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“He’ll be fine. He needs a few minutes for the headache to pass.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“A cure for epilepsy?”
Sawyer didn’t think about how he was supposed to act or what a devoted fiancé would do. He did what felt natural. He put his arms around Piper and pulled her close.
“You are a really good sister.”
She linked her hands behind his back and pressed her cheek to his chest. “I pay all this money for doctors and medicines and nothing helps. It’s so frustrating.” She lowered her voice. “My mom wants to get him into this experimental medication study she found in Pennsylvania. It’s going to cost more than I’d planned to get them out there and set them up with a place to live while he’s in treatment.”
Everything Piper had been saying about why she needed to protect her image was making perfect sense when Sawyer saw her brother’s illness up close and personal. There was no room to wiggle out of this fake engagement. Piper’s reputation needed protecting so Matthew could get the treatment he needed. Maybe she cared so much about her image because of the people she loved after all. Sawyer just wasn’t one of them.
“I’m here for you,” he said, but she stiffened and pulled back.
“We’ve got this. Don’t worry about me.”
Sawyer couldn’t hide his confusion. She had this way of running away from him even when they were in the same room.
“Come help me get started on the dishes,” Harriet said to Sawyer from the doorway. If he wasn’t needed here, there was no reason to stay.
“Thanks for helping out,” he said as they began sorting through the dirty dishes. “Piper was worried that he might get triggered.”
“It’s a shame what that young man has to deal with. His family is wonderful, though.”
“Piper and her mom are great.” Sawyer wasn’t about to give Heath any credit.
“I could see how hard it was for his dad to watch that. It’s no wonder he’s so focused on Piper. At least he feels he can do some good there.”
“Focused is a nice way to put it. I usually call that level of interest an obsession.”
“You know, it’s pretty normal for there to be friction between a man and his father-in-law, especially when the woman is the dad’s only daughter. Your grandfather used to give your father a heck of a time.”
“What?” Sawyer had never met his maternal grandfather, who had passed away before he was born. “Dad never mentioned that. He always spoke well of Grandpa.”
Harriet laughed and bent over to retrieve the dishwashing liquid from under the sink. “Oh, my, your mother used to tell me stories!”
“Like what? What was Grandpa’s issue?”
“Well, he thought they were too young to get married. Your father didn’t have a college degree yet, and your mother…” She paused for a long beat. “Your mother had never committed herself to anything, let alone anyone, in her entire life. He thought it was a big mistake.”
Sawyer really couldn’t argue with that. “I guess he was sort of right.”
“What?” Harriet shrieked. “Because of that marriage, you and your sister were born. I don’t think your parents would ever call that a mistake. I know I wouldn’t.”
“I know Dad never would have said that. He loved us. He wanted us. Mom, on the other hand—she clearly thought it was all a very big mistake.”
“Is that what you think?”
“That’s what I know. She left, Harriet. Never came back. Never called. Never cared. She’s no one to me.”
Harriet frowned and sighed. “I love you and I love your mom. I don’t know why Gretchen thought her leaving was best for you all, but I have to believe she did it because she thought it was.”
“I love you, too, but you cannot convince me that my mom left her amazing husband and two little kids because she thought it was better for them. If you said she left because she thought it was better for her, then I would believe you.”
Sawyer could feel his blood beginning to boil. If there was someone who got under his skin worse than Heath Starling, it was Gretchen Stratton.
