“Sarah!” Both girls shouted at the same time.
Madison dropped her last bite of hamburger and hurried to her. “Gabe is all right. We’ve been taking good care of him.”
Katie tried to wheedle between her sister and Sarah. “He’s happy now that he sees Blackie and Buffy.”
With a smile Sarah clasped each one’s shoulder. “I never worry about him when he’s with you.” Then she called Gabe to her side. “I wish I could stay and talk more about what you thought of your first swimming lesson, but I need to take him home. I can’t have him thinking he can run away anytime he wants and get rewarded by staying. Now that you have your own pets, you’ll find out what I mean.”
Her eyes wide, Katie shook her head. “No, I won’t ever let Blackie run away.”
“Me, too, with Buffy.” Madison held her kitten against her chest, petting it.
“Those kittens have very special owners. See you Thursday at swimming.” Sarah hugged Madison and Katie then started for the hallway.
“Uncle Liam needs a hug, too,” Katie called out.
Heat suffused Sarah’s face as she slowly looked toward Liam. She gave him a quick embrace, the whole time thinking of the kiss he’d given her. “Bye.”
As she hurried toward the entryway, Liam wasn’t far behind her. She kept her head forward, her cheeks still flaming. At the front door she turned around, one hand gripping the knob. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
He closed the space between them. “I’m glad you did. I can always use a hug. It’s been a difficult six months, and I have a feeling it has been hard for you since you came back to Buffalo. Am I right?” One eyebrow lifted.
She gave him a nod then grappled with opening the door. Ten seconds later she scurried down the steps and, with Gabe by her side, rushed home before she went back to Liam, threw her arms around him again and kissed him. As she’d hugged him, she’d wanted more. She didn’t deserve it. She’d survived the wreck while Peter and her baby died. Why hadn’t she died?
What do You want me to do, Lord?
No answer formed in her mind. She was here and needed to do the best job she could.
As she approached her home, she saw it was all lit up. Was something wrong? Mom rarely had that many lights on. Sarah quickened her pace and let herself into the house by the front door.
“Mama, is that you?” Her mom came from the living room, deep lines marking her face in worry and exhaustion. Her brows scrunched together and her eyes darkened. “Nana isn’t in her bedroom. I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find her.”
“The door was locked when I came in. Did she leave her purse in her room?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s check to see if her keys are in it.” Tightness expanded in Sarah’s chest as she hastened to Nana’s bedroom. She looked in her grandmother’s bag that went everywhere with her. As Sarah dug around in it, her fingers clasped the keys at the bottom, and she held them up. “Then she should be here or...she’s in the garage or in the backyard. We should search there first.”
“I’ll look in the garage and the cars.” Her mom made her way toward the kitchen.
“I’ll be out back.”
When Sarah came outside, she paused and scanned the yard. The bright floodlight on the deck illuminated many dark crevices but not all. Her gaze fell on the shed, a slither of light peeking out from under its door. She’d turned it off when she put Junior in there for the night. She’d had to listen to his whines as she walked away. She’d needed to go get Gabe at Liam’s, but she’d intended to come back and play with Junior and her Lab for a while.
Hoping her grandmother was in there, she marched toward the shed. When she opened the door, she found Nana in a lounge chair, the white kitty curled in her lap on top of the blanket covering her grandmother. Her eyelids were half closed, but as Sarah crossed to her, they popped open wide.
“Oh, dear, what time is it? Is it morning?” Then Nana peeked around Sarah, her forehead creases deepening. “It’s dark.”
“Why are you out here? You scared Mom and me. We didn’t know where you were.” The day had been long and with two hours of swimming and having to retrieve Gabe, weariness had spread through Sarah like a neglected garden being overrun with weeds.
“Junior was crying. I couldn’t stand to hear it. I decided to sleep out here. I can’t leave him alone. He misses his sisters.”
“Remember he has to stay out here because Mom is allergic to cats.”
“Child, I remember that, but I still can’t leave Junior by himself. It’s not fun being lonely.”
That last sentence struck a cord in Sarah. Ever since Peter died, emptiness had filled her heart. Even though she was around people all day, she was lonely in the crowd. Coming back to Buffalo had only amplified that feeling.
“Mama! You can’t leave like that,” Sarah’s mother said from the doorway. Her hand over her chest, she continued. “I thought you went out and were wandering around lost.” She stayed where she was, moving a step back.
Sarah shifted toward her mother. “Nana wants to sleep out here with Junior.”
“No way. It still gets chilly at night.”
“Tina, that’s why I have a blanket. I’m not a child. I’m your mother. I can decide where I’m going to sleep. Junior needs me. He’s a baby still.”
“Mom, how about Nana bringing Junior in at bedtime and sleeping in her room with the door shut. Then in the morning, Nana, you can take him outside until we leave for work, then he can stay in the shed. Hopefully this is temporary. Let’s try that for a night.”
As her mother thought about what she’d said, Sarah was encouraged because not once while standing in the doorway had Mom sneezed.
