“You’re about to be thoroughly impressed,” he assured her gravely. “I’ve signed up for cooking classes. Six hours of instruction on cooking with seasonal produce.”
Cassie made a show of slapping her hands to her cheeks, her bright green eyes rounded, her rosy mouth shaped into an O of surprise. Her layered strawberry blond hair bounced around her face with her energetic movements. “You’re taking cooking lessons? What has gotten into you?”
He shrugged. “You won’t be around after August to nag me about eating healthier. I guess it’ll be up to me to take care of myself.”
“I guess you’re right.” She stood on tiptoe to brush her lips across his cheek. “But I’ll still call all the time from London to make sure you’re being good. Every day, maybe.”
“I hope so.” Despite his light tone, he still couldn’t think of her being that far away without a hollow feeling in his midsection.
“Who’s offering these classes? The community college?”
Filling two glasses with ice, he shook his head. “Bonnie Carmichael will be teaching them at Bride Mountain Inn. I ran into her—er, sort of literally—at the farmers’ market this morning and one thing led to another and before I knew it I was signed up for cooking classes.”
“Please tell me you didn’t knock her down again,” Cassie said with a groan, looking up from setting out their salads on the round oak kitchen table.
He laughed ruefully. “Just bumped her arm and knocked a tomato out of her hand. Wasn’t my fault this time. Some woman nearly ran me over trying to get to a basket of cucumbers.”
“Honestly, Dad, this woman is hosting my wedding. If you keep assaulting her, she’s going to fire me as a client.”
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Though he knew Cassie was teasing, he shook his head. “She’s much too professional to take it out on you. I could tell how much pride she takes in the inn.”
“Yes, so could I. Kinley’s really ambitious for the inn too, I think, but from what I’ve seen, Bonnie is the one who just truly loves the place, you know? I get the impression that for Kinley it’s a career. One she loves, but still a job. For Bonnie, the inn is her home. Definitely where her heart is.”
From the time she was a young teen, Cassie had prided herself on being an astute observer of people. She was so good at it that her friends often consulted her about potential dates—and she boasted that she’d saved a few from making big mistakes. Paul thought she was right on the money this time. From what he’d observed of the Carmichael sisters, his daughter had just perfectly summed up their feelings about their family inn. He hadn’t spent any time with Logan Carmichael, so he couldn’t say what Bonnie’s brother felt about the place, but he’d seen the love in Bonnie’s eyes when she’d talked about the inn where she lived and worked.
He’d never really felt that connection to a place. Home to him for the past twenty-one years had been where his daughter was. Now that she was moving away he was going to have to find a new definition for himself. There was a certain freedom in the knowledge that after August there was nothing holding him here, no reason not to strike out and explore the world a bit on his own, as his predominantly married, tied-down friends had pointed out to him lately. Footloose traveling was something he’d never felt he could do—never wanted to do—while Cassie was growing up.
“I still can’t believe you’re going to take cooking classes,” Cassie commented as she stabbed a fork into her takeout grilled chicken salad. “I mean, it’s great—but funny.”
“Bonnie warned me I’ll be the only man. It’s a small class. Only six students.”
His daughter grinned. “Maybe you’ll meet someone interesting there. Someone single, nice…and a healthy cook, as a bonus.”
Cassie had been trying to fix him up with someone for quite a while, but especially since she’d become engaged. He suspected she was afraid he’d be lonely after she moved away. And maybe he would, at least at first…but he’d deal with it, he thought in dry amusement. He didn’t need his kid to find companionship for him. Nor did he see any reason to mention to her that the most intriguing part of the class for him at the moment was the fact that pretty Bonnie Carmichael was the teacher.
“So did you pick up your wedding programs yet?” he asked her, abruptly changing the subject.
Her face lit up. The one sure way to distract Cassie from any uncomfortable subject was to ask about her wedding preparations. “Yes, this morning. They’re so pretty! Exactly what I wanted to hand out at the wedding, with the poem Mike and I love so much printed at the top and very cool, stylized flowers as a border. I left them at Mom’s house, but I brought one home to show you. I think I left it in the car. I’ll run out and get it when I finish my salad. I’m so glad I decided to go with pistachio and dove-gray for my wedding colors, even though Mom was concerned about the combination. It’s going to be gorgeous, Dad. Really.”
“I have no doubt.” His design-major daughter had impeccable tastes, if not as traditional as her mother would have liked.
“And just to make Mom happy, I’m adding a few pops of coral here and there,” she confided.
“You know your mother will like anything you decide for your wedding. She just wants you to be happy. As do I.”
“I know.” She smiled somewhat mistily at him. “I’m so lucky to have you as parents, Daddy. I want you to know I’m aware that you’ve both always put my best interests ahead of your own. Someday, when Mike and I have kids, I hope we’ll be nearly as good at parenting as you two have been.”
He cleared his throat with what Cassie would probably have termed his typical male awkwardness at such a blatantly sentimental moment. “At least you and Mike are getting married and establishing your careers before diving into parenthood. Your mom and I did the best we could considering we were just dumb kids ourselves.”
“And you learned to change diapers and braid hair and kiss boo-boos while other guys your age were chilling at college keg parties,” she teased fondly. “Mom told me you never missed even one of your visitation weekends even when you spent all week juggling work and college, nor did you hesitate to babysit any time she needed a break. And you never complained about child support payments. In fact, she said you often slipped her a little extra when you had it.”
Hearing her describing his life since his late teens served as a reminder of the freedom that lay ahead for him. There were parts of it that were going to be very nice, indeed, even though he knew there would be times when he missed those earlier days. Still, he was rather intrigued by the idea of discovering what it would be like to be Paul, the bachelor, rather than just “Cassie’s dad.” But for the next few weeks he would continue to fill that role willingly and to the best of his abilities.
“Do you need a little extra, Cass? I know the wedding stuff must be getting expensive.”
Her laugh pealed musically through his functional little kitchen. “Daddy, I’m not hinting for cash. Trust me, you’ve paid enough toward the wedding. I’m just trying to thank you for all you’ve done for me. I don’t know, I guess I woke up in a sappy mood this morning. I realized that in just a little over five weeks, I’ll be getting married and moving hundreds of miles away from you for the first time in my life. And I don’t want to do that without making sure you know exactly how much I love you and how grateful I am to you for giving me such a happy childhood.”