49. Sawyer

Chapter 49

Sawyer

The next week blazes by in a streak of organizing everything for Violet’s move back to Denver—but it can’t come fast enough. I hired a professional moving team to pack up and transport all her stuff, and even though she wanted to make the drive back, I didn’t want to wait the extra time to be with her again. Plus, I wanted to save her from putting the miles and wear and tear on her car, so it’s getting shipped back too.

She’s been in LA all week working out the details of the new satellite office and having a ton of meetings about it with her boss and the company higher-ups, and even though I’ve been counting down every second until I get to be with her again, I’m so fucking proud of her. I already knew she was amazing, but seeing that she made such an impact at the company that they offered to open up a whole new office just to keep her has blown me away all over again.

If it had been anyone else, they probably would’ve just let her walk away, no questions asked. But Violet’s not just anyone else, and I know firsthand how impossible it is to let her go. I couldn’t do it before, and I’m never going to do it again.

A puck whizzes past me, barely missing my skate, and I whirl to see who shot it.

Theo is standing across the ice with his stick in his hands, smirking at me.

“Earth to Townsend!” he calls. “Better snap out of it before Dunaway notices and dresses you down again.”

He’s a smart ass, but he’s right. Still, it’s hard to care about anything other than Violet right now. She’s supposed to fly into town today, and all that’s standing between me and seeing her again is this practice. The better I do, the sooner it’ll be over and I can get to the airport but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to stay focused.

“You’re up!” Noah calls to me from the line of guys who are taking turns shooting on Grant, and I realize I don’t even know how or why I drifted away from the line like I did.

I skate back to the line in a hurry where Noah passes me a puck, but when I get in place and try to tighten my grip on my stick, I’m buzzing with so much excitement that my hands are shaking a little bit. I take a few deep breaths to try to steady myself, then imagine Violet sitting in the stands and cheering me on with Jake at her side.

In just a few hours, that will be my new normal. She’ll be here, forever, and in the stands for as many of my home games as she can. The thought dials me right in, so even though Grant’s crouched and ready to give me his best defense, I hurtle toward him and let the puck fly. He blocks it, but I hear him let out an “Oof!” from the force.

“Jesus, Townsend. Are you trying to kill me?” Grant groans.

“You keep that up and we’ll have to promote you to take Theo’s place,” Noah teases, and Theo scoffs.

“Yeah, right!”

Dunaway hammers on his whistle from the box, snapping all of us to attention. “Come on, boys, this is supposed to be a practice, not a social hour. Let’s keep it moving!” he scolds, and we fall quiet as we work through the rest of our drills until Dunaway finally calls it quits.

I can’t get off the ice fast enough. “Where’s the fire, dude?” Theo shouts after me when I streak past him toward the locker room, but I ignore him. They all know what’s happening today and I’m sure they’re just trying to give me shit, but I don’t have time for it. All I care about is getting to the airport to pick up Violet.

I tear off my gear and throw it in the gear bag in my locker so I can wash it later, then head right for the showers to take what is probably the fastest one I’ve ever had in my life. Some of the guys are still streaming into the locker room when I step out wrapped in nothing but a towel. They’ve turned their attention to teasing Grant—he makes himself an easy target—but Reese makes eye contact with me from across the locker room as I’m getting dressed and wanders over.

“So, today’s the big day, huh?” he asks, leaning against my locker while I towel off my hair.

“Yeah. Finally.” It’s still kind of awkward talking about Violet with him, but at least we can be open about it now. “I know this must be weird for you and everything, but?—”

Reese holds up a hand to stop my babbling. “It’s only weird if we make it weird. The only thing that matters to me is that Violet’s happy and safe. And honestly, I’d rather see her with one of my guys than anyone else. At least that way I know what she’s getting into,” he says with a teasing smile.

Maybe I’m imagining it or hearing what I want to hear, but it almost sounds like he’s giving me his blessing.

“I’m crazy about her, Reese. Really. I’d never hurt her.”

I’d cut off several of my limbs before I let that happen.

“You’d better not. I’ll kill you if you do,” he says, and his smile widens so I can’t really tell if he’s joking or not. “But I know you love her. I saw how much it fucked you up when she left. And I know Violet better than probably anyone else. She wouldn’t give up a life in California to come back here for nothing, so she must be serious about you too. I want what’s best for her, whatever makes her happy, and she’s decided that’s you. So I’m happy for you both.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Just be good to her. That’s all I need.”

“You have my word.”

“Good.” Reese claps me on the shoulder and steps away, leaving it at that.

