Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
Sawyer was looking forward to seeing his sister.
Darby had been away from Hawthorne for five weeks now.
The first week had been spent at a cheer camp in San Antonio, where she’d taken the JV and varsity squads to learn new cheers and dances.
The month which followed had been spent in Europe with Jace.
The couple had returned to Hawthorne as of last night, however, and he’d invited them to have dinner with him.
Darby had asked Sawyer if he would grill burgers, and he’d readily agreed, figuring she was tired of rich European foods and in the mood for a juicy American cheeseburger.
He left his law office on the town square and drove to the two-bedroom house he’d been renting ever since he’d moved home to Hawthorne.
At the time, he’d been lucky to lease it since Triple H’s staff had brought a few hundred employees to the small, sleepy town.
Since then, a few apartment buildings had been erected, and some new home construction had begun, as well.
He knew he was throwing money down the drain by continuing to rent, but purchasing a home was a big move.
Especially because he’d be the only one living in it.
He’d recently turned thirty-six and never would have dreamed he would still be single.
Then again, no woman had caught his eye since Elizabeth.
Her death seven years ago had sent him into a downward spiral, and Sawyer had buried himself in work.
He’d kept quiet about their relationship, and no one in the DA’s office had known how deeply he had mourned the only woman he’d loved.
Then he’d finally hit a wall. Total burnout.
He’d burned the proverbial candle at both ends for years after his fiancée’s death, and Sawyer had realized overnight he had nothing to give anymore.
He was wrung completely dry. The thought of entering a courtroom and fighting to put away another criminal left a sour taste in his belly.
He’d resigned his position immediately and moved back to his hometown, taking over Isaiah Smith’s practice.
The feisty retired lawyer still owned the building in which Sawyer had his office, and he paid Isaiah a nominal rent each month for the office since being on the town’s square was an ideal location.
Sawyer had been fortunate that his undergrad degree had been paid for with his basketball scholarship, but he had gone seriously into debt for law school.
On his district attorney salary, he’d barely made a dent in the money he had owed.
Upon his return to Hawthorne, West had paid off the balance of the loan and its interest. Though he’d protested, not wanting West to spend so much money, his cousin had said it was an investment in Sawyer and the town of Hawthorne.
Truth be told, West had more money than Midas and hadn’t missed what he’d given to Sawyer to pay off the loans.
West had a generous nature and fat bank account, thanks to his days in the NFL.
He accepted the salary the school district paid him, but he’d told Sawyer he would coach for free if they ever asked him to do so.
Once Sawyer arrived home, he changed into a T-shirt and shorts. The summer heat was stifling, hovering around one hundred and two. Thank goodness his grill was shaded by an old oak tree. They would definitely eat inside tonight and relish the air conditioning.
He’d already made up the hamburger patties the night before.
While he waited for Darby and Jace to arrive, he cut up a watermelon and placed the slices in the fridge to cool.
He also fried up some bacon and crumbled it in canned pork and beans, adding diced onion and green peppers, ketchup, and brown sugar to the mix.
The beans went into the oven to bake. They were Darby’s favorite, next to the chili he made.
Chili was a weekend dish, though, so he was home to nurse it for several hours.
Besides, it was too dang hot to eat chili in July.
The doorbell rang, and he went to answer it.
His sister and brother-in-law stood on the porch, and he ushered them inside, out of the heat, before wrapping his arms around Darby, giving her a bear hug.
Something was very different, though, and Sawyer pulled away, his eyes falling to the loose top she wore.
Beaming at him, Darby said, “Yes. I’m pregnant. We wanted you to be the first to know.”
He enfolded her in his arms again, happiness spilling from him. If he didn’t have any kids, being an uncle to Darby’s children would be the next best thing.
Sawyer released her and offered Jace a hand, shaking it and then hugging him, as well.
“Congratulations, you two. I’d grab beers to celebrate, but I guess that’s off-limits now.”
“Give Jace one. He can drink for two,” his sister teased, following him into the kitchen. She sniffed. “Baked beans?”
