Chapter Twenty-Five

That morning, Savannah awoke feeling like herself again. Emmeline had been up and down in the night, since that's what eight-week-old babies did, but rather than alone and desperate like she'd been with Tucker, Brynn was still there to share it with her. Her wife, just as tired as she was, would kiss her cheek when they both jolted alert to the cry from the crib, then press her back down to the pillow, getting up to soothe their daughter, change her diaper, bringing her in for Savannah to feed then gently return her to sleep.

Somehow, despite the exhaustion, the intense cold fear that had gripped her by the throat was subsiding. She could do this. They could both do this. It would be a tricky year having an infant again, but she could finally, truly remember that it was just a year of what would be their whole lives together. She could see the love in Brynn's eyes as she gazed steadily at Savannah, and at Emmeline, the tiny new life they'd conceived of together.

Now she watched as her wife slept beside her, her long dark hair scooped up in the messy knot shared by mothers everywhere, her shoulders sun-kissed beneath her tank top, and a deep peace flooded her body. She knew she'd finally chosen well, the person she'd always want by her side.

A small squawk emanated from the crib and Brynn stirred. This time, Savannah dropped a kiss on the warm nape of her neck.

"I've got it," she murmured. She slipped out of bed and scooped her daughter from the cot. Emmeline fussed and Savannah crossed the room to sit in the window seat, pulling the baby to her breast, quietening her cries. She looked down at her daughter, the perfect curve of her cheek, the soft peach fuzz of her hair, the tiny shell of her ear. "Hi baby," she whispered, her heart cracking open with love.

She tugged back the curtain, just enough to gaze out at the peaceful green of the world outside, the gentle purple gold of the sky as the sun rose. She glimpsed a figure sneaking across the lawn, her sister with wild mussed hair and in what were unmistakably Lane's clothes, darting into the house at dawn. She shook her head and found herself smiling.

By the time she made her way to Sunday breakfast, Lane was sitting at the table in the early morning sun, sipping on a coffee. Their shoulders went stiff when they saw her.

"Morning," they said hesitantly, eyeing her carefully, trying to gauge her mood. Savannah gave them a long stare, just to see them squirm.

"Morning," she relented, her face splitting into a huge smile. Lane looked relieved, their cheeks going bright pink, before they focussed on loading their plate with breakfast with the concentration a surgeon might require. Brynn arrived, Tucker jumping excitedly at her heels. He leaped onto her lap for a snuggle, chattering about his dreams and Savannah breathed in his little boy scent before he wriggled away and splashed milk everywhere as he poured it on his cereal.

"Morning." Cassidy arrived, back in her own clothes, her hair neat and washed, her face fresh and as innocent as pie. Savannah watched as Lane simultaneously lit up and went still, greeting her like the rest of the table then trying extremely hard to keep their eyes on their toast. She watched her sister watch Lane and roll her eyes. She slipped onto the bench next to them, sitting close. Lane struggled on, trying to act normal for another thirty seconds. Then they slipped an arm around her waist and squeezed her tight. Cassidy glowed.

Savannah and Brynn met each other's eyes, something sweet passing between them. Then Savannah cleared her throat, making everyone look up.

"Cassidy," she said sternly. "If you hurt them, I'll hunt you down." Cassidy blinked. Lane looked wide-eyed. "Lane," she added, "if you hurt her, I'll hunt you down." They both stared at her. Then her face cracked into a smile so big it hurt. "I'm just kidding. I love you both." Their exhalations of relief only made her smile wider and she couldn't tell which one of them seemed happier to feel her approval. God, what a change from the sister who'd arrived only a few months ago.

The rest of breakfast went on as normal, except that Lane looked happier than Savannah had ever seen them and Cassidy looked brighter than the sun. Savannah would never in a thousand years have picked it, though in hindsight she could finally see how obvious the whole thing had been. They were so cute, Cassidy clearly playing footsie and Lane both wildly uncomfortable and obviously smitten.

The day grew hot and everyone ended up in the pool, Savannah gently swirling her tiny daughter in the water with them, Lane and Brynn water-fighting with Tucker, Cassidy floating dreamily. It felt like the kind of day where everything was magical, where everything glowed and Savannah felt finally, like she'd made it, that this, right now, was the moment that her whole life had been leading up to.

Eventually they all tired of the water and she and Brynn brought the kids inside while her sister and Lane lazed on beach loungers under the shade. She and her wife had only just changed back into clothes, wrangled the kids and headed back downstairs when the gate buzzer sounded and Annabelle answered the intercom. She walked into the room, an odd expression on her face making Savannah come all the way alert.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Your parents are here," she told her slowly. Annabelle had worked for Savannah for a long time. She knew there was a reason no family visited. "What would you like me to tell them?"

Savannah took a deep breath, looking at Brynn, then her children, Tucker playing cars and Emmeline asleep in her buggy.

