“She’s always loved being noticed,” Gina explained. “She’d peep little noises in the NICU to get people to make eye contact with her. And I know they say they can’t smile that young, but she definitely did, so what do they know? She loved having folks pay attention to her. She was her own little person, right from the very beginning. Now, Sarah, Renzo gave me the revised schedule for the girls when he came to visit last week.”
Here it was. The reckoning she’d expected when Renzo said their new schedule hadn’t exactly been well received. Sarah took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“It’s not right, dear.” Gina’s voice wasn’t mean, but it wasn’t anything to mess with, either. “I tried to talk to my son, but he was adamant, so I’m calling you. To change up the girls’ holiday customs messes with their continuity. Just because I can’t be there to take care of things doesn’t give anyone carte blanche to rearrange their lives. And to change our traditions while Roy is sick and I’m in Seattle seems wrong. As if you’re taking advantage of the situation.”
Taking advantage?
Her?
Sarah bit back her initial response because she’d purposely avoided using Roy’s illness to gain an advantage.
“I know you and your mother have been a tremendous help to Renzo with the girls, but they’ve already had so much disruption to their lives. I want their holidays to be as picture-perfect as I can make them, even in my absence. I made sure my son understood that, but I wanted to share my feelings with you, too. The girls have gone through enough, don’t you think?”
The girls didn’t seem to remember a lot of detail about their previous Christmases, other than a few endearing television specials, the beautiful crèche they’d put on a broad sideboard in the dining room and the much larger outside Nativity scene. And all three recalled sugar cookies and twinkle lights. There didn’t seem to be any real boundaries when it came to the triplets and twinkle lights.
Other than that, they seemed happy to do just about anything, but Sarah wasn’t about to argue with their legal guardian. And yet she couldn’t live with herself and not stand her ground. “You’ve done such a wonderful job with the girls that they’re quite resilient, actually. I’m leaving the scheduling in Renzo’s very capable hands. He’s got a knack for working with them. They love him.”
“They love all of us.” Gina wasn’t being obtuse. She sounded matter-of-fact. “And now that they know they have an aunt, I fear we’re setting them up for disappointment. The fact that you look so much like their mother could confuse them, and that’s a genuine concern. And I have all the concerns I can handle right now.”
“You do,” Sarah answered. She took a deep breath because she longed to argue her point, but didn’t. “We’ll iron out details once Roy is better. I’m sure we all want what’s best for the girls. You focus on him. We’ve got this.”
“You’ve got this for a few more weeks.” There was no missing the pointed note in Gina’s tone. “And then you’ll be back to work, Renzo will be back to work and we’ll have Roy closer, one way or another. Either way, I’ll be back with my girls.”
My girls.
The deliberate phrase made Sarah suck in a breath.
“Thanks for pitching in, Sarah. You’ve been a big help to Renzo and Kyle.”
Kyle.
Did Gina have any idea what Kyle and Valerie were going through? Valerie had pleaded for privacy. Did that mean the entire family was unaware of the frustrations the couple faced daily? Still, it wasn’t her place to say anything. Their family. Their rules. “I’m glad. And please know that I’m praying for Roy’s complete recovery.”
“As are we. But we need to get beyond his boneheadedness first, it seems. I appreciate your understanding, Sarah. Goodbye.”
Sarah cringed once she disconnected the call.
Gina was a strong woman who’d had two major things yanked out of her control. Her husband’s life was hanging by a precarious thread, and the children she’d planned on adopting had a new family member show up out of the blue at the worst possible time.
The phone call was proof positive that Renzo’s mother viewed Sarah as a threat.
Sarah would prefer being thought of as an asset, but she was threatening the status quo. She’d come here to do exactly that. Was asking to keep the children’s holiday more faith-centered a bad thing?
No. But if she pushed and it became a grown-up squabble, the girls might resent her interference. On the other hand, if the judge overseeing the plea for adoption remained unaware of Roy’s health crisis, he or she could make a ruling any day without knowing of Sarah’s existence or the current conditions affecting the Calloway family.
