Epilogue
Sammy’s sweet sixteen party was almost as fun as Sarabeth’s had been six months earlier, at least in Sammy’s estimation. She wished she had a ranch and horses like Sarabeth, but she’d settled for a cupcake-decorating party at the bakery, followed by a picnic out at the Hope Town park.
Gard had barbecued and a bunch of Lia’s friends had brought sides and Lia had made a wonderfully amazing birthday cake decorated with all of Sammy’s favorite things.
All of Sammy’s friends had come. Izzy and Sarabeth, a couple kids from the debate team, and a girl from her English class.
And Mom. Who was currently sitting next to Lia while Sammy opened her presents. Mom and Lia got along really well, and every time Sammy saw it, her heart felt too big for her chest. It was like…all the bad stuff last year had led to all this really good stuff.
They’d all agreed that it would be best if Sammy stayed with Gard while she finished high school. With her rehab done, Mom was living on her own for a little bit so she could really focus on getting better.
Mom got to visit whenever she wanted, and sometimes Sammy went to lunch or dinner with her all alone. The only thing Sammy wasn’t allowed to do was spend the night with Mom, and she was okay with that.
Sammy was being very…realistic about her mom’s recovery. Maybe it would last. Maybe it wouldn’t. But she was going to enjoy this time Mom was clean while she could. And it was easier, knowing that Mom’s last relapse had been more complicated than just wanting to get high.
Therapy helped too, she guessed.
And Lia. Who was like having a…not another mom, but someone just as important. Just like Gard. An anchor. A foundation.
Sammy didn’t know why they hadn’t moved in together yet, but sometimes Lia stayed at their house in Bent. Sometimes Lia had Sammy spend the night with her—just her, and Lia loved those nights when it was just the two of them.
But she loved every time it was the three of them too. Or the four of them. Sometimes in her life, Sammy had felt fully and completely alone.
She almost never did these days.
Sammy had let her real hair color grow out since that night—so it was a dirty blond right now, but Lia had convinced Gard to let her dye it purple. Which he was really going to have to approve of, because when Sammy opened her gift from Lia, it was a certificate to a hair place in Fairmont.
Sammy thanked her with a big hug.
What more could she want?
“I think that’s it,” Sammy said, looking around the debris of all the presents. Her heart still felt too big in her chest, like this was all too much. Like she didn’t deserve it, but Matilda said she wasn’t supposed to worry about deserving.
She was supposed to work on gratitude, and Sammy was grateful. For everything in this perfect moment.
“Not quite,” Gard said, getting to his feet. He walked away from the little pavilion much to Sammy’s confusion. She looked at Lia and Mom, who were both grinning.
Then she heard a yip. Her heart just…stopped. Gard reappeared with a little ball of fur in his arms.
Tears filled Sammy’s eyes. Fell over her cheeks before she even touched the puppy. But they were happy tears. The best, most wonderful happy tears.
Gard put the dog in her arms, where it wriggled and licked excitably.
Grateful didn’t begin to cover it.
“Happy birthday, Sammy,” he said, running a hand over her hair while she cradled the wriggling puppy to her chest.
“What’s his name?” she asked in between totally embarrassing sobs, but she didn’t care when the puppy licked the tears off her face.
“It’s a her, and she’s yours to name.”
Sammy gave it a lot of thought as she went through the rest of her party. She consulted Sarabeth and Izzy and never let the puppy out of her sight.
As people started to leave, and Gard, Lia, and Mom started to clean up, Sammy still hadn’t made a decision, but she held the puppy’s leash and led her to a patch of grass when Izzy told her that it looked like she was ready to go to the bathroom.
Izzy was an expert. The puppy had come from one of her dad’s dogs, so she was bred to be smart.
“You’re going to be a genius, aren’t you?” Sammy cooed at the dog. She turned back toward the pavilion where all the adults in her life cleaned up. She kind of felt bad she wasn’t helping, but Gard had said it was her birthday so she didn’t have to.
She had gratitude for that too.
He was over cleaning the grill while Mom and Lia picked up trash and packed up leftover food. As Sammy walked past them, she heard a little snippet of their conversation.
“Thank you,” Mom was saying, low and serious. “For being what she needed. What she needs.”
Lia reached out and gave Mom’s arm a squeeze. “Aren’t we lucky that she needs us both?”
Hearing that made Sammy want to cry again, because it was true and she knew she was lucky that Lia understood how much they both meant to Sammy.
Which just meant that this birthday party shouldn’t only be about her. She made a beeline for Gard, the puppy chewing on her leash as she did.
“Gard.”
“What’s up?” he asked, closing the lid on the grill and tossing some crumpled-up foil into the trash can.
“I have one more thing to ask for my birthday.”
He shook his head, looking sidelong at the puppy. “Getting a little late in the day, kid.” He pointed at the dog. “And that’s already one pretty big ask right there. Lia’s the one who thinks we can make it work.”
“She’s right,” Sammy said emphatically. “So now is the perfect time to ask her.”
He put on that poker face. Lia called it his cop face. Lia was right. “Ask her what?” he replied.
Sammy rolled her eyes at him. She’d helped him pick out the ring, so he couldn’t pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about.
He sighed at her pointed look. “It’s your party, Sammy. I’ll do it soon enough.”
“Do it now. Just ask her. Please. You have the ring, so why not?” She knew he’d picked it up this morning when he’d been doing errands for the party. Which meant he had it.
Lia was going to love it. Sammy didn’t have any doubts. Not about rings or her uncle getting married or Lia. Not one.
Gard glanced over at where Lia was taking down streamers. Even his cop face softened.
“Please,” Sammy added, almost positive she was winning.
He sighed. “Fine, but if she says no in front of you, you only have yourself to blame.”
He was trying to make a joke, but Sammy watched with some amusement as he wiped his palms on his jeans like he was nervous. Sammy nearly bounded all the way over to Mom.
“Lia,” Gard said. “Can you come down here for a second?”
Lia looked down at him from where she stood on the picnic table pulling down the last of the balloons. She frowned a little at him but let him help her down so they were on equal footing.
“I didn’t exactly plan on having an audience for this,” he said, keeping her hand in his. “But someone insisted.” He jutted his chin toward Sammy. Sammy had to sit on her hands to keep from clapping them together. She bounced in her seat next to Mom.
Lia looked utterly baffled. “An audience for what?”
Sammy grabbed her mom’s hand and squeezed to keep from excitably saying something.
Gard got down on one knee, and Lia’s confusion turned to shock. Her gaze flew to Sammy, and Sammy nodded emphatically, feeling tears sting her eyes.
She thought about what Lia had told her a long time ago. That pursuing and enjoying and surrounding yourself with the things and people you loved helped ease the aches of bad feelings. That it was better than trying to save yourself from hurt.
She’d been right.
“Lia, I love you,” Gard said, his low voice gruff and earnest. “You make my life immeasurably better. Will you marry me, even though I’m asking you in front of my sister and my niece?”
She laughed. That was the best part, Sammy thought. Gard and Lia made each other laugh. Made each other happy. And now they would forever, Sammy was sure of it.
Lia sank down onto her knees and put her arms around Gard’s neck. Whatever she said to him, Sammy couldn’t hear, but she knew it was a yes.
Of course it was a yes.
“They’re perfect for each other, aren’t they?” Mom whispered, giving Sammy a little squeeze.
“They are,” Sammy agreed, leaning into her mother.
And she patted herself on the back for all those months ago. Trying to steal from Lia had been the best worst thing she’d ever done.
Because it had turned out all right, hadn’t it? She knelt down and picked up the puppy into her arms again.
More than all right, in fact.
The absolute best.