Mitch had never been to California. Had Bea missed him as much as he’d missed her? “I guess we don’t know much about each other’s lives the past couple of years, do we?”

The look she gave him seemed filled with some kind of longing and also sadness. He was tempted to blame her for the fact they weren’t as close as they used to be—she was the one who couldn’t get out of Moose Creek fast enough—but his heart remembered the state he’d been in after Caroline died and wouldn’t let him.

They stared at each other for a taut moment, then both spoke at once.

“I hear you got a tattoo.”

“I miss Mom.”

Her eyes widened. He cringed inwardly. They both spoke again.

“I miss her, too.”

“I’m not sure it’s any of your business.”

She said it nicely, but it stung. He wanted to know why she would do something like that. He wanted to know what she was thinking. But she’d brought up Caroline. She’d tried to get him to talk about her, about what happened, lots of times after Caroline’s funeral, but he never knew what to say. Looked like he hadn’t come very far in that department.

A moment of significant expectation hung in the air between them. He should tell Bea how hard it had been for him since Caroline had passed. How alone he felt. How sorry he was for all the things he’d kept from her and how he wished . . .

“They’re not just random tattoos, Dad. They’re meaningful.”

The moment passed. Regret stung his throat, and he gulped it down. Who was this woman who used to just be his daughter but now had an entirely separate life? It felt strange that she could go off and do something like get a tattoo without his knowing about it. Without his permission or approval. Without a second thought. Even though she’d turned eighteen three years ago, he was still struggling to accept that she was an adult. “What do they mean?”

“The two wedding bands circling the cross represent the way we want our marriage centered around our faith.”

“Oh.” Her words poked at something in his heart. They sounded like something Caroline would say. “I saw Jeremy’s on his arm. Where’s yours?”

Her face reddened. “Dad.”

He pushed off the table and raised his hands. “Okay, sorry. None of my business.”

Returning to the fridge, he pulled it back open to give his daughter some space. He tinkered with the mechanism inside the freezer door for a minute, then called over his shoulder, “Have you guys had dinner?”

Steve meowed.

He peered around the freezer door. “Bea?”

She was gone. He should’ve said something about Caroline. Should’ve asked Bea how she was doing instead of bringing up the tattoo. Way to go, Mitch.