Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(50)

“There is!”

“No. No, it’s not like that. I’m just looking forward to getting back home. Cruz got traded to our local NBA team this year, but so did his childhood best friend. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to going home.”

Wren doesn’t make eye contact with me as she says it, but I still see that little sparkle when she brings up Cruz’s friend.

“And this new teammate of his . . . is this the same teammate that’s going to dinner with you tonight?”

She shoots me a look. “If you want to keep talking about my brother’s best friend, I’m going to keep pressing you about our neighbor.”

“So that’s a yes. No wonder you look so good. Does Cruz know you have a thing for his friend?”

“It’s not like that. We haven’t seen each other in a long time with him playing on a different team than Cruz and my going away to school. We hardly know each other as adults.”

“Hmm,” I hum. “Interesting.”

“Nothing is interesting. Forget I said anything. I’m going to be late.” She moves frantically, grabbing her purse and car keys. “I’ll see you after dinner!”

She’s out the front door before I can ask any more pressing questions.

My rumbling stomach has me quick to find the leftover pasta in the fridge, and once it’s warmed from the microwave, I make myself comfortable on the couch with a blanket over my legs and my dinner in my lap.

My phone rings as soon as I take my first bite.

The overwhelming hunger disappears when my stomach pitches, watching my dad’s name scroll along the top of my phone screen.

It’s that typical spike of anxiety I get whenever I see him calling. Every worst-case scenario runs through my head in an instant. I’m so used to getting bad news when it comes to him that it’s my nature now to assume the worst.

I’m sure that would seem overdramatic to someone else, but to me, the person who’s taken care of him for the past six years, who has been with him on his worst days, it’s my way to mentally prepare myself. I’ve been caught off guard too many times, that I’ve learned to brace myself anytime I see him, Luke, or the doctors calling me.

“What’s wrong?” is the first thing I ask when I answer the phone.

“Can’t a father call to say hello to his favorite daughter?”

I exhale an audible breath, my shoulders dropping from where they’re hiked up to my ears, and the anxiety begins to settle.

“Hi, Dad.” I close my eyes in relief, bringing myself back to center. “What are you up to?”

“Eating dinner.”

“Same here. Do you want to eat together?”

“I’d love to.”

I pull the phone from my ear and video call him instead. As soon as his face overtakes the screen, I take the opportunity to assess him.

His coloring looks good. His face seems far more filled out than I’ve seen it in the past. Overall, he looks . . . healthy.

He’s currently smiling at me so big that I can’t help but smile back.

“What are you having tonight?” I ask as I prop my phone on the coffee table, using my water bottle to keep it standing.

He’s sitting in his well-loved leather recliner. “Grilled chicken and green beans.” Bringing the phone closer to his face, he checks out the Tupperware I’ve got in my lap. “But I want whatever you’re having.”

“Buttered noodles covered in parmesan.”

He audibly groans, throwing his head back.

I chuckle. “Did Sarah cook tonight?”

My dad looks around the room then keeps his voice quiet. “Oh yeah, she did. Love the girl, but I swear, if she keeps refusing to salt my food, I’m going to have to bribe my grandson to do it.”

Sarah is Luke’s wife. She’s sweet, a great mom to my nephew, and a wonderful partner for my brother. She’s also a big reason why Luke offered to move back to Minnesota and take over care for my dad last year.

A few years after my dad’s diagnosis, I begged for Luke’s help. At the time, he refused, wanting to focus his time and finances on his new family.

As alone as it made me feel, I understood. He had a new wife, they were expecting their first child, and he had moved on. Whenever we got bad news about my dad, it affected him differently. He had his own family and support system to lean on emotionally when he needed it.

Envy had started to bloom, wishing I could have the same. I had grown borderline resentful towards him until Sarah called me about a year ago and told me she convinced Luke to move back to Minnesota to help. She wanted her son to know his grandpa and she wanted me to have the opportunity to chase my own dreams and live my own life.

That’s why, after all this time, I’m in a city where I want to live, pursuing a career I want to have. They moved back to our home state and bought a place with an in-law suite for my dad. I wouldn’t have the chance to do what I want to do right now if it weren’t for Sarah and Luke stepping up.

“How have you been feeling?” I ask.

“Good. Really good. Don’t worry about me, honey. That’s not your job anymore.”

“It’s always going to be my job, Dad.”

He smiles softly and I can see the apology in it. “And how are you doing, Hallie girl?”