Black Listed(27)

Asa’s brows wrinkled, and his mouth pursed. “Not when we were kids. I thought it was a game. Without someone to teach me about right and wrong, I thought we were doing a job like everyone else. Rather than sitting behind a desk or saving lives as a doctor, this was how we made our money.”

Yes, that’s what it was like for her as well. “What changed?”

He took her hand. “I heard your argument with Dad over that Hayes guy. Heard the ultimatum Dad gave you. I realized then what we did had real consequences. I mean, stealing money is one thing . . . but killing someone is another.”

Her throat tightened as she recalled that terrible day. “I didn’t realize you were there.”

He pulled back his hand and drummed his fingers on the table. “I thought there’d be time to tell you I supported your decision and would try to change Dad’s mind, but you left without saying good-bye. Got to tell you, I was pretty pissed off at you for a while.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“Hell, yes you should have,” he said, surprising her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, and I understand why you had to go without any strings. But I would have gone with you, Annie. You were the most important person in my life. Until recently, you were the only person I ever loved.”

“Until recently?”

He jutted his chin at the ring on his finger. “Married just over a year now. Got a daughter and one more kid on the way.”

“I’m an aunt?” Joy warmed her heart, but she had to admit, she was envious.

Would she ever have that?

“You are. Here’s a picture of my wife, Thea, with my daughter.” He flipped open his wallet and retrieved a photograph of a perfect-looking family. A beautiful woman with long dark hair and a friendly smile sat on the steps of a house with a pudgy baby girl on her lap.

“She looks just like you. What’s her name?”

His eyes twinkled. “Annie. I named her after you.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’d really like to meet her and Thea one day.”

“Yeah. You’ll have to come out to our farm and stay with us.”

Her jaw dropped. “I’m sorry. Did you just invite me to your farm?”

He nodded once, a huge smile on his face. “That’s where I met Thea. I worked for her daddy. Knew the moment I saw her that I wanted to make her mine. That’s why I stayed as far away from her as I could. Didn’t think a man like me deserved a girl like her. Luckily, she did. Wore me down until I couldn’t breathe without her. We’ve got our own house down the road from her parents.”

The envy spread, invading her entire chest. But she was happy for him. “You’ve got a real family.”

“I do. But that includes you. They’ve all heard all about you.”

“Do they know that we were . . . ?” Con artists? Thieves? The children of psychopaths?

He nodded. “They do. Didn’t tell them right away, of course,” he explained. “But before I married their daughter, I thought they deserved to know.”

“And they accepted it?”

Sitting back in his chair, he stretched out his long legs. “Can’t say they weren’t worried, but I’d been working for them for three years at that point and had never caused them a day’s trouble.” He laughed. “I sing in the church choir, for Christ’s sake. I told Thea before we”—he paused, gesturing with his hands—“you know. I put my faith in her hands and prayed that I’d find forgiveness in her arms. Shocked the hell out of her, but the love she had for me was stronger than the bonds of my past. Watching Thea with her parents and all her siblings, I learned that parents are supposed to love their children unconditionally.”

Their parents hadn’t loved them unconditionally. If fact, she wasn’t sure if they’d loved their children at all; they’d only seemed to love what their children could do for them.

She hadn’t really understood love until she’d met Sawyer. But when her father had given her the order to kill him, she’d chosen to sacrifice her own happiness so that he could live. Even if it meant he fell in love with someone else.

Did he love her enough to sacrifice himself for her?

Either way, she hoped to never find out.

“And what about everyone else?” she asked. “Do you expect Thea to love you unconditionally? What if something from your past comes back to ruin it all? Will she stand by you or kick you out?”

He leaned across the table and took her hands again. “I can’t speak for Thea, but if our situations were reversed, I’d support her. We can’t change our pasts. We can’t predict the future. It’s how we live our lives each day that matters.”