Wander Canyon Courtship. Allie Pleiter

amazement, Dad opened the hotel room door and motioned him out.

      “Seriously?”

      Dad stood his ground. “I’ve made my decision. I know you don’t like it, and I didn’t expect you to. So go walk it off.”

      Chaz glared right back.

      Dad said nothing, only met Chaz’s angry eyes. He was being dismissed. Chaz was thirty years old and he couldn’t remember the last time Dad told him what to do with that tone in his voice. The old man was changing in ways that bugged him beyond comprehension. Chaz knew the stubborn set of that jaw, and knew that when Hank Walker made up his mind about something, you might as well carve it in stone.

      So while he was steamed, and wanted to yell half a dozen things no son should ever yell at his father—stepdad or not—Chaz simply bit down on his tongue until it hurt, grabbed the bag off the coffee table and stalked out the open door.

      He didn’t bother to say goodbye for fear of what else would come out behind the word.