Chapter 8 #2
Junie fit with me like a puzzle piece I’d never realized was missing, and Daisy… shit, once upon a time, I thought maybe she did too.
Those few hours spent with her three years ago had lived rent-free in my mind since, always wondering if I’d made a mistake not chasing her up the elevator. But now, here she was, once again delivered to me, as if fate was screaming at me for messing up the first time.
I reached down and took off Junie’s glasses, then dropped onto the armchair across from the couch, elbows on my knees, hat dangling from my fingers.
I should’ve been figuring out what to say to the judge tomorrow.
How to make sure Junie stayed here.
How to make them see I was her family, too.
Instead, I sat there like an idiot, watching two Winslow girls sleep on my couch, and realized just how badly I didn’t want to lose them.
The girls dozed for several hours, Daisy slowly falling to the side and Junie inching up until she lay as the little spoon in front of her aunt. I threw a blanket over their legs and closed the blinds, trying to give them both the rest they needed.
I, however, couldn’t rest. My mind raced in a thousand different directions, trying to think of ways I could beg everyone to see how much Junie and I loved each other. How desperate I was to be a part of that little girl’s life.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, dragging me away from Junie and Daisy curled on the couch as if they had always belonged there. I backed down the hallway toward my room before pulling it out.
Beckett
Checking on you. How’s your favorite blondie?
Ty
Which one?
Beckett
Wow, that was easy to get you to admit. Emmy says the aunt is a 10.
She also says you were rude and weird. Story time, bro.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, cursing the fact that my sister was now engaged to and living with my best friend.
Ty
Not a story.
Beckett
Uh-huh. And I’m great at Pilates.
You don’t get weird for no reason. Spill it.
I hesitated, staring down the hallway toward the living room. I’d never told anyone about Daisy, not even sure what I’d say.
Ty
I met her once.
Beckett
…
What the hell does “met her once” mean?
Oh shit, did you sleep with her?
Ty
Jesus Christ, no. She’s 10 years younger than me.
Beckett
Mm, you’re both adults now though. Age is just a number, buddy.
So if you didn’t sleep with her, why the weird vibe?
Ty
It was the night I retired.
We just walked around the city and talked. It didn’t matter.
Beckett
…Yeah, I can tell.
You’ve been sitting on this for three years? Jesus, Huddy.
Ty
Wasn’t anything.
Beckett
I love the smell of your bullshit.
Ty
I didn’t think I’d ever see her again.
Beckett
Ohhh. So this is like soulmate shit. This is so much better than I expected.
Ty
Stop
Beckett
Zero chance. This is prime-time level drama. I need to tell the boys.
Mystery girl reappears, gorgeous, living next door, practically family…
Pass me the fucking popcorn.
Ty
I’m blocking you.
Beckett
No you’re not.
The wooden floorboards creaked beneath someone’s feet coming down the hall, and I slid my phone back into my pocket, standing up.
Daisy stood in the doorway to my bedroom, sleep-rumpled, soft, and unfairly beautiful.
Her shirt hung off one shoulder, her hair a mess, and for one traitorous second, all I could think was how she looked like she belonged here.
“Sorry,” she said, resting a hand on the doorframe. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
I shook my head, trying to get my brain to focus. “You needed it. No need to apologize.”
I stepped toward the hallway, but she lifted a hand, stopping me in my tracks.
“Wait.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Junie sprawled in a tangle of blankets on the couch, then stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The soft click of the latch felt louder than it should have.
“We need to chat,” she said.
I shoved my hands into my back pockets and forced a steady nod. “All right.”
She exhaled as if she was steadying herself. “Tomorrow we have the custody hearing for Junie. But I need to know what the plan is for tonight.”
“I already told you,” I said. “You’re welcome to stay here, or I’ll come with you to Violet’s house. But I’m not leaving Junie. Not tonight.”
Something flickered across her face—surprise, maybe. Sadness, definitely. “Ty, I… I appreciate what you’ve done. I know this has been a lot. But just so we’re on the same page, I intend to get custody of Junie tomorrow. She’s my niece. I came here for her.”
I clenched my jaw. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to stay in her life, for as long as she wants me in it.”
Her brows knit. “I don’t get it. I mean… you’re not family.”
My breath punched out rough, the words sharper than a blade.
“I’ve been here.” The words came out too harsh, edged with everything I’d kept inside.
“For months. How many nights do you think she’s slept in that room down the hall while Violet was in the hospital?
How many mornings have I made her breakfast?
How many days have I driven her to school or brought her to practice with me or stayed up when she couldn’t sleep because she was worried her mom was dying? ”
Her lips parted, but nothing came out.
“It’s been me,” I bit out, hating how emotional I sounded. “I’ve been fighting for her before there was even a fight.”
The silence that followed was heavy with grief. Daisy’s eyes shimmered, like she was holding it all in by the skin of her teeth. And why wouldn’t she be? We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if her sister weren’t gone.
I hadn’t meant for it to sound like an attack, but fear had a way of sharpening everything. Of turning the truth into something that could wound.
“Daisy—” I started, her name rough in my throat.
She shook her head, swallowing hard. “I just… I need a second,” she whispered, and looked away.
The air between us buzzed with everything neither of us knew how to fix.
She was grieving for her sister.
I was terrified of losing Junie.
And this—whatever this undeniable thing was between us—had nowhere to land.
“Daisy,” I tried again. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. None of this is simple. Losing Violet…” I dragged a hand over my jaw, trying to find the right words and failing. “It’s heavy. For all of us.”
She let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh that caught at the edges. “You think I don’t know that?”
Her voice cracked open, raw and loud in the stillness of my room.
“Violet was my sister, Ty. My sister. And now I’m supposed to figure out how to be a parent while I can barely wrap my head around the fact that she’s not here.
Junie is literally it. She’s all I have left.
And yeah, I wasn’t here before, but I am now. And I’m not leaving her alone.”
Her words hit like body blows. Not because they were unfair, but because they were true.
There was no bad guy in this. Just two people standing in the wreckage of someone else’s life, trying to grab hold of what was left.
“Fine,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say.
“Fine,” she echoed, chin lifting stubbornly.
The air between us burned, hot and brittle, both of us too strung out to soften.
I blew out a breath. “I’ll show you to the guest room.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
When she didn’t move, I stared at her, jaw tight. “Might be easier to open the door if you got out of the way.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she stepped aside without a word, crossing her arms as I opened the door and walked out into the hallway. I led her to the guest room—the one right next to my master suite.
She stepped inside, scanning the space. It wasn’t much, just a clean, simple room. A big bed. A dresser. Warm light spilled in from the windows overlooking the mountains.
“I can grab your bag,” I offered. “And move your car up.”
Her spine straightened, shoulders squaring like I’d insulted her without even trying. “I can handle it.”
“Wasn’t saying you couldn’t.”
“Good.”
“Great.”
She brushed past me, the scent of her fruity shampoo still clinging to the air she left behind, and stalked down the hallway toward the front door. I stood there a second longer than I should have, staring at the empty doorway.
The night had grown quiet outside, giving way to dusk. In the stretch of silence only filled by the wind in the trees just outside the window, realization hit me square in the chest.
This wasn’t just a custody hearing tomorrow. This was a battle nobody wanted, but both of us refused to lose.
And I had no idea who would still be standing at the end of it.