7. Sarah
CHAPTER SEVEN
sarah
The phone alarm blared, jarring me from sleep. I groaned, cracking my eyes open. I turned off the siren and squinted at the message.
Sammy : Keith will pick up the car this morning and let you know about it this afternoon. I think he needs the key though. I can pick you up for work and take it to him?
“Oh god,” I whispered. He’d sent that at five a.m.
I sent a text back.
Me : What are you doing up so early? Also, thank you. I’ll get the key to him. I’ll find a ride.
He was a quick texter.
Sammy : I like to run in the mornings ;) I’m not doing much today so I’ll pop by the cafe later
I rolled over in bed, staring at the ceiling. Butterflies fluttered eagerly in my stomach, the same ones that usually appeared around Colt.
I sent him back a thumbs up and fought a stupid grin.
In all the years I’d known Sammy, I’d never seen him the way I did last night. I swallowed hard and turned my head, eyeing the locked dresser drawer. I kept my vibrators in there and briefly thought about using one of them, but then the scent of coffee hit me.
Someone else was up super early.
I slid out of bed and made my way downstairs, discovering coffee already brewing and my sister perched at the breakfast table. I slid my arms around her shoulders in a hug.
“Hi,” Haley said, leaning into me. “I spent the night. Slept in Emma’s bed. I made coffee.”
“Is Cam jealous you stayed over?”
She smirked. “Yeah. I’m sure we’ll make up, though. A little space is good sometimes. Are you going over to Honey’s any time soon?”
I sighed. She and I still needed to work things out. I didn’t like having tension with her, but it was there anyway. “I planned to stop by tomorrow after we get back to town...”
“Oh?”
I’d walked right into that. I mulled over my thoughts as I went to the counter and poured us each a cup of coffee. It was early and the boys could sleep for another thirty minutes.
I slid her mug over and sat across from each other, wincing as my wrist landed in something sticky. “Dammit,” I muttered.
“I got it.” She hopped up before I could and grabbed a towel, running it under hot water. I took it and wiped down the table and then my wrist.
“I don’t even want to know what that was,” I sighed.
“Me neither. So tell me about last night.”
I raised a brow. “It was nothing. Sammy happened to be driving by.”
“Sammy is hot.”
My mouth fell open. “ Haley .”
She grinned and pulled her curls back into a messy bun. “ What? Even though I’m happily married, I’m not dead. And I’m just saying , he’s cute.”
He was. I rolled my eyes as I took a sip of coffee, fighting a smile. “He’s headed into Austin tomorrow and invited the boys and me, since the car has to go to the shop.”
Her brows shot up. “ Interesting .”
“Don’t you give me that look.”
“Oh, I’m giving that look. Tell me more.”
“This is ridiculous,” I mumbled. “Sammy Harlow, of all people, is not interested in me like that.”
Haley crossed her legs. “I’ll be the judge of that. Tell me everything. Start from the beginning.”
I’d missed this. I couldn’t help but smile as I told her the full story from start to finish, including the texts. Since we had gotten close again, I’d made a point of telling her everything like we used to when we were younger. Her mouth fell open and I shook my head.
“It’s nothing,” I insisted.
“Okay, let me get this straight. And let me ignore the fact that he’s my brother-in-law and this is Sammy. This man found you stranded at the cafe—which you should have called me about, but I’ll let that go for now—asked you about what you like to do, you share an interest in baking, he asked you on a date tomorrow, took you to get some food—which he paid for—and arranged for the mechanic pick up your car so you don’t have to worry about it. God, what did they put in these Harlow men?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure he just feels bad for me,” I said.
“Mmhm. Okay. So tomorrow, Cam and I can take the boys.”
“What? You don’t need to do that,” I said. “You’re always watching them. ”
“I have years to make up for not seeing them,” she argued. “Cam and I will come up with something fun.”
“I haven’t had a Saturday off in so long,” I said. “I worry they miss me. Or I’m not around enough.”
