“How about a walk before we head home?” he asked the dog.

Charlie wagged his tail and followed Aidan into the office. Fay was finishing up with the last of the customers. She pointed to where Charlie’s leash lay on the counter.

“Kalinda played with him most of the morning,” his office manager told him. “I knew you’d want to crash and that wouldn’t work if your boy was restless. So he should be tired, too.”

“Thanks for that, and for taking care of him.”

Fay petted the dog. “Are you kidding? We all love having him. You should go on more trips where you can’t bring him. I won’t complain.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He yawned. “I’ll be back to check messages, then I’m heading home.”

“See you in a few.”

He clipped on Charlie’s leash. They opened the front door just as Aidan’s mother was reaching for the handle.

“Mom. What are you doing here?”

Elaine looked at him. “I just wanted to stop by. I haven’t seen you in a while.” She frowned. “You look like you haven’t shaved.”

“I was on a backpacking trip for three days. I’m going to take Charlie for a walk, then go home and crash.”

“Oh. Well, can I walk with you?”

He wanted to say no. There was nothing his mother could say that he wanted to hear. Only that wasn’t how he’d been raised. So he nodded and pointed to the trail he and Charlie liked to use.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. When they were clear of the office, Aidan let Charlie go off-leash. The bichon gave a quick bark of appreciation before trotting off to investigate the trail.

“Will he be all right?” Elaine asked.

“He doesn’t go far and he always checks back with me,” he told her.

“He’s sweet, like Sophie.”

Aidan thought that Sophie was a bit more of a mischief maker than Charlie, but didn’t say anything.

“Your father is sorry about what happened at the hospital.”

“No, he’s not.”

His mother sighed. “Aidan, you’re too hard on him.”

“Am I? I’m happy to see you, Mom, but you don’t have to apologize for him. He’s no different now than he’s ever been.”

He remembered what Shelby had realized. That her fear, her anger, was as much toward her mother as her father. Was it the same for him? Ceallach had been difficult for years, but his mother was the one who didn’t demand better for herself and her children.

“He loves you,” she insisted. “He’ll never say it, but I know he feels it.”

“If you say so.”

Which was more polite than what he was thinking. As far as he was concerned, his father barely knew who he was. Without having the ability to create art, Aidan couldn’t possibly matter. The statement had no moral value. It simply was. His father would never change. Neither would his mother.

Aidan had never thought about that before. That his parents simply were. He struggled to understand what Elaine saw in her husband, but maybe that wasn’t his job. Instead of trying to make sense of it, he could accept the facts as they were.

Charlie trotted back to check on them. Aidan gave him a quick pat, then picked up a small stick and threw it. The little dog raced after it.

“I wish you and your brothers could see things from his perspective,” she said with a sigh.

“There’s a scary thought.”

“Why?”

“I’m not ready to peek into the mind of an artist.”

“It’s so interesting that three of you have his gift and you and Del don’t.”