Chapter 38
Autumn
A fter eight hours on the road, I am finally pulling into Sawyer's family home. It is dark now, and the breeze dances around my legs, and I step out of the car. Jed wanders around the front yard and stops to pee.
There is nobody around, and the house is completely dark. I swear to fucking god, if there is nobody home, I am going to lose my shit. I pull my bag from the trunk of the car and throw it over my shoulder, grabbing Jed's bed and his food, toys, and collar. How do I pack lighter for myself than I do for my dog?
The door cracks open, and Lottie appears on the porch. She is looking as perfect as ever, with her hair tied up in a messy bun and stray hairs flying around her face. She is wearing a little pink tie-dye T-shirt dress and white tennis shoes. It should be illegal for someone to be this effortless.
"Hey! What time do you call this?" She beams at me, giving me a little wave, and rushes down the steps to greet me, clicking the front door shut behind her. "I was going to send out a search party."
Oh man, I am not in the mood for jokes. A drive that should have taken four hours has just taken me eight. All I am in the mood for is alcohol and sleep.
"Hey, yourself." I try to lean it to Lottie's effervescence, but unfortunately, I fall short.
I may be irrationally annoyed, but considering my demanding boyfriend wouldn't let me turn my car around, I am pissed that he isn't the one greeting me on the porch.
"Where is Sawyer?" I ask. My annoyance is painfully evident.
"He's right in the middle of something. I heard your car pull up, so I came to help you." Lottie stretches her hand out and makes a little grabbing motion with her hand, signalling that I should give her a bag, so I dump Jed's stuff in her arms.
"Thanks, Lottie. I'm sorry if I'm grumpy. Just tired, you know. You look great, by the way." I give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"That's okay, sweetie. I would be tired and grumpy, too."
"Lottie, where is Jed?" I ask, looking around the front of the house, trying to find him.
"Oh, he went inside when I opened the door. He's fine." She shrugs at me.
"Come on, let's get you inside."
"Why is it so dark out here?" I ask, trying not to trip over anything on the way to the door.
Lottie ignores my question but instead says, "I hope you know that you've made Sawyer a better man."
"Ha. I don't know about that," I joke. "He's still an ass." and we both chuckle.
The front door clicks open, and my irritation starts to wane. Something about this house makes me feel so relaxed and comfortable. I can't wait to get in, slide down into the couch, and wiggle my toes on the rug in front of the fire. The mood in here feels heavy—not in a bad way, but something is out of the ordinary today.
"Where is everyone?" I ask as I step into the house. It is painfully quiet, and I see nothing apart from a warm glow from the back of the house.
"Everyone is here. They're in the yard. There is no point in lighting the house when nobody is in it. Even Alice is here. She's great, isn't she?" Lottie whispers.
"Alice? What? Why is Alice here?" I am so confused, but Oliver walks up to me and slides my bag from my shoulder before I can get my answer.
"Here. I've got that for you!" Oliver's cheerful demeanour never changes. He and Lottie are one in the same person. Always happy, always helpful.
"Ahh, thanks, Oli," I reply, rolling my shoulder.
"It sounds like you had a crappy drive up here." Oliver reaches around his Lottie's waist and pulls her into a hug, planting a kiss to the top of her head.
"Yeah, it wasn't ideal. I am in a bad mood, too. Sorry, guys," I plead with Sawyer's brother and sister-in-law, hoping they won't be put off by my salty responses.
"I would be in a bad mood, too, if I were dating my brother." Oliver laughs into the darkness of the house. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to him. I hope you know that." He tells me with such kindness that I think I may burst.
"That's really sweet, Oli. Thank you. He is the best thing that ever happened to me, too. Don't tell him I said that, though." My voice is lighter in my response. It's like the further into the house I get, the less annoyed I feel. But why have Lottie and Oliver now said such cute things to me? I am a woman on the edge. If they aren't careful, I might cry!
Callie and Jed come crashing through the house and slam straight into my shins.
"Ow!" I wince and bend down to rub the front of my legs. "You little terrors. That is going to leave a bruise, you know!" I shout to the dogs, but they have already zoomed around the lounge and run back out into the yard.
"Autumn, honey, is that you?" Claudia's familiar voice calls to me from the kitchen.
"It's me!" I chime back. Everything about Claudia makes me feel peaceful and happy. It is impossible to be anything other than calm in her presence.
I step into the kitchen, and Frank, Claudia, Carter, Alice, and Poppy are standing by the doors that lead into the garden. Okay, something is definitely happening.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I mouth to my best friend, and she shrugs back at me and shoots me a shit-eating grin.
Things start to click into place, and why everyone is here, and my eyes brim with tears. I am blaming it on the drive from hell and not on my loved ones being gathered in one place.
"Autumn, honey. I know that your parents aren't around anymore, and I know that things were not always great, even when they were. But we want you to know that if you ever need us, at any time of day or night, we are here for you. We love you. We will look after you and aggressively defend you. Even though you weren't born into this family, you are our daughter now. You have completed our son's life, and we have been waiting for a woman like you. Well no. We have been waiting for you to put Sawyer back together again." Claudia's voice breaks, and both her and Frank pull me into a hug, and I cry into Frank's shoulder. I don't even attempt to hide it. To have parents who love you so fiercely should be the very minimum that you are offered as a person, but when you find that in two people who have no obligation to you, it instantly broke my heart into a million pieces and put it back together again.
"We really do love you, Autumn." Frank rubs my shoulder as he attempts to hide his glassy eyes.
