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He chuckled. “It’s fine. A little well-worn but fine. The AC unit is toast, though. I made some inquiries and got her landlord’s name. Called and introduced myself. Told him I had family living there now.”

“And?”

“He was thrilled when I informed him I was replacing that window unit. No arguments at all.”

“Aiden—”

He cut me off. “Van had it in his garage, and I finally convinced him to just add central air. He’s out in it all the time, working on stuff, sweating. The unit is only two years old and in great shape. He and I are going to install it this afternoon. It’ll take no time at all. I also have a room AC unit he’d been using that isn’t needed. I’ll put that downstairs where they hang, so it’ll be comfortable too. I noticed they had one of those in the hallway on the second floor. Hopefully, if all the floors have something cooling to move the air, the place will be livable.”

“Thank you.”

“Your dad said she was important to you. Life-changing important.”

“She is.”

“Then she’s family. You know how I feel about family.”

I swallowed the thick feeling in my throat. I did know how he felt about family. How all of that generation felt about it. They had passed down that belief to all of us. Family was important. Essential. Looking after each other was expected.

“Thanks,” I said.

“A year is doable, Matthew. We’ll keep an eye on her.”

“That helps.”

“And Bent is always traveling to see Thomas. I’ll let you know when he’s going, and you could catch a flight back on the jet for a visit with your girl if you can arrange it.”

“That would be great.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Thanks, Aiden.”

He hung up, and I drove home slowly. I wondered when my dad had called him. Or if he had called Maddox, who, of course, would have shared the information.

I decided to find out.

I changed direction and headed to my parents’. My dad’s car was in the driveway, and I went through the house, not surprised to find it empty and Dad sitting outside by the pool, newspaper in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. He liked his quiet time in the morning, while my mom slept in and was more of a night owl.

He looked up as I approached and stood smiling, holding out his arms. “Matthew, my boy. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“I thought I’d drop in.”

“Mom is still asleep.”

“I figured.”

“Coffee?”

“Um.”

At my hesitance, he chuckled. “There’s a pot. Mom made it and set the timer before she went to bed. It was really late—some book she couldn’t put down. So the coffee is good.”

“Okay, then.” My dad’s coffee was notoriously horrendous. Worse than tar, no matter how often Mom showed him how to make it. A Keurig, he could manage, so he usually had those while he waited for Mom to wake up.

I grabbed a cup and joined him at the table. “Any news on the house?”

“We had an offer. Several, in fact.”