Page 39 of For the Record

Bree flashed her a brief smile. “Thanks,Maman. I’m not worried or upset or whatever. I’m just not settling.” She shrugged again, turning back to her breakfast.

“You’re strong, love.” Sawyer forced out a smile.Stronger than I was so long agowas what a part of her wished she would say, but that would be opening the conversation up to a place Sawyer didn’t wish to go.

She ate more porridge, though she wasn’t a bit hungry. When Bree’s attention shifted to her phone, and she thought it safe to do so, Sawyer pushed away her bowl and picked her coffee up instead. As soon as the mug touched her lip, she smelled delicious hints of cardamom and cinnamon. She smiled, pleased that at least Bree hadn’t altered her favorite recipe.

As she drank, she observed her daughter, who was grinning at a video on TikTok. She felt herself soften, her damaged heart warming at the lightness that was Bree. Even though she hadn’t had the best childhood at times, she still managed to always be smiling. Her beautiful, sweet girl.No, woman,Sawyer silently corrected. Scott may have turned out to be an idiot, but one day, her grown up little girl would fall in love. Sawyer hoped more than anything that whoever she ended up with treated her like a queen. Not settling was an excellent start.

“How did everything go last night?”

Bree glanced up from her phone. “At the restaurant? Great, actually. Slammed until eight and then steady right up until closing. Cindy was so cringe with how the dishes looked going out, so you don’t have to worry there.”

“I’m not worried.” She definitely was. She’d thought of little else in the last three months than working toward another Michelin star, and now, it seemed like her goal was damned near impossible. Besides, how would she keep the star she had if Bree and her friends, not to mention her doctor, were all but begging her to stay home? “Can you grab my phone from upstairs? I forgot it on my nightstand.”

Sawyer hated to ask, but she’d learned her limits yesterday when she’d done the exact same thing. She’d carried herself back up the stairs to retrieve her phone only to need another lie down. Seriously, she was considering moving her bedroom downstairs for the next few weeks. Dr. Cooper had said the fatigue should wear off by then, but rather than wallow in the exhaustion, he advised walking every day.

“Sure thing,” Bree chirped, pushing back her chair and disappearing from the room. Seconds later, Sawyer heard her bounding up the stairs, and she chuckled a little. Her daughter was one of a kind and probably one out of a few her age that would jump to her mother’s command. That was one thing Sawyer had been thankful for. Even as a teenager, Bree had never been difficult.

“Some interesting texts you’re getting from your mechanic,” Bree stated, a huge grin on her face as she came into the dining room again. She had her head down, focused on Sawyer’s phone. “‘Can you check?’” she read aloud, giggling. “‘It might’ve slipped under the sofa. P.S I hope I didn’t dirty anything.’”

“God, give me that,” Sawyer exclaimed, mortified. Her cheeks flushed, and she snatched her phone from Bree’s grasp.

“What is she talking about?” Bree stifled more laughter and fell into her chair again.

“Tabarnak.” Sawyer unlocked her phone, briefly wondering if there would ever be a time McCoy Miller wasn’t raising her blood pressure. Memories of her the night before had teased Sawyer even in her dreams. She still couldn’t believe she’d pulled McCoy’s hair. She didn’t know what had come over her, but she’dlikedit. And by McCoy’s sharp inhale, she didn’t think she was the only one. There was something about McCoy that made Sawyer want to take control of every situation, more than normal. McCoy had her craving dominance. In her dream the night before, she’d been tying McCoy to her headboard. She’d woken sweaty and more aroused than she’d ever been.

Sawyer scanned the message, breathing a sigh of relief at the relatively innocent question McCoy had asked. She cleared her throat, still flustered, but glanced at her daughter. “Can you check around the sofa and coffee table for a small black key? It’s for a bike lock. McCoy thinks it might have fallen out of her pants pocket.”

“So, she was in our living room, huh? She’s totally hot, by the way.”

Sawyer scowled, not enjoying the bitter taste in her mouth at the thought of her daughter being attracted to McCoy. “Since when do you check out women?”

“Not for me, foryou. She’s totally into you.” When Sawyer’s eyes only narrowed more, Bree made a tsking sound, reaching over to pat her knee. Her eyes were full of acceptance as she softly added, “It’s not too late to be who you were meant to be,Maman.”

Sawyer was speechless, shell-shocked even. She sank back in her chair, her hand flying to her mouth in surprise. “H-how?” she stammered. She’d never felt safe enough to talk about her sexuality while Bree was growing up, so how could she have—

“Three things,” Bree admitted sheepishly, reaching up to wipe a tear off Sawyer’s cheek. She hadn’t even known she was crying. “I heard you and Papa arguing once or twice about it. And … when I was in grade seven, you used to, um …” She paused, chuckling. “I’d see you freshen up anytime Hannah was on her way over. Her mom would always drop her off, and you’d invite her in for coffee even though you’d be late for work. After two years of that, they moved away, and you seemed so sad.”

“Melissa,” Sawyer murmured absently, surprised at how observant her daughter had been at thirteen. Melissa, she was certain, had been at least curious about women. After all these years, Sawyer still remembered how often Melissa would touch her hand over coffee. She cleared her throat. “And the third?”

“Kelly hired a new server when I was in high school. What was her name? Amanda?”

Sawyer smiled, fondly remembering the petite blond. “Ami.”

“That’s it. Well,” Bree said with a laugh, “I was old enough to notice how flustered you would get whenever she came into the kitchen. What happened to her, anyway?”

“Your father fired her.” Bree hadn’t been the only one to notice Sawyer’s attraction to Ami, but she was past being bitter over all the ways her husband would throw his control around.

“What a jerk,” Bree spat, startling Sawyer. She was rarely ever angry. “Well, he’s gone, and we can really start living now.”

Sawyer’s eyes drifted closed at her words, letting herself imagine how that might look. The idea of opening up to a possible partner was debilitating.

Before she knew it, Bree’s arms were circling her, holding Sawyer in a comforting hug. “I love you, and it seems to me that a strong, tattooed,piercedmasc lesbian has caught your eye as well. What are you going to do about it?”

Sawyer huffed a laugh, opening her eyes to see Bree peering down at her phone where a new message from McCoy awaited.“She’s only seven years older than you. And, dare I say, less mature.”

“Buthot,Maman,” Bree replied, throwing her head back to laugh at Sawyer’s obvious embarrassment. She tapped her mom on the nose. “I’m not saying marry her. You haven’t dated in years. But you have to admit, she’d be a good place to start.”

Chapter 20