The Outliers: (The Outskirts Duet Book 2)

by T. M. Frazier

  “It was real,” she whispered.

  “What was real?” I asked, turning back around to face her.

  “You see that scarf?” she asked, pointing to the muddied purple piece of cloth on top of the pile. “I had a vision that this blonde woman saved me and she was wearing it. I know it sounds silly but it helped pull me through.”

  I sucked in a breath, not wanting to think about how scared she must have been but glad she had found comfort in some sense, even if it was in a vision or a dream.

  “What’s with the rock?” she asked.

  I couldn’t help the smile that grew on my face. “That’s what your mother was holding. That’s what she hit Richard over the head with.”

  “Strange looking rock,” she commented.

  I sat up to inspect it closer. “You’re right. I’ve never seen a round rock like that around here. "I picked it up and turned it over. I almost dropped it when I saw what was on the other side.

  “What?” Sawyer asked, scrambling to a sitting position on the bed.

  The rock wasn’t a rock at all.

  It was a skull.

  Suddenly something clicked. The purple scarf. The skull.

  I envisioned a certain picture hanging over Critter’s bar. One where I had my arm draped around Jackie. She was wearing the purple scarf I’d bought her from the craft fair. I even had her initials embroidered in the lining. JC. The exact initials that were peeking through the splotches of filth.

  I dropped my head in my hands. At first, I felt my stomach roll like I was going to get sick. I took a deep breath through my nose but it didn’t help. This was her. This was Jackie. Suddenly it was two years ago and it was like I’d just lost her all over again. Her death was like a knife to my throat.

  “What! What is it?” Sawyer asked again. It was her voice that brought me back to the present. Her voice that reminded me that it wasn’t two years ago anymore. I’d almost lost Sawyer. The love of my life. The mother of my child. But I didn’t. And something told me the blonde woman in Sawyer’s vision was someone familiar to me.

  There had been a reason we hadn’t found her despite countless searches over the years. And although it sounded ridiculous to even think it, I think she stayed out there for Sawyer...for me.

  I felt a warmth grow within me. A sense of completion. Finality. Love. We’d found Jackie...or just maybe, she’d found us.

  “Finn?” Sawyer asked again.

  I quickly turned the skull backed around. “Nothing, I thought a saw a worm on it. It was just a leaf.”

  “That was an awfully big reaction for worm.” Sawyer said, skeptically. “For someone who grew up in a swamp.”

  I laid back down on the bed and pulled Sawyer down with me. “Worms are gross,” I said, pressing her body against mine. Relishing the feel of her lips as a brush my jaw and chuckled.

  “No, tell me. Please.”

  I sighed. “Okay, but it’s going to sound a little crazy.” I warned her, tracing the freckles around her right eye.

  “Lucky for you, I’m used to crazy.”

  I told her everything and she remained expressionless until the end. “That’s not crazy, Finn. That’s beautiful.”

  We remained silent for a while after that. Content with breathing each other in. “Did you are the bravest person I’ve ever met in my entire life?” I asked, not being able to hold inside how I felt any longer.

  “Why do you say that?” She asked, running her hands all over my body like she too cannot believe that I was there. “You are the one who crawled out of a burning building.”

  “Not so much,” I explained. “A rain squall came in at the right time and doused the flames before they could spread.”

  “I thought you were crushed under the roof,” she said, resting her chin on my chest and looking up at me with glassy eyes. I needed to protect her from those kinds of feelings, from the pain.

  “No, it was just the part over the storage unit.” I reassured her. “I am here. I’m fine.” Repeating her same reassurances, she just used to comfort me.

  I chuckled to myself.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked, her bright smile lighting up the entire room as well as my heart.

  “Here I thought you were the damsel in distress. I was wrong.” I cupped her jaw. “As it turns out, you were both the damsel and the knight.”

  I kissed her deeply and we spent the rest of the night and the following day not more than a few inches from one another. If I had it my way we’d spend the rest of our lives in bed, but if we did that I wouldn’t get a chance to show Sawyer a surprise I had for her. And as much as I come to learn that she hates surprises, this was one I could not wait to give her.

  Chapter 27

  Sawyer

  My mother and I started seeing a therapist together. Eugenia Collins specialized in something she called Religious Trauma Syndrome. She was also a specialist in those who have experienced domestic mental and physical abuse.

  And although Finn would probably benefit from talking to someone like Eugenia as well, he insisted he was fine. And because of the way he’d been whistling and skipping around while preparing for the baby to arrive, I was inclined to believe him.

  Two days a week we’d make the hour-long drive to her office and we’d each do a session alone and then one together. It was enlightening to learn about how and why we react to things and how blame is so easily placed when it was no one's fault but the person who made us feel this way.

  And I know my mom was benefiting from it because I could see it in her smile. The softening of her features. The way she squeezed my hand every time the therapist said something she could relate to.

  To be perfectly honest it wasn’t so much the therapy that did it for me, but the time with my mother that I benefited from the most. Most trips I’d drive and while listening to the stories she’d tell and each time I’d learn more about the woman who’d given me life. And each week the life would return more and more to her eyes until I began to know my mother as the rebellious, funny, spunky, stubborn, and loving person that she really was.

