Chapter 62

Asher

"What?" I ask, coming down the stairs. Sawyer looks like someone died.

"Don't freak out," he warns.

"Shut the fuck up, Sawyer. What happened?"

"Reece's father just pulled up to the house."

I push past him, and he pulls me back. "Hey, hey. Hold on a second. Reece said to keep you inside."

"What the fuck is he doing here?" I move to the living room, my blood boiling.

"I don't know, but Reece is outside talking to him."

I glance out of the window. Reece is on his haunches, his head bowed and his father, that big fucking monster, stands, towering above him and all the years roll back. I stalk to the door.

Sawyer stops me, but I push him back. Then, taking his face between my palms, I beg my husband, "Baby, please. Look outside and look at him. Look at Reece. Our Reece. Buddy Carter destroyed our lives. He's still trying to. This is my fight too. Reece needs me. Let me do this for him, Sawyer. Please. I beg you."

He releases me. "Okay, Ash. Go and finish it then. And bring Reece inside."

I let Sawyer go and swing the door open so hard it almost comes off its hinges. Rushing forward, I reach Reece, bending to pull him to his feet. He's crying. Sobbing. He turns in my arms, and I hold him to me, turning to face Buddy Carter.

"You need to get off my property," I tell him.

He smirks. "Nice to see you again, Asher Cameron."

"You need to get off my property."

"Yeah. Well. I'm not here for you. I'm here for my son. I'm the only family he's got, and I can't sit back and let him throw his life away."

Reece's body is tucked into mine. I tighten my grip on him. "Reece's family is me. And Sawyer. He's happy here, and I won't let you do this to him again."

"You're not in a position to argue with me, Cameron. I believe you don't even have a job anymore. You have even less than my son at the moment. At least he still has a job."

"You're not going to throw your weight around here. I don't give a fuck about what you think or what you've done. We survived then and we'll survive now."

"Yeah, well. Not with my son."

I laugh emptily. "Yes, Carter. With your son. He's not coming back with you, if that's what you came here for. He's staying right here with me and my husband."

Buddy Carter makes a disgusted face. "You people make me sick," he spits out.

Reece has finally calmed down. He lifts his head from my shoulder. "You need to leave, Dad. If you can't accept that this is who I am and this is the life I've chosen, then you need to leave."

"You'll regret this, Reece. You're just like your mother."

"I won't. And yes, I'm just like my mother."

I grind my teeth. "Get off my property, Carter."

He sputters, but nothing more comes out of his mouth. Then, he gets into his car and, slamming the door shut, revs the engine and flies off the property, tires squealing as he speeds down the dirt road.

I stay with Reece like that for a long time, and then, I say, "Let's go inside. This shit is over."

Sawyer doesn't ask any questions. He gets three beers out of the fridge and pushes one in each of our hands, and we stand in the kitchen, the three of us, drinking in silence.

Reece is the first to speak. "Thank you. Both of you."

"You were brave, Reece," I say.

He nods. "I tried to be."

"You have your people," I tell him. "We are your people. And my mom. And Pippin. Faye too. Dotty. You're not alone, baby."

"Hold on a sec," Sawyer says. He leaves the kitchen and returns a minute later. He goes to Reece. "Give me your hand," he says.

Reece looks at him curiously. I do too.

Sawyer drops a wooden figurine into Reece's hand. "Happy birthday to Abigail," he tells Reece. My heart explodes, and tears fill Reece's eyes.

"A . . . a bee?" he asks in a broken voice.

"It's a keychain. You said maybe she'd like yellow, and she had bees on her bedroom wall."

Reece throws his arms around Sawyer's neck, and I swallow the lump in my throat. My husband is the most wonderful man I've ever encountered.

"Thank you, Sawyer," he whispers.

"You started making this ages ago," I say, remembering when they sat outside and started on new figurines.

Sawyer smiles. "I took my time. I wanted it to be perfect. For Abby's birthday."

Reece holds the keychain up for me to see. "It's perfect," he sniffs. Then he looks at Sawyer. "I love you, Sawyer," he whispers brokenly. But it's the kind of breaking that feels like healing. Reece is not breaking. He's healing. And Sawyer has become an important part of that journey.

Sawyer's eyes find mine. I lean in to kiss his jaw. "How about that, baby?"

He nods and I think he's trying not to cry. "I love you too, Reece," he rasps. Then to me, he whispers, "I love you, Ash."

"I love you, Sawyer." And to Reece, "I love you, Reece. So very much."

Reaching into the odds and ends bowl in the middle of the counter, I fish out our set of spare keys and place it in Reece's palm. "You need your own set of house keys for this keychain," I say.

He drops his forehead to my chest, and I hold him to me. Sawyer kisses the top of his head and whispers, "This is home, Reece," and I know that it's true that we were meant for each other. This was always meant to be. No one could have stopped it. Not even Buddy Carter.