Jacob snorted on the other end of the line. “Don’t you remember the kind of bad decisions twenty year olds can make?”
Graham cleared his throat. Of course he did—though he hadn’t had time for too many wrong choices when he’d been her age. “Yes, but they’ll be her choices. Good and bad decisions.”
“As a parent, my job is to keep her from as many bad decisions as I can manage,” Jacob said steadily.
Graham stood from his seat, and paced the floor. For a moment he almost didn’t feel guilty for banging Jacob’s daughter. “I’d think your job would be to support her decisions, and not make them for her.”
“You don’t have kids, man. You don’t understand.”
Did he need kids to know right from wrong? He jammed his hand into his pocket, his body oozing fidgety tension. “Agree to disagree. I still think she’s a smart woman who deserves more credit.”
“I’m glad to know she’s acting in such a way over there to make you believe she only makes good choices.”
God. Why hadn’t he noticed his friend’s overbearing parenting in the past? He had noticed, possibly, but preferred not to dwell on the subject. “I have a meeting soon, so I need to go,” he said, not caring how abrupt he sounded. If they continued chatting they’d get nowhere.
“Of course. I’ll catch up with you later in the week, and maybe before her internship is over Anna and I will pay her a surprise visit. I’m sure Kate would love to see us.”
Sure she will.“Sounds good. Talk to you soon.”
A surprise visit. He put the phone away and walked up to the scotch bottle. If his friend visited, he’d notice the tension between Graham and Kate. Jacob could be naïve and out of touch when it came to his daughters, but the man was smart.
Graham curled his fingers into a ball. He had to be stronger than desire, and bring this nonsense to an end.