“Okay, but I won’t be able to go into Mama’s room to clean.”
Nana pushed herself to her feet then scooped Junior into her arms. “I want to clean my own room. I’m not an invalid, so stop treating me like I am. If I need help in my room, Sarah is here.” She walked out of the shed, head held high. “Sarah, bring the litter box and water bowl.”
“Will do.” Sarah hefted the box but left the pan. “I’ll get something for water we can leave in her bedroom.”
Mom fell into step with Sarah. “The allergy pills seem to be helping some...but what if this doesn’t work?”
“Liam said he would take Junior until I found a home for him or your allergies are under control. If we don’t, I don’t see any way of getting Nana inside to sleep.”
“Yeah, I know. She’s a very determined woman. That part hasn’t changed. While you set Nana up with Junior, I’ll bring Gabe out here and keep an eye on him. We’ve got to rethink the fence.”
“I’ve got that taken care of. Liam is going to replace the boards tomorrow.”
“Wow. Liam is doing quite a bit for us. It’s nice having a young man around. Don’t you think, Sarah?”
“Mom, I’m not answering you. I know where this is headed.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him and helping with a birthday party for Madison.”
Sarah halted and set the litter box on the deck. “I’m spending a lot of time with him because you made sure I was on the fund-raising committee and he was, too. Did you also say something to Pastor Collins about us serving on a subcommittee together?”
“No, he came up with that all on his own. But it’s interesting that he thinks you two would work well together.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, let out a huff, picked up the litter box and hurried inside. Not only did she live in the same house as her mother, she worked side by side with her, too. They needed to talk after she set up Junior with Nana.
Lord, give me patience. Mom’s driving me crazy, not Nana.
After settling Junior in Nana’s room, Sarah found her mother in the kitchen heating water
for hot tea. After fixing a cup of tea with lavender, Sarah sat at the table. “We need to have a talk.”
Both of her mother’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, that sounds serious.”
She needed her mother to understand why she wasn’t looking for a husband. While Mom took the chair across from her, Sarah took a sip of the calming tea. “I don’t want to get married again. At least for now. Liam and I are friends.” As she said the last sentence the sensations that assailed her when they had kissed surged to the foreground.
“Friendship is a great basis for a marriage.”
She and Peter had been best friends, but she was alive and he wasn’t. “I know that but...” How did she tell her mother she couldn’t shake her guilt that she was the only one who’d walked away from the wreck?
“You and Peter had a great marriage. Mine to your father caused me to doubt if I ever wanted to marry again, but you know what a good relationship is like. Don’t you want that again?”
Sarah had put her whole heart into her marriage, but when Peter died her life had shattered. And she hadn’t figured out how to put it back together.
“What’s going on, Sarah? Anytime we start talking about the past, you clam up. Keeping things bottled up inside you isn’t dealing with them. Burying them won’t protect you from them.”
Sarah’s throat jammed with a knot of emotions ranging from anger that her mother wanted Sarah to talk to regret that she didn’t know how to express what she was experiencing, especially since coming to Buffalo. “I shouldn’t have come home. Too many memories.”
“Are they good ones?”
“Usually.”
“I know it’s been hard for you to drive by the wreck site.” Her mother reached across the table and covered her hand with hers. “Hon, I wish I could take your pain away, but that’s something you have to do for yourself. I’m not saying forget the past, just move on from it. Peter would have wanted that for you. You’ve always wanted a family. That means finding a husband. You’d be a terrific mother. I’ve seen you with Madison and Katie. You’re good for those girls. You will be for your own children, too.”
The pressure in Sarah’s chest expanded. “I was pregnant,” she whispered in a raspy voice as she tried to drag enough oxygen into her lungs. “And I lost her.” She couldn’t continue talking with her mother. She bolted to her feet and hurried toward the hallway.
“Sarah, it’s not like you to avoid a problem.”
Her vision blurred, Sarah slowed her escape.
“I won’t press you anymore, but I’m here if you need to talk. I know moving back here has been hard for you, but I’m glad you did. I need your help with Nana. Tonight proved that.”
Sarah made it to her bedroom before the tears cascaded down her cheeks. She hadn’t cried since she left Buffalo, but the sobs wouldn’t stop. She had years’ worth to release.
Chapter Nine
At the end of dinner at a steak house on Monday night with Madison, Liam lounged back in his chair. “When summer comes, I’d like to take you on an all-day outing someplace you’d like to go. So start thinking of what you and I can do together.”
“The Tulsa Zoo. I went once when I was six. I’d love to go back.”
“Perfect.”
“Katie should like it, too.”
“This trip will be for just you and me. I’ll take Katie where she wants to go, even the Tulsa Zoo, but a different day. I want us to spend time together. So much has happened in the past six months. So, is there anything you want to ask me?”
“Do you like Sarah?”
“Yes, she’s a good friend. Why? Don’t you?”
“Yes.” Madison shrugged. “I was just wondering. You two spend a lot of time together.”
“We’re working on the summer camp fund-raiser. Did you ever go to it?”
