Searching For Sarah (The Sarah Series Book 1)

by Julieann Dove

  “I wouldn’t worry about that, Danny. You might know them by name, but I’m sure most of them don’t see you in person.”

  “You’re right. I just don’t want Patricia to be weird about what I do. It’s not like she doesn’t know, but you know how girls can get.”

  “She won’t be weird.” I smiled, thinking about how innocent first dates are. I was one of them only a few months ago, myself. “I’ll be right back. Sam doesn’t have a full load. We’ve been out of town for a while.”

  “I know. Last couple of times, the house has seemed so empty. I miss seeing Miss Sophie and her porch twirling.”

  Sophie likes to flirt with Danny. She does her best ballerina impression every time he comes. The more he eggs her on by saying how perfect her twirls are, the more she does them.

  I left Danny in the foyer and ran upstairs to get Sam’s dirty work clothes. There were a few shirts, a couple of pants, and I noticed the bottom hem of some pants, in the corner of his closet. I pulled and out dragged his tuxedo pants. His cummerbund and tie fell from the stack. I fished back and pulled out his jacket, too. No sense in not getting a full load for Danny.

  “Here’s the pile, Danny. I’m sorry it took so long. I don’t want you to be late for your other pickups.”

  “No problem, Sarah. Let me just write you a receipt.” He took out his paper and began counting the items.

  I heard the house phone ring and stepped in the living room to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Hey, you must not have your cell with you. I’ve tried calling.”

  Sam sounded as if he was driving. The wind in the background made it difficult to understand him.

  “Yeah, I’m with Danny now. What’s up? Is it an ear infection?”

  “Nope. Just a virus. Her ear didn’t even hurt when the doc looked inside it. How amazing is that?”

  “Pretty amazing.”

  “Did you finish packing?”

  “Just about. I’ve got to go. Danny is waiting in the foyer. I’ll see you in a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  I walked back to the entryway.

  “Here you go, Sarah. Four pants and five shirts.” He handed me a slip of paper. “Oh, and this.” He bent over and picked up something from the ground. “Be careful, it’s got tiny pieces of glass coming off it. I almost cut myself.”

  I took the item he handed me with his two fingers. He gingerly handed it over. I recognized it immediately. It was my cell phone—my missing cell phone. The blue paisley cover was the only thing holding it together. The screen was in a million tiny fragments—some of it missing, like a puzzle.

  “Looks like your insurance might come in handy for that one. If you’ve got any. I always pay the extra per month.”

  “Where did you find it?” I looked around for a possible solution.

  “In the tuxedo pants. I think. Maybe it was the suit pants.” He shook his head. “Heck, I’m not sure. They were black. I think.”

  I was extremely confused. How did it get in there? “Okay, thanks, Danny.”

  “No problem. You have a good weekend. And don’t forget to pray for the rain to hold off.”

  “Will do.” I tried to muster a smile, but I was too concerned how my phone got in Sam’s pants pocket.

  I placed it on the coffee table and sat in the living room, waiting for either an explanation to hit me out of the sky, or Sam to come home and indulge me with facts. Either one—I wasn’t picky. But boy was my stomach off. I think I might have what Sophie had. I’d already been to the restroom twice.

  “Sarah,” Sam called out to me when he got home.

  I heard him tell Sophie to remember what they said in the car. “Sarah,” he yelled again.

  “I’m in the living room.” I rubbed my stomach and looked at the phone I had displayed on the table next to Sam’s boating magazines.

  I turned to see Sam put Sophie on the floor. She ran over to me and gave me a hug.

  I brushed back her hair, and gave her a peck on the head.

  “Sophie and I have been talking, and we agreed that it’s time to do something very important.”

  I looked at the little girl with blue eyes and honey-blonde hair. “What is that?”

  “I want to call you Mommy.”

  My smile evaporated into one giant gasp. I covered my mouth. “Really?”

  She shook her head. “Yes.”

