This was the moment when he should tell his father that things had changed—that he was rethinking his future. Whereas firefighting had at one point been his main focus, now he was finding that his interests were more diverse.

“Dad, about that—”

“Yes, I know you’ve been here too long and need to get back to work. You stepped up when the family needed you. I’m so proud of you. You’re a great firefighter and an even better son.” His father hugged him.

His father was not the emotional type. Not that he was cold or anything but this outpouring was unusual for him. Ethan hugged his father back.

When they parted, Ethan looked at his father. “Is everything okay?”

His father laughed. “Looks like I should have said those things a long time ago if you’re that caught off guard.” His father shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “While we were away, I was able to slow down long enough to realize that I’d been putting off a lot of things in my life. I was always too busy for this or that. Now I don’t want to keep putting off things I should do or things I should say. So I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

What else did he say to that? How was he supposed to follow up his father’s praises with the knowledge that he was thinking of quitting the fire department—quitting the Walker tradition? And then his father would want to know what he was going to do, and right now Ethan didn’t have an exact plan, just a vague vision. That wasn’t good enough. If he was going to do this, he needed a firm plan.

His mother approached them. “Isn’t Hannah with you?”

She looked expectantly at him, like he should know Hannah’s exact whereabouts. They didn’t spend all of their time together—just most of it these days. But it wasn’t like they were a couple or anything. He ignored how appealing that last thought sounded to him.

He swallowed hard. “I’m not sure where she is. My phone is dead.”

Now why did he go and add that last part, like he would know where Hannah was, if his cell had been working? But it was the truth, wasn’t it? Hadn’t he just reached for it to text her? He stifled a groan.

“I’m sure she’ll be along any time now,” his father said. “In fact, here she comes.”

Ethan glanced up to see Hannah headed straight for him. She wasn’t smiling. In fact, her brows were drawn together with her forehead creased. Oh no, there’s trouble afoot.

As soon as she was standing in front of him clutching her pen and clipboard, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“How do you know something’s wrong?”

“Because your face always scrunches up like that when you’re worried about something.” It didn’t go unnoticed by him that he recognized her expressions, but he refused to acknowledge that it meant anything.