“I loved the rodeo the year they had that, but I was too young to participate in it. You had to be at least eight. I hope you all do something like that.”
So far this first solo outing to strengthen his relationship with his nieces was going all right. He was glad someone suggested it. “This year we’re having an auction and dinner. I thought we would buy tickets and take Aunt Betty. What do you think?”
“What kind of dinner?”
“A dress-up one.”
Her mouth contorted into an expression of distaste. “Yuck. Is Sarah coming, too?”
Both of his nieces would rather wear pants than a dress, so Madison had surprised him when she’d said that one of her favorite foods was steak and wanted to go to a steak restaurant. “She’ll be there with her mom and grandmother.”
Madison scanned the restaurant, every table set with fine china, silverware and elegant glasses on top of a white tablecloth. “Will it be fancy like this?”
“Not quite. It’s going to be at church in the large rec hall. If you don’t want to go, some teenagers will be watching the children not attending.”
“I’ll check with my friends. I don’t wanna be the only kid there.”
His throat dry, Liam took a deep gulp of ice water. “How are you and Buffy getting along?”
She giggled. “When I woke up this morning, she was sitting on my chest. Her whiskers tickled my chin.” Her expression sobered. “But I don’t want to roll over on her and hurt her. Do you think she’ll be all right?”
“She’s feisty. She’ll be able to take care of herself or let you know.”
“Yeah, her whine is loud.”
“Do you want any dessert?”
“Yes! Chocolate cake.”
“That sounds good to me.” He signaled their waiter. When the man appeared at the table, Liam ordered two slices of chocolate cake. “This young lady is having a birthday this coming Saturday.”
Madison beamed. “I can’t believe Sarah is having me and my friends at the salon. I’ve never had my hair fixed. She’s so nice and always listens to me.”
He cherished the sight of his niece’s face lit up with enthusiasm. It had been a rough half year for them. He didn’t want her birthday to pass her by without a big production. He’d lost both of his parents at different times and still felt their loss even after all these years. Gareth had been the last of his immediate family and now that he was gone, too, Liam wanted to make a family with his nieces. “I want you to have a great day. You only turn eight once.”
“You’re gonna miss my birthday. You work that day.” Her grin fell.
“That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you tonight. I traded Saturday with another guy at the fire station. I’ll be working on Friday, but I’ll be home Saturday morning to spend time with you celebrating.” She didn’t know about the limousine and plans after the salon. That was to be a surprise.
“You’re gonna be at the salon?” Her voice sounded more curious than surprised.
“You don’t think I can paint nails?”
She stared at him for a long moment then burst out laughing. “If you do, I’m taking a picture of it.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll start with your fingernails.”
Her giggles increased. Liam relished the sound.
When the waiter brought them cake, there was a lit candle on one slice. “Happy birthday, miss.”
Madison blushed, murmured a thank-you and dug into the chocolate cake as though she hadn’t eaten a steak, French fries and salad beforehand. “I love chocolate.” When she finished the dessert, she had some smeared at the corner of her mouth.
“You’ve got some here.” He indicated the area on his face.
“I like this evening, especially the stories about my dad. I can’t believe he stomped through your snow fort.”
“Yep, but I pelted him with a shower of snowballs not long after that. He never did that again. It had taken me hours to build
my fort. Mom had him help me rebuild the one he destroyed.”
“I miss Daddy.”
“I do, too. Not only was he my brother but a friend. Like you and Katie.”
“But sometimes I like to do things without her.”
“I remember feeling that way, too. That’s why I want us to go out by ourselves a couple of times a month. You two don’t always want to do the same thing. That’s normal.”
“Yeah, Katie wouldn’t sit still here like I have.” Madison thrust back her shoulders. “She can be a baby at times.”
After paying the bill Liam said, “We’d better go home. You still have school tomorrow.”
“Are we going to camp this summer?”
“Yes.”
“I think Aunt Betty gets tired having us.”
“She still loves you both, but she doesn’t have the energy she used to. Besides, I thought you might want to be around other kids.”
“I do. A lot of my friends are going. It’s just that Aunt Betty seems to be upset lately. Was it because we scared her when we went to see Gabe?”
“Maybe.” Liam clasped her hand as they walked to the car.
“We aren’t gonna do it again. But she’s always with us, watching us like we are.”
“Sometimes when a person is let down by someone, it takes a while to regain their trust.”
He started the car then looked at Madison sitting in the backseat. “You and Katie will always have me. I love you and want us to be a family.”
Silence greeted that declaration. After a few seconds Liam backed out of the parking space, hoping he hadn’t blown it with Madison. She was trying to cling to her old life, and he couldn’t blame the child. Change was hard, and she was learning that the difficult way.
* * *
Sarah settled on the steps to the deck as Katie played with Gabe, and Nana sat in a lounge chair holding Junior asleep in her lap. Liam’s niece had been with both pets until her grandmother came outside, but tonight instead of taking the white kitten inside to her bedroom, she’d stayed and watched Katie.
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