Page 153 of For Your Consideration

“Did I mix my months up?” Paul’s voice came through the phone. “It ain’t February, is it?”

I let out a laugh. “No, no, you didn’t mix up the month.”

“Thank goodness. Thought I was going to have to get my brain looked at.”

I snorted and shook my head. Paul was in his sixties now and had recently retired but he was now volunteering with a search and rescue group in B.C. The man couldn’t sit still. Paul was the cop who had found me, who had been checking on me all my life. We hadn’t seen each other in years but he’d been calling me on the day he found me every year since he tracked me down at seventeen.

“I just…” I let out a puff of air. “I need to tell you something.”

“Are you in trouble?” He sounded more alert now, almost like he was sitting up.

“Nothing like that. But I think you’re going to be mad.”

“Out with it, kid, stress is bad for my heart.”

“I have a daughter. Her name is Sophie and she is the most precious thing to me. She’s thirteen months old.” Silence greeted me on the other end of the phone so I rushed to give him more information. “I feel so stupid for not telling you sooner but the more time that went on the madder I thought you would get. I didn’t have the easiest pregnancy, both physically and mentally, since the guy I was with at the time was a douche. But I’m out of that now. I’ve moved to Calgary and we’re both doing really well. I met a man, Asher. He is so good to us and as I was watching my daughter call him Dada today, I realized that I shouldn’t have hid this from you. I was just embarrassed, and I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job living the life you hoped for me and—”

“Sutton.” Paul cut me off.

“Yeah?” I let out a big breath and looked up at the sky.

“I’m not mad at you. And you have nothing to be embarrassed about. For the record, all I did was pick you up from that fire station and hand you over to child services. Made sure you were in a good home and that your mother couldn’t find you. You’ve created this life for yourself, kid. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.” I exhaled again.

“Do you have pictures of this little munchkin?”

I spent the next thirty minutes sending Paul pictures of Sophie. He asked about how I handled it all, how I was feeling now. He asked me about Iris and grilled me about Asher, asking if I needed him to threaten him in case he was ever an idiot.

When we hung up, I felt lighter. Like a stress had been taken off my plate that I didn’t even know I had. Paul had said he was planning to come to Calgary to see us, and I couldn’t be more excited.

Building a life I was proud of was new to me, but it was thrilling.

I heard the slide of the door, but I didn’t turn around to look. I’d told Asher what I was coming out here to do. He’d told me that he was proud of me and would come find me when I was done.

His arm went around my shoulder as he sank his large frame next to me on the step, pulling me into his side. I relaxed into him as he seemed to inhale my scent and then pressed a kiss on the top of my head.

“When I first moved in with Jane, Henry, Noah, and Knight, I had a hard time sleeping. I had my own room but after sleeping in my car, I’d quickly gotten used to light sleeps. At nights to stay awake I used to look up at the stars and try and pick out constellations. So when I moved in, I would go into their yard and look up at the stars when I couldn’t sleep.”

I leaned over and pressed a kiss on his shoulder. I moved my hand to his thigh as I watched his throat work. He looked at the sky as he continued his story.

“When Jane found me there after about a week, I was so worried she was going to force me to talk. But nope, she just lay down next to me, letting me look at the star formations. All she asked was if I knew them by name. I said I didn’t. Next day she came home with a book naming all the constellations.”

I reached out and pressed my hand against his side. “Your tattoo.”

He nodded, moving his eyes to mine with a soft look on his face. “Orion. It was the first one I was able to identify, and the book said it symbolizes balance and unity. That’s what the Hutchinson family gave me. It’s also a reminder…” He lifted his hand, and I followed as he outlined the cluster of stars. “That no matter where I am in the world, I’ll be able to look up and find Orion, find my balance again.”

“I like that,” I said, looking from the constellation over to him to find his eyes already on me.

“How was your conversation with Paul?”

“He asked for pictures. He wants to come visit so he can meet her.” I could hear the disbelief in my voice.

“Of course he does. Soph is the best thing in the world. Anyone who doesn’t want her is a big fucking idiot and has no place in her life,” he grunted.

I let out a laugh, shaking my head. “She’s lucky to have you.”

“She’s lucky to have you.” Our gazes locked as we both started leaning in.