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“Would you let someone call me that?” Her question caught me off guard.

“What?” I asked, my brow scrunched.

“Would you let someone call me a freak?” Her calm therapist voice was out on full display.

“No, of course not.” Talia was the best human I knew.

“Why would I let my best friend who is brave and fierce and kind and smart and funny call herself a freak?” My heart momentarily stopped in my chest and tears filled my eyes as she gently added, “You deserve good things Sawyer Brannan. The best things, and it’s time that you saw that.”

I sniffed, trying to keep my tears at bay even as one slid down my cheek.

“Okay,” I finally said, unsure of what to say.

“Ava is due for some grandparent time with Gigi. Rob and I can go, but I’m not tolerating any of this freak talk about my best friend okay?”

“Okay,” I answered. I wished I could see myself the way she saw me. “Thank you, Tal. I panicked, and then I was debating sending a text to cancel.” I rubbed my thumb over the inscription on the tags.

“You better not cancel on that hot cowboy!” she chastised. “Besides, going will give me a better chance to investigate him, since I can’t find him online and Rob won’t do any of my dirty work. What’s the point of being married to an ADA if they won’t be nosy for you?”

She laughed since we both knew she had FBI-level social media stalking skills and that she was as obsessed with Rob as he was with her.

“Oh, good grief!” I laughed, knowing I had the best friend in the world.

Soren:

*Photo of Freckles and Delta*

Your friends say “Hi.”

Sawyer:

*five heart eye emojis*

Tell them “Hey” back! Delta is already so much bigger!

Chapter

Nineteen

Sawyer

Sunday came around faster than I anticipated, but I did some soul searching over the last couple of days and was determined to relax and have fun. Rob drove while Talia and I chatted most of the way to Soren’s house and I tried to relax. Rob had remained quiet for the first part of the trip, however when Talia and I had reached a lull, he asked, “Am I supposed to play the tough big brother, or am I playing more of a wingman?” Talia and I both laughed.

“Neither!” I retorted between laughs. His sense of humor was one of my favorite things about him.

“I didn’t bring a shotgun and I feel less effective pulling the tough guy act without one.” His voice took on a twang as he added, “You wantin’ to go sparkin’ with my little sister, son? I’m going to need your date of birth, social security number, and credit score.”

He glanced back in the rearview mirror, his eyes sparkling with humor.

“No shotgun needed, babe,” Talia advised, patting his forearm. “Besides, your courtroom stare-down is intimidating enough.”

Talia and I both knew that was true. I wouldn’t want to be on the opposing side in a courtroom when it came to Rob Sharpe. He was intimidating enough at six foot five, but his dark green eyes could cut like a knife. Talia and I sat in on a significant trial he had a couple of years ago where Rob prosecuted a man that had killed his own neighbor. Talia had wanted to support him and didn’t want to be alone. I would have confessed right away if I was on the receiving end of his persuasive presentation skills and intense stare.

“I’m not sure he wants to ‘spark’ me!” I could barely hold back my laughter at the antiquated term.

“Let me be the judge of that, li’l sister,” he quipped in his twang again. It was undoubtedly the most exaggerated twang I had ever heard. I laughed again at his ridiculousness. I was beyond thankful for my friendship with Talia and Rob. They both knew me better than anyone, and their teasing helped to distract me. I was a fish out of water when it came to dating or even being around a man. I’d never dated, and although this wasn’t a date, it felt new and different and dating adjacent. After everything I’d been through, the idea of unnecessarily engaging in an interaction with a man had not been high on my list of things to do. In all honesty, I avoided it whenever I could.

“Thank you both for coming.” My eyes watered at how much they meant to me and how they had sacrificed their time to come with me.