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“No one is saying that,” her mother said. “But I know my daughter and I can see it in your eyes. You are in love with him. Why aren’t you admitting it?”
She let out a sigh. “It’s hard. He didn’t have the life we did. And he’s going through a lot with his grandparents right now. It feels as if there is so much on his shoulders and if he’s not ready, why put this pressure on? You know about his parents. He’s had some arguments with his mother recently too. It’s just...I don’t think he has a lot of trust in women.”
Her mother frowned. “But it’s not like you’re out there flirting with people. That’s never been you. You’ve always danced to your own tune and have been happy that way even when others gave you grief over it.”
“I know,” she said. “And Sawyer hasn’t come out and said it, but I believe when he lived with his parents, before the accident, that he was talked about. Or his father was. It’s like it wasn’t avoided.”
“Kids can be cruel,” Margo said. “I know. I think we all do.”
“I felt it,” Faith said. “But I didn’t care that much. Or acted like I didn’t. I don’t now either. I don’t think Sawyer does. I’m just saying this isn’t like it’s a love at first sight thing and we can just assume life is going to fall into place nicely. He works a ton.”
“Does that bother you?” Margo asked. “I had that problem with a lot of guys I dated. That’s part of the reason my relationships didn’t last. They didn’t understand it. Liam working in the same industry does.”
“I don’t have a problem with his hours,” she said. “I like my space at times. And I stay late at work too. That’s the least of my worries. Plus, I’ve been helping him with his work. I love it. It’s like solving a puzzle.”
“Just one more thing you’ve got in common then,” her mother said.
“I’ll know when it’s the right time to say something,” she said.
“Just don’t spite yourself or hold back because you don’t want your aunt to rub your nose into her finding Sawyer. We know she didn’t do it.”
“No,” she said. “I have the feeling Uncle Gavin did.”
“What?” her mother asked.
“Not now. It’s just a hunch. We’ve been in here long enough. What kind of cookies did Liam make?”
“Triple chocolate chip and lemon raspberry bars,” Margo said.
“Damn,” she said about the triple chocolate chip. Those were the ones in her house that Sawyer was sneaking the first day they met. He was bound to say something and sometimes fate just was a kick in the ass.
35
The Ringleader
“This is going to be interesting, isn’t it?” Sawyer asked a month later.
They were driving to his grandmother’s house for Easter. After dinner they’d go to Jolene Fierce’s house to visit.
“We know all the players,” she said. “The big thing is going to be if we can figure out who the ringleader is.”
“You think it’s your uncle?” he asked.
“I do. Let’s just say I started to think about it more and it’s making sense. There is part of me that wonders if my uncle and your grandfather started this and then the women got recruited in and led to believe it was their idea. But I don’t know your grandfather well enough.”
Sawyer’s head went back and forth in thought. “It’s possible. I guess anything is possible at this point.”
They’d been dating for four months now. Longer than he had anyone in probably ten years and that was pretty sad when he thought of it.
But he liked what they had and that he could come and go and do what he wanted or needed to. He wasn’t even feeling all that guilty at times either.
He did in the beginning, but he was finally starting to believe Faith was okay with it.
It’s not like he didn’t trust her because he did. He wondered if that had always held him back. That he didn’t want someone clingy but also not someone that didn’t care if he was around because they might be looking for someone else.
He parked his SUV behind his father’s truck and Faith said, “So I remember… We’ve been dating just over two months. Since the beginning of Feb. Not the beginning of December. Do you have your facts straight?”
“I always have my facts straight,” he said, grinning at her.