  She started working with Critter at the bar. Running it I should say. And between the two of them they took on the jobs of four people, just like Critter had done, although now he didn’t have to do it alone. She looked at home there. At peace. And if you saw the two of them interact you wouldn’t think that two decades passed between them being together. You’d think that they’d been together their entire lives. That’s probably because in a way they had never left each other, at least not in their hearts.

  Mom was also looking forward to being a grandparent. There were many nights when I heard her bragging about her future grand baby to customers at the bar.

  Finn and I had finally finished the library although he didn’t have a ton of time considering he’d found his passion. He’d started buying the half-built housing communities around Outskirts and finishing the construction. What had started as a bright promise of a future-turned into a ghost town nightmare-Finn had managed to produce an affordable, environmentally friendly, energy-efficient home in its place. The first one was already completed and sold and he was in the process of working on several more.

  He had also managed to convince a very large car rental company to build their new plant just outside of Outskirts by donating the land for the building. Which meant those homes he was building wouldn’t go unused.

  The town would never be a big one but Finn was working on making it a great one. And though some would say his passion was construction. They’d be wrong.

  Finn’s true passion was people.

  Me, his daughter, and the people of Outskirts.

  With one snip of the giant scissors Finn and I both held, we officially reopened The Outskirts Public Library to the applause and shouts of our family and friends. Except now it had a new name. “Are you ready?” I asked, pulling on the rope connected to the tarp covering the new sign above the door. We stepped aside to avoid it falling on our heads
. Finn laughed until he looked up and read the sign.

  OUTSKIRTS PUBLIC LIBRARY

  In Loving Memory of Jackie Callahan

  “You did this?” he asked, looking over at me.

  “Yes. I didn’t want anyone to forget about her. Including you,” I said. “Plus, I might have put two and two together when I saw you talking to the skull on the porch,” I added, nudging him with my elbow.

  Finn smiled down at me and held my face in his hands, planting a kiss on my lips.

  “Thank you,” he said, pulling back slowly. “And I sent her home. To her parents. So, they can bury her properly.”

  “Always the gentleman,” I sang.

  Critter cleared his throat nearby. “You two need to cut that shit out.”

  “I’ve already knocked her up,” Finn argued. Critter marched toward him and Finn bolted into the library.

  “I guess we’re going inside,” I said, linking arms with my mother.

  In addition to a ton of new romance novels I reserved an entire wall dedicated solely to the history of Outskirts, complete with pictures and maps of the town from inception to how it lies currently. In the center of the display is a book with plastic pages safeguarded both old and new letters and stories from current and past residents about life in Outskirts.

  “This is incredible,” Finn said, looking at the display in wonderment, smiling and beaming with pride.

  “I have a surprise for you too,” Finn said, pulling me into his arms.

  “There are other people here,” I warned between my teeth, knowing how Finn operated.

  And liking it.

  Finn chuckled. “Like I would let any of them stop me,” he said. “Come on. I’ll show it to you.”

  “Oh, it’s like a real surprise,” I said, following him along. We left the library and much to my surprise we past his Bronco in the street and kept on walking.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “You’ll see, it’s not far. Are you okay to walk?” Finn asked.

  “Yes,” I said. The baby had gotten bigger, but I was feeling great.

  We walked hand-in-hand in enjoyable silence. The warmth from his skin pressed firmly against mine as it should be. Although I was much heavier with a big round belly full of baby my steps were still lighter than they’d ever been.

  Finn broke the silence. “Did you know that Critter threatened me again?”

  “He did not,” I said, clapping my hand over my mouth and trying not to laugh.

  Finn nodded. “He sure did. He told me that now that I’m dating his daughter, and because I’d knocked her up without marrying her first, that we aren’t to be friends anymore.”

  “What? But he wasn’t serious…was he?”

  Finn smiled and the dimple made an appearance. “He said he’s moved me up the list and has made me ‘enemy number one’ in his eyes. If I wasn’t the father of his grandchild he’d have disposed of me properly a long time ago.” Finn quoted the air on the word ‘enemy’. “And if I hurt you, he’s going to, and I’m quoting him directly now, ‘rip out all my vital organs and leave a trail of them on the highway from here to Tuscan’.”

  “Points for being creative,” I remarked. “What else did he say?”

  Finn swayed his head from side to side. “Well, after making me promise to never hurt you he told me he was going to hold me to that promise.”

  “That’s not so bad.”

  “At gunpoint.”

  I laughed. “That sounds more like him.” Easily picturing Critter saying those exact words. I loved all his threats. They made me feel special and in a way, I don’t think Finn really minded them either.

  “So, have you given any more thought into changing your last name?” Finn asked as we turned down a street I’d never been on before.

  “Critter and my mom suggested it since she’s legally changed her last name that I should think about doing it too. I think it’s a good idea. A fresh start.” I admired the large oak trees lining the street. There was also what appeared to be a newly poured sidewalk, the first I’d seen in Outskirts. “I never felt like a Dixon anyway.”

