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“You say that now, but it’s no fun cleaning out a stall when it’s five below.”

“I’ll help.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” I gave it a minute for the dust to settle, then asked, “So, you okay with all this? You know, with me being your dad and all?”

“Yeah, I think it’ll be cool to finally have a dad.” His brows furrowed as he asked, “What about me? Are you okay with me being your son?”

“I’m more than okay with it.”

“Cool.” Ford nodded, then it was back to life as usual. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Good question. Let’s head inside and see what your mom’s thinking.”

Ford gave me a small nod, like we had some kind of silent agreement, and without another word, we headed inside. The second we stepped through the door, we were hit with the smell of garlic and tomatoes. Tallie was at the stove, stirring a pot of sauce. Ford stepped up next to her and glanced down at thestove, and his eyes lit up as he said, “We’re having spaghetti! Awesome!”

“Go wash up. It’ll be ready in a minute.”

Ford didn’t argue. He just bolted down the hall and straight into the bathroom. When the water kicked on, Tallie turned to me and asked, “How’d it go?”

“Good.” I exhaled. “Couldn’t have gone better.”

Her lips parted like she wanted to ask more, but I gave her a small nod, letting her know that everything wasokay. Better than okay.

She smiled, then went back to cooking dinner. “I talked to Mom.”

“Oh?” I started making our drinks as I asked, “How’d that go?”

“Not great.” She shrugged. “She had a lot of questions about Rooks, and she refused to believe that he had anything to do with Dad’s murder.”

“She’s going to need some time to process everything.”

“I think it’s more than that.” There was hint of sadness in her voice as she explained, “She’s lost a lot over the past couple of weeks, and things with us are still strained. That doesn’t really help matters.”

“You guys just need some time.”

“Maybe, but I’m not sure things will ever be right again.” Tallie shook her head. “I love my mother, and I will always want her in our lives. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to truly forgive her for what she did to us.”

“And that’s completely understandable. And to be honest, I feel the same way.”

“So, I’m not being dramatic?”

“Not in the least.”

“I love you.” She smiled. “I really do.”

“Love you, too, babe.”

Once it was ready, we carried it over to the table, and we ate together, just like a family.

It was easy. Comfortable.Right.

As soon as we finished eating, Ford and I carried our plates to the sink, and Tallie rinsed them off and put them in the dishwasher. After everything was put away, Ford stepped over to me and asked, “Wanna play a round of Fortnight?”

“I don’t know, bud. It’s kind of late.”

“Come on. Just one round.”

I glanced over at Tallie, and once she gave me a nod of approval, I told him, “Okay. Just one.”