  “I would be honored, little miss. In fact, I would be over the moon. Just like that cow and that silly spoon.” I tickled her side. She giggled. “And I see you’re doing a little better.”

  Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it must’ve been the hotcake platter from McDonald’s. Her stomach cleared up in no time, it seemed.”

  Sophie looked up at me with suspicious little eyes. I was just glad it wasn’t anything serious.

  “Honey, why don’t you go and pack the dolls you want to take on the trip.”

  She nodded her head and scampered off. I saw Sam spy the phone on the table. I took a deep breath, knowing something not-so-good would ensue from finding it. I was keeping my fingers crossed for a simple explanation. Something so crazy opposite of what had been plaguing my mind for the past fifteen minutes.

  “So,” I started. “It seems Danny pulled this from your pants pocket. The same pants from the night we went to the retirement party. The one in which I lost my phone.” I stared at him, trying to read his reaction. “Do you remember?”

  He said nothing, just stared straight out the front window. I wasn’t even sure it registered to him that I was talking.

  “I asked if you knew where it was, Sam.” I waited patiently, wondering whether all of this was news to him, whether he had memory relapse, or he just didn’t know how to tell me that somehow he was a psycho murderer, and now that I’ve found out about the phone, I must be tied up and gagged until he figured the rest out. My mind seemed to always roam to the outrageous and unthinkable.

  He took a seat on the edge of the chair where I sat and spread his legs. “I can explain.”

  “I hope so. I’m freaking out a little bit. I mean, why is my very shattered phone in your pocket?” I touched the corner of it. “I asked you back then if you knew where it was. How did it end up in your pants? Why didn’t you tell me you knew where it was? How did it get broken?”

  He lowered his head. “Sarah, I…I accidentally stepped on it. And I didn’t want to say anything.”

  “What?”

  He cradled his head in his hands and refused to look at me. “That’s not what happened.”

  “Okay, so what happened?” My heart began to race. This was so bizarre. I was sort of hoping that’s all that went down. That he just didn’t want to disappoint me that he was a klutz.

  “I—”

  Someone knocked on the front door. I turned my head to see what made Sam’s face go suddenly pale. There, standing in the sidelight of the front door, was someone I didn’t figure on ever seeing again.

  “Are you going to go and get the door? Do you want me to?”

  Sam sat frozen, staring at me. I was so used to being a guest in his house, it wasn’t commonplace for me to run for the door when someone knocked.

  I began to get up after not getting a response from him.

  “No. Sarah, sit down. Don’t answer it.” He pulled at my arm.

  I gave him an are-you-crazy look. He stood up and held my arm tighter.

  “Sam, what are you doing? I think that’s Gennifer. You know, the woman who helped you single-handedly with Sophie before I came? I guess she’s back from Texas for a visit.” I took a step, feeling the imprint of Sam’s grip, and wondered why he was acting so peculiar.

  Gennifer banged louder.

  I thought I heard a key slip into the lock. I turned to Sam. “What is she doing?”

  “Sarah.” He continued to pull me back. “She’s here to tell you.”

  “Tell me? Tell me what?”

  Sophie ran to the front door. After peeking in the window to see who i
t was, she turned the lock and let Gennifer inside. I was shocked to see how Gennifer looked. Her hair was falling in her face, her clothes seemed wrinkled, and she barely had a scrape of makeup on—I’d seen DMV pictures that looked more flattering.

  The disheveled woman picked up Sophie and kissed her hard on the cheek. “Where’s Daddy, sweetheart?”

  She must not have seen us standing so close by. She turned her head before Sophie could respond.

  Sam stepped around me and walked toward Gennifer, reaching for Sophie. “Give her to me.”

  “Or what?”

  I jerked back my head. What was she saying? Who did she think she was?

  Gennifer looked past Sam to where I stood. “What are you still doing here, Sarah? I told you that you could stay two months.” She held up two fingers. “Two months. I told you I had someone to come and take your place. Why are you still here?” Her tone became louder—more forceful and demanding. “It was simple. All you had to do was pick up Sophie. Not go out to parties, and act as if you meant anything to anyone here. I see you obviously didn’t get the hint about your car.”

