Chapter 115

“What do you want to do?”

Billy blushed, not usually one to share. “I want to cook,” he confessed quietly.

“Like a chef?”

“Yes. I wanted to go to culinary school, but my father…well, let’s just say that wasn’t going to happen.” Billy shrugged, unable to lift his gaze from his shoes.

“Have you ever tried? Cooking, I mean?”

Billy grinned. “Oh, for years! I used to work for my Aunt Maxine every summer. She owns Max’s Diner over on Main Street.”

“I go there all the time.”

“Everybody does. Maxine makes amazing food. And of course her malts are perfection.”

“The best in the state,” Gene agreed. “I’m going to miss that place.”

Billy’s eyebrows rose. “You going somewhere?”

“Yeah, selling the garage and moving out west. California, probably. I want…something I can’t have here,” he said, his eyes distant for a moment before turning his gaze back to Billy. “Why doesn’t your father want you to be a cook?”