Chapter Fourteen

Scarlet

“Yes,” Quinn says, eyes meeting mine. I can see the relief on her face and, more importantly, the relief on Weston’s face. Poor little Jackson is still sitting there with a spoonful of mashed potatoes hovering on his spoon in front of his face, not knowing what to think. “I do.”

“How many cats do you have?” I flick my eyes to Wes’s not knowing if I should be apologetic for going into forbidden territory or not. He meets my gaze and offers a small smile.

“Eight.”

“Eight?” I echo.

“One or two might be temporary.”

Quinn’s fiancé, Archer, raises an eyebrow. “Only one or two?”

Quinn smiles guiltily. “They’re all so cute.”

“I want a cat!” Jackson says, face lighting up. He eats his mashed potatoes and bounces in his seat. “Daddy, can we take Dobby home?”

“We’ll see,” Wes tells him, and I know it’s a firm no from him.

“Please! I want a pet.” Jackson drops his spoon and glares at Wes, crossing his arms. I don’t mean to laugh, but the over-the-top dramatics are a little cute.

“Dobby is really nice,” Quinn goes on. “And will be able to leave in a few weeks.”

Dean shakes his head, looking at Archer. “I can’t believe you let her keep the others. Eight cats? That’s crazy.”

Archer’s eyes fall on Quinn, and the way he looks at her makes me want to turn around and throw up. But mostly because I’d give anything to have someone look at me like that. On its own accord, my head jerks toward Wes.

Nope. Can’t happen. He’s my boss. And he’d never go for someone like me…the real me.

“I have a hard time saying no to Quinn,” Archer says, and I want to gag.

“That’s why they have a baby out of wedlock,” Wes’s grandma says. Everyone at the table rolls their eyes and ignores her. I’m guessing this isn’t the first time she’s brought it up, and neither Quinn nor Archer seem bothered by it. “Though I can’t blame her. I do like a man who’s good with his hands. You know, doc, I’m overdue for my annual exam.” She winks at Archer. Archer shakes his head and turns his face down to his food, concentrating really hard on cutting his steak.

I turn to Wes, trying not to laugh. He leans over, shaking his head.

“She hits on Archer every time they’re together. Don’t judge us.”

“I’m not,” I say honestly, and for the life of me, I can’t come up with a single judgment against the Dawsons. And trust me, I’m trying. But they’re all nice. Caring. No one tries to impress each other or puts up a front. Logan cuts up his grandma’s steak for her, and Owen takes Emma again when she gets fussy so Quinn and Archer can eat a meal in peace. Mr. and Mrs. Dawson love each and every one of their children and grandchildren equally, and I can tell just from this brief interaction how proud they are of them.

They’re the perfect American family, and I’m convinced they are the real deal. That families can be functional.

And I’m not sure if I hate them or love them for it.

Thinking big family meals like this don’t exist made it easier for me to handle knowing we were nowhere near perfect. Get-togethers with homemade food only happen in the movies. Thinking it wasn’t real helped me deal with the fact that there was a huge part of me missing.

Because I want a family. I want this. But I can’t have it. People like the Dawsons would never want the likes of me sitting around their dinner table if they knew the truth.

I’m Scarlet Cooper, a thief from the South Side with no college education, a former drunk for a father, a sister in jail, and heir to a fortress of lies.

*

I sit on the living room couch next to Wes, a hot mug of coffee in my hand. His dad and his brother Dean are in his dad’s study going over something for work, and the rest of his family is still in the kitchen.

“Have we scared you off yet?” Wes asks, leaning against the arm of the couch. “We can be a little loud and overwhelming.”

“Not overwhelming. Your family is super nice. Well, except for Kara. You were right about her being a bitch.”

“I never actually said that.”

“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

Wes laughs and shifts his weight, moving a little closer to me. Things should be awkward with him, but they’re not anymore. Being around him is as easy as breathing, and while he still holds up walls around him, they’re starting to turn more into windows, letting me see inside.

“Hey,” Logan says, stepping into the living room. Or maybe it’s Owen. Shit. Who was wearing blue again? “You guys want dessert?” He eyes Wes, smirking. Owen. It’s Owen. He’s the smartass of the two, and it’s oddly endearing.

“Yeah,” Wes says quickly before Owen can slip in a line about Wes getting dessert elsewhere. We both know it’s coming.

