“Hellyeah,” Sebastian said with enthusiasm.
Iglared at him with a warning. “Uh, school?”
“Accessto jets, baby,” he waggled his brows at me, and I groaned, rolling my eyes.“But seriously, if he misses a day or two of school, would that really be the biggestdeal?”
“No,I guess not,” I conceded, sighing. “But you have to keep your grades up, okay?”
Itfelt wrong, using Greyson’s budding relationship with his father as abargaining chip, but Sebastian nodded his agreement. “Yeah, that’s a good idea,actually. Keep your grades up, and we can do cool shit. Do shitty in school,and you’re stuck cleaning my gutters and polishing my drums. Deal?”
Andto my amazement, Greyson nodded as he sat back into his seat. “Yeah, okay.Deal.”
Sebastianlifted his knuckles to me, and I tapped mine against his fist. I turned towardthe window, smiling to myself as we pulled into the long, winding driveway ofhis parents’ farmhouse. Just a few days ago, I never would’ve expected this man-childof a rock star to be an actual help with Greyson, let alone a tentative parent,and a help tome. I knew we—I—had a long way to go, but hope was suddenlya reality, and I knew it was because of him.
22
sebastian
“Oh my God. There’s apigon thecouch,”Tabby hissed from beside me as I cracked the front door open.
“Yes,Tabby, I’m not blind,” I muttered in reply before calling into the house, “Mom?Dad? Anybody? We’re—”
“Bastian!”Dad ran into the living room wearing his mucked-up overalls and carrying alittle pink piglet in his arms. “Come in, for crying out loud! You don’t needto wait for an invitation, you know that. Jeez Louise, kiddo, it’s like you’rea stranger around here.”
Ipushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped into the house. “Yeah,yeah. I know. I just didn’t wanna walk in while you guys were, I dunno, nakedor something. Don’t need to be scarred like that again.”
“Didyou say hi to Mildred?” he asked me, gesturing toward the fat, sleepingpotbelly pig on the couch.
“HiMildred,” I grumbled, lifting a hand in a halfhearted wave.
Satisfied,Dad caught sight of the woman beside me and the kid lingering behind us, and I imaginedwhat a stranger would think, looking at us. They’d assume we were a family, twoparents with their child, and the corners of my mouth twitched at the thought. Dadknew better though, and he stepped toward us with his rosy-cheeked grin.
“Here,kid, take a piglet,” he said to me, shoving the squirming little thing into myarms before pulling Tabby into him without warning. “You must be Tabby. I’mJohn.”
“Tabitha,”she corrected, voice muffled by the bib of his overalls. She hugged him thoughand with warmth and comfort. “Sebastian’s the only one who insists on callingme Tabby, and I hate it.”
“Ooh,watch this one, son,” Dad laughed, releasing her from his grip. “She’s gotclaws.”
“Trustme,” I chuckled, smirking coyly and catching Tabby’s eye. “I’ve already had thepleasure.”
Sheblushed, and I’m pretty sure I was too, as I dropped my eyes back to thepiglet. Scratching it behind the ears.
“Andthishandsome young man must be Greyson.” Dad’s voice was coated inaffection. “Are you too old for a hug?”
Huggingthe grunting little pig to my chest, I watched Greyson as he took in the sightof my dirty father. His balding head, baseball-mitt hands, and cheery smile. Iwondered what Tabby’s parents—his other grandparents—had been like. Judging byhis reaction to Mom and now Dad, I guessed they weren’t overtly affectionate. Heresponded with a rapid shake of his head and released a wobbly exhale as Dadwrapped his arms around his shoulders. Greyson settled against him, huggingstiffly before letting go and stepping back, crossing his arms and brushing hishair from his eyes.
Dadtouched the ends of his shaggy blonde hair. “You’re like your father with thislong mop,” he scoffed affectionately. “Burgers and dogs okay with you guys?”
Greysonshrugged as Tabby nodded. “That’s great,” she replied, smiling politely. “Thankyou so much for having us.”
Withone thick finger, dirt haloing the nail, Dad pointed at her. “That’s the lasttime you’ll treat yourself like a guest in this house, young lady. As mygrandson’s aunt, you are officially a part of this family, and you arealwayswelcome here. Got it?”
Shefaltered for a moment, his comment had shaken her. Hell, it had shaken me, too.But she bobbed her head once, smiling and blinking away the tears collecting inher eyes. “Got it,” she said, her voice tight.
“Excellent.Now,” he turned to Greyson, “your aunts, uncles, and cousins are out back, so comeon. Might as well get the introductions out of the way now, so you can get intothe fun stuff.”
Greysonlooked immediately intimidated, and I laughed. “Dad, don’t scare him away. Ionlyjustgot him to not hate me.”
“Ineverhatedyou,” Greyson protested, shaking his head and scowling.