by Tess Oliver
He smiled. “It is.”
“I want to start at the bottom. Working in the warehouse making the same pay as the guys in the loading docks.”
He opened his mouth to protest.
“Really, Dad. No special treatment, otherwise, I’ll find work elsewhere.”
He nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
A car pulled up to the curb behind me. Dad looked past me and smiled. “I think someone else is here to see you.”
I turned around. She stepped out of the car. Nothing about my reaction to her had changed. The breath jammed in my lungs.
“Your mom and I got to know Sugar during the trial and while you were locked up. She told us how you traded your life for hers the night of the murders. And she told us a lot of other things that we just hadn’t known. I’m sorry I failed you so often, Thomas.”
“I wasn’t exactly a model son either, Dad. But I’m willing to start this over, like you said.”
He laughed. “And now that Sugar is standing here, I have a feeling you’re done talking to your old man. I’ll let you go to her.” He hugged me again. “See you at home.”
He waved to Sugar. She waved and smiled back at him. I walked up to her, just close enough to touch, but I hadn’t reached for her yet. “How is your mom?”
“She died three months ago.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She shook her head. “She was in a lot of pain at the end, so it was time.”
“And Julian?”
“Julian is at home, taking care of his farm. He says he only keeps pigs as pets.” She laughed. “He’s dating that girl, Charlie, the one he told us about. And I think he’s found a balance between his medication and living life. He sounds happy.”
“I can’t wait to talk to him. God, it’s good to see you, Sugar. I wasn’t sure if I would.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled shyly. It had been two years but everything about her was heartbreakingly familiar.
“Do you know how fucking badly I’ve missed that smile?”
“You didn’t write back,” she said softly.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her face. “Hurt too much to write, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see you, or touch you or talk to you.” I leaned in. “Or breathe in that fragrance that is uniquely Sugar.”
“I’m here now, Tommy. I’ve been waiting—”
I reached out and pulled her against me and kissed her. Her fingers clutched at my shirt and she melted against me. I lifted my face and peered down at her jewel blue eyes. “Forever, baby.”
“Forever, Tommy,” she whispered and kissed me.
Epilogue
6 months later
Julian had put some weight on and he looked different, settled, at peace even. The pasty white hospital complexion was gone and he looked now as if he’d just come off a California beach . . . or the side of a rock mountain. He hugged Sugar briefly. She’d always been one of the few people who could step past his comfort zone.
He lowered his arms and smiled at me.
“Hey, Jules, you look fucking beefy. I guess you’ve been working out, huh?” I asked.
“I have. I’m flying to Switzerland in a few months. I’m going to do some climbing in the Alps.” He looked away now as if he had something he was hesitant to say. He was a completely different person standing there in front of us. During those crazy days when we were hiding out from the police and the assassin that his father had hired, Sugar and I had seen every corner, every dark edge of his mind. The meds at Green Willow had masked a lot. Now, it seemed, he’d found a good balance between the meds and feeling human.
“Come on out to the barn. I’ll show you the rock wall I’ve had built.”
Sugar took hold of his arm and we walked out into the bright warm sun. The last time Sugar and I had been to the Fitzpatrick estate, we were lost souls looking for somebody, anybody to help us. But our visit had only further complicated the mess we were in. Today, the farm looked serene and beautiful. The villain, Julian’s father, was gone.
Julian smiled at Sugar. “So, I guess you decided to wait for this man.” He smiled over at me.
Sugar reached down and took my hand. She held both of our hands now as we walked across the yard to the barn. Sugar’s blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she smiled at me. She turned back to Julian. “Did you ever have any doubts about that, Jules?”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t. Even the birds in that damn Green Willow fountain knew that Tommy Jameson and Sugar Scarborough were meant to be together.”
Moonshine
Coming May 2015
Other Books by Tess Oliver
Custom Culture Series
Freefall
Clutch
Dray
Rett
Nix & Scotlyn: The Wedding
The Barringer Brothers
Rain Shadow Books 1-5
Gage
Cash
Seth
Jericho
Standalone New Adults
Strangely Normal
Private North
Paradise
Bittersweet Obsession
Moonshine
Young Adult
Camille Series
Vacation Romance Collection
Safe Landing
Blood Tide
Bitterroot Crossing
Years from Home Trilogy
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