Page 33 of Rumors in Bayberry
All heads turned in Sadie’s direction.
She looked back at her friends with a neutral expression.“What are you looking at me for?”
Abby spoke up first.“You’re going to keep him around, aren’t you?”
“I don’t have time for this.”Looking flustered, Sadie got to her feet.“I have an interview to do.”With her coffee in hand, she headed for the door.
Reed turned to Sadie’s friends.“Sorry, ladies.I have to go.”
The three women called out words of encouragement to him.He appreciated it.He was going to need all of the luck he could get because Sadie was determined to stay angry with him.
He could be equally determined when it was something important to him.And Sadie was important to him.
He took long, quick strides out the door of the coffeehouse.He quickly spotted Sadie heading in the direction of the newspaper.He had to practically jog to catch up to her.
“Hey,” he said.“What interview are you going to do?”
She turned her head and arched a brow.“Why is it any of your concern?”
“It isn’t,” he conceded.“I was just curious.I never got to tell you that I enjoyed your articles in theGazette.I actually didn’t know they were yours until just a little bit ago.That’s really unique about your family having the same initials.My family never had anything like that.Traditions weren’t important to my parents.”
She turned her head to him, but this time she wasn’t glaring at him.“Surely your family had to have some traditions.”When he shook his head, she asked, “What about Christmas?”
“I don’t know.We put up a tree each year.Other than that, my parents fought about going Christmas shopping.They argued over what to have for dinner.”He noticed that as he spoke, her steps slowed to a normal pace.He didn’t know why he was telling her this.He never talked about his family.“They argued about everything.It wasn’t until I went to my friends’ houses that I saw parents who didn’t argue about everything.For the longest time, I thought my parents’ dysfunctional relationship was normal.”
“I’m so sorry.How old were you when they got divorced?”
“They didn’t.”
She stopped walking and sent him a confused look.“They didn’t what?”
“They didn’t get divorced.They are married to this day.”
Her mouth gaped.“Wow.I… I don’t know what to say.”
“There isn’t much to say.”
“Surely they don’t argue like that any longer, do they?”
“The last time I saw them, they were still going at it.But I don’t go home that often.Thanks to starting my own business, I constantly have an excuse not to go home.”
Sadie sent him a look that he wasn’t able to decipher.Did she think he was the worst son ever?If so, she never heard his parents argue over anything and everything.
“I shouldn’t have told you that.”He regretted being so open.He didn’t know what it was about Sadie that had him so freely talking to her.
“No.I mean I’m glad you shared.I’m just sorry you had to deal with that when you were growing up.”
He shrugged.“It was what it was.I just know that if I ever get married, I don’t want a relationship like theirs.”
“Will you get married?”She rushed on to say, “I mean after dealing with your parents, did it turn you off of relationships?Is that why you travel so much for work?”
He noticed they were quickly approaching the newspaper office, but they weren’t close enough to get him out of answering that question.He swallowed hard.“I’ve never come close to answering that question.So, I couldn’t tell you.Maybe if I found the right person, I would consider marriage, but as of right now, it’s not something I’m considering.”
“So, you’re happy spending all of your time working?”
He shrugged.“Some people—okay, most people, call me a workaholic.I just do it because I enjoy it.If the day comes that I no longer enjoy what I’m doing, I’ll walk away from it.I’ll find something else that I do enjoy.If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life is too short to waste on something that doesn’t bring me some sort of joy.”
“And you get that joy from creating… What did you call it?”
