Page 17 of I'm Yours

“How did she seem?”

“Not as shocked as I did, that’s for sure. She just acted like I was the same as any other dad coming in off the streets to sign up their daughter for ballet class.”

She’s silent again and then she says, “She knew you were back.”

The gravel road is bumpy as I slowly make my way to the spot Sadie and I once shared. My tight grip on the steering wheel has nothing to do with the way the road is. “How?” More silence that’s only grating on my nerves. “Mom? How did she know?”

“You knew she and I still spoke, Reed.”

“I know that, but… she knew Emerson’s name. Her age. She definitely wasn’t surprised to see me in town. I guess, I just assumed you and her spoke but not frequently.”

“She came out for coffee a few days before you were set to come back. She helped me set…” she stops abruptly, clearly not meaning to out herself.

“Helped you set…” I prompt her, wanting her to just finish the rest of what she was going to say and get it over with.

“Emmy’s room.”

I slam on the brakes and throw my pickup in park, get out, and slam the door. My phone is clenched in my fist, still pressed to my ear.

“Sadie helped set upmydaughter’s room?” Knowing that does something to me. Knocks the wind out of me. I shake out the hand not holding my phone. Fire burns inside. I don’t know if it’s anger or pain… possibly both.

“Only the paint. And her dresser. She refinished it for me, it’s kind of a passion of hers. So is painting. You know how she’s always been so creative.”

I stop pacing in front of my pickup and scowl at the ground beneath my feet.

“I remember,” I mumble. There’s really not much I don’t remember about Sadie Jones. But apparently, I still have a lot to learn.

“You didn’t want to know,” she reminds me.

“I know,” I whisper.

She sighs and responds gently, “Reed, maybe there’s a reason she’s still here and you’re back.”

“Last I heard, she was getting married to Billy and I guess I assumed she’d left town,” I growl.

“Lakeside might still be the same, but a lot has changed.”

Obviously. I lean against the front of my pickup and look around. It was a little over twelve years ago that I last saw Sadie. I’d dropped her off at her trailer after we spent a night together, wrapped in each other’s arms under the stars.

I suck in a breath and lean over, hands to my knees.

“You still there?” Mom asks.

“Yeah,” I croak out.

“Are you okay? I know how much you loved her.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to correct her. Love. How much I love her. But that’s not true anymore. I found love after Sadie Jones broke my heart and told me she didn’t love me back. When she ignored my calls and when I’d knock on her door, begging for her to talk to me. When she let me leave Lakeside without even so much as a goodbye.

I stand straight and clear my throat. “I’m fine. Just surprised, is all. Today’s been a lot to take in. Bringing Emmy to her first day of school without Katherine then seeing Sadie – I didn’t expect it, is all.”

“Reed…”

“I said I was fine,” I bark. She doesn’t deserve that, though. Mom has been nothing but supportive of me my entire life. I soften my voice and continue. “Now I know and won’t be blindsided the next time I see her. I signed Emmy up for dance class with her which means I’ll see her often, but at least I’ll be prepared.” I’ll endure the pain of seeing Sadie knowing she belongs to another man every day if it means Emmy is happy.

“I should have told you.”

“Told me that she’s still here?”

---