44. Sutton
Sutton
The house was full of laughter, music, and food.
We’d gotten home from the courthouse and as much as I would’ve liked a quiet afternoon with Asher and Sophie, everyone insisted we celebrate.
And now that it was happening, I was loving it.
Having this type of love and family and support around me and Sophie was something to be thankful for.
Noah was dancing with Soph standing on his feet, singing along to the Taylor Swift song playing through the speakers.
Asher was sitting close by, glaring at him and scolding him if he thought Noah was moving too fast. But judging by Sophie’s musical belly laughter, she was having a great time.
Quinn was filming it while Will and Oli were talking to Iris as they sat eating the pizza someone had ordered.
Jane and Knight were chatting about the wedding.
Well, Jane was saying a lot of things while Knight was just nodding along.
“How are you feeling?” Jaxson asked as he slid up to me.
“I’m really happy and relieved that it’s all behind me. Is it weird to say I’m glad it happened?”
He looked down at me, his eyes almost gold as they locked on mine. All these men were so damn tall. “Why do you say that?”
“She’s so little.” I looked at my daughter’s smiling face, her cheeks flushed from all the excitement.
“She won’t remember any of this. If he popped up two or five years from now, she might have been more aware.
At least now I can just make sure she knows how loved she is.
” My gaze moved over to Asher. His grumpy glare softened instantly when his eyes landed on my daughter.
That was the kind of love I wanted for her.
Someone who would protect her, care for her, and make sure she had everything she needed.
The way Asher cared for her was special.
I mean the man spent a whole afternoon looking at daycares with me, practically interrogating the owners at each one and then providing me with detailed reports from Jaxson on every single employee that worked there.
“We all give him a hard time about being an asshole, but he’s one of the best men I know.
Without a doubt, if I called him because I needed something, he would show up.
He might grunt about it, but he would be there.
You make him really happy, Sutton.” Jaxson’s hand landed on my shoulder, giving me a light squeeze.
“That man hasn’t had a lot of happiness in his life, but you guys are perfect together.
” With a wink at me, he went to join Quinn on the couch.
The song came to an end and Noah gently set Sophie down on her butt. When she looked over at Asher in the chair, her face lit up and she lifted one of her chubby little fingers and pointed at him. “DADA!” she screamed.
The room went silent. Someone turned off the music and everyone looked over at me. Even Asher had a bit of a panicked look on his face.
I smiled at my daughter, tears in my eyes, having just heard her first word in a room full of people that loved her.
“I’m so sorry—”
I looked over at Asher with a smile as Sophie started to crawl to him. “Dada, Dada, Dada.”
I let out a laugh as he scooped her off the floor. “I’ve been using it to refer to you.”
“What?” His voice was gruff and low as Sophie tapped his face.
“I maybe should have asked you.” I sent him a sheepish smile. “But I say it when you’re coming in the door or when we go find you in your office or when I’m getting her ready in the morning.”
“Sutton.” His voice broke as he said my name, a very uncharacteristic show of emotion from him.
“Okay. This is really getting me.” I heard Noah clear his throat.
“You said we were yours, right?” He nodded quickly, passing Sophie over to Quinn without taking his eyes off me. “You earned the name, Ash. I’m not at all upset that those were her first words.”
He swept toward me, his hands going to either side of my face as he pulled me into a kiss. There was nothing gentle about it. It didn’t start slow. Our tongues met and it was like our mouths were fucking. I just held back my moan.
“Get a room!” Oli yelled, followed by a smacking noise. I’d gotten lost in the moment and forgot everyone was here.
“Stop it,” Quinn laughed.
It was all kind of a blur with how much happiness there was around me. I pulled back from Asher but he didn’t move his hands from my face, looking at me so lovingly.
“Thank you,” he whispered, eyes still on me. “You and Sophie have given me everything.”
“You’ve shown up for her in ways I couldn’t have ever asked for, Ash. If you want the title, it’s yours.”
“Of course I fucking want it.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I will never do anything to hurt that girl. She is the most precious thing in the world to me.”
“DADA!” Sophie’s scream had us pulling apart. She was still in Quinn’s arms but was wiggling to try and get to Asher.
Everyone laughed, although I could see Jane and Iris both wiping tears from their eyes as he went and scooped Sophie up. He pressed a kiss to her neck as she let out a shriek of laughter.
I’d gotten Sophie to sleep and then slipped outside on the patio on my own. Iris and Jane had gone home a few hours ago. The men were still inside, all relaxing with beers. Quinn was curled into Knight’s side with a smile on her face.
Instead of sitting in one of the chairs, I went to the steps.
Sitting here, I could look up and see the stars in the sky.
It was one of my favorite things about Asher’s house.
How quiet it was at night. How the light pollution from the city wasn’t as strong so I could see the sky so well on a clear night.
Taking a breath of fresh August air, I pulled out my phone. It was nine at night in Rossland but I knew it wouldn’t be too late for him. He’d told me before he never went to sleep before the eleven o’clock news.
