Page 30 of Savannah Sweethearts

We might have fought like cats and dogs as kids, and I might roll my eyes at him now; but I only had one brother, and he was it. He cocked his head to the side and looked from me to Tyrell, then to the girls. With a nod, he took a deep breath. “So, Tyrell, tell me about working at the news station.”

I released a pent-up breath and closed my eyes for a moment. This was my brother trying. I knew that, and Tyrell seemed to recognize it as well. He launched into telling Tanner and Morgan about the station, about his crazy co-workers, and everything else. Morgan had wanted to be an anchor, so she regaled us with stories of her internship in college.

The children ate. Jonny cried. Sami accused Saffi of stealing a french fry, and we all tried to appease all three children with crayons and sippy cups and, finally, ice cream. We all talked and even laughed a little bit, and by the end of the night, I felt like something was resembling normal. A little bit, at least.

When we all left the restaurant, Tanner hugged me. The girls hugged Jonny. Tanner and Tyrell even shook hands again. I walked Tyrell and the girls to their car. He buckled Sami while I buckled Saffi, and we smiled at each other as the girls jabbered on about Jonny. I walked to his door and lingered a moment.

“Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.” Tears once again threatened, but I shook my head, hoping they would stay put.

A strong hand caressed my cheek. “Hey, Dream Girl, anything for you. You know that. I know your family is important to you, and hopefully, your brother sees how important we are as well.”

He leaned over and kissed me thoroughly, and even though we heard the girls begin to giggle at us from inside the car, Tyrell did not let go right away. When he did, he kissed my forehead and pulled me closer. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You’ll see me in the morning at drop-off.” I laughed.

“But that’s so far away.”

“I think you’ll survive.”

“See you then.”

Tyrell

Two weeks had passed, and I still had a job, so I was grateful. I never did air my confrontation with Mr. Gloss—at Ashley’s request—but in truth, I had no desire to ruin someone. I didn’t have it in me, and I’m pretty sure that made me the bigger person.

While things with her parents had been strained at best, Tanner was making an effort and had invited us all over to his house for a cookout. It was the bougiest cookout I had ever been to, but he had tried.

I had a sit down with Sabra, and we worked out the girls’ custody without attorneys yet again, but I still had her put everything in writing and had it notarized just in case she decided to pull more stunts. She spent several days with the girls before heading off to Atlanta for three months. The girls asked about her for about a week after that, but then it tapered off to only mentioning her on occasion. They both seemed happier.

Ashley cleared out the account her father had been depositing money in. Wouldn’t you know it—there was just about one hundred fifty thousand dollars in it. She put fifty grand into an account for each of the girls.

“I can’t let you do that.”

She eyed me as she handed over the banking information. “You can, and you will. Call it whatever you would like, but it’s my gift to your family.”

I didn’t ask what she was going to do with the other fifty thousand, but a few days later, my mom had scheduled to get a new roof and to redo her kitchen. By the time she was off the crutches, she would have a brand-new kitchen to cook in.

“You don’t have to buy our affection, Ashley, honey.” My mom fretted over her as she would do with me.

Ashley laid her hand over my mom’s. “I know, Gigi. I’m not. You and Tyrell have been some of the only people to love me without strings or expectations, so I’m happy to repay you in this way. No matter what.”

Mom made a motion for Ashley to come closer, and Ash scooted her chair over. Arms wrapped around Ashley, and Mom kissed her head. “I love you like you’re my own, Ashley.”

This seemed like a perfect time to me. I had been waiting for the perfect moment to come up, hoping I would know it when it did. And this—this was it. “Why don’t we make her an official Harris?”

Sitting up, Ashley blinked a few times in confusion. “What?”

I moved from the couch to the floor in front of Ashley and reached in my pocket. I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn’t. Complete calm washed over me. This was right. “Ashley, would you be willing to take on not just my name, but my family as well? Marry me.”

The girls had been sitting in awe when I got on the floor and now began to shriek around us. Mom clapped and began to sing. I looked to Ashley, tears swimming in her eyes. She didn’t look at the ring at all. She only looked at me.

“Yes. Yes, absolutely.” She launched at me on the floor and almost knocked me over. Kisses peppered my face just as much as the wetness from her tears.

It took a moment, but I finally got her to sit up and get the ring on her finger. It wasn’t the biggest diamond in the world; in fact, it wasn’t even a diamond. Instead I gave her a rose quartz in a rose gold setting. It was a perfect fit.

I kissed her soundly, even though my mother and daughters were watching. “I love you.”

Before she could respond, the girls jumped on our laps. “We love you, too, Ashley!”

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