but I doubt it.” Jaxon kissed her again. “I called him while I

  was here, so I could ask you when I got home.”

  “Wait,” she said, framing Jax’s face with her hands. “You

  called my father?”

  “Honey, do you honestly think I could’ve asked you

  without asking the general for his blessing first? It’s archaic,

  I know, but your dad is an old-fashioned guy, and I respect

  that.” Jaxon threaded their fingers together. “Don’t be mad

  at him—the man loves you.”

  “I’m not mad, and you’re incredibly sweet.” She watched

  Jax stand and gladly went with her when she pulled her up.

  “You’re sure, right? All this stuff doesn’t make you rethink

  us?” Jaxon held her and seemed to be looking into her eyes

  for the truth.

  “Honestly, I was a little jealous.” She held their fingers

  close together and laughed. “Iris is still pretty, and I can tell

  she’s still in love with you. Maybe that’s not the kind of love

  that makes you run away with the person, but she broke the

  rules and had, what she considers in her heart, your baby.”

  “The only way that could be true is if she’d told me.

  When I looked up and saw Sean, happiness wasn’t my first

  reaction—trust me on that. Iris is my past, and you’re the

  rest of my life. Sometimes you have to learn what love isn’t

  before you know when it’s real and lasting. That’s you, and

  only you. There’s no reason to be jealous.”

  “How about the rest of your family?”

  Jaxon glanced at the water as if it held the best answer.

  “I’ll have to think about that. Maybe it’s not a dead subject,

  and maybe it is. Time is the only thing that’ll decide that.

  The next move is theirs. I tried my best.”

  “You’re such a poet, baby, and you’re right. I’d rather

  celebrate us, and I’m sure Eugenia and Birdie will be more

  than happy to join us.” She pulled Jax down to sit on the

  rock and sat on her lap. Jax took her phone for selfies, since

  she had the longer arms, and pressed their heads together

  with Margot’s hand in the air to show off her ring and the

  red sky in the background. Margot studied the shot before

  sending it to her parents and making the call. “Hey, Daddy,

  she asked, and I said yes.”

  Jax laughed at the moan Wilber let out on speaker. “It’s

  not too late to change your mind, baby. You could find a nice

  doctor to settle down with.”

  She couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like a slap coming

  from the other end. “Don’t listen to this old curmudgeon,”

  Patty Sue said. “Tell me Jaxon was over-the-top romantic.”

  “She was, and she has wonderful taste in jewelry. And,

  Daddy, I already found a nice doctor to settle down with,

  and I’m keeping her.”

  “We’re going to have so much fun planning, so hurry

  home.” There was the sound of another slap when Patty Sue

  finished, and Wilber cleared his throat.

  “Yes,” he said. “So much fun. Jaxon, you there?”

  “Yes, sir. I promise I haven’t forgotten anything you said,

  and I’ll take care of her forever.”

  “Good. Hurt her, and they’ll never find your body.”

  “Love you guys,” Margot said. “And stop threatening her

  before she dumps me.” She hung up and looked at Jaxon. “I

  love you too. And thank you for asking me.”

  “That’s nothing you need to thank me for. You had me

  from that first date, and the rest of my life is something I’m

  looking forward to.”

  “Me too, so let’s go. The sooner I share you with other

  people, the sooner I get you all to myself.”

  * * *

  The next morning Jaxon got up early and walked to the

  back of the property to the dock that had been redone

  recently. There was another large stand of trees, and the

  one closest to the water had a tire swing she’d used to get

  to the middle of the bayou. Margot was still sleeping, and

  they were going to share one more breakfast with Birdie

  before heading to the airport.

  She sat on the dock and breathed in the cool morning air,

  loving the way the steam was already dancing across the

  top of the water. She opened her journal, lightly caressing

  the pages. It was amazing how much life could change in a

  few days. One of the things she’d enjoyed was working on

  their high school yearbook. It had taught her plenty about

  writing, and it was the chance to record a little of their

  history. A slice that they could look back on, to remember

  who they were and how far they’d come. She still had all

  three of the books in her study at home but hadn’t opened

  them from the day she’d put them on the shelf. She stared

  at the water, letting her mind wander, before she began to

  write.

  History is a collection of experiences that teach,

  sometimes with pain and at times with love. I tried

  hiding from those lessons, but if there is one thing I’ve

  discovered, it’s that burying pain only makes it fester.

  I finally found the courage to go back to where I

  came from and threw open the doors on the parts of

  my heart that housed all my secrets and fears and

  found that time had cleaned out the wounds in my

  absence. The years had let my captives free, let in the

  light, and swept away the pain I have a tendency to

  hold on to. I’d convinced myself there was no other

  choice but to embrace the choices I’d made and the

  mistakes those choices brought.