  Finn bumped my shoulder with his. “That’s because you were never a true Dixon, you were a…Critter.” Finn said, making a face by pushing out his bottom lip to show his teeth and tucking in his chin.

  I bumped him back with my hip. “Ha. Ha. I know it’s a ridiculous name, but it’s my dad’s ridiculous name. Which makes it pretty great.”

  We walked along in comfortable silence again until we stopped at a house at the end of the street. A brand-new house from what I could tell. It was white with black shutters and a red front door. “Wow, it’s like a two-story version of my little house.”

  “I know it’s not like the three-story Victorian you liked so much but I decided to turn that into a home for women and children.”

  My shock almost outweighed the extreme happiness that just washed over me like someone had poured a bucket of water on my head. “You own that?”

  Finn looked down to the keys in his hand. “Yes,” he said, like he was reluctant to admit it. “That’s where Jackie and I lived. That was our house.”

  I reached out and brushed my knuckles along the stubble coating his jaw. “It was a beautiful house, but now it’s going to be even more beautiful because of your plans for it.”

  Finn turned and kissed the palm of my hand before spinning me back around to face the house. “Do like it?” he asked, swinging open the little picket fence and pulling me inside. The flower beds on each side of the door were filled with tall sunflowers that reached halfway up the windows.

  “I love it,” I said. “Even more than the Victorian.” It was the truth. There was something about this house that felt homier. More real. “Is this what you’ve been working on?” I asked, unable to tear my eyes away from it.

  Finn had started taking on some smaller construction projects, but I had no idea he was building houses like this one. “Who is the client??” I was envious of whoever got to live in such a house, but proud of Finn for having created something so beautiful. Before he could answer I added, “Can I see the inside?”

  I felt like I needed to at least see it once before it the house changed and became someone’s home.

  Finn smiled that smile that made gave me chills and threaded his fingers with mine. He lead me up the front steps opened the door, guiding me through first and following behind.

  My mouth fell open. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. It was the most amazing sight I’d ever laid eyes on. “Is this even real?” I whispered.

  My state of shock wasn’t because of the beautiful grey hardwood floors running from a large living space into a vast and open white kitchen. It wasn’t because of the detailed moldings around the windows or the curved iron staircase. It wasn’t even because of the big dining room with a huge dark wood table running down the center that could easily fit ten people around it.

  No, I was reacting to the thousands of tings covering the entire living room ceiling. They flapped around until Finn closed the door. Although the ceilings were high the strings were long. As I stepped further into the room they dangled only an inch or two above my head. “What is all this?” I asked moving further into the hanging tings until they surrounded me on all sides.

  Finn didn’t answer, but that was only because the tings answered for him. Every single one of them had the same handwritten message scrawled on them

  WILL YOU MARRY ME?

  -FINN

  I spun around so fast that if I were any taller I’d be tangled in tings.

  Finn was on one knee before me holding out a diamond ring shaped like a sunflower. Light and happiness and promise filled his already handsome bright blue eyes. “So…” he said, making me feel like I was about to burst out of my own skin. “about that last name change?”

  Unable to speak real words because joy apparently drains your brain of real coherent thoughts, I joined Finn on the floor, kneeling to face him. When
I realized he was still waiting for an answer I nodded so hard I think I should my words loose. “Yes!” I finally managed to blurt out.

  Finn placed the ring on my finger and pulled me against him. Besides, Outskirts, it was my favorite place to be. “I’m so glad we’re here, Say,” he whispered, his lips finding mine. And whether he meant here as in the house, the town, or as in the place in our relationship, it didn’t matter. My response was the same.

  “Me too,” I whispered.

  “I’ve got one more for you,” he said, pulling another ting out of his back pocket and handing it to me along with a black marker.

  SHE SAID__________.

  -Finn

  And of course, through happy tears, I wrote in a great big YES.

  In the beginning Finn and I were just two outliers, each on the cusp of different societies. Together, we found our place and it wasn’t in the town. It was in the people of the town. The people who loved us. It was in each other. It was in the new life growing inside of me that we’d created.

  It was in family.

  Our family.

  “And although it’s too late now,” Finn grinned slyly, “I feel like I still owe you a better lesson on procreation.” He ran his hands under my shirt.

  “Is that so?” I asked as he unclasped my bra and tossed it to the ground. He made quick work of his own shirt, exposing his defined abs and broad chest.

  My mouth went dry. My body hummed.

  Finn pushed off his jeans and boxers, exposing his tight butt and muscled abs. I licked my lips at the sight of my beautiful man. I lifted my hips while he peeled off my panties and shorts. He lifted and settled back between my legs where I wanted him most. His hard heat throbbed at my entrance. “Are you ready for your lesson?” he asked, raising his eyebrows wickedly. His voice was raspy and hoarse.

  “Yes,” I breathed, ready for whatever it is he wanted to give me. “I’m ready.”

  “Good. Because I can’t wait any longer.” We were wild and passionate. Needy and desperate.