Sarah reached for the phone.
She didn’t want to do this. Every fiber of her being protested against it, but she was wise enough to know that once the adoption had been approved, having her say in court would be much harder. Quietly, and somewhat sadly, she gave her lawyer the go-ahead to inform the court of the current conditions, then drove to the Calloways’ ranch. She’d tell Renzo what she’d done. He’d either understand or he wouldn’t. No way did she want him blindsided by any of this, but when she got to the house, he met her at the door with a bundled-up child. Kristi, she realized, when she spotted the tiny mole.
“Fever of 104 and it’s not going down with medication. The doctor wants to see her. Can you take Chloe and Naomi to school? It’s their last play practice before the big day.”
“Of course. Oh, sweet baby.” She pressed a quick and gentle kiss to Kristi’s dry, hot skin. “Auntie is praying for you. Go.” She stepped aside so that Renzo could get through the door. “I’ve got this.”
“Is Kristi okay?” Naomi and Chloe were standing side by side in the kitchen. Hands clutched, they stared at Renzo’s departing back. Worry drew mirror image lines in the girls’ faces.
Sarah hugged them both before she peeled off her jacket. “Kids get sick all the time, don’t they?”
Naomi nodded, but Chloe folded her arms. “I don’t think that’s, like, a real answer. Do you?”
She’d called her out for hedging the question, just like Renzo had done her first day in town. “You’re right. It’s not, and that’s because I don’t have a real answer right now,” Sarah replied. “We know she’s sick. We know the doctors can help. But that’s all we know. Except, what cheers people up when they’re sick?”
“Cookies!” Chloe looked quite sure of herself.
“And freeze pops!” added Naomi.
“Oh. Fizzy pop, too,” Chloe added. “Like when your tummy is weird, Mama Gina always gives me fizzy pop,” she said firmly.
Not to be outdone, Naomi chimed in, “Fizzy pop with ice cream that gets all creamy and bubbly.”
“You two are wonderful,” she told them as she pretended to weigh their contributions. “We’ve got freeze pops in the freezer, and we can’t make fizzy sodas with Kristi gone, so what does that leave us?”
“Cookies!” Naomi fist-pumped the air. “She will love cookies so much, won’t she? When she’s better.”
And it would help keep these two occupied while Renzo tended to their sister. “What kind?”
“Chocolate chip is her most favorite.”
“Mine, too,” added Chloe. “All three of us like them a lot.”
“Well, who doesn’t?” Sarah teased. “And we’ve got my mom’s recipe taped inside this cupboard. I’m actually getting somewhat comfortable in the kitchen, girls. Let’s do this.” They spent the next few hours making cookies, then she took the girls to their afternoon preschool class. The teacher met her at the door.
“We’re short one angel, it seems.”
“Kristi’s sick,” Sarah told her as the other girls hooked their jackets and hats in the cubby corner. “The angel choir will probably have to go on without her tomorrow.”
“I’m so sorry.” The young tea
cher frowned. “She was so looking forward to this. She loves being in front of an audience.”
“We’ll sing extra loud, Miss Mamie.” Naomi came closer to reassure her teacher. “I promise.”
“Oh, Naomi, thank you.” The teacher palmed Naomi’s cheek, then winked at Sarah once Naomi and Chloe had moved to the gathering table. “Extra loud is just what we need,” she whispered to Sarah in jest.
“I’m sure it is. I’m going shopping for their birthday party,” she told the teacher. “My mother will pick the girls up today, all right?”
“Fine.” The teacher stepped into the classroom and closed the door.
Sarah hurried to the adjacent parking area. She texted her mother about picking the girls up, then hurried to Quincy to buy party supplies for the weekend birthday bash. When her phone buzzed nearly three hours later, the message took her by complete surprise. No one has come for the girls. ETA?
