Splashing water on my face, I willed myself to feel better and move on. I pulled on pants, zipped it, then a sweater. The blinking light on my landline indicating a voicemail greeted me as I walked into my office. Good. Work would monopolize my attention and distract me from things I didn't want to think about. "Hey, Cam. It's Rick. Don't come by The Necktie today." Rick had personally coined the office in the city The Necktie. The project I was planning was postponed due to a budget change by the client, so I decided I'd work for Rick with his until mine was all sorted out. Lately I'd been thinking about taking my own company to the next phase. Taking more projects, hiring a couple of people on a permanent basis that could help me expand. I'd been against it in the beginning, preferring to be more flexible and not attached to anything long-term. When did it change? "I'll pick you up at five-thirty, go to the site. Got the permits so we're good to go. I'll bring coffee. See you soon, son." But right now, while that was still in the works and I let the idea stew in my head for a bit, Rick was ecstatic I was working for him more this year. Maybe I'd bring it up to him later, see what he thought. If there was anyone's opinion I valued, it was Rick's. I'd do everything I could to ease his burden. He'd been a father to me when mine couldn't even be bothered to remember my birthday. Every year starting the fourth week of December, The Yard closed for three weeks. Seasonal workers would be on Employment Insurance until spring, unless they found another job. The office in the city would be busier during this time until all operations return to normal. If Rick transferred Kara to the city, it would be a faster commute for her. And if I worked on city projects, I'd be near her. I could drop her off at work, pick her up, and if that wasn't possible, meet her after. I figured that would be a good deal. I was about to step out, gather my gear when my cellphone rang. Thinking it was Rick, I answered without looking at the screen. "Sir." "Sir? Whatever happened to Dad?" My mood turned darker. Glancing at the screen, I saw that it was my father's number. I already had a bad start when I woke up today. It was about to get worse. "You thought I was that good-for-nothing construction worker Rick, didn't you?" He sounded drunk. His speech slurred. It was barely five in the morning. Like an angry wild dog that kept coming back to attack, the old, familiar resentment bit into my shoulder. "I told you not to hang around with the likes of him," he spat. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath. It wasn't worth getting angry about anything he said. "Call me when you have something I want to hear." I was about to hang up when he said, "How's my boy?" His voice had turned quiet, almost sad, almost concerned. It caught me off guard. I never heard him like this before. As far as I knew, he didn't want to be related to me at all. "What do you need?" I asked. Instead of insulting or jabbing me with a sarcastic comment like he always did, he stayed quiet. "What is it?" I prodded. "Nothing," he said after a moment. "Take care of yourself, Cameron." "I always have." "That's right. And you will continue to do so," he said. "I know we aren't always on good terms, but I thought that there was always the possibility of..." He paused again, then sighed deeply. "I wish things were different, but it's too late for that now, isn't it? You never needed me." I didn't say anything, but my hands turned into fists. "I..." he trailed off. I could sense he wanted to say more, but like always, he'd rather step back. "Take care of yourself, Cameron." * "Little chilly this morning," Rick greeted, handing me a cup of coffee once I settled in the passenger's seat. He studied me for a moment, not saying anything. After my father's strange phone call, I had the desperate need to be in the water, to swim my anger away. But since I didn't have time, I lifted weights in my gym room instead. I thought I'd purged it, but from the way I could feel Rick looking at me, I must have failed. No matter how hard I tried to hide it, Rick somehow knew when something was wrong. I took a sip of coffee, not meeting his eyes, especially not wanting to talk about what I knew he wanted to know. Eventually he said, "Safety first. Put your seatbelt on." "Already on, sir." "Good." Rick liked to fill the air with sound—music or chatter. It didn't matter if it was his or someone else. In the beginning it annoyed me, now it gave me comfort. "My sisters used to pester me to get married, have kids, raise my own family. Settle down," he started. This conversation wasn't new. In a few seconds, he'd ask me why I haven't. "I guess they stopped." "You'd be right." "Don't tell me you're going to be a sister to me now. Sir." He chuckled. "Smart ass. Want me to wear a skirt?" "I like jeans better." I had no idea why I suddenly thought that that wasn't true when it came to Kara. I liked her in anything. I liked it even more when I take it off. "Do you know why I didn't get married, have kids, settle down?" This was new. "Why, sir?" He was quiet for a minute, his bright green eyes checking the side mirror before he made a turn on the next lane. "Because you, Caleb, Benjamin and the other kids are my family. I never felt the need to raise my own because to me you're already my own. Especially you," he said, throwing me a glance. "Now tell me. Was it Raven or your father who tried to contact you?" He knew the situation with my parents from what I told him and from what he'd gleaned on his own. "My father." "What did he want?" "I don't know. He wasn't making any sense, sounded drunk." "You want to talk about it?"