Page 26 of Ashes to New

“You’re beautifully broken, and you were my summer sky, my light in the darkness.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “I was going to wait to give this to you, but I wanted you to see it before court. I want you to have something to look forward to.” The corner of his lip pulled up into a smirk. “I might have peeked.” He shoved the envelope into her hand.

An official seal on the front had her heart beating. “It’s a thin letter.”

Thin letters were bad. Rejections came with thin letters.

“Open it.” A grin filled his face.

With shaking hands, Elsbeth ripped the paper and read the first line. “Oh my God!” She fell to her knees and sobbed.

He knelt beside her. “I’m going to build you a hospital, Elz. I’m going to build you the biggest and best hospital in the world. This”—he jabbed the paper—“is your future.”

“Oh, Forest, you can’t build me a hospital, but I really appreciate the thought.”

His face cracked a smile. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do. We’ll start with your tuition, and I’ll make the rest.”

Whatever. She didn’t care. She’d been accepted into one of the prestigious six-year programs. She was going to be a doctor. Her dream was becoming a reality.

Self-defense.

That was what the official documents stated, and because she was a minor, the records would be sealed. None of this would follow her into her new life.

Forest’s future would start tomorrow. He’d officially turn eighteen and be free of social services. He’d already put a depositdown on an apartment, and he had his bags packed. Nothing could hurt them now.

Forest might be averse to her touch, but she didn’t care.

Elsbeth hugged him tight. “It’s over, Bean! It’s finally over.”

She’d taken to calling him Bean more often than not, and he didn’t seem to mind. The nickname suited him.

Her lawyer pulled her aside after the hearing. “Congratulations,” he said. “I have something for you.”

“You do?” Her heart had never felt so full.

Elsbeth had no idea how she would meet her goals, but she knew two things. She wasn’t going to jail, and in a few short months, after she figured out finances, she would begin an entirely new path.

The grin on Forest’s face had her suspicious. Whatever was happening, he was in on it.

Her lawyer pulled out a stack of papers. “Well, your brother came to me with an idea.”

“Bean, what did you do?”

He grabbed the papers from her lawyer and held them to his chest. “Well, I thought you needed a way to wash away the past. And seeing how you’re going to be a doctor…” He gave her the papers.

She read the top of the page. “A name change?”

“Yeah.” He puffed out his chest. “I was thinking…why not put all of this behind you? Start out fresh. New name, new life, new you.”

“But I have no idea what name I would use.”

He took the papers and turned to the second page. “I was thinking Skye Summers.”

An odd-sounding name. “Why…”

But then his words about the basement came back. The summer sky that had gotten him through the toughest times. Herhope, as limitless as the summer sky, had brought him peace.His summer sky.

“Oh, I love it.”

Forest kissed the bridge of her nose. “My summer Skye.” He leaned back, his touch too fleeting. “It suits you.”