Falling For Sarah (Sarah Series Book 3)

by Julieann Dove

  Rose tucked her chin and stepped closer to Carter for protection.

  “Rose, what are you talking about? Are you afraid I’ll be lonely when you leave?”

  “Where is Rose going?”

  “Sam has an escort coming to fly her to his house for a few days to celebrate Christmas.”

  “Wow! That sounds like fun.” He looked at Rose.

  “But Mommy could die if she doesn’t go to dinner tomorrow at Mrs. Morgan’s. It’s life or death. That’s what Aunt Heidi said. And Mommy said she was the devil. I’m scared, Mommy.” She ran to me and hid her face in my stomach.

  “Hey, hey. That’s not what’s going to happen.”

  “I feel like I’ve just entered a Disney movie. And some Dalmatians are about to run through the house. Since when did you take up eating with Cruella de Vil?”

  I could’ve died. Why did Rose pick Carter’s house to have this meltdown? Why didn’t she have it at Aunt Heidi’s when she was busy eavesdropping? Or at home, in the confines of our own padded rooms?

  “I’m afraid little miss got her story mixed up.” I pointed to Rose’s head.

  “So what kind of story could be mixed up like that?”

  I took a deep breath and pulled my hair from my coat. Did I really want to get Carter involved in my tumultuous life? Wasn’t he packing to go home, or wasn’t someone obviously coming over here? Tonight? He’d obviously moved on.

  “Mommy.” Rose looked up at me with doe eyes. “Please tell Carter what’s wrong. Maybe he can fix it. He fixes everything.”

  “Honey, nothing’s wrong.”

  “But you said—”

  “Okay, okay. But that’s the last time you’re in the room when I’m giving the lowdown on my life, Rose Marie. The very last time. And here I thought you were coloring and dreaming of sugar plum fairies.”

  “You don’t have money, Mommy. Mrs. Morgan is going to give you some. You need it.”

  I stared at Carter. “Long story short, my grandmother bumped into us in Denver and said if I wanted to reap the benefits of an estate house, I needed to come over for dinner, tomorrow night, and pretend to have a husband and family. So my dying and materialistic grandfather can see I’m not a degenerate, will carry on the family legacy properly, and put the funds from the estate to good use. Perhaps to send to Russia and fund the next bomb. Who knows? Something worthy like that.” I looked down at Rose. “Don’t repeat that, Rose. You hear me? That’s just Mommy being funny.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” She hugged me so tight I was glad I’d just gone to the bathroom.

  “Your grandmother? I thought you didn’t have any family.”

  “Correction, no family wanting to be family. I knew they existed. Just not for me to find and connect with.”

  He sat on the edge of the chair and scratched his chin. “And you have to go to dinner with a family and that will get you an estate?”

  “Exactly. Well, the family has to be mine.”

  “Why a family?”

  “Because they are a generational whatever of upstanding people. No scandals, no divorces, no beyond what looks perfect on the surface. He and my grandmother could sleep in separate rooms for all I know. Divorce is obviously shunned in the Morgan family. Divorced with a child would be suicide.”

  “And they will give you an estate if you fit the bill?”

  “Two point five million dollars. That’s the going rate in today’s market. It might drop a few points in the coming years.”

  His jaw swung open. “Wow, where is it? It couldn’t be too local.”

  “Denver.”

  He pondered some more.

  Rose unclenched herself and stood, looking at the box Carter had just laid on the table. She walked over and shook it.

  “Are you going to do it?”

  “I feel like a hypocrite. I mean, you either like me and claim me in all my divorced, single mom imperfections or you can keep your two and a half million dollars to yourself.”

  “You see, when you say it like that…”

  “Yeah, I just heard that come out of my mouth and got a little tingly. What’s one dinner?”

  “Uh, yeah. I’d dance naked on national television for one million.”

  “You’d dance naked on television for five dollars.”

  “You got me there.”

  Rose turned around and kept her mouth shut.

  “Honey, I’m just kidding. Carter wouldn’t dance anywhere. His legs are too skinny.”