Who is cutting onions in here?
"What is happening?" I ask out loud, and I let out an awkward, tearful laugh.
"Well, Autumn. You finally tamed the beast." Carter calls from the other side of the doors. I investigate the yard and see Sawyer sitting next to a bonfire with his back to the door. He has his elbow on his knee and his head on his hand, like he is deep in thought. My breath hitches as the realization hits me like a sledgehammer.
Oh my god. This is happening.
There are lots of hugs flying around this evening, and Carter is no exception. He pulls me into his arms and says, "My brother is an absolute idiot, but damn, have you changed his life for the better. He's still a dick. He is just less of a dick because of you." He pulls away from the hug, smirks at me, and gives my shoulder a squeeze. "Just so you know, though," he lowers his voice. "There is still time to walk back out of that door. We'll tell him you never came." I burst into laughter and start to sob again.
"Heyyyyyyy, Uncle Carter said a bad worddddddd!" Poppy scowls at her uncle.
"You are unbelievable, Alice!" I say to my best friend through my sobs, and Claudia, Frank, and Carter chuckle at me.
"Yep. I know. I'm sorry I lied. Well. No. I'm not sorry I lied. I am sorry I turned my phone off and made you worry though. I am not sorry that I pretended to be busy, I'm not sorry that I pushed you into something you weren't ready for, and I'm not sorry that Sawyer almost hit you with his car. Now. Go and get your man." She gestures with her head to the garden, keeping her focus on me, but the quick glances between Alice and Carter don't go unnoticed.
"Autumn." Poppy taps my thigh, and I crouch down to get to her level.
"Hey, sweet girl. What's up?" I whisper to her and rub my thumb over her cheek.
"I think Seesaw wants to ask you a question! He's over there, see!" she replies with a giggle.
"You know, Poppy. I think you might be right!" I beam back at her.
Stepping outside into the evening breeze, I feel the warmth from the fire dancing across the air. Taking a few deep and shaky breaths, I walk over to Sawyer, praying that my legs don't buckle underneath me as my chest constricts from looking at him. Everything about this man makes me feel more alive. He is wearing dark blue jeans that are tight around his thighs, a white tee, and a red checked shirt over the top. His favorite blue cap is on backward, and I can see the muscle in his neck move when he realizes that I am near. Resting a hand on his shoulder, I bend down to kiss him on the cheek and brush my nose over his rough skin, taking in his peppery smell. The world goes quiet in his presence.
"Hey, handsome." I take the one empty seat next to him, and he looks up at me with the biggest and brightest smile.
"I thought you'd never make it." He beams at me, and I feel my body vibrating with anticipation.
"There is a lot of love in this house." He turns to face me. Jed and Callie are running around playing, and I am on the verge of more tears spilling from my eyes.
"There certainly is," I choke out.
"Autumn, from the day I met you, you changed my life. You made me want to be a better man. I spent so long trying to protect myself that I missed out on all the love you had to give. Loving you has been the easiest thing that I have ever done, and I've waited my entire goddamn life for you. You are perfect. You complete me. Everything that I do is for you. You are my motivation and my drive. You are at the front of my mind every waking second and the driving force of my dreams. The day I told you I loved you changed everything. I don't want to spend another single second of my life without you. I want to build a life with you, like my parents did. I want to build you a house, a home. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. " He takes a deep breath, and his voice shakes. Jed comes bounding up to me and crashes into the chair. I reach down to give him a hug, and once again, I burst into tears, this time into my dog's scruff. I cling to Jed's neck for dear life and dare not look up because I know everything will change the second I do.
“Sugar, look at me," Sawyer pleads, but I am unable to pull myself away, knowing full well that if I do, I will absolutely lose it. I adjust my hands around Jed's neck and feel something on his collar. My heart momentarily seizes in my chest, and I stop what I am doing and look up to be greeted by Sawyer, down on one knee in front of me.
"It wouldn't have been a proposal unless Jed was involved." Sawyer unties the ring from Jed's collar and looks deep into my eyes. "Autumn, will you please make me the happiest man in this whole fucking world and say yes to being my wife?"
Without even a second of hesitation, I sink to my knees in front of him.
"Yes. Oh my god, yes," I whisper through shaky breaths. He slides the ring onto my finger and cups my chin in his hand, tilting my face up to look directly into his deep brown eyes.
"I didn't hear you!" He grins at me.
"YES! ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY YES!" I shout at the top of my lungs and reach forward, flinging my arms around his neck. Looking up, I say, "I love you so much." Then, lean in to give him a time-stopping, life-altering kiss. Sawyer brushes my cheek with the back of his hand, and gently caresses my lips with his own, running his tongue along the seam of my mouth. The warmth of his tongue the perfect contrast to my cool lips.
"You are it for me." I choke out in between my sobs. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you want to marry me!" I look at my ring finger, and my heart skips a beat at the beautiful sapphire shining in the light of the bonfire. This ring is beautiful, and it is so perfect.
"Autumn, from the very second you fell into my life. You and me? This?" He rests his hand on my chest "This was always going to be our story. I just needed to figure that out by myself."
"I needed to figure it out, too." I confess.
Alice and Sawyer's family are whooping and whistling and cheering from the house.
I turn to face the house, still on my knees.
"Oh my god, guys. Come and join us! And bring something to celebrate with!" I call over to the house and beam at my new family.
I look down at my ring finger once again and hum in happiness. If the world ended right now, I would be surrounded by the people I love on the happiest day of my life.