  My car? I looked at Sophie, in her arms—her little hands rested on Gennifer’s shoulder, and she had a troubled look on her face.

  Sam turned to me. “A mutual friend who works for my company told her she saw us at the party. Gennifer was behind your car being damaged.”

  I grabbed my mouth.

  “So? She obviously didn’t get the message.” Gennifer swiveled her neck. “So why are you still here, Sarah?”

  “Don’t talk to her, Sarah. You don’t owe her an explanation.”

  “Damn straight she owes me an explanation. Sam, don’t cross the line.” She bit down, speaking through gritted teeth. “Don’t cross the line.”

  “What’s going on here? Just let Sophie down. She’s not feeling well,” I pleaded, not knowing exactly why Gennifer was acting crazed and as though someone didn’t see her escape the loony bin.

  “Fine.” She placed the frightened little girl down and took a few steps in our direction. “I see you haven’t apprised Sarah of the facts. I knew you wouldn’t. That’s why I took an earlier flight to get here to do it for you.”

  I looked at Sam. His eyes were glued to Gennifer.

  “I’ll give you the short version. And then you can be on your way.” She shooed me with her un-manicured hand.

  “On my way?” My stomach twisted. I knew she never wanted me to have that large bedroom upstairs. Maybe she was still pissed about it.

  “Sam and I are getting married.”

  I felt my jaw swing open. “Married?” Was she completely off her rocker? I looked at Sam to chime in and possibly go for the phone to ring up someone in authority to give our location, where they could find their missing patient.

  He swung his hand on his hip, and pointed with his other hand toward the disillusioned woman. “Gennifer, I told you last night it was over. Hell, I’ve been telling you that for months. You just choose not to believe it.”

  She narrowed in on Sam and pointed a skinny finger at his chest. “And I told you I had to get Bill settled in Texas with his family before I could come back and be with you.” She took a step closer in his direction. “It was a plan, Sam. You knew it, and I knew it. How was I to know he was going to get injured? It made everything more difficult. I told you that already.”

  The room was spinning. What was going on? Was that Gennifer that night—yelling and slamming doors? But why was my phone shattered? Oh my gosh. I grabbed my mouth. It was all making sense. Maybe she was going to call me, and Sam didn’t want her to be able to get a hold of me.

  “I asked you three years ago to marry me, Gennifer. Bill certainly wasn’t hurt then.”

  “I couldn’t marry you, Sam.” Her voice rose three octaves. “And what? Tell Bill and his family that I was cheating? Look like some woman wearing a scarlet letter for the rest of my life? Be talked about during PTA meetings?” She shook her head. “No, this is the way it had to be.”

  “You know what? Just leave, Gennifer.” He pushed her shoulder. “There’s nothing more to say to you. I’m through talking, and hearing your endless drivel. Get on the next flight to Texas and don’t ever return.” He stood there, his nostrils flaring.

  Gennifer straightened up—she tucked her shoulder blades in, her chest puffed out, and she smoothed out her pants, and walked in the direction of the play room.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Sam called out.

  “I’ll be taking my daughter with me.”

  My tight facial expression drained. Daughter? I looked at Sam.

  He rushed to Gennifer and pulled her by the arm. “Don’t you go anywhere near Sophie.”

  “She’s mine, and I want her.”

  “Only when it’s convenient. I’ve raised her by myself for the past three and half years. Now leave, or I’ll call the police.”

  The room span faster. My stomach was pressed tight, and I felt as if my ears were translating gibberish to my brain. None of this made any sense. Not on any scale of the imagination. What was going on? Who in the heck did I say vows to, not merely four weeks ago? And that gushy feeling I just had when Sophie wanted to call me Mom? Yeah, that was all but a faint memory. End the music playing “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” and cue the theme to Jaws. Did Sophie know about Gennifer? Of course she couldn’t. And how could Sam not include me on something so vital to know? I grabbed my head and looked around for what to do.