"You can let them in," she said. "But then would you mind taking the kids down the hall with you?" She made one more request, quietly, and Annabelle nodded calmly, as always taking everything in her stride.

"Honey." Brynn crossed the room and took her hand. She didn't have to say anything else. Savannah knew her wife was firmly by her side.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Savannah steeled herself and went to open it. On the other side stood her mother, more than a decade older than Savannah had last seen her. Her blonde hair was streaked with gray and the lines around her blue-gray eyes had deepened. For the woman who'd birthed and raised her, she seemed impossibly small all of a sudden. Beside her stood her step-father, still looming large despite his hair graying, those big arms and huge hands as capable as ever of causing harm. Savannah forced herself not to step back.

"Hello," she said calmly. "Please come in." This was her home, she reminded herself. Her life, her family, her success, her world. She was not seventeen and terrified, or twenty-five and fighting shame. Wordlessly, her parents followed her through to the living room. "This is my wife, Brynn," she said evenly, looking at the tall, beautiful, loyal woman she'd married. "My mom, Bethany, and my step-father, Randy."

"Nice to meet you," Brynn said politely, but she knew better than to reach out a hand to shake. Savannah gestured toward the couches and her parents sat on one, she and Brynn on the other, facing them down together.

"Where's my daughter?" Randy asked without preamble. "I know you know where she is." Savannah forced herself not to look out toward the pool yard.

"She's here," she said calmly. "And she's safe and well."

"I think that's debatable, don't you?" Randy's voice was hard. Savannah silently prayed that Cassidy and Lane either stayed put, or had headed back into the guesthouse together.

"No," she said quietly. "She's good. And she's happy. Is there something you want, specifically?"

Her mother interjected, her hand on Randy's arm. Savannah could see her silently beseeching him not to do what Randy always did.

"We want her to come home," she said. "This isn't the environment we want her to be in."

Savannah felt Brynn stiffen beside her.

"This environment?" Savannah looked at her parents. "This environment, where she's in a loving family and no one gets hit?" She saw her mother flinch imperceptibly then raise her chin. Randy got in first.

"How I raise my daughter is none of your business," he spat. "And I don't want her around a bunch of godforsaken queers and perverts."

At precisely that moment the door opened, Cassidy in her bright bikini, Lane still tugging a t-shirt over their head, both sparkling with laughter, Lane's hand coming down to touch the small of her back as they stepped into the room. Everyone went still as their laughter died.

"What the hell, Cassidy?" Randy was on his feet. Her sister went white. Savannah and Brynn stood too. "This is what you left home for? To dress like a whore and act like one too?"

"That's enough," Brynn snapped, but Randy was already staring at Lane, his face getting harder and more enraged by the second.

"Who the fuck are you, putting your hands on my daughter?"

Savannah stepped in front of him. He towered over her. She reminded herself that she was not a child, not powerless and not under his roof. He'd never before hit her with anyone outside of the family to witness.

"Answer me, you little gay freak," Randy was shouting.

"Actually," Cassidy spoke up, her eyes fierce, "they're my boyfriend."

"That's it. You're coming home with us right now." Randy moved fast, pushing Savannah aside like she was nothing, Brynn catching her by the arm to stop her falling. Everything happened quickly. Randy stormed toward Cassidy and Lane stepped in front of her. Randy growled and his fist came up, putting his whole body into the punch. Lane moved sideways and ducked, their hands barely seeming to move but a second later Randy was lying flat on his back on the floor, his breath knocked out of him, winded.

The next second, two security guards burst into the room, their eyes instantly tracking to where Randy was pulling himself up to sit, red-faced, eyes bulging with rage. Savannah surveyed her family quickly. Cassidy was flushed and frightened and Lane was breathing hard. They put their arms defiantly around her and she leaned into them. Brynn was bristling with alarm and rage and her mother was frozen still in the middle of the room.

"We got your call about the potential threat," the older guard addressed her. Annabelle was nothing if not efficient. "Do you want us to remove the intruder?"

Savannah looked at Randy who was back on his feet, no longer swinging his fists now that two larger men were in the vicinity. Both appeared about eight feet tall in the moment and that was without the holsters on their hips that made damn sure Randy wasn't coming up swinging any time soon. She took a deep breath.

"No," she said quietly. "But you can stay." She was grateful for their presence. Both men stepped aside, but were clearly poised for action if needed. "Okay, listen up, Randy," she said after a minute. "Cassidy is my sister as much as she's your daughter. She's also a damn adult and you're an abusive asshole, so if she wants to live her life far away from you that's your own damn fault."

"You have no right-"

"She does," Cassidy spoke up. "She's cared for me my whole life."

"I fed you and housed you-"

"No, she did. You just spent and gambled all her money so we had to fight just to get fed." She stepped closer to him, her eyes blazing. Savannah's vision blurred.

"You what?" She got within two feet of his face. "Mom?" She looked over at Bethany who sank down onto the couch and buried her face in her hands.

