Page 88 of Pitcher Perfect

“Like your mom always used to tell me, ‘Use your words.’”

“Smart woman,” I said.

“That she was.”

I cleared my throat. “I really like him, but it’s complicated. We’re both busy running our own businesses.”

“If I could give an invaluable pearl of fatherly wisdom?”

I nodded, biting back a smile.

“Don’t lose sight of what’s most important in life. The best thing that ever happened to me other than you and Charity was meeting your mom. I hate that she left us so early, but I don’t regret a second of my time with her. I can’t imagine my life if I’d never taken a chance on us.”

“Jesus, Dad. You decide to surprise me and try to make me cry in one go?”

He laughed and held up his hands in defeat. “I’ll stop.”

Dad was right, though. I didn’t want to regret missing my chance with Austin. Despite our hinting at a conversation the other night, I needed to be direct with him. We could talk on the drive back to Dahlia Springs after the competition, or I could invite him over for dinner tomorrow.

“How are you doing? Have you been looking for any jobs, or did you decide to retire?” I tried to keep any judgment from my voice. If it wasn’t my place to fight Austin’s battles for him, it wasn’t my place to tell my dad how to live his life.

Dad glanced away and rubbed the back of his neck. “About that.”

My stomach twisted at what was about to come out of his mouth.Is he going to have to file bankruptcy or something?

“I’ve decided to sell the house.”

“Sell it? I thought it was in foreclosure.”

“I still have time to sell it so the bank gets its money and I can make something off it too.”

I nodded. Not a bad idea. Saving the house would have been better, but just because I wanted him to keep the house didn’t mean he did. “Good plan. Are you going to get a smaller place?”

He looked shy and hopeful. “I was thinking of moving out West. Oregon seems nice.”

I blinked at him. “You’re moving here?”

“Thinking about it.” He grinned. “Lots of good fishing in the area. Maybe I’ll stay in Portland for a while and get a taste of city life.”

“You’re moving to Oregon?” My brain was stuck on a loop as I bounced from one foot to the other.

“Charity isn’t moving back to Idaho—if she ever comes back to the US. And you’re out here. Why not? Without the job or house keeping me there, I can try something different.”

“Wow.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. Getting laid off and the foreclosure was the wake-up I needed. If that hadn’t happened, I would’ve just continued with the same ol’. I want to take a page out of my kids’ books and go on an adventure.”

“And if I’d paid off the payments you owed, you wouldn’t have come to this conclusion.” The realization rocked me. For so long, I’d prided myself on taking care of people, but my brand of that usually involved me pushing my belief of what would fix issues onto others. If I’d insisted Dad accept my help, he wouldn’t be moving near me. I swallowed thickly.

“It all worked out, kiddo. Don’t worry about it. You’ve got a heart of gold, and I’m so proud of you.”

I blinked away the sting in my eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”

“And when you open that restaurant, you could give your old man a job. I’m sure I can handle washing dishes without breaking too many.”

My laughter felt good. Stress I’d been carrying for weeks if not months or years melted away.

We wandered back to our little group. Henry and his entourage were long gone, so I relaxed into chatting with the guys as my dad talked to Carolyn about living in the area.

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