Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
When our food came out, it was Molly who brought it. She’d let her blonde hair grow out a bit since Sammy left. Her cheeks were slightly pink like she’d been spending time in the sun. Molly usually worked mornings, so I wasn’t used to seeing her here much in the evening.
“Hey, Sutton, Jasper. Where have you two been hiding?”
We weren’t ever real close to Molly. She was just my younger cousin’s best friend and then his girlfriend, only that hadn’t been true at all. It made my gut clench when I thought about how long Sammy had hidden who he was, how long he’d had to lie and pretend his relationship with Molly was something different than it was. Sutton and I were essentially doing the same, only we hadn’t done it for years, like Sammy and Molly. I was pretty sure it would kill me to do that.
“We’ve been at home a lot, or hiking and stuff like that. How’s Sammy?” Sutton asked.
Her whole face glowed when she said, “He’s doing great. I miss him somethin’ terrible, but this is good for him. I know you’ve texted with him some, but he and Emerson have been traveling all over. They’re in Colorado now. They’ve been there for a while and seem to like it. I don’t know if that’s where they’ll land for good, though.”
“I’ve been meaning to call and actually talk to him. I got a few things I want to say—to him and Emerson both. I hate that we weren’t fair to Emerson, that we believed he did those terrible things, and for Sammy, well…you know…he shouldn’t’ve had to hide who he is.” Molly’s mouth fell open, and I chuckled. “It ain’t that surprisin’, is it? I’m not that big a jerk.”
“No, Jasper. You’re not. Sammy’ll be happy to hear that from you.” The bell over the front door jingled, and she said, “Oh, look. Your mama and daddy are here.” She waved at them.
I turned to see them. Dad’s eyes locked with mine, his jaw setting as he saw me and Sutton together. Mama smiled, took his arm, and the two of them headed over. They really didn’t have a choice now. If they didn’t at least come talk to us, people would start talking, and by tomorrow, there would be a hundred rumors about something going down in the Finch family.
“We didn’t know y’all were comin’ here tonight,” Mama said.
“We felt like gettin’ out of the house,” I replied, then looked at Dad, waiting for him to say something, pleading for him to, because no matter what, I still loved him. I still wished we could have a relationship. I wanted things to change.
We were all quiet for a moment, Molly too. She should be getting back to work, but I figured she was curious, that maybe she could sense the tension between us or had noticed that my own dad wouldn’t look at me.
“We were just telling Molly how happy we are to hear that Sammy and Emerson are doin’ well.” Baiting them had never been me, but I couldn’t hold back. I wanted them to know we hoped the best for Sammy, and that Sutt and I were the same and that wasn’t ever gonna change.
“That’s what Carrie’s been sayin’,” Mama replied.
“Oh, I didn’t realize since we haven’t been invited over for dinner when she comes.”
“Jasp,” Sutton said softly.
I was a little surprised at myself, but something had definitely gotten into me.
“How ya been, Dad? We’ve been real good, in case you’re wonderin’.”
“Jasper.” It was Mama warning me this time.
“We’ll let you two get back to your dinner,” Dad said, then headed for the hostess.
“Just a family disagreement. You understand that,” Mama said to Molly, then, “I love you, Jasper.” And she did, just not enough to tell her husband to get his shit together and accept his son.
“I love you too,” I replied, watching her walk away from me too. When I turned back to them, Sutton gave me a sad smile. To Molly, I said, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Sammy about that. Like I said, I gotta talk to him.”
“Of course. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Molls.”
Sutton watched me, our food still sitting between us, untouched. I didn’t speak right away, trying to sort through what I wanted to say, what I wanted to do. As soon as the thought entered my head, it immediately calmed something inside me I hadn’t even realized was so riled up. “I think we should start looking for a new place. One that’s just ours, that we choose together, like we talked about. I don’t want to leave Ryland because—”
“I don’t want to leave either. This is our home. If we ever go, it should be because we wanna see what else is out there, not because we were pushed away.”