  She giggled.

  “So you’re going to do it, right? Principles or no principles. I’d like a Corvette next year for Christmas from you. I believe in you, Sarah. You’ve got this.”

  “I wouldn’t even be questioning it if I didn’t have bills the length of my body and no safety net in case something happened to me.”

  “Now come on. You’ve got friends, and your aunt. Nothing’s going to go wrong.”

  “You don’t know that. Remember Chris Meekin?”

  “All right, now he’s a one-in-a-million case.”

  “Yeah, well after that accident, he lost his job, his house, and his wife left him. And I occasionally see him panhandling for money at the stoplight on Route 656.”

  “See? You don’t have a wife to lose. How could you compare?”

  I hit his arm. “Carter.”

  “Okay, I know. I don’t blame you, either.”

  “Here, let me see what you got me!” I was a little puzzled. The box was huge he’d brought out.

  “Okay, but don’t get disappointed. They have a no-return policy where this came from.”

  I tore open the wrap. Rose helped. The box was a little more tricky. He’d duct taped every seam. “Carter!”

  “What? That gorilla tried to get out more than once. I had to tape it shut.”

  Rose stopped and dropped her hands to her side. She looked very worried.

  “Come on, Rose. He’s fooling.”

  I managed to get the box open and it was filled with tissue paper. I noticed he’d glanced at his watch more than once. He did think we were someone else earlier when he opened the door. Oh no, Mitzy was coming over? I pulled at the tissue paper, trying to beat the clock for when she was going to make her appearance. Rose was laughing, watching it fly in the air.

  Finally I got to a tiny box, sitting at the bottom. I leaned over and took it out. It had one red ribbon tying it shut. I looked at him briefly before I pulled the string and opened it.

  It was a pair of sapphire earrings. I grabbed my mouth and hugged him without thinking about it twice. “Carter! These are the ones I saw this summer when we went shopping for your mom!”

  He nodded his head, a big smile on his face. Rose leaned in to see them.

  “You went back and bought them?”

  “Yep.” He was proud of himself.

  I pulled them off the cushion and placed them in my ears. I went to the mirror in the hall and pulled back my hair to admire the gorgeous earrings he so thoughtfully bought me: one sapphire in the middle of a cluster of diamond chips surrounding it. It made my gift of a scarf look like a bag of dog chow. However, I did like the plaid gray and red colors of it. I wore it while I wrapped a few other gifts, just so I could feel the softness around my neck. And it wasn’t as if he could throw it in the washer—it was dry-clean only.

  “I love them.” I rushed back to the room.

  “I’m happy you do.”

  I marveled at his thoughtfulness. Then I looked at the mess I made. “Rose, help me.”

  “Nah, I’ve got it. Don’t you all worry about it.”

  There was a knock on the door. I piled as much as I could while Rose chased the other pieces and stuffed them back in the box. Carter went and opened the door. It was Mitzy, as I feared. She grabbed and kissed him. He one-armed a hug in return and quickly announced we were there. She politely stepped into the living room and smiled.

  “Did you all have a party or something?” She looked around at the few stray papers we hadn’t put
back in the box. Not to mention the strips of black duct tape strewn around.

  “No. We were just doing a gift exchange.” He ran over to the table and grabbed Rose’s picture. “Look what Rose colored for me. Isn’t it exquisite? I was thinking about framing it and putting it over the mantel.”

  Mitzy glanced at it and shook her head. “What about all of this?”

  “Mommy got a present, too. It’s earrings.”

  I could tell Carter could’ve endured a root canal better at that moment. He slunk back and crossed his arms.

  Mitzy looked closer at my ears. “They’re pretty.”

  I twisted them, shrinking back from her inspection of them. “Well, Rose, get your box, honey. We’ve got to go.”

  I walked to the door and went to take Rose’s hand. “Merry Christmas, you all. And thanks again, Carter.”

  I pulled open the door and walked Rose out. I faintly heard Mitzy mumble something and Carter said, “You, too.”

