She stares up at me with those blue eyes. “What if they don’t like the girl I am now? What if I can’t find the girl I want to be fast enough for them to like me? I’ve killed people, Ford. I’ve seen things. I’ve lost so much.” She starts crying again. “And I’m angry. OK? There. I said it. I’m pissed off because this life sucks. And I always get screwed over. And just when I get attached to James and Harper and think, OK, this is my family, then they don’t want me anymore.”
“They love you enough to accept the fact that they can’t give you what you need, Sasha. And we can.”
“You guys want me to go to school. And be normal. But I’m not normal. I’m a really fucked-up kid.” She looks over at me. “A really fucked-up person, Ford. I’m probably not even safe to be around other kids my age.”
“Don’t be silly. And besides, I start filming in New Zealand for that show I’m producing. We leave in a few weeks. So you won’t even go to school this year. We’re gonna go bum around Down Under for six months. Enjoy two summers. Get to know each other. And then next fall, we’ll come home and be a normal family. So we have three whole seasons to practice.”
She’s silent after that. And we just sit in the cold saying nothing for several minutes. “What’s in the box?” she finally asks, her curiosity getting the best of her.
I pick it up and place it on her lap.
“What is it?” Her face turns up to mine when she feels the shuffling inside. And then she laughs and lifts the lid off.
The little gray kitten is just stretching out her paws inside the blanket. “Oh my God,” Sasha says. “A kitten. I’ve never had a kitten.”
“I wanted another dog, but Ashleigh, pfftt.” I hike my thumb behind me in the direction of the house. “She put her foot down on that one. We have three face-eaters. So I figured it was fine to get something cuddly.” She lifts up the kitten and brings it to her chest. “For you.”
She nuzzles the kitten’s soft fur and smiles. Her shoulders relax. My heart swells with her change in behavior. That a kitten can do this for a sad and broken child, well. It’s touching. “Merry Christmas,” I say.
She snuggles the kitten once more, and then takes a deep breath. Like maybe she can do this after all. “Merry Christmas, Ford.”
I stand up and offer her my hand.
She accepts it.
And then we walk up the front stairs to her new home together.
I stop at the front door and turn to her. “You’re officially part of the Team now, Cherlin. But first things first. I need you to hate Ronin. No matter how charming he is, you must not fall for it. He may be on the Team too, but we’re mortal enemies till the end.”
“Got it,” she says, laughing, as I open the door and wave her inside.
She walks into the room and everyone greets her while I stand back and take off my coat and hang it up in the closet.
I watch my friends and family as they fuss over her like I told them to. She never had a chance against Ronin’s charms, but that pretend indifference gives us something to plot about. Making Ronin miserable is good times.
Sasha greets everyone and shows James and Harper her kitten. I can physically detect the moment when James sighs with relief.
Not because he’s getting rid of her, as Sasha thinks.
But because she’s getting a second chance at a normal life.
Last Christmas Eve I was sad. I was sad that Rook didn’t want me in the way I wanted her. I was sad that the women I thought were fulfilling a need for me really weren’t. And I was sad that I let my life become so meaningless after my father died.
And that night, Rook told me she changed her life by wishing on a star the year before. She went from a sad abused girl to a strong and confident woman. In one year.
So I tried it. I was desperate. Like Sasha is probably desperate for change tonight too.
Never in a million years would I have thought that wishing on a Christmas star could get me this. So I look out the window real quick and find Sirius, our gift-giver.
And I make a wish for Sasha this year.
I wish her heart to be mended.
Maybe it doesn’t happen in one year. That’s OK. We are patient people. I will be there for her as long as she needs me.
Just please, I ask the star. Make her whole again.
Epilogue One
Harper
“What’s wrong?” James asks as we snuggle together on Harrison’s new plane. James gave him a fat bonus for putting up with him all these years. The new plane is nice. And much bigger than the last one.
“Just…” I don’t know how to say it so he’s not offended. “Those girls at the party. Rook, Ronnie, and Ashleigh. I like them.”
“They like you,” he says, playing with my hair. “And they like Sasha. She’s lucky.”
“So lucky. I’m gonna miss her. And I’m gonna miss them too. Even though I just met them tonight, that Rook, she told me a story about her life that... just wow. They all told me stories about themselves. And Ashleigh’s Kate. She’s a Company kid, but they didn’t seem to know that. They never mentioned any Company business. What if—“
“They won’t, Harp. She’s gonna be OK. Sasha will keep an eye out for her. And Merc is close by. Kate will be OK.”
“Buckle up, kids. We’re landing,” Harrison says over the speakers.
“I’d like to live in a town like that, James. And have friends like that.”