Jarrod stifled a laugh.
“Oh yeah, you try turning off something you’ve done for, I dunno, their entire lives.”
A stillness overtook him.
Shit.“I’m sorry—that was insensitive of me.”
Adele plated the bacon on top of a couple of paper towels. She pressed another on top to soak up some of the grease. “For Dad’s cholesterol.” She put the plate on the table.
Jarrod eyed me.
“She’s joking. I had a physical a couple of months ago, and all’s good. Should I be paying closer attention to my diet? Probably.” I lifted the paper towel and offered the plate to him.
He held my gaze as he took two slices.
“You can have more than that.” Adele slid into her chair. “I pulled a few pieces when they were nice and cooked and let the rest burn to a crisp.”
“My favorite.” Still, I held Jarrod’s gaze.
“Glad to see some things don’t change.” He turned to Adele. “I’m mighty grateful. I prefer less blackened.”
“I thought you might. Not everyone loves charbroiled.”
“Hey.” I tried faux indignation. “You prefer it that way as well.”
“There’s no accounting for taste.” She rolled her eyes.
Jarrod smiled. “Well, then I doubly thank you for cooking them the way I like.”
Adele’s gaze softened. “I want you to be happy.” She eyed me. “Because you seem to make Dad happy. He was all stressed yesterday.”
I glared. “Not stressed—”
“You thought you’d have to pay for eight years of university—including a professional program.”
I winced.
She waved me off—as she often did. “Aunt Yvonne wants to come over tomorrow night so we can talk specifics. Her expectations of me, what she will and won’t pay for…all that stuff.”
Jarrod pressed his knee against mine.
“That would be lovely.” I offered a smile. Best I could do as I thought about someone else paying for my baby girl’s education.
“Plus, I’ve applied for a ton of scholarships and bursaries. Anything I might qualify for. And I’m working all summer at the pool. Oh…” Her eyes lit. “And if I get accepted into the co-op program at Waterloo, then I have a work semester between my school terms. It takes an extra year, but I’ll have work experience and extra money.”
I tried to absorb all that. “Is that program tougher to get into?”
“Yep.” She grinned. “Which means I just have to study harder. Are you going to be around this afternoon? I want to spread out on the dining room table.”
“I don’t see how whether or not I’m here affects your studying.”
“Caleb wants to come over, and it’ll be crowded if you and, uh—”
“Jarrod. You can call me Jarrod.”
She grinned. “If you and Jarrod are here.”
I wanted to make a comment about having a boy over while I wasn’t here. In confidence, though, she’d let me know Caleb was gay. Just not out because of his religious conservative family. He was always a respectful young man, so I certainly couldn’t argue on those grounds.
