Chapter 12 #3
He watched her in silence for a few beats, then said, “Please rethink moving out of Redemption. I can help you find someplace on the other side of town where the odds of running into Jed are way lower. And as for Kylie, I’m telling you, she isn’t that kind of person.”
She still had her doubts regarding Kylie, and she couldn’t make any promises. “I’ll think about it.”
Deciding not to push the subject for now, he asked, “Do you have an OB yet?”
“My family doctor gave me information on Dr. Hartford. I still need to call and make an appointment with him. I planned on doing that today.”
He grunted in approval. “All the old ladies go to him, and I’ve met him myself.
I think you’ll like him.” He reached over and squeezed her hand.
“We’ll figure this out. I promise. Just remember that I’ve got your back through all of this.
” He got to his feet. “Will you let me know when you have an appointment?”
“Of course.” She got up and followed him to the door.
“Let me give you my number." She handed her phone over so he could enter his number, then sent himself a message to get her number. "If you need anything, let me know.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” She locked the door behind him and returned to her recliner.
Her brain was spinning with all the things they’d discussed.
Could Darren really be right? Would Kylie be okay with this and love Sadie’s baby because it was a part of Darren?
Would moving across town be far enough to avoid running into Jed or Kylie all the time?
How would each of them treat her when they ran into her?
Would they be mean to her? Pretend to be nice to her? Or ignore her completely?
Only time would tell.
* * *
Sadie
Sadie stood in front of the bathroom mirror, pulling her long blonde hair into a messy bun as she got ready for work.
She still had a little over an hour before she needed to leave and before Willa would be there to sit with Oliver.
While she was adding eyeliner and mascara, she listened to Oliver playing with his toys in the bathtub.
He was making shooting noises and pretending one of his boats was sinking.
“Swim! Swim little fishies! The shark is going to eat you up!” The blue and white plastic shark he was using to scoop up the floating fish had a handle in place of a tail that he squeezed to open the shark’s mouth, making it possible for it to “eat” the fish.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She turned her head toward the sound coming from her living room. Was someone at the door?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She heard it again. "I'll be right back. I’m going to see who that is, and when I come back, it’ll be time to get out. Okay?”
“Aww. I’m having fun. Do I have to get out?” His wet hair was sticking up everywhere. His grumpy frown was adorable, but it wouldn’t change her mind.
"Yes. You will have to get out." She partially shut the door, leaving it open enough to hear if he called out to her or if, God forbid, he fell in the tub.
Checking through the peephole, she groaned.
“You have got to be shitting me,” she whispered to herself under her breath.
She was not in the mood to deal with this right now.
Damn it. She unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Kylie? Can I help you?”
“I was hoping you had a few minutes to talk?” Kylie offered a small smile. She was bundled in a burgundy wool coat and a white, matching cap and glove set.
“Sure. Come in and close the door behind you. I need to help Oliver out of the tub.” Sadie didn’t care if Kylie came in or not, but assumed she would.
She entered the bathroom to find her nephew in a heated debate, which she assumed was the four fish arguing over which of them was the fastest. “Come on, buddy. Let’s dry you off.”
“Oh, man.” He pulled the plug on the tub, allowing the water to drain, and stood up.
She scooped him up in a towel and quickly wiped him down.
When she was finished, she wrapped the towel around him and steered him to his room.
She pulled a set of pajamas from his drawer and told him to put the clothes on.
“When you’re finished dressing, can you please play in your room for a little bit?
I have to talk to someone for a minute.”
“Who was at the door?” he asked from under his shirt. His head popped through first, then each of his hands popped out of his sleeves.
“Kylie.”
“Who’s that?” he asked as he put his underwear on.
“Kylie is Darren’s,” what did she call the woman? She wasn’t about to explain a throuple to a five-year-old. “She’s his old lady.”
“Oh.” Oliver couldn't care less, having moved on to digging his dinosaurs out of his toy box.