  Margot has shown me that cleansing your soul of

  the feelings that weigh you down makes moments like

  proposing that much sweeter. It took walking away

  from all I knew to find my own idea of paradise, and

  that’s protected me from the landmines of my past.

  And now I’ve found peace, which makes any road

  easier to travel. Having a foundation here helped me

  find not only the treasures I’d forgotten to take with

  me, but allowed me to discover the ones that waited

  for me to uncover.

  Time teaches us many things. The most important

  is you have no choice but to make peace with change.

  Our high school yearbook was titled Calumet, which

  means peace pipe. A strange title then, but one I

  appreciate in a different way now.

  Given the chance, Time waits patiently by the fire

  with a smile, a calumet in one hand. Time whispered

  that it wasn’t my enemy and happily showed me

  never to hide from it. It knows I am my own harshest

  critic, and most likely to forgive a stranger before

  giving myself the same consideration. And so I can sit

  with time, letting the smoke from the peace pipe wash

  over me, flood my soul, and leave me ready to make

  the most of my time going forward.

  I know now that some friendships are worth

  missing, and my sense of loss over them was justified.

  But most importantly I’ve found home isn’t where I

  grew up or the place I put my keys down at the end of

  the day. That can only be found in the rhythm of the

  heart that beats next to mine now that I’ve allowed

  Margot in. Margot is my home, and Sean is my

  permission to think of the future’s possibilities. I look

  forward to embracing both.

  She closed the book and capped her pen, taking one last

  long look at the water. If she could talk Margot into it,

  perhaps they’d come back a few times a year with Bert and

  drag Tully’s family along, so she could visit her grandmother.

  The relationship they had was important to her, and Birdie

  wouldn’t be here forever.

  “Still writing stuff down, I see,” Roy said, surprising her.

  “Some days are more interesting than others. Lately it’s

  been epic.” Roy was the last chapter of this fucked-up

  episode of This Is Your Life. “Imagine my surprise when I got

  a load of all the gifts you left me, especially one.”

  “I knew you’d be pissed, and I should’ve told you.” He sat

  next to her and let his hands hang between his knees. “I

  really should’ve told you.”

  “Yes, you should’ve. Was the reason you didn’t because

  you’re an asshole?” Her question made him grimace. “What

  I don’t get is why you didn’t help her after the fact. It sounds

  like she married Daniel to save face. If you helped her with

  that, why not go all the way?” Her brother was an honorable

  guy, she’d thought that all her life, and Sean was the one

  dent in that picture.

  “I offered—don’t think otherwise if she didn’t mention it.

  But it wasn’t me she wanted, and she made that clear.

  There was no denying how you felt for Iris back then, and I

  admired you for standing up to Mom.” He laughed at what

  seemed to be a private joke. “She threw you out and said

  she didn’t want anything to do with you, but believe me, she

  hasn’t stopped talking about it from that afternoon. It

  might’ve died down, but then you go and fall in love with

  someone who puts you front and center at the grocery store

  checkout.”

  “Yes, I know. She told me how embarrassing it is. If I

  wrote all this down and published it, there’s no way anyone

  would believe that it’s a true story. It’s kind of fucked-up,

  now that I’ve had more time to process it.” With maturity

  came understanding, that was true, but sometimes life

  came with instructions in Russian with Rorschach tests for

  the pictorial explanations.

  “Think of it this way,” Roy said, reaching over and

  squeezing her forearm. “Mom did fuck up, and Dad was

  right there with her.”

  “I got that part, brother.”

  He laughed at her sarcasm. “That’s not what I want you

  to think about. You were special enough for someone to

  have created a life that so much resembles you. There’s no

  way I’d ever step on Daniel’s toes, but Iris has shared as

  much of Sean with me as she could through the years. I’ve

  been the silent uncle Sean knows nothing about, but her

  creation had nothing to do with me and everything to do

  with you. She’s a wonder to me because it was like watching

  you grow up all over again. Even without your influence,

  which I think she’s needed, she’s you in every way.”

  “Thank you for saying that, but I am shocked at your part

  in this.” She shook her head when he started to say

  something. “Not for the reasons you think. I mean, I thought

  you never cared for Iris.”

  “Her explanation was enough to convince me. I think she

  wanted you to come back and share the experience with

  her. She had some idea that if she told you she was

  pregnant with our family line, you’d come back and help her

  raise the kid. My excuse is that I’m only two years older

  than you, so I also wasn’t thinking of the long-term

  ramifications. I guess I was kind of hoping you’d come back

  too.”

  “Long-term ramifications? That’s the best you can come

  up with?”

  “I have no idea why she never told you, and why she

  married Daniel instead. She must have her reasons, I guess.