  I was about to shut Rose’s car door when I heard someone run up behind me. It was Carter.

  “Sarah.”

  I turned. “Yeah?”

  “I was thinking. When is that dinner you need to be at?”

  “Tomorrow night, why?”

  “If you need someone to go with you—”

  “I was going to ask Alex. He’s the one who met my grandmother that night. And my grandfather thinks I’m married to a doctor.”

  “Yeah, but does he even know you? I mean, they could say something or ask a question and he won’t know the answer. He’s only known you for a few months. I’ve known you for years.”

  “True.” I’d never thought of it before. Not that I find it a practice generally to have ways handy of cunning people out of their millions. And ways that would make it more believable. I thought I’d just show up, do a twirl with my imaginary family, and get the door prize mailed to me in two short weeks or less. Give or take local postage. Lately Bill at the post office was a bit slow after that cardboard bailer accident. He said two of his fingers were sticking together and making it harder to sort mail.

  “So?” He rubbed his arms and glanced down the street at oncoming car lights.

  “Carter, I’m sure you have plans.” I looked toward the house and could see Mitzy staring at us from the front window. Jealousy was turning her green. “Shouldn’t you ask your fiancée?”

  “My what?”

  “I saw you that night with her family. Didn’t you ask her to marry you?”

  “Uh, no. What?”

  Oh boy. Jumping to conclusions was my number-one talent. “Never mind. I just thought…I thought…”

  “Listen, I want to do this. For you. I think this is a wonderful opportunity.”

  I hemmed and hawed a bit. Found a stray rock and rolled it underneath my toes. He wasn’t engaged? “But you’re supposed to be a doctor.”

  “I have a white jacket, Sarah. Come on. This sounds like a blast. I’ve never met someone worth millions. Do you think his walls are papered in money?”

  I pushed him. “Carter. No, I don’t. I can’t even believe I’m considering this.”

  “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

  “Okay, okay. If you want. But if I go home, come to my senses and call it off, I don’t want any flak from you. Promise?”

  He crossed his heart. “Pick you up at five?”

  “Yes, five.”

  “See you then.”

  I got behind my steering wheel, looked back at his house, at him walking inside, and knew this was a bad idea. Still, I couldn’t help but get that fizzy feeling in my stomach when I thought about what was possible to come of it.

  I’d dressed Rose in the dress I bought her for the Christmas picture with Santa. She fussed about the tights. Of course. “You said one more time I’d have to wear these.”

  “Okay, this is one more time.”

  “Mommy, that was the one more time. I shouldn’t have to wear them anymore.”

  “Listen, Rose. This is a very important dinner. Remember? We practiced all day.”

  Yes, I spent the entire day off school rehearsing my five-year-old daughter to lie to her estranged great-grandparents. I was putting in my nomination for mother of the year. If we didn’t go to prison for extortion, I’d pose for pictures in People magazine. “How to make millions in under a week. Find out how this mommy did it.”

  “Remember what to say if your great-grandfather asks where we live?”

  “We live in a nice house with Daddy.”

  “And Rose, you do realize lying is bad, don’t you?”

  “Then why are we doing it, Mommy? Why do my great-grandma and great-grandpa get mad if we say we live alone?”

  “They don’t believe in living alone. They believe in living with a mommy and a daddy. It’s very important to them. Like Mrs. Liethiser tells you it’s important not to talk while she’s talking. And how you can’t run in the halls or you’ll trip and bust your head. Or how I say you can never talk to strangers.”

  “So something bad will happen if Great-Grandma knows we live alone? Without a daddy?”

  “Yes.” She won’t fund our rainy day account, I felt like saying. Or pay back my dad for all the labor he endured on a single salary because he had to mortgage the house for Mom’s burial. Aunt Heidi said that’s why he took the second job for those two years and I had to go to her house every Saturday and stay until Sunday. This was for them as well as me and Rose.

  “They sound weird.”

