“You shouldn’t have to bear the sole responsibility of getting us out of the mess I made,” my father said. “You could let it all burn.”

He knew me better than that.

“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. You know you can count on me, and that’s probably part of why you weren’t more careful. Unlike some people in this family, I actually have a conscience.”

He huffed. “Thanks a lot, Jace.”

“You deserve it, old man.” I shook my head. “I love you, but you deserve it.”

My mother appeared in the doorway. “There’s my handsome son!”

“Hey, Mom.” I walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

She placed a paper bag on my father’s bedside table. “I brought you your favorite soup from the bistro. I hope you’re feeling well enough to eat it.”

“Well, that depends on whether our son decides to forgive me for sabotaging my own business.”

“Whether I forgive you or not doesn’t change the fact that we need a way out of this, Dad. The last thing I want is a dozen angry vendors on my ass for their money.”

“No one is gonna come after you.”

Is he that naïve? “Are you kidding me? James Moore already came to my freaking house looking for his money. Farrah answered the door. If he’d done something to her, I would’ve never been able to forgive myself.”

“Shit.” My father closed his eyes briefly. “I didn’t realize that.”

“Is she okay?” my mother asked.

“Yeah. He didn’t do anything, but he was pissed. I told her not to open the door like that ever again.”

Mom tilted her head. “How is Farrah?”

“She’s good…sweet as always.”

“And quite the looker,” my father chimed in.

I whipped my head toward him. “How the hell would you know, you dirty old man?”

“Saw her at the mini-mart a couple of months back. Barely recognized her with those long legs. Beautiful woman.”

I gritted my teeth. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“I’m not dead yet. Noticing a woman’s beauty isn’t a crime.”

“It is when she’s practically a kid,” I said.

That felt a little hypocritical coming from me. Even before the escalation of these last uncomfortable weeks, I’d inappropriately checked Farrah out many times—too many to count. More troubling, I found myself inexplicably drawn to her. The sweetness in her eyes. The way she looked at me like I could do no wrong. The way she made me feel. Maybe I was angry with myself, not my dad, where Farrah was concerned.

“Give her my best, will you? Such a tough situation she’s in,” Mom said. “Having to grow up without her parents.”

I stiffened against the pain in my chest at the mention of Farrah’s parents. “She’s actually doing pretty well, all things considered,” I said, clearing my throat. “She’s independent, and she seems happy overall. It’s Nathan I worry about. Not sure where he’d be if he didn’t have his sister around. The kid’s gotta find a new job. He hasn’t been having any luck. I was planning to offer him full-time work with us, but that was before I realized we didn’t have the money to pay him.” I glared at my father. “The best I could do was hire him for cleanup over at the old mall site yesterday.”

Mom gave me a sympathetic look. “Things have a way of working themselves out. I can ask around at church and see if anyone knows of anything opening up for Nathan.”

“That would be great. I know he’d appreciate that.”

“It’s the least I can do. Nathan was always like a brother to you.”

“Yeah, especially since the brothers I do have are always out of commission.”

I lifted my keys off the table next to my father’s bed. “Anyway, I gotta go. I’m supposed to grab some dinner with Nathan. I haven’t told him about our financial situation, but I think I’m going to tonight. He needs to be alert in case someone tries to come to the house and pull shit again. I’ve put off telling him long enough.” I turned to my father and shook my head.

Mom placed her hand on my arm. “Try to go easy on your dad. He’s sick. Stress will make him worse.”

“Maybe if you weren’t so easy on him, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”

She hugged me. “I’m sorry. I know. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I looked over at my dad. “I love you, old man. Take care of yourself. I’m gonna get us out of this mess. But if I ever hear of you pissing money away again, you’re gonna be on your own. Understand?”

My father nodded, his voice frail. “I understand, son.”

• • •

Nathan and I had planned to meet at the house for dinner. I stopped off at a Mexican place for takeout on the way back from my parents’. Farrah was apparently out with her friends, so it would be just the two of us.