Page 56 of Summer Escape
Mom stood, hugging me. "Would you like eggs on the side?"
"Of course he wants eggs on the side," Dad said as he walked into the kitchen.
"Morning, Dad." Then to Mom, I said, "Eggs would be great. Thanks."
Mom cracked eggs onto a pan. She must have been waiting to make them fresh for us. I poured the coffee from a machine I didn't remember them having.
"Glad you could make it," Dad said.
"My time is fairly free for now. Hayden is at the senior center and with her friends most days."
"Teenagers keep themselves busy," Mom said with a smile.
Dad poured himself a mug of coffee and leaned against the counter. "Cooper said you're looking at houses."
I let out a breath. "I need to figure out my job situation before I settle anywhere."
"You don't want to work for Kingston Construction?" Dad asked.
"No, I do. I'm just not sure that everyone is okay with me returning yet."
"Hudson thought you two would work together to run the business. He was blindsided when you took another path."
I knew that was the case, but it was still painful to hear. "I never wanted to hurt him."
Mom gave dad a look. "We knew that one or more of you might decide to go in another direction. It was never a requirement to work for the business."
My sister, Luna, had taken the unusual step in leaving the company because Dad kept her on only as an administrative assistant. She wanted to do more, but Dad didn't listen to her until it was too late. Now she was happy flipping houses and designing spaces wherever she chose to be.
"What do you want now?" Dad asked.
"I want to come back to work for you. I know things might be different, and it's not guaranteed that I'll be a project manager. But I want to work with my hands again. I've missed it."
Dad nodded. "I don't have any problem with that. I hoped that you'd come back one day."
"I want to create a stable home life for Hayden. It would be easier if I lived in Naples near her mother's house. But this is where my heart is."
"Naples isn't that far, and if you need to leave early for school events, that's not a problem. Family comes first."
"Thanks, Dad." I didn't expect him to take me back so easily.
"We're just happy you're home, and Hayden is here too. That's all that matters," Mom said.
Dad exchanged a look with Mom. "We want you to be happy."
I thought back to the summer, the time I'd spent with Hayden and Saylor. It was the best summer I'd had in a long time. I was close to my loved ones, and I couldn't be happier. "I'm excited to get settled here."
"We are too." Mom flipped the eggs in the pan. "Do you know what the custody arrangement will be once Hayden is back in school?"
"We haven't discussed it, but I assumed I'd get weekends, maybe an evening to take her to dinner during the week. I can't get her to school from here." That was a sacrifice I was making.
"If she gives you the summer then, that's something," Dad said.
"It has been nice to have her full-time. We needed it."
Mom plated the eggs, handing us each one so we could scoop the casserole onto our dish. "Let's eat."
We sat at the table and dug into the food.