The ringing had nerves building in my stomach.
“Did I mix my months up?” Paul’s voice came through the phone. “It ain’t February, is it?”
I let out a laugh. “No, no, you didn’t mix up the month.”
“Thank goodness. Thought I was going to have to get my brain looked at.”
I snorted and shook my head. Paul was in his sixties now and had recently retired but he was now volunteering with a search and rescue group in B.C.
The man couldn’t sit still. Paul was the cop who had found me, who had been checking on me all my life.
We hadn’t seen each other in years but he’d been calling me on the day he found me every year since he tracked me down at seventeen.
“I just…” I let out a puff of air. “I need to tell you something.”
“Are you in trouble?” He sounded more alert now, almost like he was sitting up.
“Nothing like that. But I think you’re going to be mad.”
“Out with it, kid, stress is bad for my heart.”
“I have a daughter. Her name is Sophie and she is the most precious thing to me. She’s thirteen months old.
” Silence greeted me on the other end of the phone so I rushed to give him more information.
“I feel so stupid for not telling you sooner but the more time that went on the madder I thought you would get. I didn’t have the easiest pregnancy, both physically and mentally, since the guy I was with at the time was a douche.
But I’m out of that now. I’ve moved to Calgary and we’re both doing really well.
I met a man, Asher. He is so good to us and as I was watching my daughter call him Dada today, I realized that I shouldn’t have hid this from you.
I was just embarrassed, and I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job living the life you hoped for me and—”
“Sutton.” Paul cut me off.
“Yeah?” I let out a big breath and looked up at the sky.
“I’m not mad at you. And you have nothing to be embarrassed about.
For the record, all I did was pick you up from that fire station and hand you over to child services.
Made sure you were in a good home and that your mother couldn’t find you.
You’ve created this life for yourself, kid. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.” I exhaled again.
“Do you have pictures of this little munchkin?”
I spent the next thirty minutes sending Paul pictures of Sophie. He asked about how I handled it all, how I was feeling now. He asked me about Iris and grilled me about Asher, asking if I needed him to threaten him in case he was ever an idiot.
When we hung up, I felt lighter. Like a stress had been taken off my plate that I didn’t even know I had. Paul had said he was planning to come to Calgary to see us, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Building a life I was proud of was new to me, but it was thrilling.
I heard the slide of the door, but I didn’t turn around to look. I’d told Asher what I was coming out here to do. He’d told me that he was proud of me and would come find me when I was done.
His arm went around my shoulder as he sank his large frame next to me on the step, pulling me into his side. I relaxed into him as he seemed to inhale my scent and then pressed a kiss on the top of my head.
“When I first moved in with Jane, Henry, Noah, and Knight, I had a hard time sleeping. I had my own room but after sleeping in my car, I’d quickly gotten used to light sleeps.
At nights to stay awake I used to look up at the stars and try and pick out constellations.
So when I moved in, I would go into their yard and look up at the stars when I couldn’t sleep. ”
I leaned over and pressed a kiss on his shoulder. I moved my hand to his thigh as I watched his throat work. He looked at the sky as he continued his story.
“When Jane found me there after about a week, I was so worried she was going to force me to talk. But nope, she just lay down next to me, letting me look at the star formations. All she asked was if I knew them by name. I said I didn’t.
Next day she came home with a book naming all the constellations. ”
I reached out and pressed my hand against his side. “Your tattoo.”
He nodded, moving his eyes to mine with a soft look on his face.
“Orion. It was the first one I was able to identify, and the book said it symbolizes balance and unity. That’s what the Hutchinson family gave me.
It’s also a reminder…” He lifted his hand, and I followed as he outlined the cluster of stars.
“That no matter where I am in the world, I’ll be able to look up and find Orion, find my balance again. ”
“I like that,” I said, looking from the constellation over to him to find his eyes already on me.
“How was your conversation with Paul?”
“He asked for pictures. He wants to come visit so he can meet her.” I could hear the disbelief in my voice.
“Of course he does. Soph is the best thing in the world. Anyone who doesn’t want her is a big fucking idiot and has no place in her life,” he grunted.
I let out a laugh, shaking my head. “She’s lucky to have you.”
“She’s lucky to have you.” Our gazes locked as we both started leaning in.
“Hey!” Noah’s yell cut me off.
Asher let out a growl and looked over his shoulder to see Noah leaning against the door, looking at us. “Leave.”
“No.” Noah sent him a smile before looking at me. “We’re playing a game and you guys are in.”
“I don’t want to,” Asher grumbled but I let out a laugh. I stood up, causing Asher to mutter under his breath.
“Come on, Grizzly, let’s go in before Noah gets mad at us.” I held out my hand, and although he placed his palm in mine, he put no weight on me as he stood up.
“We’ll finish this later.” I nodded as I started walking and he followed. We stepped into the house to laughter, Noah slapping Asher on the shoulder as we went to join our family.