Page 26 of Sweet Beginnings

“I’m not lying. Mom will be fine by the time you get home.”

“Good.” Garret blew out a long sigh that filtered through the room. “In that case, have you all completely lost your minds!”

“Thank heavens.” Jillian threw her arms in the air. “Finally, another voice of reason.” When both her brothers shot her a pointed glare, Jillian dropped her arms to her side and shoulder’s deflated, sighed. “Never mind.”

The next twenty minutes were spent convincing Garret they hadn’t all lost their minds, and no he did not need to cut his summer vacation short and fly home to talk some sense into them. Although Preston wondered if having one more son home wouldn’t help cheer up his mother; the next couple of weeks were going to be hard enough, one more person having to keep up the illusion was more stress than any of them needed.

Disconnecting the call and slipping the phone into his shirt pocket, Carson leaned back in his father’s chair. “Well, that could have been worse.”

“Kade’s going to have the same reaction when he hears.” Jillian waved her hands at the heads turned in her direction. “Just saying.”

For a long few minutes, no one said a word. What was there to say?

“She’s right,” Preston spoke up. “No sense in stressing Kade out. For now, let’s spare him all the details.”

Multiple heads bobbed. Rachel nibbled on her lower lip a moment longer before blowing out a sigh and nodding her agreement.

“All right then. Now that we’ve got Garret and Kade settled, we have a few more people to include.” Preston crossed the room and stopped in front of Sarah. “Shall we go to your house and have a chat with your father?”

Sarah let out a deep sigh. “I’ve been thinking about that.”

“And?” Preston urged.

“Dad can keep a secret, but what if he doesn’t agree with us and feels obligated to tell your mother? This isn’t quite the same as doctor patient confidentiality.” She had no idea what was harder, pretending that she wasn’t attracted to Preston, or lying to her father for the sake of the ranch.

One hand raked his fingers through his hair before extending his arms and taking one of Sarah’s hands in each of his. “It’s your call. Whatever you want, I’m on board.”

Did he have to make things so easy? Be so cooperative and understanding? Why was this man the only man she’d ever dated who was practical, level-headed, and thoughtful?Dated? She hadn’t really dated Preston, she was just marrying him.

“You okay?” Preston held onto her hands and frowned.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“About your father?”

Yeah. Sure. “Yes.” Pulling away, she sighed. This whole enterprise was too important to risk the secret getting out. “Like it or not, if your mom stays in the dark, my dad stays in the dark.”

His head cocked to one side. “You sure?”

No. “Yes.” As sure as she could be in this crazy situation.

“I can’t put my finger on it, but something is off.” Alice Sweet had her sister on speaker phone.

“What do you mean off?”

“Well, why now?” Alice said.

Vicki sighed on the other end. “You really do like looking a gift horse in the mouth, don’t you? You know as well as anyone else, imminent danger brings couples together. Haven’t you ever seen the movieSpeed?”

“That’s when the couple is in imminent danger, not me.”

“Do you have any idea how much you scared the heck out of everyone with that fall?”

Her sister was right. She could see the fear and worry in each and every one of her children’s faces, even now. “I know.”

“And now, they’re waiting for you to show signs of improvement. Those two have been friends since Sarah Sue could talk. Makes perfectly good sense to me, now that she’s home that is.”

“I suppose you’re right. I’m just being foolish. Ray has left me doubting everything.”

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