Baron cracked a grin. "You don't have to do that anymore, Dad," he said quietly. "I know it was hard, and that it is hard, but despite how I act sometimes I am an adult. I can handle the hard stuff, and you don't have to keep protecting me." Of course, he knew that his Dad would continue to protect him as long as they were both alive, but that was okay. As long as his Dad knew he didn't have to.
He swallowed, having thought about how hard it must have been for his Dad, but not really getting it until right then. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Dad," he said softly. "I'm glad Uncle Al knocked sense into you though, otherwise where would we be now?" He grinned, and silently agreed that he was going to have to let go of Megan. Living in hope wouldn't help anyone, and would just hurt in the end.
"She is-was a very nice girl," he said, wincing at the use of the past-tense. "You really liked her. She loved the reserve too, and was a brilliant cook." It helped, to talk about Megan with his dad, even though the older man had no memory of her. "And Cora was the prettiest baby you ever saw. She loved her old Grandpa." He didn't know how this conversation had turned into a trip down memory lane, but maybe it would help.