Page 186 of The Sidekick

Asher’s hesitant voice draws my attention to the doorway. My eyes bulge when I take in the multitude of envelopes he’s holding in both hands.

“I broke into Shade’s room. These were in his desk drawer. They all have your name on them and they’re all open.”

I gape as two fall from the pile and land at his feet.

“H-how many are there?”

Asher counts and picks up the two that fell.

“Thirty?”

“T-thirty!?”

“Maybe more.” He tosses them all on the bed, the thoughtful look still on his face.

They spread over my mussed sheets. Some look like they were mailed to my address at my old apartment and got redirected. Others look like they got folded up and taped somewhere.

I pull one of the addressed envelopes closer and notice that all of my mail must have been forwarded to a PO box while I was gone. But who would do that?

“Shade,” I frown down at them. The dates start around when I left. “Shade had my mail sent somewhere he could monitor in case any clues came in.”

“He’s been writing to you since you left?” Asher sounds surprised as he crouches at my feet. “We’ve all thought he wasn’t making any effort with you and he started before any of us.”

His disbelieving laugh startles me out of my shock.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he stands and grabs his duffle bag again. He looks pleased with the mess as he takes it in again. His smile spreads wider before his eyes meet mine again. “He’s never given up, angel. He’s been talking to you this whole time the only way he could.”

“He’s seen me several times,” I remind him with a frown.

“Yeah, but his talking skills are shit,” Asher points out with a raised brow.

“I never would have thought that before,” I grumble and eye the pile warily.

“I’m going to go.”

When I give him wide eyes of panic, his smile gentles as he nods to the mess.

“Read those. This gives you a chance to really decide if he’s worth being let back in or not. If Shade hadn’t kept these letters from you, things might have gone very differently.”

“He read them all,” my frown gets darker as I start trying to compile them into some sort of order. When the mailed dates stop, it’s anyone’s guess what order they go in.

“We’ll deal with our son later. Right now, we’re focused on this.”

I’m not sure if I want to. This is a lot.

“Call me. Let me know what’s up with all of this, and we can discuss it.”

“Why won’t you stay with me for this?”

“Because I know you can handle it,” he assures me with a smile. “I’m not our son. I don’t think I should read anything else he’s written. It’s for you. Especially if he’s writing while Max is asleep. You don’t think Max would have told you before now if he knew?”

“He’s a gossip,” I agree with a smile.

“Exactly. Take your time and don’t rush into anything. Call me after.”

“I will,” I turn the smile onto him and the curve of his lips gets wider.

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