"Then there's nothing you can do," Violet said. "We'll see her every other weekend and do our best to make sure she knows someone's proud of her."
Ash made a noise, stopping her. "She hates us, Violet."
"She still needs to hear that we're proud of her. If anything," she said, "that makes the words more powerful. We're not getting anything out of it. Once this is over and we can tell her about us?"
"But can we?" I asked. "I'm honestly asking here. Can we just sit her down, tell her we're all together, and think that Meredith won't come to take her back?"
"You'll have a couple of years, at least," Cy pointed out. "If she tries right after this, they'll think she's reacting to losing. Her attorney will tell her to wait at least a year or get some very good proof."
"What if they put Paul Simmons up on the stand?" Violet asked.
"Hearsay," Cy said. "I asked Cessily to be sure, but she said she's not worried about it. She said there's no reason for him to testify as a character witness unless Luke gets a few. She talked to David from the church, Bev, and a few others. I told her to talk to Emily. Now, if that happens, it'll delay the trial, there will be a recess, and it starts to get messy."
"But it could buy us a little time?" I asked. "Just enough to convince Faith that she shouldn't be mad at Ash and Vi because we're ok with it?"
"Worth a shot," Cy said, but he didn't sound sure.
The problem was that this was all new to me. Cy had been in the courtroom a few times. I'd only been once, when we'd gotten the temporary custody. It had been fast, I hadn't said a single thing, and then it was over. I had a funny feeling that this would be very, very different.
"I don't want to move," I told them. "I want to stay and be a part of Southwind forever. Relationship or not, although I'd prefer we're still doing this when we're old and grey."
Cy reached up to rub his head. "Or bald. Trust me, I'm gonna lose it."
"You'd look good with it shaved," I teased.
Ash just leaned over his knees, clasping his hands between them. "What did Faith say, Luke?"
Yeah, I didn't really want to talk about that. "She's mad."
"Tell me," he insisted.
So I blew out a breath. "She said that if you were really my friend, you wouldn't steal my girlfriend. I told her that Violet was your best friend and things are a lot more complicated than she thinks, but she's at that age. Complicated is old person code for 'we're making a big deal out of nothing,' and she's so sure that the easy answer is the right one."
"She hates me, huh?" Ash asked.
I bent my knees and hooked my arms around them. "Well, I think disappointed is a better word. Seems her mom has taught her that men only want one thing, and that we can't be blamed for it. It's Violet she's pissed at. She says you were supposed to be on our side, but you stabbed us in the back by sneaking around."
"Have to admire her resolve," Violet said, but she didn't sound happy about it. "Luke, is this even possible? Us, together, with your daughter so adamantly against it?"
"Vi..." I tried.
"Hear me out?" she begged. "You are a good-looking man. You now have a good job, and we're not about to take it from you. There's no reason you can't find someone who'd make you happy. Some beautiful woman who loves kids and would treat Faith like her own. Someone who'd be there for her when she needs it. Someone who'd love you completely, never thinking about anything else."
"No," I said, stopping her. "That person exists, and she's sitting right there." I pointed at her. "Andhe'sover there. And the other one's over there. Don't you get it? I don'twantto be with some girl who's going to cook us dinner and smile at church. I want this. All of this. I don't want calm and safe. I want the three of you, and if that's not going to happen? Well, I'm damned good at being a single dad now." I dropped my head against my chest and kept going. "Look, I get it. If you three can't handle this, I honestly do get it. You didn't ask for my kid."
"Fucking stop," Ash snapped. "Yeah, we kinda did. When this started, we knew the deal. Faith first. That has always been your line, and we pushed all the rest of them aside. You keep rising up to meet us. You fucking earned your color, Luke, and as far as I care, Faith earned hers too. She's part of this family, and that doesn't just go away. There will never be another Lilac. I love that kid. Cy loves that kid. Violet loves that kid. We also love you, and those two things aren't necessarily tied together."
"So what do we do now?" I asked, looking between the three of them.
"Get the trailer," Cy said.
"I'll pay for it," Ash told me. "And don't even try to bitch. I saw the ad. It's six hundred a month for six months."
"I can afford it," I told him.
"I'm the one who screwed this up," he countered. "This is my fault, which means I'm paying."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "Ok. Fine. So we'll move out this weekend?"