“You’re around them all the time,” she said. “You only work a half shift Sunday. You should go alone with Sammy. Go on a date .”
“You and Emma are conspiring against me.”
Haley gave me a guilty smile. “Maybe, but I had nothing to do with this development. Get out there, have some fun. Plus, we know he’s safe.”
“You mean, we know he’s not a serial killer,” I mumbled.
Haley’s eyes softened. “Yeah. Sarah… I’m sorry to change subjects, but I heard something you should know. Cam texted me about it last night. Have you talked to the lawyer recently?”
My stomach twisted. I had a voicemail from Larry that I hadn’t listened to. I’d forgotten about it until now. “What happened?”
“David is out.”
I forgot how to breathe. Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, my ears ringing. “What?” I whispered.
She reached across the table and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. “He’s not totally free. He just got a good lawyer. Things are still happening, he’s still being charged. I thought you should know, in case he comes back to Citrus Cove.”
My heart wasn’t beating. I forced myself to take a breath, unable to stop the way my entire body started to tremble.
“It’s okay to be scared,” Haley said. “But you’re not alone. You’ll never be alone with him again. I’m here for you. We all are. You are safe, Sarah. The boys are safe. You won’t ever be trapped by him again. I’m so sorry.”
“I love you,” I whispered, holding back tears. “I’m so sorry for everything that happened. ”
“I am too,” she said.
She got up and came around the table. It was my turn to be hugged, and I leaned into her. I was still trembling. This was news I’d been dreading for months, but I was grateful to hear it from Haley. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Of course,” she murmured, kissing the top of my head. She paused, and then let out a hum. “Do you want me to dye your hair tonight?”
“You bitch,” I hissed, swatting at her. A laugh bubbled up, breaking the tension.
“Or you could keep the random grays. They’re pretty hot. It’s giving single sexy mom.”
“Stop,” I laughed. “I’ll take care of it after work. I’m only on for eight hours today.”
She rubbed my shoulders as I sipped my coffee. The sun was starting to rise outside, and I needed to get the boys up.
“I have a nosy question. What about Colt?”
I damn near choked on my coffee. “What about him?”
“I mean… you know.”
I sighed. “He’s… Colt. I don’t know what else to say.” I wanted him, but didn’t know what to do about it. I felt like an awkward teenager every time we talked.
Before we could continue, I heard Donnie’s paws on the stairs, which meant Emma was up. Which meant she would be a zombie.
Sure enough, she was downstairs a second later. “I thought I smelled coffee,” she sighed. “We need an espresso machine.”
“Those are so loud though,” Haley said.
I sipped my coffee as the two of them chatted, thinking about tomorrow.
I was going on a date—the first date I’d had with anyone other than David. I’d never dated anyone else officially, even in high school. My heart rate spiked as I took a sip of my coffee, stomach knotting with excitement.
The second alarm went off on my phone and I got up, heading upstairs to wake the boys. I pushed their bedroom door open, and peeked inside.
I loved them both so much.
I regretted a lot of things about the past, but never the two of them. Even on the hard days.
“Time to get up,” I said softly, going to Jake’s bed. I sat on the edge and ran my fingers through his sleep-mussed hair.
“I don’t want to go,” he sighed.
“I know, baby. But, it’s Friday. Come on.”
I got up and did the same with Davy. He was already awake. His internal clock had always been spot-on, whereas I always had to wake up Jake.
“Can I stay home?” Davy asked. “I don’t feel good.”
I frowned and pressed my hand to his forehead. He wasn’t running a fever. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“He had bad dreams,” Jake said.
“No, I didn’t,” Davy snapped.
“Yeah you did. I heard you.”
“Okay, Jake. How about you go take a shower? Aunt Haley is still over too, so if you’re quick you might catch her before she leaves.”
He was out of bed in a blink.
Between the two of them, Jake had always been the cheeriest. Davy sighed as his brother left, looking up at me. “I dreamed about David .”
I swallowed hard. About six months ago, he’d stopped calling David ‘dad’. It broke my heart.
