Page 71 of Her Cowboy Blind Date

“I’m sorry.” Five hours was not an onerous drive for Dad. He’d been making excuses to avoid doing important things. “What can I do?”

“Are you at the reception?”

“Not yet. We’ll go there next.”

“Can you call him? See if you can find out what’s going on, and if he has a good reason for delaying.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. They’d planned for Dad to visit Gilead and help Sam work on the Chevy on Thursday, but Dad had cancelled at the last minute. Was there anything Sam could say that would make a difference? “Okay. I’ll try.”

“Thank you. I love and appreciate you.”

“Love you too, Mom. I’ll call back soon.”

He ended the call and closed his eyes. Lord, please help me to have a constructive conversation with Dad.

He made the call, and Dad surprised him by answering straight away.

“Dad, are you ready to leave for Colorado?”

“I don’t think I can do it.”

“Why?”

“I slept in, and I have stuff to do.”

“What stuff?” He waited for Dad to elaborate.

Becky returned to the truck and waited by the passenger side.

He nodded at Becky. “Dad, are you still there?”

“The house is a mess and laundry needs doing.” He sounded like a child making excuses for not finishing their homework.

“Do you have clean clothes for two nights away?”

“Yup.”

“Have you packed?”

“Almost done.”

Sam unclenched his jaw. They were making progress. “Forget about laundry. Work on tidying the kitchen, putting out the trash, and packing the car.”

“That will take time.”

Sam swallowed a harsh response. Prayed for patience. “If you leave within the hour, you’ll arrive by dinner.” Dad was familiar with the route and couldn’t claim he’d get lost.

“It’s a long drive.”

“Stop at the diner and order a cheeseburger. Remember how much we used to love their chocolate shakes?”

“The shakes are good.”

“Order a chocolate one, for old times’ sake.” The diner held fun road trip memories.

“Remember that time you spilled chocolate shake all over your mom’s lap?”

“How can I forget? Mom wouldn’t order a replacement.”

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