man it was hard....
“That you, Kaiden?”
He looked up and saw his dad’s door was ajar and went toward the light.
“You still up?” he asked as he entered the dimly lit bedroom.
“No, I’m talking to you in my sleep.” His dad frowned at him. “How am I supposed to sleep when I’ve done nothing but sit around all day?”
“You’re allowed to walk around the house, now, and annoy everyone,” Kaiden pointed out. “You seem to enjoy that.”
“It’s not enough and you know it.” Jeff huffed. “I hate being cooped up.”
“I get it.” Kaiden tried to remember the advice Julia had given him. “It must be difficult for you when you’re used to being so active.”
“Got it in one.” Jeff sniffed. “Dr. Tio says I can walk outside tomorrow as long as someone comes with me—like I’m a child.”
“I’ll walk with you. That new foal looks like it’ll be coming early.”
“That fool of a doctor won’t let me help with the birth. I can tell you that now.”
“Dr. Tio is not a fool, Dad. I’m sure you can still be there, and tell us we’re doing it wrong, and how to fix it. You’ll like that.”
“Maybe.” Jeff took something off his nightstand and handed it to Kaiden. “Leanne gave me this. She said I can watch movies, read books, and e-mail people on it.”
Kaiden opened the tablet. “Yeah, they are great devices. Did she set it up for you?” He flicked through the settings and icons on the screens.
“Apparently.”
“Did she give you any headphones?”
“Yes, you know your mother. She’s always prepared.” Jeff hesitated. “Which is why I don’t want to ask her how to make all this stuff work.”
Kaiden fought a smile. “I can do that. Here, take a look, it’s really easy.”
Fifteen minutes later, his dad was compiling a wish list of movies and had worked out how to plug in his headphones, which gave Kaiden a weird sense of pride.
“Should I do that twittering thing?” Jeff asked.
“God, no. You’d be banned in a heartbeat,” Kaiden said. “You might want to avoid Facebook for a while, too.”
“Okay.” Jeff looked up from the tablet. “What’s going on with you, then?”
Startled by this unexpected parental interest, Kaiden blinked.
“Nothing much. Ben and Silver liked the memory cabinet I made them.”
“Good. How are things with Julia Garcia?”
Kaiden’s smile died. “Nothing is going on with Julia. Why would you think otherwise?”
“Because I lie here all day with the door open, and listen to everyone gossiping, and your name comes up a lot.” Jeff set his tablet aside. “Do you still like her?”
“Do we have to do this now?” Kaiden complained. “I’m not a kid, Dad.”
“Then don’t take that whiny tone with me.”
“Julia is an amazing woman who is going back to San Francisco next week,” Kaiden said evenly. “That’s all you need to know.”
“So, she’s not interested in you.” Jeff nodded. “That’s what I told your mother.”
“You’ve been gossiping about me? Really, Dad?” Kaiden let out a breath. “For the record, she likes me a lot, but we’re both being responsible adults who understand that sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.”
His father snorted. “You sound like Ben when he messed everything up with Silver. I thought I’d taught you all to fight for what you wanted.”
“You can’t force someone to love you, Dad.”
“You’re telling me that? Look what a mess I made of things with your mother.” Jeff pointed at his chest. “I let my anger and stubbornness take over, and lost the best thing I ever had.”
“But both you and Ben eventually worked things out, didn’t you?” Kaiden reminded him, aware that his father didn’t need to get too excited about anything right now, and it was usually his job to be the peacemaker. It was probably way past time for him to leave.
“So why can’t you?” Jeff asked. “Do you think you’re too special to even make the effort?”
Kaiden stood and looked down at his father. “I don’t think that at all. I’m not even sure how I feel about Julia, so maybe I shouldn’t jump in and make things worse?”
“Is that how it’s always going to be with you then, Son?” His father looked him square in the eye. “Losing someone you might come to love because you’re too damned scared to reach out to them?”
“After what you did to this family, you are the last person in the world to give me advice on my love life, Dad.” Kaiden just managed to keep his voice even as he walked toward the