Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Sarah sipped at the coffee and hoped, after she’d downed half, that it was decaf.
She couldn’t afford to be awake for hours.
Though the insurance agency, as she’d told Simon, followed more regular hours than her previous work as a trial lawyer, it was always busier in summer.
That was when most of her colleagues took time away, leaving the agency short-staffed.
She listened to the information about the budget and voted to use the excess money in the account to upgrade the computer lab and purchase more books for the library, but all the while her attention strayed to the man on the other side of the room. Why hadn’t she noticed him before?
She scowled at herself. Of course she’d noticed him.
Who wouldn’t notice a man who—by all indications—was a great dad and loved kids enough to spend his days teaching them?
He wasn’t handsome in that chiseled-features-and-square-jaw sort of way, but he was a man of substance.
Character. Like her father had been. A man who looked after his family. A man like she once thought Graham was.
And that was why she had written him off early in their acquaintance, she reminded herself. When he had moved to town as her marriage was breaking down, all those positive things she had loved about Graham seemed to be present in this man. And therein lay the problem.
She had once been certain about Graham too. Certain she had chosen well. Certain she understood the trajectory of her own marriage. Then one day he told her they had “grown apart,” as though their love was something that quietly thinned without either of them noticing.
She certainly hadn’t noticed.
If she had missed the signs once—missed the slow drift, the subtle retreat—how could she trust herself not to miss them again? Better to keep things clear. Contained. Predictable.
That was three years ago, and since then she’d found a new job, officially changed her marital status, and bought a new home.
Thank goodness her mother had helped with the down payment, an amount she was working on returning, though her mother said that she should consider it part of her inheritance.
Mom had helped her sister too, and Lynette had no intention of paying back their mom.
But then Lynette was her self-indulgent younger sister, who had always been spoiled.
Always needed more help. After all, their mother hadn’t come to help Sarah when Riley was born.
To be fair, her mother, Eileen King, had been working at the time, nursing her father as he fought cancer, and she had only had Riley.
Not twins. So it wasn’t the same. And though Lynette, it seemed, sometimes twisted things to get her own way, Sarah couldn’t begrudge her mother going to help her.
She told herself to be grateful for the help her mom had given her, not angry with her sister for needing her more right now.
Applause brought her focus back to the room and she listened to the final item on the agenda: volunteer opportunities for the following year.
She should volunteer, she thought, considering that Riley was graduating to high school the following year, but there would be plenty of time to put up her hand next spring.
No need to commit herself now. No need to face the fact that, at the end of next year, her daughter would be entering high school. The thought was terrifying.
She glanced again at Simon and caught him watching her. She was, unaccountably, both embarrassed to be caught in the act and thrilled that he was looking her way. She averted her eyes quickly, reminding herself that she didn’t have time for distractions. Especially not of the male variety.
When the meeting ended, she rushed to the door, past some friends who waved greetings and away from Simon, who looked like he might approach her again.
Part of her wanted to spend more time talking to him, but she knew things between them needed to stay firmly in the acquaintance zone.
Between working and raising her daughter, and now the possibility of cat duty, there wasn’t much room for anything else.
Besides, every decision she made now had to include Riley.
If she got to know Simon on a more intimate level and it didn’t work out—which, given her recent track record with men, seemed likely—it might ruin her daughter’s friendship with Sally.
And that was something she could not risk.
She could not open herself up to another mistake like she’d made with Graham. She had once believed she knew what forever looked like.
She’d been wrong.
Dead wrong.
So, she slipped out and drove straight home.
“How’s everything going?” she asked when she walked into the kitchen. Eileen King was brewing a cup of camomile tea, part of her evening routine.
“Riley didn’t have any homework. There are only four days of school left. So we read our book and I let her watch that kitty cam for a bit before she went to bed.”
“Ah, the kitty cam.”
“I should warn you,” Eileen said, biting her lower lip as she paused.
“Warn me?” Sarah said, waiting to see what her mom was going to say.
“She told me the real reason she wants to go to the bookstore next weekend is to view the kittens in person. She wants one, and they’re doing some kind of adoption event that day.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Sarah laughed, and her mother’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “The woman from the cat shelter gave a talk at the meeting tonight, so I figured that was why she wants to go.”
“It’s going to be hard to say no.”
Sarah groaned. “I know. But a cat is a lot of responsibility.”
Her mother picked up her tea and walked toward the door that led to her suite. “I expect to be back by the end of September, so if you say yes, I’m happy to help.”
“And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime, I suggest you pick up any breakables and close the door to anything you don’t want scratched.” Her mother was chuckling now, Sarah was sure of it.
“But what do I do when she’s in summer camp and there’s no one here?”
But she got no answer, because the room was now empty.
“Argh!” Her question reminded her that she still needed to confirm the start times for Riley’s day camp, so she padded upstairs to her office and switched on the computer.
Summer camp started the following Tuesday, right after Canada Day, and she had to figure out how to get Riley there on time. A cat—no matter how cute—would add a whole new twist she wasn’t convinced she needed.