“Scarlet!” Jackson stops running around the kitchen and gives me a hug. “Will you do the Baby Shark Challenge with me?”

“Sure,” I tell him. “But what is it?”

“What?” Wes’s hand flies to his chest as he fakes his shock. “You don’t know what Baby Shark is?”

“You’re lucky,” his mom says, raising her eyebrows. “It’ll get stuck in your head for days.”

“So it’s a song?” I ask.

“And a movie,” Jackson tells me.

“It’s more like a music video. For kids,” Wes says and shakes his head. “And you gave me crap for not seeing Titanic and here you are never having seen Baby Shark.”

I laugh, heart skipping a beat when I look into his eyes and see that smirk on his face. “You’ve had years to see it, mister. Baby Shark can’t be that old.”

He laughs before shrugging. “You got me there.” Motioning to the dining room, he puts his hand on Jackson’s head and tousles his hair. “And we’ll do one song after dessert. Then it’ll be time to go home and get ready for bed.”

“If you make me leave, I’m going to throw a fit,” he threatens. His face crumples, and he tries to make himself cry but stops when Emma lets out a shriek.

“She’s all yours,” Dean says, handing the crying baby to Archer. “I think she pooped.”

“You’re welcome to change her diaper, Uncle Dean,” Archer tells him, laughing. I look around the kitchen as this cute-as-hell family and might start throwing a fit like Jackson when it comes time to leave too.

Though getting back to late-night TV with Wes sounds nice…

“I think it’s time to eat cake,” I say, dropping down to Jackson’s level. He beams and grabs my hand, hopping as he leads me into the dining room. I have another glass of wine and the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had in my entire life. Turns out Kara is a really good cook, which is probably one of the reasons Dean’s with her. Or at least that’s one theory I have.

“Scarlet,” Quinn starts, looking at me from across the table. “Would you guys want to go to the farmers’ market with us on Tuesday? It’s supposed to be nice out and we can walk from Wes’s place.”

“Sure,” I say, looking at Jackson, who nods excitedly. “I’ve never been to a farmers’ market. Are they like the ones in movies?”

“This one isn’t as big. Especially now that it’s fall. I need some mums for our porch.”

I don’t know what a mum is, but I smile and nod anyway.

“And there’s a local winery that sells the best sweet red wine and blueberry cider. Now that Emma is eating solid food I can half like an ounce of wine at night once she goes down.”

“You had me at sweet red wine.” I scrape the last bit of icing off my plate and wonder if it would look bad if I picked it up and licked it. This stuff is like crack. We stay for a bit longer after that, and I hang out with Jackson in the living room while Wes talks about the campaign with his dad and brothers.

It’s dark when we go to leave, and I stop short in the driveway.

“You okay?” Wes asks, unlocking his Jeep.

My head is turned up to the sky. “I’ve never seen this many stars before.” I exhale, and my breath clouds around me. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Wes agrees, and I can feel his eyes on me. “Beautiful.”

“I could see them from my house, but not like this. It’s…it’s incredible. It makes me feel so…so…”

“Small?”

“No.” I shake my head, unable to tear my eyes away from the heavens above. “Connected. It makes me feel so connected and grounded at the same time. It doesn’t make sense, I know.” I shake my head and shiver. I didn’t put my coat on, not thinking I’d need it for the quick walk from the house to the Jeep. “Forget it,” I say with a laugh. “It’s stupid.”

“I don’t think it’s stupid.” Wes steps close next to me. Jackson’s opening the back of the Jeep and climbing in. “When I was deployed, I’d look up at the sky and take comfort knowing I was under the same blanket of stars as the people I loved. The people I missed. So I get what you mean about having it make you feel connected.”

I tip my head down, eyes meeting his. My lips part, and another chill goes right through me. Ignoring the fact that I’m dumbly holding my coat in my hands, Weston takes off his jacket and drapes it around my shoulders.

Dammit, Wes, stop being such a nice guy.

A nice guy who loves his son more than anything, has a family I wish could adopt me, and who may or may not be making me feel things I didn’t think I was capable of feeling.

I’m in over my head here, and it won’t be long before the waves crash against the shore and pull me out with the undertow. But being washed out into dark waters isn’t scary.

It’s that I want it to happen.