Sarah was in the middle of checking out from the third store. She texted back quickly. I’m so sorry! In Quincy, can be there in twenty minutes. I don’t know what happened.
It took long, drawn seconds for the teacher to text her back, and Sarah sensed her frustration in the message. Doctor’s appointment for my daughter in twenty minutes. Must change it.
Guilt hit Sarah. She called her mother right away. “Mom, where are you? You were supposed to pick up the girls this afternoon while I was shopping for birthday stuff. Did you get my text about Kristi?”
“Sarah, no. I didn’t receive a text. Oh, darling, I’m sorry, but I’m only five minutes from the school,” Lindsay replied. “I’ll get them right now and meet you back at the house. I was out Christmas shopping and no texts came in. I am so sorry.”
“No, my bad. I should have called and spoken to you directly. I know better than to rely on texting when something is really important,” Sarah replied. “It’s just so easy. Yes, go get them if you can. I’ll call the teacher and let her know. It’s just two of them. Kristi’s sick and had to go to the doctor. I’ll see you in half an hour.”
“Perfect.”
Her heart calmed by the time she got back to the house. Renzo’s SUV was there. That meant Kristi was back home. Her mother’s car was tucked alongside, so the girls had been picked up from school. She parked her car, grabbed two armloads of shopping bags and headed up the steps.
Renzo was waiting just inside the door. The girls were nowhere to be seen, and her mother was off to the side. To say that Lindsay Brown didn’t look happy was the understatement of the century.
Sarah hurried through the door. “What’s wrong?” She loosened her fingers from the assortment of bags and let them drop onto the oversize table. “What’s happened? Is Kristi okay? Is it your father? Is he all right?”
Renzo folded his arms like he’d done that very first day, and there was nothing of the gentle look he’d offered the past few weeks. He looked straight at her. “You had your lawyer call the judge today.” Accusation deepened his tone. “You wanted to make sure she knew about Dad’s health issues before she made a decision, even though you know what we’ve been going through with Dad. You know how dicey the situation is, and yet you still made that phone call. A phone call meant to change everything.”
The grim look on his face cut straight to her heart, but it also toughened her backbone because didn’t a just man offer benefit of the doubt? Or at least pose the question nicely? “It wasn’t meant to do any such thing,” she began, but he shook his head firmly and didn’t let her speak.
“I trusted you. I believed you when you said you wanted to work out some kind of agreement, Sarah, but you went ahead and kicked us when we were down. And I don’t know how something like that can be forgiven.”
Forgiven?
His choice of words spiked old anger. “I don’t believe I was asking for your forgiveness, was I?” She faced him, making sure she looked cool as a cucumber while her wretched heart melted inside. “Yes, I called my lawyer and asked him to make the judge aware of circumstances. He wanted to do it weeks ago and I said no. I wanted to give it time, and I did. I didn’t have him call the judge today because I wanted to snatch the girls away or hurt you or your parents. I did it because it was the right thing to do because it’s been weeks since your father got ill. I’m sorry you can’t accept that.”
“Accept it?” He stared at her, then scrubbed a hand across the back of his head. “Please go. I have enough to deal with today with a sick child and a very busy schedule. That’s enough on anyone’s plate.”
Sarah swallowed hard. She took a step forward. “Renzo...”
Face hard, he moved farther away from her deliberately.
So that’s how it was going to be.
She turned away from the cheerful Christmas tree in the big family room. Away from the table full of party supplies for the girls’ upcoming birthday celebration. And away from the plate of amazing cookies she’d made that morning. “Can I say goodbye to the girls?”
He shook his head. “They’ve had enough to handle for one day. Kristi’s illness, then being forgotten at school. No, you’ve done quite enough. I’ll tell them you’ve left. And now—” he included her mother in his look “—good day.”
Sarah opened her mouth to reply, but her mother had crossed the room. Gently she took Sarah’s arm. “Come on, darling. We’ve done our time here. Now we’ll leave it to the courts.”
