Even minus the two he took off their hands, his parents would be eating apple pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the rest of the week. But the excessive pie making wasn’t anything to be worried about, as he’d tried to tell his dad before he left. The industrious Juniper Jensen just needed a new hobby or a new friend or something. That’s all.

He threw some leftover meatloaf into the microwave and flipped through his mail. It was at dinnertime when he missed Caroline the most. For twenty years, she’d been there to sit next to. To talk to. To share food and life with. And now he had nothing but an empty table and a small plate of nuked meatloaf.

The words to “Sweet Caroline” played in his mind. Though he was a die-hard country fan, Neil Diamond’s old song had a special place in his heart. He used to sing it at the top of his lungs when he’d burst through the door upon coming home from work, much to Caroline’s chagrin. What he wouldn’t give to see her roll her eyes at him just one more time. Have her swat his arm and say, “Good to see you, too, honey.”

An elk bugle sounded. He shook away the memories and scanned the kitchen. Where had he put his phone? He checked the counter, his pants pockets, and under the pies. Who would be calling him at dinnertime?

The bull elk continued its high-pitched call, and he tracked the sound with his ears.

“Oh.” Mitch hurried to the CINCH jacket he’d hung on the back of a chair and shoved his hand down the pocket. There it was.

“Hello?” He didn’t even look at the screen in his rush to answer.

“Dad?”

This was a surprise. A smile grew on his face. “B.B. Hey. How are you?”

“You know no one calls me that anymore, right?”

“I know, I know. Bea. Sorry. What’s up?”

“Just checking in.”

Mitch pulled his meatloaf from the microwave and sat down at the table. His daughter didn’t call often. Not since getting married. He was still getting used to that. It had been hard enough when she left for college less than three months after Caroline passed away, but then to have Jeremy come along and—

“Did you have a good day at work?”

He set his fork down. Something about her voice sounded off. “It was fine. Is something wrong?”

Besides the fact she lived hundreds of miles away and he never got to see her, of course.

“We’ve just got a lot going on. Jeremy’s company shut down unexpectedly last Monday, and we found out our landlord is selling our building. The new owners plan to kick everyone out and renovate since it’s in such bad shape.”

Mitch stiffened. “What? He lost his job?”