by Bria Quinlan
I pounded on the door, a dark rage blinding me with fear.
Behind me, the laughter started. And kept going. And when I turned to glare, it just continued. Tim eventually had to double over to breathe and end up sitting on the toilet seat. If only I’d left it up.
“He’s not going to let you go.” He reached out, taking my hand and pulling me into his lap. “And neither am I. You wanted compromises, we’ll find them. We’ll take care of each other. I’ll do everything I can to make our home as normal as paranormal will be. You’ll feel safe and loved—I guarantee you that. And you’ll take care of me and Gus, because that’s what we do. We’ll buy a house, not a big monstrosity like this one, and get you into whatever college program you want. And Gus will get that rune so we don’t end up spending the first three years of our marriage locked in a bathroom.”
“Marriage?” I asked, dazed, trying to keep up.
“And no one will ever make you feel like you’re going to get blindsided. Gus loves you, too, and he’d never hurt you.”
“My parents love me,” I mumbled, half-defiantly, half-defensively.
“Your parents are a different species. More different than Gus could ever be. They’re…well, they’re your parents, but they sound selfish and narcissistic. And neither of those things describe our boy.” He brushed his hand up into my hair and pulled me down for a quick kiss. “Are you afraid I won’t love you any more if you have depression?”
“You’d have to deal with me…and would Gus be safe?”
“That’s not what I asked.” Tim gentled his touch, and I realized he wasn’t letting me go until we’d talked this out.
“Maybe. You might not.”
“I can tell you I will. I’ll love you no matter what.” He rested his forehead against mine and sighed. “I’ll love you even if you leave us. And that would hurt far more than helping you and finding more compromises to make our home safe and happy.”
“But what if I can’t take care of Gus?” Because that scared me even more than my own fears about stepping back into a potential circus life.
“You will. And if you can’t at some times, we’ll make a call. I hear you can call these agencies and they send people—qualified people—to help you take care of your children.” He laughed, enjoying this far too much. “You may have heard of them. They’re called nannies.”
“Ha, ha.” I snuggled in deeper to his hold, letting myself start to believe.
“And, honey, your parents sent you to therapy because it was chic. You can go now, if you want. Or we’ll talk about it later.” He pulled me closer. “You never have to worry about letting us down, because we hold each other up. That’s what we do.”
“I don’t want to leave you guys.” I choked back another sob, trying to get myself under control.
“Then don’t.” Tim squeezed me to him. “Stay here with us, and we’ll make everything work perfectly. No pressure, just compromises…and lots of love.”
I closed my eyes, fearing the worst still, but figuring if anyone could make a crazy world sane, it was my sweet man, Tim.
“Say yes, to all of it.”
I finally raised my head, letting myself meet his gaze head-on, and saw the uncertainty and hope and love and knew there was no other answer. And so I gave him the only answer I had.
“Yes.”
EPILOGUE
The Average Minx falls in love with the Average Tim every day…and it’s beyond average.
It’s amazing.
“Minx!” Tim shouted from the front door, still unused to our much smaller house.
“I’m in the kitchen,” I called back.
I closed my textbook and slid it aside. I’d just started my first semester taking classes in child psych. I’d realized that with all I’d seen, there were a lot of kids out there I could relate to who lived in their own world of crazy. Maybe, like when I’d started nannying, giving back would help me stay me.
“They came!” He rushed into the kitchen where I’d been spread out at the counter. “They came, they’re signed.”
“Oh! Oh, let me see.” I grabbed the papers and closed my eyes for a second, pulling the envelope close to my heart, a little afraid to open it.
“It’s okay. It’s everything we offered. She said yes to all of it.” He wrapped his arms around me, still a year later my favorite place to be. “We’re officially Gus’s parents.”
I tried not to start crying, but the tears started seeping out.
“And she’s okay…with everything?”
“Yup. She actually sounded relieved. I think to her, she sees it as the best of both worlds. She gets to know and love her son while knowing he’s taken care of, and she can continue to be her. She’ll be able to visit whenever she wants. We have the in-law bungalow out back for her. She can stay a day, or if I can convince her, move in permanently and help us raise Gus. Gus will know she’s his birth mom from the start. It’s all there. It might be a little different, but if we’re not capable of handling a little different, no one is.”
“I was so afraid,” I whispered. I couldn’t imagine our little guy out in the world without the guidance of people who understood him. With no one watching his back like we would.
And, the rune was great, keeping things in line—although sometimes frustrating poor Gus because he’d try to do something he shouldn’t. But still, he needed to be here where he could learn to control his abilities as he grew up.
“Is she coming home soon?” I’d wanted her to move in with us, to stay all the time.
We’d met once, briefly, when she’d come to tell us about Gus’s dad confirming everything we’d suspected. She and Tim were flip sides of a coin. Where he was serious and nerdy, she was intuitive and a bit flighty. The love between the two of them was palpable. You could tell that when it came to family, they were it for each other. And, when we met, I felt that each of us welcomed the other into theirs as well. But, the next morning we woke up, and she was gone.
I’d hoped—I’d hoped she’d stay and be part of the family. She and Gus could have lived in the little house and been so close.
But, she said, this was for the best. I didn’t argue because it’s what I wanted…and I agreed. After meeting Willow, I knew she was lovely, but I thought if Gus was with her I’d constantly be afraid she’d forget and leave him in a restaurant or something.
“It doesn’t sound like it. The note says she’s leaving for Thailand and plans to study trickster philosophies of Southeast Asia.”
“So?” I asked, just wanting to make sure.
“So, you are legally Gus’s mom. And, as agreed, so is Willow, who will be home whenever it is that Willow decides to come home.”
He grinned down at me, his heart clearly mine.
“Let’s go tell Gus!” Grabbing my hand, he pulled me down the hall to where Soma—our nanny via a Nocturne Falls agency—sat playing with Gus on the floor, slotting blocks in their slots.
“Hey, buddy!” Tim swooped in and picked him up, something Soma had had to get used to.
Apparently, she’d expected some hands-off parenting…and fewer baby wipes.
“Guess what!” Tim said as Gus smacked both his cheeks. “Today, I’m your dad!”
Gus looked at him, his eyes getting big as if he understood and pointed at Tim. “Dadad?”
“Yup. Dadad.” Tim looked at me over his head and smiled. “Come here, Mom, and hug your boys.”
ALSO BY BRIA QUINLAN
BREW HA HA Books
It’s In His Kiss (FREE Prequel)
The Last Single Girl
Worth the Fall
The Catching Kind
The Proposing Kind — COMING SOON!
Things That Shine - A Crossover Brew Ha Ha /Double Blind Story
Bria’s YA set RVHS Secrets
Secret Girlfriend
Secret Life
And YA Standalone
Wreckless
ABOUT BRIA
Quirky Girl and all aroun
d lovable klutz, Bria Quinlan writes Diet-Coke-Snort-Worthy Rom Coms about what it's like to be a girl and deal with crap and still look for love.
She also writes books for teens that take hard topics and make you laugh through your tears…or maybe cry through your laughter. Some people call them issue books. Some people call them romantic comedies. Bria calls them what-life-looks-like.
Her stories remind you that life is an adventure not to be ignored.
If these things are important to you: she’s a RWA RITA, Golden Heart, & Cyblis nominee as well as a USA Today Best Seller, and natural blonde represented by the awesomely amazing Laird Lauren Macleod of the Clan…. Oh, wait. Of Strothman Agency.
Want to hangout? Check her out here:
briaquinlan.com/
Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
The Brew Ha Ha Books
Foreword
The Trickster Makes a Match
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Also by Bria Quinlan
About Bria