“I’m sorry, baby. Was it bad?”
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I don’t want to talk about it. Does it cost a lot of money to change my name? Could I work at the cafe to save up?”
I held back tears. “I’ll look into it. We all know you’re Davy.”
“But the kids at school still call me David. Even the teachers do.”
Dammit. I’d been fighting with his teachers not to call him David.
“I just don’t want to be like him, Mom.”
My eyes burned as I pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head. “You never will be. What happened was awful, but it doesn’t make any of us bad. Okay? You’re nothing like him.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. But you have to go to school, buddy.”
“Okay,” he sighed. “I guess.”
“Tomorrow… how would you feel about hanging out with your aunt and uncle?”
He frowned. “I thought you were off tomorrow.”
My heart skipped a beat. “I am, but I’m considering going to Austin with Cam’s brother, Sammy, for a couple of hours.”
“Oh. I guess that’s okay.”
“Okay,” I said. “Come on. You need a shower too. You smell like rotten milk.”
He laughed and got out of bed. I grabbed the hamper of dirty clothes, taking it downstairs. I could hear Davy and Jake chatting, then arguing, then yelling, then chatting again—always a constant cycle with those two. They were the best of friends, the worst of enemies, and I was proud they loved each other so damn much.
“Sarah—want breakfast?” Emma called.
“Yeah! Thanks!”
I got a load started in the washer and headed back up to take a shower myself and get ready for the day.
There was a little extra pep in my step. It was silly, but all I could think about was Sammy and Colt.
Thinking about getting back out there scared the shit out of me. I’d known them my entire life, but part of me worried they had skeletons in their closets that none of us knew about. It was absurd. Neither of them were killers.
But I hadn’t known David had a twin who was, either.
Hell, I hadn’t even known he had a brother.
I’d been married to that man for almost twelve years. What else didn’t I know?
I cranked the hot water on and got in the shower. Heat permeated my body, leaving my skin angry but loosening the knots in my muscles. I got out and did my basic skin care routine—cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen courtesy of Emma, who demanded I wear it every day.
Within the hour, we were all out the door. Haley dropped the boys off at school and headed toward the Citrus Cove Cafe.
“Thank you,” I said as she pulled into the parking lot.
My car wasn’t there.
“No problem. Want me to pick you up later?”
“If you can,” I sighed. “Sorry.”
“It’s no problem. Hopefully the car doesn’t have anything majorly wrong with it. If it does, we’ll figure it out.”
Neither of us was hopeful. But I nodded, and sat still for a moment. I needed to go inside and start my day.
Haley leaned over and rested her cheek on my shoulder. “Go talk to Honey soon. I think she’s missing you.”
“I will,” I whispered. “We’re just mad at each other.”
“I don’t think she’s mad at you.”
“Yeah, she is. She’s mad that I let it get out of hand. She’s mad I married David.”
“You had no idea about him or his brother. ”
“But I should have.” I fought back tears, swallowing hard. “There’s a chance I had sex with a serial killer and don’t even know about it. All those women, Hal…”
“I know.” She was silent for a moment and then sighed. “It’s all fucked up, Sarah. But it’s been a few months. Things are clearing up. Have the boys had any more trouble?”
“I think some,” I said. “The teachers won’t stop calling Davy ‘David.’ It’s really upsetting him.”
“Want Emma and I to go have a chat?”
I laughed and felt myself relax. The thought of the two of them rolling up to their school to bitch out everyone was hilarious. “No. But thank you.”
“I could bring Hunter. He knows everyone.”
“Yeah, he does. But no. Alright, I love you. I have to go.”
“I love you too.”
I got out of the car and gently shut the door, heading to the back door to the cafe.
I’d worked here for over a decade. I knew every brick like the back of my hand. In some ways it was more of a home than anywhere else.
I wished I could quit.
There were a lot of days I wished I had my own place. Or that I could be like my sister and make my own choices. I’d open a bakery and sell all the things I loved making, if I could.
Dreams like that pulled me through long work days. Today would be no different.