“Yeah, I could see that,” he replied. Even without his memory, he could understand wanting to avoid that. A man had to be able to look himself in the mirror, after all. Independence mattered—something that was chafing at him now that he was functioning without his memory.
“Did I let Mia’s parents pay for my wedding?” he asked hesitantly.
“No, you and Mia had a really modest event. And her parents weren’t at your wedding,” Olivia said, and her gaze flickered toward him hesitantly. There was more to that—he could tell.
“Why?” he asked.
“Uh—” She sighed. “They hadn’t exactly given their blessing.”
“I wasn’t good enough?” he asked, and Olivia’s cheeks colored. So that was it. “What was wrong with me?”
“Back then, it was less about you personally and more about their hopes for her future. They were climbing and they wanted their daughter to marry up, so to speak.”
“So it was a money thing?” he asked, the words tasting sour in his mouth.
“More or less,” Olivia replied with a sigh. “But they’ve changed now. They aren’t the same.”
“It probably doesn’t matter too much since I haven’t seen them around. Where are they?”
“Billings...and DC. They travel between the two. He’s a senator.”
So, he’d married a senator’s daughter... He wouldn’t have guessed that. Sawyer sifted through these new details, looking for some memories to attach them to. There wasn’t anything.
“Do I ever see them?” he asked.
“Not since the funeral, no.” Her words were cautious.
“Olivia, just tell me what happened!” he said, exasperated. “I can’t play Twenty Questions with you. I don’t know what to ask.”
She looked over at him, then sighed. “You and Mia fell in love. Her parents wanted her to marry another up-and-coming politician who was sweet on Mia, but she’d chosen you. They refused to go to the wedding, and it was stony silence after that.”
“But they were at the funeral.”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “They had only found out about your daughters when Mia passed away. They hadn’t even known she was pregnant. They were really upset. They thought that if they’d at least known, they could have provided access to better doctors, and all that. They thought maybe she would have survived the birth... It wasn’t fair of them to say that, but tensions were running high and everyone was very emotional. They’d lost their only child, remember. They were wrecks. You were furious—understandably. They left again, and you haven’t spoken to them since.”
Her words hit him in the gut—they thought Mia might have survived if they’d been able to help...
“Were they right?” he asked. “If they’d been able to provide better doctors...”
“No,” Olivia said quickly. “She was at the hospital. She had quality doctors. It wasn’t that. They know that, too. They just overreacted in the heat of the moment. But you didn’t talk to me about it much.”
“Because we were still distant with each other.”
“And because I was...close with them.” Color tinged her cheeks.
“So you chose them...”
“No, but they were my best friend’s parents! I knew them. We were all grieving for her. And you didn’t understand my relationship with them. So...you and I drifted apart for more than one reason.”
So in essence, yes, when pushed, she’d chosen them. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this right now. He looked over at Olivia, and she gave him an agonized look.
“That’s why, when you didn’t recognize me, I thought maybe you were just punishing me still,” she said. “There never should have been sides to begin with. You were all a family.”
Sawyer didn’t answer. Whatever had happened back then sounded painful. He hadn’t thought to question where Mia’s family had been in his life—at least not until now. So they’d rejected both him and Mia, because he hadn’t been up to par. That stung, even now. What he did know about himself was that he’d worked hard. He was told he’d been honest and loyal. Hadn’t any of that mattered?
“Does any of this sound familiar at all?” she asked.
“No,” he admitted. “I don’t remember it.”
“Okay...”
She was waiting for something from him, and he rolled this new information over in his mind, wondering if it changed anything. He didn’t have many memories of their past relationship to go on besides wanting to hug her in the street, but her compassion, her patience, her kindness, had all made a huge difference for him over the last couple of days. He felt like he knew her well enough to trust her intentions, at the very least.
“Look, I think I understand,” he said after a moment. “It was complicated, and you were doing your best. I guess you were kind of stuck in the middle. But you’re here now, and I really appreciate it. So...let’s just leave it at that.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “And I want you to know that our friendship does mean a lot to me. I care.”
Whatever had been between them before—that spark that had begun their friendship—was still there. And he could see why they’d gravitated toward each other to begin with. She meant something to him, too. Again.
“I am on your side,” she added. “I always have been, even when it was complicated.”
“I think I know that,” he replied gruffly. He wasn’t sure what else to say, how to encompass these softer feelings in words.
“Good.” She smiled. “Just for the record, I guess.”
He leaned back, stretching his arm out straight to rest the heel of his hand on top of the steering wheel. Lloyd seemed to have finished up his conversation because the woman smiled at him and headed off toward another vehicle. Lloyd looked in her direction for a moment, then glanced uncomfortably back at Sawyer in the truck.
Sawyer lifted two fingers in a salute, and Lloyd’s face turned pink. Sawyer couldn’t help but chuckle as Lloyd got into his own truck and started the engine.
Sawyer was glad that Olivia was here. Like following Lloyd in that pickup truck ahead of him along these back
