"See!" Ash said, cutting him off. "That's what I'm talking about. I can look at some cloth and do that to get a pair of panties, but you do it with stuff that's a bit more complicated." He turned in his seat enough to see Faith. "Am I still in trouble?"
"No," she said. "Zeke said that if Dad isn't mad, then maybe he knew something I didn't, and I should find out what." She bit her bottom lip and looked over at Luke. "So, I kinda heard stuff."
"Like when you were in the barn?" Cy asked.
"I didn't mean to listen!" she insisted. "Well, not that time. I really was just coming to feed the horses, but then I heard you. I didn't hear enough, though, but it sounded like you and Dad were messing around, and then Zeke said that maybe it was why Ash and Violet had done that. I mean, I heard when you all were talking downstairs, too. That was mostly intentional."
"After you overheard Violet and me in my office?" Ash asked.
She nodded. "I wanted to make sure Cy knew, but the more I heard, the less mad I got. So when all of you went to talk in Violet's room, I kinda snuck up the hall. I was telling Zeke what you said, but I took too long, my tablet timed out, so when he replied it made a sound. I hurried back to my room, but I got caught, huh?"
"You did," Luke told her. "You also don't need to sneak around and eavesdrop. Faith, if you think something or want to know something, it's ok to ask. It's also ok for us to not be ready to tell you.
She nodded. "But can y'all tell me what's going onnow?"
"Can I?" Ash asked, looking at Luke.
"Sure," Luke said, giving in.
"The short version, and the one we'll explain to you later," Ash said, "is that I love your dad. I love Cy. I love Violet. Same goes for all of us."
I was watching Faith's face, watching her process that, and it seemed she didn't quite get it. "But you slept with Violet."
"The other kind of love," I said gently, braced for her to reject me all over again.
Her eyes flared, and she spun to look at her father. "Dad?"
He nodded. "I am dating all three of them, and I know that's weird, and I know people here don't do it, but that's what I meant by complicated. I have two boyfriends and a girlfriend. My girlfriend has three boyfriends, and so on."
"But why didn't you justsaythat?" she asked.
Yeah, I had this one. "Faith, it's because most people don't like it. The same reason that Zeke doesn't tell people he's gay. Ash got beat up when it got out that he and Cy were a couple."
"But they're not," she said, her little brow creasing.
I just lifted a hand. "They are. Luke and I are a couple in public, and Ash is in a couple with Cy. We just share our couples, but if you tell people, then your mother can say Luke's not fit to have custody, and you'll have to go live with your mom after all."
She just huffed and flopped back in the seat. "See? If you'd just saidthatthen we wouldn't have had a problem. Zeke said there was some polyamory going on when I talked to him about it. He said it was cool, though. Meant y'all were even cooler than he thought."
"Do you know what polyamory is?" Cy asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror.
"Zeke told me," she bragged. "So, does this mean that I'm gonna get a stepmom and two stepdads now?"
"Pretty much," Luke said around a laugh. "Oh, Faith, you are amazing. I also trust you. I honestly believe you won't out us."
"Never," she swore. "But is it ok if I tell Zeke? Because he's been talking to me about it."
"I'm good with that," Ash said.
"Me too," Cy promised.
I was nodding, but Luke leaned in to hug her from the side. "Yes, you can tell him, but ask him not to out us either, ok? I'm actually liking being your full-time dad."
"I like being your full-time kid, too."
For the rest of the way home, she asked question after question. Most of them proved that the girl who'd been so sweet and innocent over the summer had learned a few things. No, she didn'ttrulyget it, but between the internet and a friend, she had someone to talk to about the stuff other kids at school said, and she was doing her best to grow up quickly.
But that was ok. Together, we'd all make sure she grew up safely. Just hearing her ask if I was going to be her stepmom felt nicer than I'd imagined. Somewhere between Bonham and Cats Peak, Luke reached over to toy with my hair. I lifted my hand, his fingers wove together with mine, and Faith just kept going.
