I shook my head no. Everything inside me was screaming, but it was soundless. No one could hear because I wouldn't let any of the words come out. I raked my hands in my hair. Everything about my father's call was suspicious and worrying. Something was going on. I shouldn't give a damn, and I resented that I did. That even after the way he treated me I still cared. When I was a kid, I had tried to get closer to him, only to be rejected again and again, and treated like a problem, a mistake. Something inconsequential. Rick nodded, reached for his coffee in the cup holder, took a sip. "Family. By blood or by destiny, however you are threaded together, can bring you joy or suffering. But remember, Cameron, that you hold the sword to sever that thread." He was wrong. That thread would follow you for the rest of your life because you can't choose where you came from. You could bury it, pretend it's not there, forget about it for a while, but it always, always appear again. I'd been running away from it, because that was better than getting caught. Caught in guilt, in lies, in fear, in toxic love or the lack of the real thing from a parent. If Rick was right and there was a way to sever the connection, I hadn't found it yet. "I raised you as my own. I know you better than they do," he said quietly. "So if I tell you that I am proud of the man you've become, I want you to believe me," he continued. I could feel that he was waiting for me to say something, but I didn't. "I am proud of you, son." My chest felt tight and warm, like a fuse had been lit from inside me. It took a while for me to answer, and when I did my voice was gruff. "Thank you, sir." I leaned my head back, letting it rest on the seat. I closed my eyes, felt the weight in my chest dissipate. I had no idea what my life would've been like if I hadn't met Rick. "I think he was trying to...reach out. Connect with me. He said it was too late." "Never too late." "I must have thought wrong. It's impossible that he'd want to." "Why?" Why? Something inside me was building, threatening. Too much. Everything was too much. "Do you want to? Have a relationship with your father?" "I... What for?" He nodded. "Remember that thread I was telling you about? You have the power to cut it, but you also have the power to make it stronger. I can see you want to drop this conversation. I won't push you anymore, but think about it, son." He cleared his throat. "All right. Too early yet to brood. Let me tell you something to cheer ya up," he said, voice light and happy. He patted the steering wheel excitedly. "Deb says she can practically go on mat leave now. Kara's doing so great." I already felt a little better at the mention of her name. I knew it. Kara could handle anything. I looked outside the window, at the lights that glowed in the dark of the morning. Kara would still be sleeping. It had been a few days since the drive-in, and I'd only seen her a few hours this week. I'd been caught up with work and almost everyday I was out of town. I'd change that today. Come hell or high water, I was going to see her, hold her for a while. I'd been looking forward to it all week. I had so many fantasies of her, and what happened at the drive-in was only one of the many in my head. Still I couldn't stop thinking about it every day. How hot she'd been, how giving, how wet. How fast she came every time. And every morning after that, I'd get a good morning, Bigfoot text from her. It was the highlight of my mornings. "I wondered when you and Caleb are going to find a woman who'd make an honest man out of you." Rick was back at it again. When he grinned like that, he looked ten years younger. He was in his late fifties and in very good shape, with silver hair and a long scar on his face that made him look like a handsome pirate. I saw how women, young and old, check him out and flirt with him. He flirted right back but never pursued anyone. "Don't hold your breath. Caleb would jump off a bridge before he proposes to anyone." "Oh, I don't know. I always knew you'd find someone. How can you not? You're one of the best. Handsome devil too. I just thought it would take a while since you and Caleb like fooling around with the ladies. Boy, was I wrong. Look at you now, eh?" I suppressed a smile. "I'm happy you found her, son." I'm happy she found me. "I heard her family owns an auto repair shop." I was glad he mentioned it. I was looking for a way to bring it up. "They repaired my motorcycle and did a great job. I met her dad, a couple of their mechanics who worked on my bike, checked out their shop. Not much to look at outside, but inside it's impressive." "You let them work on your bike?" Rick knew I babied my bike and only went to Joe, one of the best mechanics in town. "Long story, sir." "Was that the bike you said your childhood friend found? The one you restored?" We were drinking heavily after a reno a few years ago. I had no recollection of what happened, but I had asked Caleb what I said. Apparently, Rick was curious where I got my bike from and I had answered, "I had a childhood friend who found this junk. Meant too much to let it rot there." Caleb said I wouldn't give any more story than that. I guessed even drunk and out of my mind I couldn't bring myself to tell the story about what happened in the maze. Until Kara. Wanting to move on, I asked, "Sir, remember 51?" "That truck's only a couple years old but it's brought in the shop for repairs like it's ten. Last time it was the pump." "It was more than that. Elijah was driving it a few weeks ago, died on him. He happened to be close by Kara's shop. I told him to bring it there. They fixed it. Good as new now." "Elijah mentioned it the other day. That was their shop?" "You'd like her dad. He was a race car driver." He grinned. "Hot damn. I have to meet him someday." "Sooner than you think. You bought a new fleet of trucks due for maintenance. What do you say about sending them to their shop?" "We have a contract with another shop, but this past year hadn't been good with them." He stroked his chin, thinking. "You think they can manage the number?" "Give them a chance to prove it, sir." "All right. Book a few of them first. Let's see how they do then we'll go from there."