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“Yes. Of course. Have a good day,” I said, finally stepping away.

“You too, Chief.”

I hesitated, feeling slightly out of my depth. I’d had sex with this man, for fuck’s sake, and it had been amazing. I wished life were less complicated, but it wasn’t. I wished it was easy for me to ask a man out for dinner without worrying about the town speculating on my personal business and how it affected my kids or my parents…or my ex. But it wasn’t.

Too bad ’cause I really liked this guy.

CHAPTER 11

REG

Cooper listened to my recent scare with my dad while minding the hot dogs and hamburgers, occasionally tearing his gaze toward the lawn to watch his husband throw a football for our kids. I’d brought Tate too. An impromptu barbecue wasn’t complete without a wild golden retriever joyfully chasing after the ball with Coop and Silas’s Labs, Max and Marly.

“I hate to state the obvious, but your mom is in over her head,” he commented. “At his core, your dad is a stubborn man. Your parents have been married for so long that I think it’s going to be hard for her to think of him as someone who might not have all the answers.”

“That’s very diplomatic, Coop.”

He set the spatula on a tray and reached for his beer. “Okay, how about…your dad is a fucking pigheaded asshole with his feet firmly stuck in the middle of the last century, and your mom isn’t ready to admit he’s just not himself?”

“Now there’s the Cooper we know and love.” I lifted my bottle in a mock toast.

Coop snickered. “Sorry. I don’t really think he’s an asshole.”

“Liar.”

Cooper and I had been best friends since junior high when he’d moved to Wood Hollow from Fallbrook with his mom and sister after his father passed away. He soon became a regular fixture at our house after school and on the weekends. My mom used to joke about gaining a second son and having two teenage boys eating them out of house and home.

She hadn’t minded at all. Neither had Dad. Cooper had fit right in with the La Rues. He’d been a good student and a great athlete. My macho cop father had gotten a kick out of having the town’s star quarterback at his dinner table. It had given him something to brag about after a grueling day of nabbing speeders on Belvedere.

But Cooper was right. My father’s praise had always come with a sharp edge. Dad was a relic who’d clung to outdated concepts regarding a man’s role in his household. He’d been strict, domineering, and quick to mete out punishment—his way or the highway. If I’d gotten caught doing something he didn’t approve of, there’d been consequences. End of story.

And trust me, I’d never wanted to be on the receiving end of my dad’s wrath. So I’d learned early on how not to get caught. It was either that or figure out how to be a fucking saint. And that just wasn’t me. I was the teenager who sneaked out of the house after everyone was asleep, smoked contraband cigarettes in the woods with my buddies, and shoplifted gum from Fox’s Drugstore on a dare.

The penalty for any of those infractions would have been dire. Luckily, my occasional juvenile delinquent tendencies were offset by athleticism and a sharp mind. In short, I got away with murder because I could catch a damn football. Maybe so, but even then, I knew there were certain things my dad would have never been able to forgive.

Like the fact that I wasn’t one hundred percent straight.

I’d kept my sexuality a secret for years, knowing he’d never understand. It wasn’t till after my divorce and a few intense sessions with a therapist that I realized I was setting a horrible example for my kids. What if one or both of them were queer and they somehow felt they couldn’t come out because they thought I’d disapprove? No one respected a two-faced liar. I wanted to be honest with my children and teach them to be accepting, understanding, and open-minded. Qualities my father had lacked.

Which wasn’t to say he was a monster. He wasn’t. Dad was just an old man whose ideals had been tested by a new generation in Wood Hollow who hung Pride flags and didn’t blink at the sight of two men or two women holding hands on Main Street. He’d nearly had a double heart attack when Cooper and I came out as bi within months of each other.

I shut my eyes briefly, pushing ugly thoughts aside. Dealing with his dementia was hard enough without remembering what a shit my father could be.

“What are you going to do about him? So far he’s been fortunate to bump into friendly folks who know to call for help, but this last episode is alarming. Strolling by the lake at sunset? If he’d fallen in the water, that tracker would have been useless. And what if he’d run into a bear or a⁠—”

“Okay.” I held a hand up like a stop sign. “I get it. This is serious shit, and I don’t think I’m doing any better than my mom at handling it. I’m constantly fucking worried. And not just about Dad.”

Cooper frowned. “What else is going on?”

“The usual. Jess is seeing Chad Amari, and she wanted to tell me all about it.”

“Chad Amari? Ugh, that guy was a douche in high school.”

“I know, right?” I snickered and cast a wistful glance at the kids, adding, “Oh, and I just found out that Rhys has a girlfriend, which sparked a very uncomfortable father-son chat about safe sex.”

Cooper threw his head back and guffawed loud enough to make the dogs turn around to see what was so funny. I shrugged and made a goofy face that incited an eye roll from my son, who’d have melted into a puddle of gooey embarrassment if he’d had an inkling of what we were discussing. Same, kid. Same.

“That must have been…enlightening.”