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Archer pops into my mind like those shifting billboards on the interstate, morphing from the way he’d first stared at me to how he looked at me after seeing Dad.

I wasn’t surprised or disappointed with his retreat. Honestly, it was more grounding than anything. As a teenager, I’d built Archer up on an unattainable pedestal. I was convinced he’d be the only guy man enough to win Dad’s approval—and to be the first and only one to ever fight for his approval.

I’m fine with being wrong. There’s no point pursuing a relationship with the cowboy because nothing can come from it. At least not with Dad disliking Archer the way he does.

“An ex-bull rider, Juliet? The guy hasn’t accomplished an honest day’s work in his life. You deserve better.”

After that conversation in high school, I stopped speaking of my crushes so freely.

“So tell me more about this gap semester,” Dad says, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he finishes off the last of his sandwich. “I didn’t know you could do that a year out from graduation.”

I’m not ready to get into this right now. Dad would never be disappointed in me, just for me. He worked his entire life for me to go to college, to help me have a life beyond Autumn Ridge. I thought that’s what I wanted, too. How can I tell him it isn’t what I want anymore?

“I just felt like I was ready for some time off, you know?” I say. “Before things get crazy busy and I get a better job and everything.”

“So the shoe store is letting you take all this time off, too? Or did you have to quit?”

I chew slower to give myself time to formulate an answer. “I left the shoe store.”

I’m not lying. Just stretching the truth a bit.

“Oh, that’s a shame. I know you enjoyed working there.”

Yeah, about as much as I enjoyed root canals by old Dr. Vance. “It’s alright. I’ll find something better, I’m sure.”

“That’s my girl.” He swivels toward me on his stool. “So you said a semester?”

“Yeah.”

“Any idea if you want to work for that time or if you want to go into full hibernation mode? I support either, by the way. You’ve worked so hard for so long, you deserve a little rest if you want it.”

A knot lodges at the back of my chest. He grins, but I take another bite of my sandwich so I don’t have to fake a smile. “I haven’t figured out exactly what I want to do yet.”

He stands, lifting his plate and offering to take mine as I finish off my sandwich. “That’s okay. You’ve got time to decide.”

Little does he know.

“Meanwhile, we’ll just squeeze in as much time together as possible,” he says.

“About that...” I stand to help him with the dishes, reaching for the dish soap behind the sink. “I know my coming here is super sudden, so don’t feel obligated to entertain me. You’ve got the party and the festival and a million other things to do as mayor, so if the only way we spend time together is by you putting me to work, I’m up for it.”

“What other daughter would give up her time off to help her old man?” He gives me a side hug, then pauses. “Oh, you can pop that dish soap back. Watch this.”

He makes a face to ramp up what’s coming, then opens the dishwasher. It’s filled with a few other dishes ready to be cleaned.

“You use the dishwasher now?”

“I do.”

I tease him with a slow clap. “Dad, I’m astounded.”

“As you should be. It only took twenty-five years.”

We clean up lunch as we catch up on my last semester and his latest work around Autumn Ridge. Finally, we talk about his party as we wander to the front room adjoined to the kitchen. The walls are wrapped in a green, floral wallpaper, a small fireplace and a small upright piano perch against the far walls, and a flat screen is mounted nearby.

I take my usual place in the bay window seat, and he lounges back on his black leather recliner nearby.

“It’s gonna be quite the party,” he says. “We’ll all be dressed to the nines and there’ll be speeches and toasts. I’m so glad you’ll be here for it.”