"You sponged off her." Cassidy was red-faced, ferocious. "You let her feed money she meant to care for us into a void, while you did whatever the fuck you wanted to. You stopped me from leaving home or going to college, then you hit me every time you thought I might step out of line. Of course I won't go back home with you. You're a piece of shit, Randy." She held her chin high.

"Mom." Savannah turned to her mother again. "All this time?" Her voice cracked. Her mother finally raised her head. She looked intensely old all of a sudden.

"It's so easy for you to judge, isn't it?" she said quietly. "When this is what your life looks like?" she gestured briefly, at the mansion, at her appearance, at Brynn. Savannah stared at her.

"Oh, shut your mouth, Bethany," her stepfather interjected, his frustrated rage spilling over. "You're just lucky your daughter made it big," he told her derisively. "I would have left you years ago if you didn't suddenly have a big fancy house and a stack of cash coming in."

Savannah felt the blood leave her face.

"You stayed because of me." She could barely speak. "You stayed because you could steal their money and live in a nice house, and hurt them both. Because of me."

She looked up at her sister, who was weeping. She remembered Cassidy's tears, her rage, her sister accusing her of being careless and controlling of her family's lives without knowing a damn thing and her heart broke. When Randy shrugged, mockingly, the rage came, hard.

"Keep the fucking house!" she yelled. "It's yours, Randy, fucking keep it. Live in it forever for all I care, it's all you'll ever get. The money is cut off, right now. Not another cent. And if you come near me or my family ever again, I swear to god, no one will ever find your body." Everyone in the room stared at her. She took a savage breath. "Mom," she addressed her. "You can go home with him if you want, but I'm giving you nothing. He can't use you anymore. If you don't want to go with him, or you want to leave him at any point - ever - I will keep you safe."

Her mom froze still, panic-stricken. Randy took a step towards Bethany and both security guards who'd been watching the drama with frank interest, straightened just enough that he stopped. She watched her mother's face as she struggled. Finally, Bethany looked over at Cassidy where she stood, young, clear-eyed and strong.

"Goodbye Randy," she said faintly. Savannah immediately turned to the security guards.

"Get him out of here," she said, not sparing her step-father another word. "Drop him in Nashville; he can find his own damn way home."

Randy squared up, ready to fight, taking in a breath to yell, but the two men had one of his arms each without so much as a struggle, practically picking him up and removing him from the house.

The room was silent as everyone stared at each other. Then Cassidy spoke.

"Lane," she said incredulously. "When exactly did you turn into an action movie hero?"

Everyone turned to look at them. Lane shrugged, but the relief on their face was obvious.

"Did you think I was helpless?" they asked. "I've been doing self-defense through the center since I was a kid."

Cassidy kissed them on the mouth and Savannah felt her eyes fill with tears. When Cassidy drew back, Savannah crossed the room toward her.

"Honey," she said. "I am so, so sorry. I…ruined your life." She broke into tears. "You were right about everything I did. I fucked up. I fucked up so bad."

Cassidy looked at her, her face uncharacteristically soft.

"No," she said. Then, as she watched Savannah weeping, her eyes got wide. "No," she emphasized. "You always tried your best. This isn't on you, it's all on Randy, I see that now. Besides," she said, "you also saved me. You were my safe place to land," her eyes filled with tears again, "and I kind of put you through some shit too." She shrugged a little, then her own voice broke. "Thank you."

Savannah hugged her long-lost baby sister tightly and for once Cassidy gripped her equally hard back, both of them still crying, until Brynn arrived with a box of tissues.

"I love you both, but there is a lot of snot happening right now," she told them. "It's hard to watch."

They both burst into laughter and pulled back to clean up.

"Cassidy." Their mother spoke up for the first time since Randy had been removed. "I'm sorry you had to run away from us. And I'm glad you're safe. But I think you should leave here with me, today."

Cassidy's face went tight.

"I don't think so, Mom," she said shortly. "I'm happy where I am."

"This isn't how we raised you to live." Her eyes darted toward Lane.

Savannah opened her mouth fast, but Cassidy got in first.

"And thank god for that," she said. "Do you know how much therapy I'm having to undo all the bullshit you put into my head?"

"That sounds like brain-washing." Her mother looked alarmed.

Cassidy laughed out loud.

"Sometimes I do feel like I need my brain scrubbed after a life with fucking Randy," she said wryly. "Listen Mom, I love you, but if you can't unlearn some things and open your mind, you're going to lose both your daughters."

Bethany flushed, her eyes springing full of tears. She opened her mouth and Savannah stopped her.

"She's right, Mom," she said quietly. "You have two beautiful grandchildren you don't know and two daughters who you're missing out on. I'll make sure you're safe and taken care of, far from Randy, but until you learn to see things differently, you're not welcome in my home."

Brynn wrapped her arms around Savannah's waist and kissed the side of her head.

"Our home," Brynn corrected.

Savannah smiled. She looked up at her wife, then over to Cassidy and Lane.

"Our home," she said.