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"But you were close with your dad?"

"Still am." His mouth lifts. "He’s a pain in my ass, I’m a pain in his, and yet, there’s nothing we wouldn't do for each other."

"You’re a very devoted son."

"He’d call it nosy. Since the heart attack, I have to interrogate him to find out how many hours he’s spending at work."

I look over at him. "He’s still not cutting back?"

"He says he is. Apparently, four hours at the shop counts as stopping by."

"That would scare me too."

"It does. I was at an away game when his girlfriend called me to tell me he was in the hospital. He’s doing better. He thinks that means everyone should stop asking questions."

"I can’t imagine where you get your stubbornness from," I tease.

"His head mechanic wants to buy the shop. Dad could retire, take a vacation, spend time with his girlfriend. Instead, he keeps finding invoices that apparently require his personal attention."

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Marcy. She tells me about the appointments he forgets to mention."

"She sounds like she cares about him."

"I’m glad he found someone. He didn’t date much when I was growing up. He wanted to raise me himself. He didn’t want another woman coming in and doing that again to me."

"And what’s that."

"Let me get attached… and then leave." He let out a breath and my heart breaks for him.

I can’t imagine what that would feel like to be abandoned like that by your mother at such a young age.

"What about you? Besides the fact that your family would prefer you were watching this with anybody else."

I pick up the remote with my free hand and pause the episode. It’s easier to talk without somebody crying in the background.

"My parents are still together. You know Beau. Everything was hockey when we were growing up."

"For you too?" he asks.

"I went to all the games. Knew all the parents. I spent enough time in rinks that I still get cold thinking about it."

"But you wanted to bake."

I nod. "I always wanted to bake."

"Did they know that?"

"They knew I liked it. I don’t think they ever considered that I could do it for a living." I swirl what's left of my rosé in my glass. "They paid for college because they wanted me to have options. A job with benefits. Something dependable. I get that."

"But?"

"But I went because they wanted me to. And then I felt guilty when it wasn’t what I wanted."

He stays quiet, giving me time to work out how to say the rest without making my parents sound awful. They aren’t. They love me. I’ve never questioned that.

"I don’t think they realized how serious I was. Beau did. Ellie did. My parents were busy, and after Beau got hurt, everything became about getting him better."