Page 116 of Oathbreaker

“Leo, give me a hand with this,” Hunter grumbles as August jumps up and down with amusement.

I’ve not seen this level of happiness and excitement from August before. It’s beautiful to witness.

Leo and Hunter walk off to the tree line when Ella says, “I need to get to studying. Midterms, ya know?” Without further conversation, she walks away.

“I’m going to go inside too,” Veronica says. “It’s going to get dark soon, and I don’t want the baby to get cold.”

“Take Kitty with you?” I ask her, and she blows kisses at Kitty to get him to hop down and follow her.

I suppress a laugh as I see Leo kneeling next to Hunter, prompting him to stand on his thigh for more leverage to reach the helicopter.

“Thank you for your help getting the present.” I jump out of my daze when August speaks.

“You’re welcome, August,” I say when he hops in the chair next to me a moment later.

He looks past me, which I’ve learned is as close to looking me in the eye as August allows. He doesn’t say anymore. Instead, he taps his finger on his cheek.

“Is there something on your mind?” I ask him.

He taps a few more times, starting to rock back and forth. Suddenly, he picks up his tablet, and it’s a long while before he stops tapping on the screen, writing and erasing and pausing to stim.

“I do not hate my dad anymore.”

I give him a soft smile.

“What changed?” I ask him. He taps his cheek a few times but quickly responds.

“You.” I raise my eyebrows, but I maintain my silence to give him space to think.

“The stories I heard about my father were not good things. When I came to live here, I was very angry. But you care about me. And you show my dad how to care about me too.”

Tears pop to my waterline. “I do care about you, August. So much. I love you. I hope it’s okay for me to say that.”

He rocks, and his eyes flick to my face before he looks over my shoulder. He hums for a long moment. It’s a happy sound.

“But I didn’t have to teach your dad to love you. He already did.”

August’s physical response doesn’t telegraph disbelief as it would have six months ago, but I can tell there’s an edge of skepticism in the slant of his shoulders.

“You are not my mother. My mother is dead. But you are like my mother, and I am happy to have you in my life.”

“August, I didn’t put on my waterproof mascara!”

His brow furrows. “What does makeup have to do with our conversation?”

I smile even brighter and shake my head. “Nothing at all, August.”

“Will you marry my father?” he says.

“If he asks me to, yes. How do you feel about that?”

He takes a moment, making happy sounds as he rocks forward and backward with more power.

“That would be okay.”

I smile when he lopes off, half skipping, half-running across the field to Hunter and Leo, who give each other a high five while Hunter holds the broken helicopter in his other hand.

When they all return, August takes Hunter’s gift without a word before running off to the main house. I’m sure he’ll fix it.

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