Jill murmured an acknowledgment and walked out of the conference room. Hearing Gwen release a sigh behind her, she smiled as she knew she’d given her a tight deadline that she probably wasn’t used to. Would she make it or would Jill have to go on the hunt for a more capable caterer?

Reagan sat in her customary chair in her dad’s room. She had kept him company by playing Yahtzee with him, but he had drifted off in the middle of their second game. She’d have to finish it with him later because she’d been doing well for once and had been hoping to break his ten-game winning streak. She stretched her legs out on the ottoman and opened a book she’d been meaning to read for over a year.

As she turned the page, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and found Gwen standing in the doorway, staring at her father with wide, wet eyes. Reagan glanced at him and tried to see him through Gwen’s eyes. It had been a couple months since the last time she’d stopped by, and her dad had lost a considerable amount of weight since then. Probably didn’t help that he hadn’t wanted to shave much lately and was looking a little scraggly—a drastic change from the clean-cut look he used to sport.

Reagan closed her book and placed it on the ottoman. “Gwen?”

She snapped out of her trance and flinched. “Oh, hey.” Her gaze drifted back to Reagan’s dad for a moment. “Your mom said you’d be in here. How’s he doing?” she whispered.

“He’s okay. Tired all the time. We’re just trying to control his pain. And no need to whisper. He’s out.” Reagan pointed to the other armchair next to her. “Have a seat. What brings you by?”

“I needed to talk to you for a few minutes about some things. Are you sure it’s okay? I don’t want to bother him. I can just call you about it later.”

Reagan waved her off. “It’s fine, I promise.”

“Okay.” Gwen took a deep breath and released it before reaching into the bag at her feet and pulling out a stack of papers that she placed on the small table between the two chairs. “I have two pressing things to talk to you about. Want the good news or semi-bad news first?”

“Let’s go with good news. I could use some of that.”