was fulfilled in other ways. The farm’s paid for. Only problem is that I don’t have anyone to leave it to,you know? No one as a legacy. I suppose when I get closer to retirement, I’ll look at selling to someone keen. There’s a young woman at the neighboring farm. Her brother’s set to inherit the family’s cow farm. He’s a strong young man with a good head on his shoulders. But those two don’t always get along. I can’t see them working side-by-side with him being the owner. She’s planning to study agriculture at the university in the fall.”
I cocked my head. “The university in Abbotsford?”
He nodded.
“Well, that’ll be a shit ton less expensive than what Adele has planned. The University of Waterloo. Four-year undergrad degree in science and then the School of Optometry.”
He whistled. “That’s going to cost a fortune.”
“Yeah.” I scratched my stubbled chin. “I figure I’ll mortgage the house. It’s not like I have anything else to do with it.”Or you can take Yvonne up on her generous offer and let her pay for Adele’s schooling.
“Well, living without having to pay a mortgage might be nice.” He held my gaze. “You’re going to miss her, aren’t you?”
“She’s been my entire world for seventeen years.”
“No men?”
“I’ve got your food.” Sarabeth held out plates.
We both pushed our shakes to the side so she could put them down.
“Ketchup’s on the table. Don’t know why you’d want it, but there it is. You folks need anything else?”
“I think we’re good.” I offered her my best smile. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” She sashayed off. For someone so young—barely twenty-three—she had a great deal of confidence.
Jarrod cut a piece of his omelet. “I can’t wait.”
I eyed my burger. “Neither can I.” Still, I started by popping a fry into my mouth. “Holy crap.” I took a long drink of water. “How did I forget how hot these are?”
He grinned. “You always did prefer food on the tepid side.” He put a large forkful of eggs into his mouth.
I rolled my eyes. “And you prefer fire-engine hot with both spice and temperature. Yeah, some things never change.” I grabbed a knife to cut my burger in half. No way was I going to try to eat the monstrosity without cutting it down to size. “You know, Fifties makes the best burgers in Mission City.”
He swallowed. “Best in Cedar Valley—but I still don’t make it out this way too often.”
“Yeah, that’s fair.”
“I could be persuaded to visit more often—if given the right inducement.”
My cock perked up in interest. But I owed him honesty. “There’ve been a few guys over the years. Okay, like quite a few. Never at home, though. And Adele’s never met any of them.”Because I never cared for any of them the way I cared for you.
“Seventeen years is a long time to hide who you are.”
I laughed. “Oh, Adele knows exactly who I am. She loves that her dad’s gay. She keeps trying to set me up with any eligible guy who might even vaguely swing my way.”
“And never succeeded?”
“Nope. She doesn’t know I have a soft spot for leather daddies.”
He held my gaze, his eyes wide.
I laughed. “That’s what I told Shaw. Who told Damien. There are a few leather daddies around, but none have expressed any interest in me.”
