Page 112 of The Rest is History

“I’m sorry. This is the first chance I could get to talk to you.” He puts his thumb into his mouth, chewing on his nail.

“Well. I’ll get right to it then. Under no circumstances will a son of mine run around the country fucking one man, let alone two. At the same fucking time.”

He pauses, while each of us holds our breath.

“I told you before you left. Go and work on yourself, deal with the baby’s death and whatever else, and then you come back and you work things out with Julie. You both lost a baby for God’s sake, and I know you needed some time off to process the grief. But this, Reece? This is fucking insane. Don’t use your daughter’s death as an excuse to behave like some kind of fucking homosexual pervert.”

Jesus Christ. Reece’s face is red, and I don’t know if it’s rage or fear.

“Are you still there, Reece? You hearin’ what I’m saying to you? You’re just like your mother. You run the first chance you get. Can’t stand your ground like a man.”

Reece trembles. No. He shakes like a leaf in a storm. He can’t speak. Asher grips the counter, his knuckles white and his jaw working. I want nothing more than to pummel Buddy Carter, but this is Reece’s fight.

“Reece, don’t fuck with me. I’m your father. The only family you have left. Get your ass home. Just get home and fucking work things out with Julie, start a family. A normal fucking family.”

Asher moves, yanking the phone off the counter. I pull him back. “Woah, woah,” I murmur, setting the phone back on the counter. Then, holding him against me, I whisper in his ear. “This is his fight, baby. Let him fight it. He needs to be the one to do this. Give him that.”

Reece’s terrified face is almost too much for me. Too much for Asher. But we have to let Reece find the courage to stand up to his father.

Holding Asher’s wrist tightly, I take Reece’s hand in mine, indicating that he should talk.

He nods and inhales deeply. “I can’t come home,” he says. “I . . . I have a job. And Julie and I are divorced, remember? She lives in California now.”

“Yeah, I had someone look into what you're involved in over there. I heard about your job. Is that what I sent you to college for? To chop trees for a living? Get yourself home. If you don’t, I’ll make sure Asher Cameron never holds a football in his hands ever again.”

I wipe my hands down my face, Reece’s body trembling next to me, and Asher . . . Asher needs to calm the fuck down.

“And another thing, Reece. The other gentleman you’re involved with over there? I don’t know if you know this or not, but he’s got a sister in Missouri serving thirteen years for assault and armed robbery. Is that the kind of people you want to be involved with?”

Reece turns to face me. My heart plummets to the ground. I offer him ten thousand apologies with my eyes. My eyes move to Asher, terrified now for withholding that information from Reece. Asher’s eyes tell me it’s okay, but I don’t know.

“You don’t know how to live on your own, Reece. Just get back home.”

The call ends but the shocked silence prevails.

Chapter 53

Reece

“Armed robbery?” The words leave my mouth without my permission. There are too many moving parts in this whole thing suddenly.

“I’m sorry,” Sawyer whispers. His eyes move desperately between me and Asher. Asher moves to him, pulling him into his arms.

Then, I realize what’s happening.

I pull him out of Asher’s arms, turning him to me and holding him by his arms. Searching his face desperately, I move my hands to his face, cupping his cheeks between my palms. “I don’t care,” I whisper desperately. “I don’t care. You kept this from me because you think I’ll judge you? The way he’s judging you now? My father?”

Sawyer stares at me and for the first time since laying eyes on him, I don’t see a man, strong and kind, but a boy, lost and afraid. I know because I have always been that boy, lost and afraid.

“If you don’t believe me, ask Asher. My father will make you feel like the dirt beneath his boot if you let him. I’ve lived my whole life feeling like that. I’m not like him, Sawyer. I will never, ever judge you.” I’m babbling, desperate for him to not let my father’s words destroy him like they destroyed me and Asher. I’m desperate to protect him from that.

“I should’ve told you the truth. I shouldn’t have let you find out like that.”

I pull him closer to me, kissing him short and hard. “It wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Then, I turn to Asher, moving one hand to bring him close to us. “I won’t let him destroy your career a second time, Ash.”

“It’s already done, Reece. It’s not up to him now, anyway. He just started this mess. The school district is going to finish it.”

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