When she returned to the living room/kitchen area, she found Kylie standing by her laptop, holding her notebook where she’d written down the addresses to the houses she was interested in.
It pissed her off to find the other woman snooping through her things.
How dare she come into her home and think it was okay?
“My underwear drawer is back there in case you want to check that out, too.” She hitched her thumb toward the hall.
Kylie ignored Sadie’s sarcasm. “Are you really planning on moving?” She sounded a little pissed when she asked.
“I was thinking about it.” Sadie crossed her arms over her stomach.
“Why would you move?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I thought maybe I would be doing you a favor, so you won’t have to bump into me on the street, pretending to be okay with me carrying your man’s baby. Or seeing me walking around town with his child. I didn’t think you would want the constant reminder that this baby isn’t yours.”
Kylie flinched at that remark. “I’m sorry. Coming here to fight with you wasn’t my intention, and I shouldn’t have been snooping. Can we sit and talk? Please?”
Sadie sighed heavily. “Sure.” She led the way to the living room, taking up her seat in the recliner like she’d done with Darren last night, leaving the couch for Kylie.
“I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot,” Kylie began. “I apologize again for snooping. I really don’t want you to move. This baby means everything to Darren, and I’d really like for you to stay in Redemption for his sake.”
“Seriously? Are you good with this? What about after the baby gets here? Are you going to change your mind? Because I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting my child. He or she is innocent in all this.” There was no way the other woman was as okay with the situation as she might claim to be.
If Sadie was going to have problems with this woman, she wanted to know now rather than later.
“Yes. I’m good with this.” Kylie tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“As you can imagine, I am sad that Darren isn’t having this baby with me, but I’m not angry.
I’m not angry at you or him. If I’m angry at anybody, it’s those fucking Phantom Furies.
Since they’re all dead, there’s nothing I can really do to them, and no, I’m not going to take it out on you or the baby. ”
Sadie dipped her head once in understanding.
Kylie took it as her cue to go on. “I’m glad that you’re letting Darren go with you to the doctor appointments and for the delivery.
” She settled her hands on her stomach. “I know he’s really excited about the baby, even though he’s trying to curb his enthusiasm in front of me.
It’s not like either one of you had a choice in the matter.
” She scooted forward a little on the couch and added, “I’m not sure how much you know about the relationship between me, Darren, and Tuck.
Obviously, you know I’m carrying Tuck’s baby, but Darren has been with me through everything from the beginning.
Even before Tuck knew he was going to be a father.
He’s been to all my office visits and gotten me through morning sickness and heartbreak.
He’s invested as much as a man can be without being the bio dad.
He’s loved every minute of it, and that’s why I know how much it will mean to him to participate in everything involving his own child. ”
“I’ve already agreed to allow Darren to be there for everything.”
“That’s what he said, but he told me you wanted to know if I'd be okay with it. And I am.” She paused, licking her lips, before she continued.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I want us to be friends. For Darren and for the baby. I think we could all be one big family, and if I’m not mistaken, you don’t have a whole lot of that right now. ”
Sadie didn’t need to be reminded that she was all alone except for Oliver. She missed her brother every single day. Part of her wanted to believe what Kylie was saying, but the other part kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“So, what do you say? Can we be friends?”
Sadie didn’t know what to make of this woman.
Was she actually a little crazy? Did she really want to be friends with Kylie?
She wasn’t sure if she could trust her or not, but for Darren and their child, shouldn’t she give it a try?
She was probably going to regret this, but she said, “Sure.” She’d give it a shot but held the right to revisit the idea if the need should arise later.
She still didn’t believe Kylie was as cool with this as she was saying.
Kylie got to her feet with a little effort, and as she walked toward the door, she turned to say, “One more thing. If you make a play for Darren, I will be your worst enemy.” She reached for the doorknob.
What? There it was. Sadie knew there had to be another side to this woman that Darren and Tuck seldom saw.