Page 159 of Never After Us
“About all of this,” I say.“About me.About the three of us being a permanent family.”
She blinks, like the answer is embarrassingly obvious.
“Alec ...I already chose you.”
My heart ...yeah, it does something painful.
“You did?”I ask, voice rougher than I mean it to be.
“Yeah.”She shrugs, swinging her legs.“You stayed.When Mommy was sad.When I was scared.When our life exploded with the aunt-mom stuff.”She waves loosely in the air.“You didn’t leave.Other grown-ups leave.You didn’t.So obviously—duh—you’re family.”
I look down, swallow, look back up.
“Thank you,” I murmur.“That means more than you know.”
She grins.“So is that a yes?You’re gonna ask her now.”
“No.”I lower my voice.“But can I trust you that we’ll keep this between us until I’m ready?”
She rolls her eyes.“Of course.I’m not a blabbermouth.”
Then she hops off the couch, grabs her frog, and heads toward the door.
“Wait—where are you going?”
“To tell the frogs,” she says casually.
“I love you, kiddo.”
She waves.“I love you more.”
Epilogue
Mara
Vermont is very different.The road behind us winds through pine trees and old barns and patches of snow melting into soft mud.
The road behind us winds through pine trees heavy with memory.Old barns lean like they’re tired of waiting for someone to come home.The patches of snow melt into soft, reluctant mud, making everything feel like it’s thawing—aching toward spring, but not there yet.
Ahead of me sits a house that’s not quite falling apart, but not quite whole either.
Green shutters, sagging porch, a crooked wooden sign that reads:
Timber Valley Animal Rescue
Private Property – Appointments Only
This is it.
He lives here.
Thomas Walls.
My father.
The man I’ve built up and torn down in my head a thousand times.
The man who never came.