“Yes. When you asked for burgers, I figured out you were really asking for baked beans.”
She sighed. “As much as I enjoyed visiting Europe and trying some new foods, all I could think of at times was a cheeseburger and your baked beans, Sawyer.”
He laughed. “I also made potato salad last night so the flavors could settle. Just like you like it.”
“You’re the best big brother,” she declared.
“Let me go light the grill, and then we can talk for a few minutes.”
“I’ll do it for you,” Jace offered. “You two get started. But I will take that beer when I come back inside.”
Sawyer poured a large glass of iced tea for Darby and grabbed a Shiner Bock for himself. They sat at the kitchen table.
“Tell me everything. The baby. The trip. Cheer camp.”
She took a sip of her tea. “Camp was great. It was a weird feeling, being at a cheer workshop as a sponsor instead of one of the instructors, but the squads had a wonderful time. They learned a lot. The rising seniors stepped up, showing the leadership I was hoping for. The dances lacked a little creativity, though.”
“That’s because you weren’t choreographing them,” he said, mentioning one of the jobs Darby had held with Cheer USA during her tenure.
“My co-captains said they were going to rework the dances and implement original steps of their own. In fact, they’ve sent me a few videos, and I really like what they’ve done.
” She sighed. “I’ll start working with them come Monday.
Same for the newspaper and yearbook staffs.
They come back early and start planning the year.
Yearbook comes up with the theme and how to cover it before school even starts.
They block out the sections and assign who’ll be responsible for what pages.
Newspaper always likes to have an edition waiting for students on the first day, so they’ve been covering events in Hawthorne and working on stories about different students all summer. ”
“How is the baby going to factor into all this?” he asked.
Her hands came to her belly, and a satisfied smile touched her lips.
“The baby was made during spring break when Jace took me to Maui for our delayed honeymoon. He or she will be due mid-December or so. Yes, it will complicate our lives a little. If the baby’s on time, my maternity leave would be up a few days before the cheerleaders compete at nationals in February.
Since they’ll be defending last year’s title, they have a lot at stake. ”
“They’ll have to do a lot of practicing on their own,” he noted.
“Actually, they do that already. But I’ll need to be very selective in finding a sub who is willing to put in the extra hours after school—even on weekends—to get them ready for the competition.
Legally, I can’t go near them. I can’t even go up to school while I’m on maternity leave. We’ll work it out somehow.”
“When will we know if you’ve got a he or she?”
Darby grinned. “Tomorrow. I already have an appointment at Triple H with my OB/GYN first thing in the morning. I’m seeing Dr. Bennett, same as Kelby did with Kate.
Since I’m almost five months along, she’s scheduled a sonogram after my appointment with her.
By this time tomorrow, we’ll know the gender. ”
Jace appeared. “The grill’s hot enough. Ready for the burgers.”
“Put all talk on hold,” Sawyer said to his sister, retrieving a beer and handing it to Jace.
“I’ll grill the burgers,” Jace said. “You can bring out the onions and mushrooms.”
Sawyer’s grill had a side panel. Any time he cooked burgers, he also brought a pan of mushrooms and onions mixed with a little olive oil outside to grill.
“They’re already chopped. I’ll get everything now.”
He pulled out the burgers. “I’ve already seasoned them. I did that when I made the patties.” He glanced to Darby. “Hope there’s not too much garlic in them for you.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m eating everything in sight. Haven’t had but a few whiffs of nausea, and that was a few weeks ago.”
He handed over the platter of patties to Jace and poured the olive oil in a pan, bringing it and two zip locks of veggies with him. Jace took everything from him.
“I’ve got this covered,” his brother-in-law said. “Go talk with Darby. She’s been dying to see you.”
Sawyer returned inside. As he puttered about, pulling out potato salad and toasting buns, his sister told him about London, Paris, Rome, and Florence. Neither Darby nor he had ever been to Europe, and so he gobbled up everything she told him.