“We did, huh?” She smiles. Whether or not Lily welcomes her, at least Olivia has that. She protected Josh when she hadn’t protected her sister. She brought Josh home when she failed to do the same for Lily.
Lily’s gaze meets Olivia’s over Josh’s head and her eyes round in shock. “Livy?”
Olivia wipes her face and lifts her hand in a short wave. “It’s me,” she whispers. She feels like an interloper. She also wants to hug Lily as fiercely as she hugs her son.
“How did he find you?” Lily asks when Josh’s crying eases.
“I’m not entirely certain. He told me some. I guessed the rest. What about you? Where’ve you been? We’ve been so worried about you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now. Wonderful, actually.” She cups Josh’s face and smiles at him. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything. But first—” She looks over her shoulder. “Come here, Tyler.”
Tyler approaches them and Olivia gasps lightly. He’s a wider, taller version of Blaze, and an unmistakable older version of Josh.
Lily whispers in Josh’s ear and he lifts his head. He gawks at Tyler.
Her arm around Josh, Lily gestures at Tyler. “Meet your father.”
Olivia’s mouth falls open. Beside her, Blaze sharply inhales. “Holy shit.”
“They’ve never met?” she asks. Josh mentioned it once, but it didn’t occur to her it would happen in her presence. Right here and now. She’s blessed to witness such a reunion.
“In person? No,” Lily says.
She’s going to start crying again. Olivia has so many questions about where Lily went after she ran away. How did she survive? Why hasn’t Tyler ever met his son? And why didn’t he tell Blaze anything when Blaze called him? Her questions are a dryer full of clothes tumbling in her mind but all she can do right now is watch and feel immense happiness for her nephew.
“Close your mouth, Liv.” Blaze gives her hand a squeeze.
Tyler offers Josh his hand, looking just as nervous as his son. He keeps his emotions in check, his face tight when he says, “I’ve been wanting to meet you for a very long time.”
“Me too.” Josh grasps Tyler’s hand and Tyler’s smile is shaky.
Olivia and Blaze share a look. His blue eyes reflect what’s on her mind. What happened when Lily ran away? Did Tyler even know she was pregnant with his child?
Lily looks away, her expression unreadable, and Olivia wonders exactly what is their story, when Lily notices Blaze standing beside her.
“Hey, Lily.” Blaze lifts a hand.
“Hi.” She looks at Olivia after a quick glance at Josh and Tyler to see how they’re faring. “Can we take a walk?”
“You go,” Blaze says when Olivia turns to him. “We’ll stay with Josh.”
Lily kisses her son. “I need a moment with your aunt. I’ll be right there if you need me.” She points at the dock and gestures for Olivia to join her.
Olivia is bursting with questions and Lily is looking around the place as if she’s walking back in time.
“We made a lot of good memories here.” Lily skims her fingers on a tree trunk as they pass. “It’s really good to see you again, Livy.”
“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you. I have so many questions.” About Dwight, Josh, the life Lily built for her and her son.
“Me too. So, uh . . .” Lily looks back at the guys. “You and Blaze?” She cringes. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant. I mean, that’s not where I meant to begin.”
“That’s okay.” Olivia feels Lily’s awkwardness as her own. Where do they begin when so many years have passed? But she can tell where Lily is going with this, and they need to get it out in the open.
“Mom told Dad that Ethan was Josh’s father.”
Lily looks at her, stunned. “That doesn’t make sense. I never gave them a name.”
Olivia knows that now. But it’s reassuring to hear the truth directly from Lily after all the lies their parents told. “Mom wanted me to hate you. I wouldn’t try looking for you. She said you were safer away than at home.”
“That woman.” Lily shakes her head.
“She was trying to protect you, that’s what she told me.” And Olivia firmly believes that. For all her faults, Charlotte loves Lily. “I only learned about it yesterday.”
“You thought I told her it was Ethan?”
“At first, yes.” Olivia nods. “And I hated you for years.” She follows Lily up onto the dock. There’s a light breeze over the lake that smells of moss and dirt.
Lily drops a leaf she plucked from a bush in the water. It floats on the surface. “I’m sorry about Ethan. I liked him. But you and Blaze? You’re better together.”
Olivia tilts her head. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
Lily shrugs. “We didn’t tell each other a lot of stuff. I should have. Are you, though? Together?”
Olivia smiles. Her body warms in the early autumn sun. She nods.
“Good. I’m happy for you.”
“You and Tyler?”
“I don’t know what we are. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. I was staying with a friend up the road and saw a car in the driveway yesterday.” Lily watches the house. Josh appears on the deck. He waves when he sees them. Lily and Olivia wave back.
“This is going to sound terrible.” Lily absently rubs her forearm and Olivia braces herself for the worst. This is it. Lily wants her to leave. She won’t let Olivia see Josh again. She’ll want to keep all ties with the Carsons severed.
Lily glances back at her son. Tyler and Blaze have joined him. “I never told Josh much about you. I didn’t get the chance. I was going to. He was asking about his dad and my family. Then he had his accident and—” She chokes up.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Olivia touches Lily’s shoulder, then stops resisting. She pulls her in for a hug and revels in how good it feels to have her little sister back in her arms. Questions about Lily and Josh and what happened to them, how they separated, Dwight’s involvement, pound the walls in her head. But this, holding Lily, showing her the compassion she should have had when they were younger, has her momentarily biting her tongue. Olivia can never make up the years she neglected her sister, or for the years she pretended Lily was okay and she didn’t search for her. But she can show her now what matters: having her sister back. “I don’t care what you told Josh about me. All I care is that I get to see him again. And you. I don’t want to lose you again.”
Lily hugs her with a desperation that reminds Olivia of the little girl who used to hold her hand. She sniffles like a child. “It’s been so hard.”
Olivia gives her a bone-crushing squeeze. She can only imagine what Lily’s been through. She steps back and takes a good look at her. Lily’s grown up into a beautiful woman, flaming red hair and all. They’re faint, but she still has freckles across her nose.
“How did Josh find you?” Lily dries her face with the base of her palm.
“He has an envelope from you addressed to me. I found it in his backpack.”