“Thanks, and thank you for making it possible for me to go.”

“We had a great time. How’s the patient?”

“Sore and achy, and yesterday he had a bad headache that’s one of the possible side effects. But he was better today.”

“That’s good. Quite a thing he did for his father.”

“Yes, it was, especially under the circumstances.”

“I know. I talked to his mother last night. She’s having a real hard time with her ex-husband asking the kids to be tested in the first place, not to mention what Grayson did.”

Emma was still stuck on the words I talked to his mother last night.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ray said, flushing with exasperation. “We exchanged numbers after we talked on Christmas. We’re just friends. It’s no big deal.”

Emma couldn’t wait to talk to Grayson later to tell him this news. “If you say so.” She’d never known her father to call any woman since her mother died, so it was, in fact, a big deal to hear he’d called Hannah Coleman.

They ate the delicious dinner and worked together to clean up the kitchen before Emma sent Simone off to shower and get ready for bed.

“How about a beer for the road?” Emma asked her dad.

“I won’t say no to that.”

She opened two bottles and handed one to him. “Thank you for all the time you give Simone. She loves every second you spend together.”

“So do I. She’s a natural in the kitchen. Pays attention to the details. I like that.”

“Did you hear her quizzing Gray about the transplant yesterday? He says she’s a sponge when it comes to learning new things.”

“That’s a very good word for it.” Her dad sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. “I got a very strange call earlier today from Linc Abbott.”

“What did he want?” she asked, wondering if he’d called Ray to plead her case.

“He told me about the job he offered you.”

“Oh,” Emma said on a long exhale.

“He said he realized you’d never take the offer if it meant leaving me here by my lonesome, so he offered me a job, too.”

“He did what?”

“He asked if I might be interested in serving as the general contractor on the construction of their new warehouse.”

Emma was so shocked, she could barely breathe, let alone speak. “But… You… You’re retired!”

“And bored out of my mind most of the time.”

“Wait… You’re actually interested in the job?”

“Only if you’re interested in the one he offered you.”

And then, like puzzle pieces slipping into place, the picture became clear to Emma, and she began to laugh. She laughed so hard that tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Are you going to tell me what the heck is so funny?”