“Yeah. Well, my mother, anyway.” I don’t look at him as I admit, “She didn’t remember it was my birthday. I haven’t heard from her in months, but she calls on the one day you would think she would remember…just to tell me that she and Dad are going on a three-month tour of Europe and, oh, am Ireallysure I don’t want to be a lawyer?”
Stephen hums. “I can’t explain why your parents are the way they are, Gracie. I can’t even pretend to understand.” He looks up at the sky, a subtle flush crawling into his cheeks. “But you don’t need them.” I open my mouth, not even sure what I’ll say, but he rushes on, “My son messed up. Badly. But one thing he’s done right?—”
“One thing?”
Stephen chuckles. “Onething is bring you into our lives. I hope you know that. You may not be a daughter of my blood, but you are just as much mine as Analise is.”
My eyes are leaking before he’s even finished, and I quickly brush them away, shoving my shoulder into his side. “You’re not supposed to make me cry on my birthday.”
He shrugs. “Good thing that was yesterday,” he jokes. “I’ve got carte blanche to make you an emotional mess, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
I let out a wet laugh. “You’re a menace,” I declare. “Just as bad as your son.” I fall quiet, thinking over everything that’s happened. The people who have been there for me—and the people who haven’t. “I was already done,” I tell Stephen. “I went to see my parents in January, and after spending so much time with you and Raewyn…You’re right. Life’s too short to keep inviting their negativity into my life. I guess I always hoped things would change, but…”
He looks at me as I trail off. “Family isn’t about blood. Not always. Sometimes it’s about the people you choose.”
“And you chose me?” I ask quietly, needing to hear it one more time. Anything to quiet the voice of the little girl still waiting for her parents to show up, even when she learned a long time ago that they never will.
He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “Yeah, Gracie.Wechose you. Plus, you know too much, so I have to keep you on my side. I can’t have you snitching to Raewyn about the air fryer.” His mouth twitches. “She’s been asking questions.”
“I won’t say a word,” I promise solemnly. “I can throw her off the scent by telling her about the toaster.”
Stephen’s mouth drops open, and he claps a hand right to his chest. “I call you my daughter, and you stab me right in the heart.”
“I’m learning from the best.”
He narrows his eyes and, before I realize what he’s doing, pushes to his feet and stalks inside, yelling, “Raewyn, we’ve made a grave error. There is just no way we’ll ever survive Analise and Gracie being sisters.”
A laugh bursts out of me, but I don’t move, playing each of his words over in my head again and again andagain. I don’t know what I expected to find when I upended my entire life and picked Sterling Creek at random. I was searching for a home, a family—something I had never had before, but I could never have guessed at what would be waiting for me here.
I know that things aren’t going to be easy, but I feel real hope for the future that is waiting for me to just reach out and grab it.
Braxton’s glaringat his phone, ignoring the thriller we’re watching about a serial killer and the FBI agent who’s got personal stakes in catching him. He doesn’t even look up when there’s a shootout at the docks, the characters running between the shipping containers and every single bullet missing their mark.
I bump my elbow against his. “What’s wrong? You’ve got a face like thunder.”
He darkens the screen, looking up at me, green eyes filled with irritation and concern. “It’s Nick,” he admits. “I don’t know what the hell he’s doing, but it’s not going to end well.”
“He’s dealing with a lot,” I remind him. “There’s rumors circling town that Joseph and Esther are looking at filing for divorce.”
Braxton sighs, resting his head on the back of the couch, phone forgotten beside him. “Nick’s not talking to me about it, and he’s not talking about the Halsey thing, either.”
I still. “Halsey thing? I thought he liked her.”
I’ve only met her once—that night at Benson’s—but she seems really nice. I can’t help but feel sorry for her, knowing her life can’t be easy with a brother addicted to drugs. I might not know the details of her background, but the haunted look in her eyes seemed to match the same one I sometimes see in the mirror.
Braxton shakes his head, but then shrugs. “He might. But I don’t think that’s his only reason for spending time with her.”
“He’s not doing it because of Halsey’s brother,” I say, tone filled with disbelief. “She’s a victim just as much as I was, and Gerard is gone. There’s no way he would bedumb enough to come back here, right? He has to know everyone would be looking for him.”
Braxton gives me a small smile. “You’re right, and Nick has to know that too. I think he’s latched on to this so he doesn’t have to deal with the shit show of his family.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “He wouldn’t hurt Halsey, though. Right?”
Braxton reaches out, cupping my face and drawing me closer, his breath coasting over my lips. “That’s not Nick,” he reassures me, his mouth brushing against mine. “I’m just worried about him. That’s all.”
“Maybe you should invite him on a nature day with you and your dad,” I suggest, and Braxton pulls back enough that I can see the way his face softens.
“That’s a good idea, Rumpel.” He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “Not sure what I’d do without you.”
