Page 19 of Love's Harvest
“I’ve got you,” said Aaron, placing his strong fingers around her arm and pulling her toward him.
Feeling her cheeks heat, she lifted her gaze to meet his.It felt just like a kiss.
“Aw, I can’t help it,” said Aaron, wrapping his arms around her.“You’re beautiful.”
This time, Sarah nestled against him, hearing the racing of his heart.After a delicious moment of connection, she forced herself to pull away from him, overwhelmed by a memory of how she’d failed her husband.
“I know you’ve had some horrible things happen to you, but you can’t allow them to ruin your life going forward.I can’t believe the man you loved enough to marry would want you to do that.True?”Aaron’s gaze bore into her, waiting for her answer.
Conflicted, Sarah frowned.“I’m not sure.Things got very bad toward the end.I thought I was helping …”
“Yoohoo!I’m here!”came a cry.
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Sarah stood straight, brushed off her shirt and answered.“I’m with a customer.”
Aaron studied Sarah for a moment, then took the box from her and walked off with it and the box he’d taken from the shelf.
She heard her mother greet him and slipped up the back stairs to the second floor so she wouldn’t have to speak to either one of them.
At her desk, she took a long sip of coffee and let out a sigh.She and Jesse had been in love when they married.Of course, they had.They were thought of as the perfect couple, so it seemed natural to marry even before Sarah had finished her degree.
Sarah realized it was important to remember how much they’d loved one another in the beginning.She’d never understood what had brought on his horrific periods of depression.It was almost as if his busy college life had hidden them.
She remembered how Jesse had hated his job after the excitement of getting it was gone.They’d talked about it and had even agreed that he needed to increase the dosage of his anti-anxiety medication.
After the excitement of the birth of the twins had worn off, Jesse began to obsess about her need to take care of them.And when Jesse and she were exhausted caring for the girls twenty four/seven, they began to attack one another.Jesse could be vicious about needing time alone, away from the family, and her.She’d cried foul and worse.
At the time, Sarah was unaware that her husband was trying other pills.Pills that undermined his strength by giving him the idea of committing suicide.By the time, he could no longer stand his mental anguish and decided to end it all, she’d discovered he’d been living a secret life of taking a mixture of drugs.She’d been furious with him before guilt took over, convincing her that, had he lived with a different woman, he might not have taken his life to escape the one he had with her.
Counseling had helped, but nothing would take away the pain, the sorrow, the blame from her.She tried her best to keep that hidden inside.
Now, the sound of her mother walking into the upstairs space jarred Sarah from her morbid thoughts.By the time her mother came into her office, Sarah had pulled herself together.
“It looks like another busy day,” said Sarah’s mother.“How did the new intern, April Loomis, work out yesterday?Do you need our other high school worker to help her?”
“April did just fine.I don’t think it’s a wise idea for Wyatt Wilson to be in on our sessions.Not yet.April is shy and vulnerable.Besides, we hired him to unload trucks and do some heavy work around the place.She’ll be working for me.”
“Okay.April is in your hands,” said Sarah’s mother.“I’m just thankful we can be of some benefit to both of them.”
After her mother left her office, Sarah got to work, making a list of things to go over with April.She was excited to see how April looked when she arrived.She hoped wearing the shirt with the store logo on it would give her a feeling of belonging.
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That afternoon, Sarah looked up from her desk to see April walking toward her wearing a skirt and a blouse.Surprised, she waited for April to speak.
“Hi,” said April.“I need just a few minutes to change.My grandmother was upset that I was wearing jeans, so I told her I’d change.But I brought the jeans and the shirt with me, so I’d be in uniform.”Her lips curved, sending a light to her beautiful green eyes.“She’ll get used to the idea, but I’ll go slowly.”
After April left her, Sarah seethed inside at the notion that a high school girl wasn’t allowed to wear jeans to school like the other kids in town, making her seem apart.
When April returned, she looked attractive in the “uniform”, or maybe it was the joyful look on her face that caught Sarah’s attention.
“Okay, ready to work?”Sarah said, deciding not to get in the middle of a family squabble.
“Yes, I’m really excited about doing this,” said April, taking a seat in the chair Sarah had pulled up to her desk.
“Yesterday, we put labels on items to sell and entered them into the computer program.Now, let’s check to see if any sales were made with them,” said Sarah.“You’ll be doing the labeling, but I want you to see the results.Most times, it takes days for a sale to ring up on a new item.But because those were seasonal, we might have sold one or more overnight.Let’s check.”
Sarah showed April how to get into the program and go to the items they’d entered.Two of the items had sold – a mouse and a witch.
