Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
WHAT A TREE
DAHLIA
“Sorry, I’m staring,” I say, laughing.
We’re on the couch in the living room, Ava next to me. Erin is in the chair across from me, and Dylan has Chloe in his lap next to Erin. Erin’s dog Sabrina runs over to Dylan and looks at him like Let me up. We all laugh when she hops up on his lap and plops down. Chloe is thrilled.
“It’s okay. I am too.” Ava laughs. “I didn’t expect us to kind of look alike. Bruce never—” She pauses and puts her hand on my knee for a moment. “I’m sorry. This must be so weird for you. I don’t know how long you’ve known or what your dad told you…”
I jump in when she trails off. “You don’t need to apologize. Dad didn’t tell me anything. It was Dylan.”
We both look at Dylan, and he makes a face.
“Guilty,” he says.
“So, you guys are a couple?” Ava says, smiling between Dylan and me.
My mouth opens and closes. “Yes, but…please don’t say a word about it.”
“Erin clued me in a little before you got here…Bruce wouldn’t be happy. I know that much from the way he flipped when I wanted to get to know the Whitmans. He still hasn’t fully recovered.” She makes a face and then looks over at Chloe. “And I have a niece! She’s adorable.”
“Thank you,” I say, turning to smile at Chloe. She’s leaning against Dylan’s chest, looking very cozy.
“It’s been so hard not to talk to you. Milo, Uncle Anthony, and Aunt Kathleen have been great. For the longest, only Milo knew.”
“I need to have a word with him.” I laugh lightly, but it stings that my cousin didn’t let me know about my sister.
“I think Milo’s already barely hanging by a thread with Bruce, dating Goldie.” She looks at Dylan again. “I can see why you’re keeping this quiet. I’ve been surprised by how—what is the right word? Hotheaded?—he can be.”
That makes me laugh, because she’s definitely going easy on him.
“Volatile…unhinged?” I say. “Yeah, he doesn’t think clearly when it comes to the Whitmans.”
I look at Dylan apologetically, but he seems unfazed.
“I found that out the hard way,” Ava says. “Pretty much ended the relationship I thought we were starting.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s just not right. Makes my anger toward him seem petty in comparison. I’ve been trying to work through the anger about him not telling me about you,” I say, facing Ava again. “It’s not working.”
She nods. “We can be mad on alternating days. Schedule it. Share custody of the resentment.”
I snort. “Great idea.”
Then she looks at me and her face changes, her eyes filling with tears again. “But right now? I’m just…happy. I’m so happy you’re here.”
I hear sniffling and glance at Erin. She rolls her eyes, wiping under them. “Not getting emotional at all.”
Ava leans in again, voice dropping. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What were you like as a kid?”
I swallow, blinking hard.
“Lonely,” I say honestly. “But also imaginative. I spent summers pretending the lake was an ocean and my backyard was a forest and—”
“And you were a mermaid,” Ava finishes, eyes bright.
My jaw drops. “How did you—?”
“Because that’s what I was pretending.” She shrugs. “I’m quite a bit older than you, so my mermaid probably didn’t have as much style as your version, but…yeah.”
I laugh, even as tears fill my eyes again.
“I wish I’d known you,” she whispers. “Back then.”
My voice trembles. “Me too.”
Chloe yawns, and we all turn to look at her. She’s about to fall asleep.
Ava takes my hand, squeezing it. “I know you probably need to get her to bed, but can we do this again?” she asks quietly. “I mean—can I know you?”
My heart expands even more.
“Yes,” I say, no hesitation. “Please.”
She exhales in relief.
“Oh my God,” Erin says, suddenly leaning forward. “Okay. Hold on.” She lifts a finger.
We all look at her, while her eyes ping-pong between me and Dylan and Ava.
“It’s just hitting me how crazy this is. You”—she points at me—“and you”—she jabs at Dylan—“now technically…share a sister.”
Dylan groans under his breath. “No kidding.”
Erin acts like she doesn’t hear him. “I mean, is this existentially confusing for anyone? A little ‘Are we in a country song?’ vibes? Is that a banjo I hear strumming?”
Dylan rubs his forehead. “Erin—”
But I’m dying. This girl is funny.
“No, hear me out because it’s awesome.” She stands up, inspired. “Imagine explaining this to someone: ‘This is my brother Dylan. This is my sister Dahlia. And sometimes they make out in bar hallways while holding a toddler.’”
