Page 51 of The Last Key
DEVON
“Here, let me have the crutches,”I say to my dad as he settles into the passenger seat of my 4Runner.
He hands them to me, and I shut the door behind him, then put the crutches in the back seat before making my way around to the driver’s side and climbing in.
“So, where are we going for lunch?” Dad asks.
The man has always been a foodie, and since we’re in San Francisco for his specialist appointment, lunch at a new restaurant or some place he’s never been to is next on the agenda.
After I dropped Kennedy off at the inn—and made sure she was okay since that phone call surprised her—I left to pick up my dad for his appointment. Anything more than a short car ride is rough on my mom’s hips and low back, so she avoids them when she can.
“You tell me. I found a good sandwich shop, a hot dog and ice cream place, and a hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurant.”
“Korean sounds wonderful,” Dad says. Which I was expecting, but I wanted him to have options. He loves Asian food. He and my mother spent six months traveling through Asia after college.
“Had a feeling you’d say that.”
“Let’s be sure to get some takeout for your mother. And Kennedy, too. How’s she doing?”
“Okay. She actually got a call this morning about a job at the company she was working for in New York.”
“The one that laid her off?”
“Yep. Turns out they fired the guy who did that. She made an impression on one of her editors who wants to hire her back and promote her.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m sure she’s thrilled.”
“Not really, actually. She seemed like she was about to have a panic attack when she was talking to him. I think being laid off this last time left her wondering if this is still the career path she wants. She also has to fly back to New York to interview, which she’s not excited about. She’s going back on Wednesday morning, doing her interview that afternoon, then flying back here Thursday.”
“That does make it more stressful.”
I navigate us out of the parking lot and onto the busy San Francisco streets.
“Definitely. I think she’s worried about how it’ll affect us, too.”
“Ah. And if she got the job and wanted it, would you go to New York with her?”
I swallow hard, guilt coursing through me. I want to be with Kennedy wherever she is, and I want her to have the world, but leaving my parents—who I moved back here to care for—doesn’t feel great.
“Most likely. But I’d take some time and make sure the inn was in good hands. I’d still oversee everything, though. And I’dmake sure you and Mom had someone to rely on full time, and I’d come back frequently?—”
“Devon,” Dad says sternly. “Do not use my condition or your mother’s as a reason not to leave here. You have to live your life.”
“But—”
“No,” he says sharply. “No buts. Life is too short and too precious to be wasted or put on hold. I know it all too well. Your mother and I have had to face that reality much sooner than we would’ve liked. I don’t want that for you. Take chances, live your life. If you love her, go to New York with her. Or Chicago. London. Paris. Shang-Hai. I don’t care. Live. The inn will be fine, and so will we. Promise me.”
I stare at him for a moment, then nod. “I promise.”
“Good. Now, how long does it take to get to this restaurant? I’m starving.”
“Today has been crazy,”Kennedy says, walking out of the bathroom in my T-shirt.
“How are you feeling about the interview now?”
She shrugs as she walks over to the bed and climbs in. “I don’t know. I’m excited, but I’m still not sure about it, either. Regardless, it means a lot that they’re even considering me, but I’m a little bummed the real world came for us so soon. I like the honeymoon period.”
“So do I,” I rumble, kissing her neck. “In a perfect world, I’d have you all to myself all the time.”
