CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - SARAH
Business had picked up over the past week and I was in the shop waiting for Angie to come in to help out. She’d only been back from her cruise for a day, but she was eager to tell me all about it. I had a feeling she’d be surprised to hear my plans for the place and I told her that I had big news. I needed her to be happy for me and as I waited for her to show I became more and more nervous.
Finally, the chimes rang on the door and I glanced up to see Angie sporting a tan and a new handbag. “Honey, I’m home.” She giggled as I hurried around the counter to see her.
“You look great, so revitalized and I love the bag.” I stepped back and got a good look at her but she had gone stark still and her eyes were as big as saucers.
“You’re engaged!” She grabbed my hand and eyeballed the ring and seemed happy enough that I nodded.
“Well, not exactly but yeah. No.” I took a deep breath to calm myself.
“Well you are or you aren’t, so which is it?” She gave me a nudge like I was silly and then a look of concern clouded her expression. “Girl, what have you been up to since I’ve been gone?”
The best way to tell her was to blurt it out, but I was worried she’d tell me how crazy it was or try and convince me I was making a huge mistake. Finally, I took a deep breath and let it out. “Hunter and I married.” I didn’t want to tell her that it was part of a deal and that it happened the day before she left. She didn’t need all the details. All she needed to know was that Hunter and Tani were my family too and how happy it had made me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her face twisted into a pained expression.
“Because I knew if I did you’d cut your trip short or feel bad that you couldn’t. I didn’t want to put that pressure on you and it all happened kind of fast.”
“You didn’t want me to oppose the situation either, I’d guess.” That was a fair assessment, and I nodded not having anything else to say. She met my eyes directly. “Are you happy? Is this what you want?”
The smile that lit up my face made her smile as well and she hugged me. “I’m happy for you, Sarah. He seems like a great guy and that little one of his, she’s adorable!”
She put her hand over her heart and then her mouth. “My God, Sarah, you’re a mother!”
The words made me want to cry.
“Well, a stepmother yes, but I do love that little girl more than I ever thought I could. Loving Hunter was unexpected enough, but I can’t tell you how blessed I am.” She took my hand and squeezed it.
“And here I was ready to show off my new handbag.” She held her bag out and I admired it.
“Yeah, it’s a sweet bag.” My sister’s handbag collection was something to be rivaled.
“So when are you two taking a honeymoon?” She walked around the counter and put on her apron.
“I’m not sure we are. We haven’t really talked about that.” I remembered my wedding night and how scared I was. How I thought that I’d made the biggest mistake of my life and hoped that I wouldn’t get stung in the end by the arrangement.
So much had happened so fast but I was grateful. Angie had said things wouldn’t magically fall into place, but even though it wasn’t easy, they had in a way.
As I sat contemplating where I’d go on my honeymoon, if it ever happened, I looked up to see Hunter running across the lot and my heart stilled. His expression was riddled with disbelief. Something was wrong. Whatever he was coming to say was terribly important. I rushed outside to meet him and Angie followed.
I ran to him as Angie stayed back. “What’s wrong? Is it Tani?” My heart was about to beat out of my chest, but then his face lit up with a smile. My panic ebbed but I was still on pins and needles.
“My lawyer called. Nancy is in jail. She got picked up last night in town.” He paused to catch his breath and squeezed my hand.
“Picked up for what?”
“She’d been drinking. The cop saw her driving like a crazy person. They booked her on a DUI. It’s not the first time with her so she’s going to lose her license and have to serve some time plus community service. I was awarded full custody again.”
I got protective feeling in my gut that Tani had been placed in harm’s way. There’d been no telling how many times she’s driven around with Tani in the car while inebriated. At least we could be grateful it would never happen again.
“She’s all ours.” The sound of those words on his lips melted my heart and I fell into his arms.
“I love the sound of that.” He lifted me off my feet and spun me around then put me on my feet when he saw Angie.
I turned and my sister was standing there, with a sappy look on her face like she wanted to start singing Sarah’s got a boyfriend.
Hunter pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “I’ve asked Monk to watch the shop and was thinking we should go get Tani from school together. I’ve called Mom and she knows what’s up.” He glanced up at Angie.
She had heard everything and followed his hint. “I’ll be fine here on my own. You two go get Tani. And tell her that her Auntie Angie says hello.” With a wink, she turned and went back inside as me and Hunter headed for his truck.
I glanced down and realized I still had my apron on but I didn’t care, my family was all that mattered now.
“I bet your Mother was happy.” The worry of seeing her child’s struggles had to be hard on her especially when she was so close to Tani too, and there was nothing she could do.
“She was. This has been rough on us all, especially Tani. She’d been crying about having to go back. I’m not going to tell her where her mother is, or what happened, but I am going to love seeing her face when I tell her she doesn’t ever have to go back there again.” Hunter looked so relieved and I realized that I had never seen him without the concern of losing his child weighing over him. He seemed in better spirits in general and the hardness around his eyes, what I thought was a natural heavy brow, was lifted.
We pulled up at Tani’s school as the children were filing out to the sidewalk to wait for their pick up. The teacher had Tani by the hand and she was at the front of the line with a big smile on her face as they talked back and forth. She no sooner got settled, sitting crossed-legged on the sidewalk when she turned her head and saw us in her father’s truck.
Her eyes lit and she nudged the boy behind her who craned his neck to see around her head. The little boy’s eyes widened and then he smiled. “It looks like Tani has a friend.”
“I wonder if that’s the kid she wanted me to beat up?”
I glanced over to see if he was serious.
“She wanted you to beat up a kid? Oh, that’s some terrible crush she’s got.” I looked back at Tani and sure enough she was still chatting it up with the little boy, who was quite a cutie himself.
“What?” He narrowed his eyes glancing out the window. “She told me she hated that kid. She threatened him and said I was in a gang. She even wanted Monk to come and put some fear into him.”
“Right, because she has a crush on him. You’ll see.” We moved forward and Tani stood up and waved at her friends. The little boy waved back and Tani’s face glowed as she approached the truck.
Hunter frowned. “You’re way off.”
Tani’s teacher opened the door and took her hand to help her inside, but Tani, who’d been all smiles and bright red cheeks, tugged the woman’s shirt. “Mrs. Ladd, this is Mama Sarah.”
The woman’s smile warmed. “Oh, she’s gone on and on about you. It’s nice to meet you. You have a good day.” She shut the door and Hunter kept the line moving, asking Tani about the boy, but I didn’t register any of it.
Tani had called me her mama and I was too busy wiping tears to pay attention.
Hunter glanced over and noticed me tearing up, but I shook my head to let him not to worry. He offered a knowing smile as Tani told us all about her new boyfriend Danny.