“Don’t ever say that.” He put a hand on her shoulder, gripped it firmly. “You’ve worked hard to learn a trade and you’re good at it. It’s not as if you’ve lost those skills just because you’ve left where you work. There are plenty of other salons. I never liked that bloke you worked for. You can do better.”

“You don’t really know him.” She’d never realised her dad had given her job a lot of thought, let alone taken any notice of Gareth.

“We called in to visit you a few times and I got his measure. The way he spoke to his staff wasn’t right, as if you all belonged to him. He was a bully, Laura.”

“You never said.”

“I knew you’d work it out eventually.” His phone rang. He took it from his pocket. “Hello, Phil.” He nodded. “Right, okay, thanks. I’ll come and check it out.” He ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket. “Sheep on the highway. Phil from across the road thinks they could be ours. I’d better go and check. Will you be okay?”

“I’ll find something to cook.”

“I meant about the bigger picture. You can take as long as you want to decide what you want to do. You might even get something local to tide you over but don’t give up on your chosen career yet. You’ve got a world of talent and not every salon has a Gareth. Maybe there’d be a way to start your own business. We gave Kate money towards her house and we’d be happy for your share to be put towards a business if you came up with a plan. I’m sure your mum would agree.”

Tears brimmed in Laura’s eyes.

“Don’t worry if it’s not something you’d want to do though.” Milt gave her a concerned look.

“I’d just never thought about my own business.”

He shrugged. “Why not? You’d need to present me a decent plan if I was going to invest money in it but I’m sure you’re capable. Kate’s good at that sort of thing. You should talk it over with her.” He patted his stomach as he stood up. “And don’t worry about dessert. We don’t need it. Your mum only cooks it sometimes.”

Laura dragged her thoughts from her own worries to her mum. “Is she all right, Dad?”

He’d begun to move away but he stopped, turned back. “Last I heard, yes. She misses us but she was in need of some time away.”

“I miss her too.” Laura sucked in her lip, fighting back tears again.

“I know, love.” He came back, brushed a kiss across her forehead. “We all miss her but sometimes you need to give the ones you love some space.”