I stand there for a few seconds trying to absorb everything that just happened. For whatever reason, I thought winning Reese over would be a lot harder than this. But maybe after what he went through to be with Callie, he gets it. Regardless, I’m glad he’s being supportive. He really does love his sister, just like I do, so it makes sense that we’re both on the same page—because we both want to look out for her and take care of her.

I finish packing up my stuff and hurry out of the arena a few minutes later. I toss my stuff in the trunk and slide into the driver’s seat, stopping to check Violet’s flight status on my phone. Everything is right on time, so I send a quick text to tell her I’m on my way and head to the airport, my thoughts on nothing but her.

Traffic is light, so I make good time, and as I wind around into the arrivals section of the airport, my heart starts to race. I scan the people waiting outside, searching for her beautiful face. Some part of me is irrationally afraid she won’t be there, that something will have gone wrong and I’ll have to wait even longer to see her again.

But there she is, her blonde hair shining in the sun. She beams and waves as she sees my car approaching. I have to wait a few seconds to get close enough to her, but as soon as I weasel between two other parked cars, I throw mine in park and bolt out to wrap my arms around her. I pull her close and kiss her like my life depends on it—these days, it feels more and more like it does—and she sighs happily when we part.

“Do you have any idea how much I missed you?” I murmur.

She smirks, biting her lip. “I think I have an idea, but why don’t you tell me?”

“You’re all I could think about. I was a disaster at practice today. Ask the guys when you see them, I’m sure they’ll tell you.”

Violet kisses me again, then draws back, her eyes bouncing between mine. “I missed you too. More than I have the words for.”

“Let’s never do that again, huh? I don’t do well without you in my life.”

She grins at me. “Good, because I’m not planning on leaving it.”

My lips find hers once more, and her body arches toward mine instinctively. My hands wander up and down her sides. I’m so hungry for her that I could easily let this turn into something more until I reluctantly remember we’re in a very public spot of an airport, and I’m a very high-profile person.

“Hold that thought,” I tell her and steal another kiss before I grab her bags and load them in the trunk for her.

She climbs into the passenger seat while I’m at it, and when I join her in the car, I put my hand on her leg and give it a little squeeze.

“Do you mind if we stop to pick up Jake from school on the way back?” I ask.

“No, not at all. I’m just as excited to see him as I am to see you.”

“Same for him. I don’t think he slept a wink last night because he was so excited. If I hadn’t had practice today, I would’ve let him skip school.”

“Aww, poor little guy is probably going to be exhausted.”

“Don’t underestimate a little boy’s energy,” I warn her, and she laughs as I put the car in gear and roll out of the airport back toward town and Jake’s school.

When we get there, Jake’s already standing outside on the curb by the front door with the other kids who are waiting for a ride. As soon as he spots my car, he starts jumping up and down, his little backpack bouncing on his shoulders along with him.

“Ms. Violet!” he screeches when we pull to a stop in front of him, and when Violet opens the door, he throws himself into her arms.

Violet squeezes him tightly and looks at me with mist in her eyes. Not that I needed the confirmation, but seeing the two of them so happy with each other like this just makes me feel better about my decision to get Violet back. I love how much Jake loves her.

“Did you miss me?” Violet asks Jake.

“Like crazy!” Jake answers, and someone behind us beeps their horn.

When I glance in the rearview, they’re gesturing for us to move out of the way. I’m tempted to tell them where to go and how to get there, but I play it cool instead and hop out of the driver’s seat to get Jake into his booster seat and buckled in. I do take my sweet time though.

“Alright, let’s roll,” I tell them both when I get back in the driver’s seat. We pull away from the school and I don’t take the usual route, but Jake and Violet are so absorbed in catching up with each other that neither of them seems to notice.

Violet twists in her seat to face Jake. “How was school, buddy?”

“Not too good. All I could think about was seeing you today!”

“Aww, that’s sweet. I’ve been looking forward to it too.”

“How was California? What was it like? Did you take pictures? Can I see?” Jake asks in rapid fire, not letting Violet get a word in edgewise.

She laughs. “I have lots of pictures I can show you later, but let’s wait until we get home so I can show your dad too.”

“Okay!”

“Besides, I’ve got a lot of unpacking to do when we get home, so I’d love to have the company while I’m working. Speaking of, I was thinking about unpacking most of my stuff in your room. What do you think?” Violet asks me with a playful smirk.

“Actually, I wouldn’t unpack your things in either room.”

Her face scrunches as she sits up straighter in her seat. “What do you mean? Why not?”

“Daddy, where are we going?” Jake chimes in from the back, having finally noticed that we’re not heading toward the house.

“What are you up to?” Violet asks me, her lips tugging into a bemused smile.

“I want to show you something. It’s a surprise.”