I cover my mouth as I crack up.
Ava snorts and makes a face at me. “I’m learning that she’s always like this.”
Erin points at Dylan. “Does this make you a brother-friend? A friend-brother? A frother?”
Dylan swipes his hand down his face, laughing. “You’re making it weird on purpose.”
She grins. “I’m just trying to keep up. Imagine this family tree! It’s like someone added a little bonus branch with a boyfriend hanging off of it.”
Ava loses it—she’s laughing so hard she presses a hand to her stomach.
I laugh until it hurts. “We’ve thought about it, yes, but the family tree takes it to another level. This is mortifying and another reason we should keep it on the down-low.”
“It’s not mortifying. It’s a modern romance,” Dylan says, laughing harder now too. “With layers.”
“There are layers, all right,” Erin says.
“Please sit down,” Dylan says, pointing at the chair.
Erin plops down, proud of herself. “I think we can all agree that the two of you are now—don’t fight me on this—family-adjacent.”
“You’re never going to let this go, are you?” Dylan says.
“I haven’t known her as long as you have, and I already know she absolutely isn’t,” Ava says, wiping her eyes.
I shake my head. “We’re never going to hear the end of this.”
Erin raises a pretend glass in the air. “To whatever this is! The Whitman-Granger Family Saga Situation!”
Chloe lifts her head off Dylan’s chest and pipes up. “Sitwiashun!”
Ava looks at me. “I think we can handle it, right?”
And even as my face burns, I feel the warmth, the laughter, the ridiculousness of it all.
“Just another way to carry on this messy family saga,” I say, lifting my pretend glass in the air.
“Speaking of toasts, can I get you anything?” Erin asks, suddenly prim and proper. “I was too invested in the drama to miss a second.”
I glance at Chloe. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but we probably should get Chloe back to the Airbnb.”
“Ooo, is that where your sordid love nest is?” Erin says, sliding her hands together.
“For now,” Dylan says, smirking at me with a glint in his eye.
My face gets hotter.
He turns to Erin and then Ava. “Speaking of vibes…anything you want to tell us?”
Ava’s cheeks turn pink, and even Erin looks a little bit shy, which surprises me. I wouldn’t think she was capable of it. I look between the three of them in confusion.
“What am I missing?” I ask.
“I don’t know…is there anything you want to tell them, Ava?” Erin asks softly.
They exchange a long look, and it starts to become clearer.
“We’ve been seeing where this might go,” Ava says, her lips curling into a smile. “But we’ve been keeping it quiet too.” She laughs. “Is that a family trait or something?”
“Pick a family. It fits for either,” Erin teases.
“Why keep it quiet? I think it’s great,” Dylan says.
“It’s really new,” Erin says. “And Ava has had a lot of adjusting to do…finding her birth family, moving to Windy Harbor…I’m the first woman she’s ever dated.
” She lifts her shoulder and smiles at Ava.
It’s the sweetest smile I’ve seen from her yet.
“It’s a lot. I’m a lot. And since your other sister is my best friend…
” She snorts. “We’ve got a ‘sister’s best friend’ thing going on here, don’t we?
” She leans her head back and cackles and then holds up her hand.
“Anyway…we didn’t want to do this whole thing under a microscope, you know?
” She lifts her eyebrow and gives Dylan a pointed look.
“Turns out there are a lot of secrets in Windy Harbor.”
“What do you mean?”
She sighs. “I can’t tell you. But you Whitmans…and Grangers need to just have a big sharefest. Soon.” She pats her chest. “My little heart can’t take all this cloak and dagger.”
Dylan looks puzzled but glances over at me with a smile. “I’m trying to convince Dahlia of the same thing. I think Bruce will just have to deal with it, the same way he’s dealing with Milo and Goldie and Ava being part of our family.”
My chest hurts. “Trust me. This is different. He won’t…just trust me.”
I know the cutthroat version of Daddy Dearest better than anyone, and I’ll do anything to protect the people I love from that.
It’s like a record coming to a screeching halt.
I love Dylan.
I want to tell myself No, no, it’s too soon, it can’t be love, but…is it?
He looks at me, and I don’t miss the hurt in his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just nods.
We say our goodbyes, and the ride home is quiet.
“Dylan…are we okay?”
He clears his throat. “Yeah,” he says, going for light. “I’m not going to make this day about me. You met your sister today, and it was incredible seeing the two of you.”
He glances at me. “But I don’t want to be a secret forever.”