Page 104 of The Rest is History

Faye jerks her eyes toward Pippin. “We got a new baby.” Her smile is beautiful and sad and soft, and her eyes fill with tears. “I told you not to bring him,” she says on a choke, and then, “You teach him how to take care of himself, you hear?”

Asher was right. Faye needed to see Ezra even when she was adamant she didn’t want to.

“Yeah. Of course,” I say.

“You and Asher will help him, right, Sawyer? Teach him everything right, and don’t let that Carlson near him.”

“Yeah. We will, Faye. Don’t worry.”

“But you don’t bring him here when he’s grown, okay. I don’t want—”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “We’re gonna bring him here, Faye. No way you’re gonna be some secret we keep from him. We’ve already decided.”

Faye’s face hardens. “You want him to know he got an aunt that looks just like his mama sittin’ in prison?”

“We want him to know he’s got family.”

She laughs, but not in a good way. “Family? Family I can’t hug? Can’t visit for the holidays? What kind of family is that, Sawyer?”

“Faye, don’t take this away from us. It’s all we got.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t want Pippin’s baby to get bullied in school because his aunt is a fucking criminal.”

“We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“How? You gonna go to kindergarten with him? Sit in his class with him in middle school?”

“We’ll make it work. Please don’t worry about him. We’re taking good care of him.” Then, to distract her, I say, “I’ve got something to tell you.”

Her eyes soften immediately. Every time I use those words, it’s usually something good. I hope that’s true this time. “Remember I told you Asher had that friend in high school?”

“The one he was in love with?”

“Yeah.”

“I remember.”

“He came to visit us a couple months ago. He was going through some rough times, so we helped him get a job at the lot. His name is Reece.”

She grins. “Only you would offer to help your husband’s ex-boyfriend.”

I laugh. My first genuine moment of happiness since we got here. “We’ve become friends since then.”

“Oh? How’s that working out?”

“Well, that’s what I want to tell you. Would you judge me if I told you that I’m in love with him, and Asher is okay with it? And we—we want to be together, the three of us.”

Faye stares at me for a second. Then tears fill her eyes again. “Judge you?”

I nod.

“Sawyer. You were a father to me and Pippin. A mother. A brother. A friend and a protector. A provider. You were everything to us. And after all that, look at where I am today. You never judged me. How could you ever think I’d judge you? If this makes you happy, if it makes Asher happy, don’t ever give it up.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s an accountant.”

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