He initially bought the house with the intent to renovate and flip it, but he’d fallen in love with its character. It had been a bonus when the house had another listing beside it for his father to flip and make his own.
The side-by-side living arrangement worked well for them, something Will hadn’t expected back when it first came about. Not that he and his dad hadn’t gotten along well before, but his dad essentially disengaged from his former life in Chicago to follow Will and Katie to Atlanta. Will expected him to have some regrets. That hadn’t been the case.
Will supposed it really wasn’t all that surprising. Frank Campbell was as sturdy, stubborn, and reliable as the strongest oak. He had flown to Denver within hours of taking Will’s call the day Katie entered their lives. It hadn’t taken him more than one look into Katie’s eyes to instantly acknowledge her as his granddaughter. Knowing Will needed help, he’d started making plans to adjust his life that very day. He sold the hardware store he’d opened the year he married Will’s mother. He renewed his general contractor’s license. He partnered with Will to start Campbell Investments and worked with him to identify the first house they’d flip together.
He’d kept Will sane.
They didn’t discuss it often, but when they did Will always let his dad know how much he appreciated everything he’d done. He didn’t think he ever would have gotten to this point on his own.
Beyond changing his career path and his hometown, his father had been there when Will learned the unsurprising results of the paternity test—that Katie was, in fact, his daughter. He had guided both Will and Katie through having her evaluated by doctors and therapists. He had helped Will understand what it meant to be a father…and not just a father, but the single father of a traumatized little girl with special needs. He had served as a kind of bridge for Will and Katie to get to know one another and learn what this new life meant for them both. He had taken charge of the legalities of Will pursuing and winning full custody of Katie, something that had finally become official a few months before.
In short, Will pretty much owed his father everything. Which was why when he pulled into his own driveway and discovered his father’s old clunker of a work truck parked where he usually parked the Dodge, he had to let it slide.
Or so he mentally grumbled as he cut the engine.
“Looks like dinner with Grandpa tonight, kid,” he said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
Katie gave a thumbs up in the rearview mirror. Most of her communication involved simple hand gestures combined with ASL signs they’d learned together. The many evaluations she had undergone showed that her vocal cords were perfectly fine. It would be up to her whether she ever decided to use them.
He got her out of the truck and let her run into the house to hunt down her grandpa while he walked to the mailbox and collected that day’s haul of junk. He preferred to manage his accounts and banking virtually, so he didn’t generally get much of value via USPS.
A few people were out walking their dogs or handling yardwork. He waved and returned their greetings. Another reason he’d chosen to settle in this house was how welcoming the neighbors were. From the moment he and his dad first started working on their houses, everyone had been friendly and supportive. They looked out for each other, and at this point in his life, Will wasn’t about to turn away from a strong support system.
He heard his dad’s rumbling voice as he opened the front door and stepped into the cheerful sunroom he’d built adjoining the foyer. Within seconds, the sound of rapid clicking preceded the barreling approach of the family bulldog, Gump, as he raced across the hardwood floors. Will braced himself for impact and bent down to greet him.
“Hey there, bud,” he said, giving Gump an appropriately enthusiastic belly rub as the dog flopped with a solid thud to expose himself. “What trouble did you get into today, huh?”
Gump snorted loudly and wetly in response.
“Sounds about right.”
Will gave the dog one last pat and then kicked off his sneakers, making sure they ended up in the covered storage bin he’d bought for that purpose so Gump wasn’t tempted to destroy them. After hanging his coat on one of the hooks along the righthand wall,