“And you know she’s obsessed with everything you do, so when you post videos she shows ’em to me.” He tapped my notebook again. “I like your park idea. Sounds like people on the block like it too. It’s gonna cost money though, right?”

I dropped my chin into my hand. “It will cost money.”

He pointed to his temple. “I told you your old man’s still got some tricks up his sleeve.”

Tony yelled my dad’s name from the back, and he slipped off his stool to duck his head into the kitchen. I let my gaze wander to the large windows facing Broad Street, lost in thought. Thinking about fundraising videos. Like a lot of freelancers, I used my Instagram feed to show off samples of my videography and photography skills. Dad was right. I had a large enough platform that if the organizations or activists I was filming needed resources, it was easy to shout it out.

I wondered if I could do the same for Dean. I mean, the park.

Dad returned and dropped his apron back on, washing his hands in the sink behind the counter. “Tony’s gonna need me in the back in a second. Aren’t you doing a big cleanup today? I can throw together a few boxes of food if you want.”

I pursed my lips. “Lemon bars and bear claws?”

“For Midge and Maria, right?” he said with a grin.

“They’ve promised secrets about Dean in exchange for delicious pastries.”

This time, he did cast me a sly look that I nervously ignored. He dried off his hands, then planted them on the counter. “In case I wasn’t clear enough the other night, we’re real excited about you going out to Texas. And wherever you go from there. We miss you all the time, but I don’t want you to think it doesn’t mean how happy we are for you. And proud of you, honey. So damn proud.”

I squeezed his arm. “See? Coolest dad around.”

“I understand how hard it must be to come home and then leave again,” he added. “I know why it feels good. There were times when it was so bad between me and your mom, I used to dream about packing you girls up and hittin’ the road too. Just to escape.”

My hand froze, a forkful of eggs halfway to my mouth. “You never told me that.”

“Yeah, well, some things you don’t tell your kids at the time. And the divorce was hard enough—and ugly enough—that I wanted to protect you and Alexis from it as much as I could. Hiding those feelings might not have been the smartest move on my part, but…”

I grabbed his arm again. “Dad. You did the best you could at the time. I completely believe that.”