“Swear they never retract their claws,” Gran agreed, accepting her own slice.
“There’ll be no fightin’ today. Not when we have so much to be thankful for.” Momma smiled at June as she helped pass out the pie, then to Owen who sat in his high chair, then finally settled her gaze on Nat. Her smile widened as she glanced down to where Asher’s hand rested on Nat’s thigh—something she hadn’t even noticed because this had all become second nature to them.
Nat picked at the pie, finally sliding it over to Asher to finish. “Well, I can tell you this now since we know the outcome, but I was fakin’ every bit of that confidence I swore I had.”
“You little liar.” Asher squeezed her thigh.
“I was worried for y’all, too,” Rory said. “But Edna was tellin’ me Judge Seville couldn’t walk three steps around town without someone commentin’ on y’all. Couldn’t even grab a cup of coffee without someone bendin’ his ear. Sounds like y’all had more character witnesses than just Daddy.”
Nat’s gaze snapped to Rory before she turned to her father. His cheeks had flushed, and he found his half-eaten slice of pie awfully interesting. “Wait…Daddy was a character witness? Judge Seville never said who—”
“Well, not in an official capacity, of course. Just as a concerned father.” He cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. “My name doesn’t carry much weight anymore since I’m not the mayor, but I didn’t think it was right, what the Haywards were doin’, is all. Y’all deserve to be a family.”
Her daddy had spent the early years of her life doing everything he could to bail her out of any bit of trouble she’d gotten herself into. With his money and his connections. But never with his words alone. Never for somethinggood, instead only to keep their pristine name shiny and untarnished. And though she’d never had to face consequences thanks to him, it had always felt like a power move more than anything. But this—him speaking out on their behalf—felt a lot like love.
“Did you put sunscreen on that bald patch at the back of your head? You’re gonna get burned,” Nat finally said, her voice thick with emotion.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Rory slapped her hands down on the table and rolled her eyes. “Y’all love each other. Fantastic. Now can we eat this pie in peace?”
“First, I’d like to propose a toast.” Momma held up her glass filled with sweet tea. “Congratulations on officially becomin’ a family. Daddy and I are both just so thrilled it means all our girls are finally home.”
* * *
Asher had known grief.He’d learned it when his momma died, and then his dad. Had healed from that and come out on the other side, only to get swept under the wave again when his sister and brother-in-law passed away. Coming back to Havenbrook, he’d felt a little like he was a life raft, floating in the middle of the ocean with those two kids on his back.
But then Nat had stepped up when he’d needed her, and her family had taken them into their fold. He’d been a part of the Haven household since he was six years old, but he’d never felt that more so than he had today.
The only trouble was, it was all a lie.
“Thought this was a celebration.” Nash dropped into the chair next to Asher and passed him a beer.
He accepted it without hesitation because God knew he needed a drink. “Thanks.”
“Since we’re supposed to be celebrating, you wanna tell me why you look like you did when you dropped your ice cream cone on the sidewalk during the second-grade field trip?”
Asher cracked a grin, his gaze locked on Nat as she helped June attempt a cartwheel in the yard. “I am celebrating. You even brought me a drink.”
“Yeah, except your face doesn’t say quite say celebrating as much as car-ran-over-my-dog.”
That was pretty spot-on then, since he felt a hell of a lot worse than someone running over his nonexistent dog.
He blew out a breath, his gaze focused on the beer bottle cupped in his hands. “I don’t know what you want from me, Nash. I’m happy. June and Owen are officially mine. What more could I possibly want?”
Nash snorted and leaned back in his chair, his beer bottle braced on one knee. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a certain beautiful, troublemaking best friend we share?”
“Just drop it, all right?”
Nash leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Look, man, we’ve got two decades of friendship under our belts, and I’ve never once let you take the easy road. That’s not how this works between the three of us. So, I’m sure as hell not gonna start now.”
“You’re tellin’ me fightin’ for these kids has been easy?”
“You know damn well I’m not talkin’ about the kids. I’m talkin’ about Nat and you lettin’ her go.”
He snapped his gaze to Nash, anger burning in his gut. “And you thinkthatis easy? You think Iwantto let her go? She did me a favor, comin’ here.”
“Don’t kid yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