  Anyway, I didn’t sleep with her. All she asked me for is what

  she needed to make a baby. She was so earnest when she

  begged me that we worked out how to get it done, thanks to

  Google. We didn’t even know if it would work. Trust me,

  she’s my biological daughter, but I wasn’t in the room when

  she was conceived.” He appeared embarrassed, and the

  whole thing sounded so progressive.

  “Are you serious?” Now what Iris had said about not

  betraying her made sense.

  “It was Miss April who turned me on that night, not Iris.

  I’m not an asshole, and I’m so sorry you found out the way

  you did. I’m glad it’s out in the open.” He smiled, but it

  didn’t reach his eyes. “If you’re going to lump me in with

  Dad, at least give me the chance to apologize until you

  believe how truly sorry I am.”

  “I’m sure you know he came by, but you also know what

  it was like. I’m not a heartless bitch who can’t forgive, but

  I’m not quite there yet.”

  “I know, and so does he. You have to realize, though,

  what it’s been like. Mom has been spreading misery all

  these years, and he tuned her out when he could and went

  along when he couldn’t.” Roy sighed like he was carrying a

  weight that was dragging him down. “Both of us should’ve

  cut and run a lot sooner than this, but the guilt kept us

  tethered way too long.”

  “She’s my mother too, and I get that. I’m not denying the

  relationship, and I’d like to think that if she needed me, both

  her and Dad, I wouldn’t turn my back on them.” She’d like

  to believe that, and Margot would not so gently nudge her in

  the right direction if she was wrong. “All I’ve done was try to

  forget and give her what she wanted.”

  “I know that, Jax. The last person who had any blame in

  this is you. I’ve told you that more than once, and I hope

  you believe me. I’m also sorry I’ve been ducking your calls.

  There was a little part of me that figured you were aiming

  your proverbial shotgun and were ready to unload.”

  She ran her fingers over her notebook and thought about

  what she’d written. It was time for peace. “We’re okay—

  don’t worry about it. Fighting over dumb high school

  decisions isn’t worth the energy it takes. A few days ago it

  might’ve been iffy, but I got engaged, and I’m too happy to

  be pissed at anyone at the moment.” She smiled and he

  stood to hug her.

  “Congratulations, and Granny told me last night she’s a

  keeper.” He sat back down and sighed again. “Look, now

  that you’re not mad, I should tell you something else.”

  “What? Iris’s son is yours too, only he didn’t inherit the

  dark hair and blue eyes?”

  “Good Lord, no. Once was more than enough. After I

  started practicing and making money, I thought about what

  I’d done. My part in all this, I mean.” He tapped his fingers

  together, and she recognized the nervous tic he’d had all his

  life. “I respected what Iris wanted and, more importantly,

  didn’t want from me. There was no way I’d have married

  her, but I didn’t want to neglect what I thought was my

  responsibility.”

  “Sounds like she didn’t want you to have any.”

  “I still did it, and I have to live with it, so I set money

  aside for Sean. Granted, I doubt her parents will let me give

  it to her, but Eugenia thought of a way. When she

  graduates, she’ll receive the Picard Scholarship for

  academic and sports excellence. It should be enough, even

  if she has UCLA in mind.”

  Picard was Granny’s maiden name, so Roy had kept it in

  the family. Sean was, after all, Birdie’s great-grandchild.

  “The hardest part of this was thinking you were an asshole,”

  she said and laughed. “It’s good to know I was right, and

  you aren’t. I think it’s a fantastic idea.” They both laughed

  at that, and she turned when she heard Margot talking on

  the phone as she headed toward them. “Hey, love.”

  “Hey,” Margot said when she hung up. “That was Judith.

  Britt has the flu and won’t be at work for the next two

  weeks.” The way Margot smiled made her laugh. “What? I

  wish him well.”

  “I’m sure you do, baby, but come over here and meet my

  brother.”

  Roy surprised her by hugging Margot and kissing her

  cheek. “Thank you for loving my sister,” he said, and Margot

  nodded. “Anything you need, feel free to ask.”

  “Anything?” Margot asked as she sat on the arm of Jax’s

  chair. “Have a seat, Roy.”

  “Did you need something?” he asked. He glanced at Jax

  briefly, but she shrugged.

  “I need you to take a short vacation…Actually, you can

  stay as long as you want, but I need you to give us the

  same gift you gave Iris. You do good work. Obviously, you

  know, in a more science-based way than the horny teenager

  used.” Margot’s request made Roy blush so deeply that she

  feared his face would carry a permanent tint.

  “I can do that, and I’d love to.”

  “Great, and you’re welcome in our home even if it’s not

  for that. I’d love to sit with you and Birdie and listen to

  stories about this one. I owe you my thanks as well. You