She grins at me and settles back in her seat for the ride, but I can tell from the way she’s studying the landmarks hurtling by that she’s trying to put the pieces together. She’ll probably figure it out before we get there, but that’s okay. I think she’ll love it no matter what, and that’s all that matters to me.

I keep driving north, to the very edge of the city limits, and when we pull into the neighborhood of the last house I went to see with Violet and Jake a few months ago, I see the recognition dawn on her face.

“Sawyer, you didn’t…” She trails off as we wind down the street and park in front of the split-level house with all the beautiful handmade woodwork and stained glass that Violet loved so much.

But there’s one big difference—the giant For Sale sign has been taken out of the yard.

“Surprise,” I tell her with a smile as I park the car on the street in front of the house.

“No way,” Violet whispers as she slowly unbuckles her seatbelt and stares at the house, just like the way she did the first time she saw it. I take the keys out of the ignition and find the one the realtor gave me for the house, then pass it to her.

“Yes, way. Welcome home.”

She instantly tears up as she takes the key from me, and Jake lets out a gasp from the back seat.

“Daddy! You bought this house?”

“Yes, I did. For all of us. We all loved it so much that it just made perfect sense. Now are we just going to sit here staring at it, or are we gonna go inside?”

“Heck, yeah!” Jake scrambles to take his belt off in a hurry, then pauses to look over at me. “Wait, Daddy! Can I go swimming?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it in those clothes.”

He giggles. “You’re silly.”

Violet is still staring in disbelief out the passenger side window, so I climb out of the car and walk around to open her door for her and offer my hand. She takes it slowly and climbs out of the car, staring past me at the house with tears in her eyes.

“I can’t believe you did this,” she whispers.

“What did I tell you, heartbreaker? I’d do anything for you.”

She covers her mouth like she’s going to cry, but she keeps it together. I get Jake out of the back seat while she admires the house from the curb, and she links her fingers with mine when he’s free.

“Oh, and I guess I should warn you that I’ve got one more surprise for you inside.” Violet shoots me a look like she can’t take much more of this, and I chuckle at her. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing as dramatic as this. Come on.”

With Violet’s hand in mine, and Jake’s in the other, we walk through the beautiful garden toward the house and I let Violet unlock the door to her new home with the key I handed her before. As the door opens, she trails her fingers across the stained-glass mural built into it just like she did the last time she was here.

But when the door opens all the way, revealing a wide, open space that blends the kitchen with the living room, Violet’s hand shoots to her mouth. “Sawyer…”

“Look how much room there is!” Jake goes running in circles through the empty space, his arms stuck out to either side like he’s an airplane.

“I had the wall removed, just like you suggested when we toured. It was a great idea. And look how much roomier the space feels.”

Jake stops in the center of the room and spins around until he’s so dizzy that he sprawls out on the hardwood, but Violet just stares ahead with one hand over her mouth, the other squeezing mine so tightly that my fingers are turning white. Finally, she turns her gaze to me and lowers her hand away from her mouth enough to speak.

“When did you buy it?”

I shrug. “A few weeks ago.”

Violet stares at me blankly. “We weren’t even officially together then, but you still bought this house just because I loved it?”

“Seeing how much you loved it made me fall in love with it too. And I thought, worst-case scenario, it’d give you a good reason to come back and visit.”

Violet laughs at that. “Always thinking ahead.”

“You have to when you have a family,” I tell her and squeeze her hand. “But there’s one more surprise I have for you. Jake, why don’t you go check out your room?”

“Okay!”

He perks up excitedly and goes zooming down the hall toward his new room, which is exactly what I hoped he’d do. I love my kiddo more than anything, but I didn’t want to give him the opportunity to spoil this final surprise for Violet.

I lead her to the master bedroom and stop at the door. “Close your eyes.”

“Sawyer, I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” she whines through a little laugh.

“Just do it for me. Please?”

Smiling, she nods and closes her eyes. I wave my free hand in front of her face a few times to make sure she’s not peeking, then open the door and usher her inside.

“Keep them closed, we’re almost there.” I shut the door behind us and drop her hand. “Okay, open them.”

“Oh my god!” Violet gasps, clapping a hand over her mouth at what she sees.

Vases cover the room—on the floor, on the windowsills, everywhere they’ll fit—all full of dozens of dark blue flowers. It’s her favorite color, and I made sure the florist made the vases match. She turns to me with tears streaming down her face, unable to speak.

I reach for her hand again, and hers trembles as she takes it. “I wanted this house to be my fresh start, but now I want it to be our fresh start. The beginning of our lives together.”

Without warning, she flings herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck to kiss me.

“Thank you,” she murmurs between kisses, her voice cracking. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what else to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. I told you I’d do anything for you, and I meant it.”