  Get away. Yes, that’s what I’d do. I had to, to get my wits about myself. It was obvious Sam had been lying to me for months about his relationship with Gennifer, and her relationship to Sophie. Dead niece, my butt. They had everyone fooled. And I didn’t do so well with being the dumb one. I looked at my bags by the front door and had a moment where I imagined an invisible string tied to that little girl’s heart back in the room, unaware of all that was happening. My heart broke for her, but I didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t mine; she was Sam’s daughter, and I knew he would walk over hot coals before he’d let anything happen to her. So I grabbed my bags and ran out the front door.

  My eyes blurred from the water piling up in them. I wiped them with my hand and sat at the red light, my mind wandering in a couple hundred different directions. I snapped out of it when I heard a blip from a siren behind me. I looked up to see blue lights and shook my head. This was going down as the single worst day ever.

  I pulled into a gas station and reached for my bag. After I silenced my ringing phone, I looked for my license. Still crying, I pulled out my wallet. I turned when I heard someone say my name.

  “Oh my gosh.” I covered my eyes. “Andrew, I didn’t know it was you.”

  He touched my shoulder. “Sarah, what’s wrong?”

  “Name it, and it’s wrong.”

  “Pull over there.” He pointed to a space underneath a shaded tree. “Let’s talk.”

  I pressed my eyes shut and nodded.

  He got in the passenger door and leaned against the window. All the equipment he wore made him shift uncomfortably.

  “Why are you crying?” He touched my arm.

  Maybe because life was so incredibly cruel. Because I drive away from the Amityville house and bump into you. I began to search my karma chart, trying to figure out what I did that was so bad to someone that I would end up in this situation. Yep, nothing. If anything, I go out of my way to help people. Maybe that’s what I needed to see Andrew as: someone to help me and not shove my face in the fact that I discounted him for living in a basement with a loud washer and dryer.

  “I just got surprised, I guess you could say.”

  He looked in the backseat at my bags. Thankfully I was packed already. Although the bathing suit and sunscreen might not get much use in the hotel room I had to find for myself tonight.

  “Surprised?” He tilted his head.

  I tried to ignore the fact his baby-blue eyes seemed so genuinely concerned.

  “Yep. Turns out
the guy I traded some vows with to never cheat, lie, or leave me through thick and thin, had his escaped girlfriend knock on the door a few minutes ago, and demand to either marry him as promised, or take her daughter back for compensation.” I hit my head. “How could she use that poor baby as a pawn, or worse!” I gasped. “How could she leave her in the first place? Not tell her she had a mom. Have her believing she had no mommy at all?” I felt my face pinch with anger. “No one is that cruel.”

  “I’m having a hard time following,” Andrew said, interrupting my one-woman show.

  “Sophie is the daughter to a friend who suggested I stay with Sam for a few months to help out.”

  “Oh.” He nodded his head.

  “Then I sort of fell for Sam, and Sophie, and well, we got married.”

  Andrew’s baby-blue eyes expanded in size. “Married?”

  I hung my head. It suddenly sounded so tornado-like. Something a good guy would typically run from when they saw it coming.

  “I see.”

  I looked out my window. “And here you are again.” I turned to him. “Why does it seem that I always bump into you?”

  “Bad luck, or maybe good luck?” he suggested, shrugging. His bulletproof vest poked out a little from his shirt’s profile.

  “So, tell me, Andrew. What’s new with you?” I chuckled, trying to make the tornado that was whipping around in the car settle down a little with small talk.

  “Um, well, I’m sort of dating a girl in my apartment building.”

  Hearing that made me sad, but I didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if I ever thought we’d be anything, but he was nice to think of as an option. An option? What was I thinking? I loved Sam, married Sam, envisioned having more children with Sam. I hated when I got like this.

  “Is she nice?” I wiped my nose with a tissue.

  “Yeah, you’d like her.” He smiled. A little dimple I’d never seen showed up on his cheek.