Page 52 of Griffin

Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I miss you, Dad,” I whispered. “I’ll come back soon.”

With one last look, I left the room. The nurse gave me a sympathetic nod as I passed, and I returned it with a faint smile.

Back in my truck, the weight in my chest lingered, but I felt a little lighter knowing I’d shared my thoughts with him.

It wasn’t much, but it was something. As I started the engine and pulled away from the hospital, my focus shifted.

Cinderfield was going to be a big trip—for Michael, for me, and for everything we were starting to build together.

Chapter 13

Michael

Ileaned back in my seat, watching the road stretch endlessly ahead of us. The steady hum of the engine filled the quiet between us, a comfortable sound that somehow made the silence feel less heavy.

Griffin had been quieter than usual since we left, his attention split between the road and whatever thoughts were pulling at his expression.

It was like there was a weight on him I couldn’t quite name.

I didn’t press. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, more like an unspoken agreement between us.

Every now and then, I found myself glancing at him. There was something grounding about being next to him—his hands steady on the wheel, his jaw relaxing just a little as he drove.

“How’s your dad?” I asked, breaking the quiet with a question I’d been meaning to ask for a while.

“He looked good yesterday,” Griffin answered. “Had a little more color.”

I nodded, smiling at the subtle change in his tone when he spoke about his dad. It was small, but I noticed it—the way his eyes softened, the tension that left his shoulders.

His dad’s health had been weighing on him a lot. I felt a flicker of concern for Griffin, wanting to make sure he was holding up okay, too.

Before I could stop myself, I added, “I’d like to meet him one day.”

Heat rushed to my neck, and I cleared my throat, suddenly aware of how forward I’d sounded.

Had I just overstepped? The words had come out too easily, and now I wasn’t sure if I’d said too much.

Griffin glanced at me for a second, his lips curving into a small smile. “He’d like that.”

His voice was soft, but there was something in it that made my chest feel lighter.

The rest of the drive passed in the same comfortable silence. For a second, I thought about asking Griffin to turn the car around, to head back to Pecan Pines instead.

The thought of driving all the way to Cinderfield felt suddenly exhausting. But I didn’t. There were things I needed to do.

Still, the idea of getting things done quickly and maybe even making it back to Pecan Pines in time for dinner made me wish he’d hit the gas.

When the city skyline came into view, I leaned forward, pointing to a street corner a block away. “You can drop me off here.”

Griffin frowned. “I thought you wanted me to meet him?”

“I do,” I said quickly. “It’s just... hard to find parking around here.” I waved vaguely toward the next street. “I’ll head in, grab us a table, and you can park along Sixth. It’s only a couple of blocks down.”

His brow arched, clearly skeptical. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him.

But I needed to meet Todd first—get the business stuff out of the way before bringing Griffin into the mix.

Todd was a good guy, but sometimes... he could be intense.

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