Never to Keep (Accepting Fate #1) by Aimie Grey

long to finish school. “At least this way, I’ll have my nursing degree soon.” Even though I couldn’t be a nurse practitioner without a graduate degree, I could get a good job as a registered nurse.
    “I just never thought I’d be doing this without you.” Ethan had recently finished his residency in Bloomington and was working in the emergency room at the local hospital. He also volunteered at the free clinic that had opened a couple of years back.
    “Actually, you won’t be doing it without me. The university made arrangements for me to earn my clinical hours at County Hospital. You’ll be one of my bosses. I start the program in a few weeks. Nana is going to watch Peyton for me until she goes back to school in a couple of months. I should be able to finish by the end of the year.”
    “I’ll do whatever I can to help you with Peyton. You guys are still my family and always will be. How are you going to make ends meet if you’re spending most of your time at County?”
    “I have a part-time job with Centennial Midwest. I work Friday nights while Peyton is visiting Nana.” Centennial Midwest was one of the largest employers in the region. Its portfolio was made up mostly of upscale restaurants, so when I told people I worked for CM they assumed I was a waitress. “The tips are great.”
    “That’s good.” He hesitated a moment before continuing, “How’s Olivia doing? Any idea when she might be able to come home?”
    I’d been pretty tight-lipped on the subject because I didn’t want rumors to spread that could hurt Olivia and Peyton. Olivia had called in hysterics a couple of days after the spring semester had ended. I’d thrown my stuff in a bag and waved goodbye to Columbus in the rearview mirror of my red Camaro.
    “Well, you already know that Child Services threatened to remove Peyton from her care, unless she checked into an inpatient facility.” Ethan had been on duty the night I got back into town. I stayed home with Peyton while Olivia went to the hospital to check herself in, so to speak. He’d managed to get her admitted to the best facility in central Indiana.
    Olivia was an excellent mother, but she had been pulled into a dark place by the grief of losing her husband. I would never forgive myself for not being there for her and Peyton, and I vowed to never let them down again. “She has to stay there at least three more months. I have to file a petition with the court to extend my temporary guardianship.”
    “How much longer do you have with the current arrangement?”
    “After Ryan died, Olivia named me as Peyton’s ‘standby’ guardian. That allows me to be her legal guardian for ninety days from the day Olivia became incapacitated. I’ll have to go to court before the middle of August to extend my guardianship until Olivia comes home.”
    “Oh, so you still have a little over two months. What are you going to do after she’s home?”
    “I’m going to live with them to make sure this never happens again.”
    “Isn’t that going to be awkward? It will make it hard for you to have a personal life.”
    “No one is more important than Peyton.”
    He looked around the diner to make sure no one was within earshot. “I regret the way things ended between us.” He used his fork to push around the eggs on his plate. “I thought I had to break up with you.”
    “What do you mean you thought you had to break up with me?” I would kill him if he had broken my heart for no reason. I’m talking extremely painful, cold-blooded murder.
    “I didn’t explain everything. I should have told you the truth, and then let you decide if you wanted to break up.” He paused for a moment to gather courage. “The truth is…I’m bisexual.” His eyes drifted past my shoulder and focused on a painting hanging in the back of the restaurant. “When I said you weren’t enough for me, I meant you didn’t have a penis.”
    My eyes grew impossibly wide. “That was the last thing I