  “They are, honey. But this is the last time we’ll have to see them. And remember, call Carter Daddy and don’t say anything you don’t have to. Just sit like a flower waiting to bloom.”

  “Is this the last time I need to be quiet like a flower?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “What if they aren’t weird? And I like them? And Great-Granddad wants to take me to the movies and I can bring a friend, too. What then?”

  “This great-grandad doesn’t go to movies, honey. He goes to California and counts his money.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” Her head fell forward and she slunk off to put on her shoes.

  Gosh, I hope I wasn’t giving my daughter more couch time in the future with a therapist. It was almost five and Carter texted he was on his way. I wonder what he told Mitzy to get free time. Certainly not the truth. She had a string tied to that man.

  “Carter’s here. Come on.”

  I opened the door and we went out to his Jeep. I stopped briefly and checked out his outfit. He was wearing a dark-blue suit, a festive red tie, and his hair seemed damp. He shut Rose’s door and helped open mine. I slid in and tried not to inhale as I got close to him. Tonight was pure torture. In every way.

  “So, teacher, anything I need to know for tonight?”

  “Just be very quiet and act like a flower,” Rose said from the backseat.

  I smiled. “Honey, that was for you especially. Carter…I mean Daddy will have to say a little bit. Like what it’s like to be a doctor.”

  “Daddy’s a doctor? I thought you said he was a principal.”

  “This is make-believe, remember?”

  “Well then, I don’t want to be a flower. I want to be a scientist.”

  Carter laughed. “You can be a scientist the next time we go to dinner. For this one, be that pretty little flower.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  Carter winked at me as he pulled out on the highway.

  My stomach flipped and I suddenly grew nauseous. What was I doing? Not only to Rose, but to myself? I was creating this huge lie to tell my grandparents, yes. But in the interim, I was setting myself up for stone-cold depression. After this was over…after the night was through…I’d be left in a car, in a home, with nothing. No pretend husband, no dad with us for Rose, and no whacky grandparents. This was all a sham that would probably ruin me mentally for months. Let alone Christmas. Rose was leaving tomorrow and I’d have all the time in the world to reflect on how lonely my life was. Two point one million dollars�
��even two point five—would never solve that.

  “Come on, Sarah. Penny for your thoughts. You’re going quiet on me. I know you. Stop overthinking things.”

  I stared ahead at the oncoming car lights. “I’m just thinking this isn’t a good idea.”

  “Of course it’s a good idea. It’s worth a couple million of a good idea.”

  “Money isn’t everything, Carter.”

  “No, but it sure helps in a pinch. And don’t think of it like that, Sarah. They have it to give; you could use it, and why not? Because you don’t fit their bill of what it takes to be a whatever their last name is? Give me a break. You’re their only grandchild. If this is all it takes to get what’s rightfully yours, why not?”

  I slowly nodded my head. “I know. But it’s going to mess with my mind, that’s all. Not to mention what it’s teaching you-know-who.”

  “How? You never have to see them again. It’s not like you do this all the time.”

  “Because I’m nothing I’m telling them I am, Carter. I’m not married. I live alone with Rose. After this is over, nothing is changed.”

  I could see the mark of reflection on his face from his rearview mirror and the bright lights riding behind us. He was thinking.

  “Don’t you have neighbor man?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Mommy, can we tell them I love chicken, or am I supposed to love steak?” Rose piped up from the backseat.

  I turned. “Honey, you can love chicken all you want.”

  “Good, because I hate steak.”

  “Steak is good, Rose. What turned you against steak?”

  “She ate some at Caleb’s Bistro. That night we saw you and…”

  “Oh.”

  Enough said. We rode the rest of the way listening to what was playing on the radio. I couldn’t tell whether he was thinking about Mitzy now that I’d said something, or thinking about her regardless. I suddenly felt as if I were riding next to someone’s leftovers. He was only my loaner for the night.

  I took a deep breath as the three of us stood in front of the double doors of the manor house. The half stone wall that wrapped around the entrance was amazing. I’d seen places like this before in magazines, but never had a reason to go and knock on the door.