“Maybe you’ll consider coming back down for a few days before you head back.” He got up and dropped cash on the table to cover the bill.

The statement stunned Andrew. In a good way. The smile on his face came all the way from his heart. He scrambled from the table to catch up.

Dad opened the door. “I have one more thing to show you before we go back to the shop, if you have time.”

“I’ve got all the time you’d like.” Andrew followed him outside to the car.

Dad drove across town. “Have you heard about the new industrial park?”

“Yeah, I heard the county was giving incentives to pull in new companies and jobs.”

“That’s right. Population has grown faster the last two years than it has in the last ten. It’s good all the way around.” Dad turned into a parking lot in front of a hand-painted sign boasting fresh strawberries in season. Wide-open fields had been tilled and rowed, already prepping for the early March planting. About five hundred feet off the road, a huge Dutch barn looked to be empty. The red paint had faded, but the roof appeared to be brand-new.

“Why are we stopping here?”

Dad got out of the truck and closed the door.

Andrew followed suit, crossing in front of the truck.

Dad shoved his hands in his pockets looking out over the land. “I own this property.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “My dad bought it years and years ago. He’d wanted me to farm it.”

“Looks like good land. Are you farming strawberries now?”

“No. I lease it to a guy for just enough to offset the taxes on it.”

Andrew wasn’t really sure what the point of this visit was. “Nice barn.”

“Roof blew off it last fall in the hurricane. Insurance covered the new roof. That thing is built to stand for all time. They don’t build them like that anymore.”

“I bet.”

“You know I didn’t go into farming like my father wanted me to. Instead I started my equipment business. I’d always had a love for anything with a motor. I was taking apart Mom’s appliances before I knew how to put them back together. I was on restriction a lot back then.” He laughed as if remembering the memories fondly. “Your grandfather gave me this land the year you were born, hoping that I’d change my mind. I never did a thing with it.”

The realization that Dad hadn’t followed in his father’s footsteps had never resonated with him before. Gramps had died when Andrew was in grade school. He barely remembered him. Had Dad and Gramps gone through the same rift? They said trouble followed generations.

“Son, if you were to come back and wanted to open a restaurant, you could build one here. Remodel that old barn. There’s plenty of room to expand.”