The courts.
That was exactly what she didn’t want now that she knew Renzo and his family, but she’d heard the determination in Gina’s voice that morning. Roy’s illness wasn’t going to stop Renzo’s mother from pushing for the adoption.
She walked to her car.
“Are you all right to drive?” Her mother whispered the words so that Renzo wouldn’t overhear from the doorway, but when she glanced that way, the outer doors were closed and the rugged sheriff’s detective was nowhere in sight.
Her chest was tight. The lump in her throat didn’t allow words, so she just nodded and climbed into the car. She drove back to the rented apartment.
They hadn’t taken time to decorate the temporary home. Darkness yawned before her, a sharp contrast to the merry twinkle lights they’d strung at the Calloway ranch.
Her mother came up the steps and then, only then, did she allow the tears to fall. But not for long because she’d no sooner gotten in the door of the subleased apartment than her phone rang and the NICU phone number flashed in her screen.
“Dr. Brown.” She answered swiftly, because the NICU didn’t make calls casually.
“Sarah, it’s Felicity.” Felicity Dillon was a NICU nurse manager and a good friend. “We need you back, ASAP. Drs. Roundhouse and Fettah have both come down with the flu and we can’t be this low on staff, and you know when two go down, more are sure to follow. Can I ask you to cut your break short?”
Going back to work was like a gift from God right then, because she could focus her thoughts and efforts on saving other people’s children and not dwell on hardship she may have caused three precious girls. “I’ll leave now. I can be back in the city in three hours.”
“Grab some sleep first,” Felicity warned. “We’re covered for tonight, and if this spreads, you might be staying for a while. I’ve got your coffee pods waiting.”
Felicity made a great point. Sarah kept it short. “See you at six, then.”
Her mother was tossing their belongings into their suitcases. She indicated the three small piles of presents they’d gotten for the girls’ birthday. “Should we drop these off? Or take them with us?”
Sarah didn’t want to think of what she was going to miss this weekend or next week. The birthday party, the little play, the Christmas Eve services. Right now she needed to compartmentalize emotions and refocus her brain. The girls were safe and sound. They were in good hands.
She lifted a pile of gifts and moved toward the s
tairs. “I don’t think our presence is welcome at the ranch right now. Let’s take them along. We can ship them back tomorrow.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Lindsay helped get the cars packed, and when they were done, and the apartment key had been left on the table, she tugged Sarah into her arms. “You did nothing wrong,” she whispered into Sarah’s ear. “Nothing. And maybe Gina isn’t as bad as she seems right now. With all that’s gone on, I expect she’s desperately trying to keep things going her way, but her plates are spinning out of control. Or maybe she’s just wretched.”
Her alternative reasoning almost made Sarah smile.
“Either way, the judge needed to know what was happening,” Lindsay continued. “The lawyer said she was unaware of your existence or Roy’s health struggles, and how can a judge make a good decision if half the facts are hidden?”
“I know you’re right, and yet I still feel like a tattletale,” Sarah said. She wouldn’t mention that leaving the girls and Renzo was the hardest thing she’d ever done. She was still too angry to rationally deal with his abrupt about-face.
If he truly cared for her, wouldn’t he have asked what happened? Or did he really think she deliberately went behind his back?
She’d never know now. His problem. Not hers. Except her broken heart didn’t want to believe that.
Her mother gave her one last hug. “See you in the city.”
“I’ve got this, Mom.” She squared her shoulders and met her mother’s look of concern. “I’m not even going to unpack the car once it’s parked. I’m going to crash and get six hours of sleep and then show up at work for however long they need me. Babies await.”
“I love you, Sarah.” Lindsay hugged her fiercely one last time. “Drive safe.”
“You, too.”
They took I-90 toward the coast, and when the nearby exit for Golden Grove shone bright in her headlights, Sarah took a deep breath.
Finding Her Christmas Family Page 14
