Synclair’s eyes blazed with curiosity. “How so?” She asked.
“Well, Dalton is “seeing” Logan’s daycare teacher,” Said explained using air quotes. Since both women knew that what seeing meant was actually Dalton was having sex with Logan’s teacher. Sara loved Dalton, she did, but that man needed to stop having sex with every woman who sighed in direction and start seeing a woman for more than one night.
“And?” Synclair asked.
Sara blew out a tired breath, “Logan comes home from school with stories about Uncle Reece, Dalton and Matt and of course, Auntie Rachel.”
Sara saw the look of shock on Synclair’s face. “Seriously, I didn’t even know they were doing that.”
For a moment Sara felt sick, thinking maybe she had gotten Reece in hot water with his bride, then Synclair smirked.
“Aww, that’s kind of cute.” Nope, Synclair didn’t look pissed, instead of hot water it looked like Sara just handed Reece a happy night.
“It is cute and sweet. Logan comes come with toy animals, books, race cars, legos and even a toy calculator, all from his Aunt and Uncles. The only problem is that now Logan thinks he has this huge family, for god sakes, Reece promised him a puppy and Dalton offered to build a dog house for it.” Sara exclaimed, grumpily folding her arms across her chest.
Synclair burst out laughing, not chucking, but full own, side gripping laughing. Sara waited until she was finished, she tried to glare at her but ended up laughing right along with her.
When the women had finally brought themselves under control and wiped away the tears that had streaked down their cheeks, Synclair smiled.
“Ah, Sara, they see you as family. I’m sure it killed them to say away, but I’ll bet they wanted to respect your wishes. But once the Hudson clan claims you, there’s not getting away, I know I tried. They’re like one cohesive, sneaky unit working toward one goal with laser-like focus and precision, it’s kind of scary.” Synclair mock shivered.
“They can’t claim Logan or me, Lucas and I aren’t even together,” Sara answered.
Synclair shook her head, “Nope, it’s like the Mickey Mouse Club on steroids or a gang you can jump into but never get out of, Hudsons are lifers babe. They consider you family, so that makes Logan family, it’s just a matter of time before your living down the hall from Reece and me.”
It was Sara’s turn to shake her head. The Hudsons had been the kind of family she had always wanted and for a while, she thought she and Lucas would get married, and she would finally be part of something bigger than herself. Sadly, she knew that she and Lucas didn’t have a shot at that life. They were both different people now.
“Not going to happen Synclair, I will never put myself in a position to be emotionally destroyed by Lucas Hudson again or any man, I have my business and my son, and that’s just going to be enough.”
Synclair was smarter than to try to argue with a woman who had her mind made up. She had come to love Lucas Hudson in the time she had known him, she couldn’t imagine him letting Sara out maneuver him for long. She’d seen the look his face today when he had come home and had watched him devour Sara’s mouth a few months ago, there was no doubt Lucas was making a play for Sara. And if he screws it up, this time, I’m going to whack him upside the head with my bat, she vowed silently.
“Come on buddy, I feel a hankering for ice cream, that is the globally recognized, “men suck,” conversational food, correct?”
“Okay but only if you fill me in on the whole gigolo robber thing.”
“Deal.” Synclair nodded.
Sara pulled herself up from the booth and taking Synclair’s outstretched hand pulled her up as well. Sara felt relieved for the first time in a long time. She had a new business partner and most importantly a new friend. As the two women went off in search of Dairy Queen and stories of gigolo burglars, she wondered how long her happiness would last.
**********
Lucas had already swung by Sara’s apartment, but she wasn’t home. He was about to head toward town when his phone rang. Seeing Reece’s name on the caller ID, he quickly answered.
“Reece, man I need a favor,” Lucas said.
Without hesitation, Reece answered, “Name it brother.”
Lucas smiled, he could always count on his brothers to have his back, and he felt, this time, he would need them. “I need someone to pick up Logan from daycare and bring him out to the ranch.”
“Why?” He heard the seriousness in Reece’s tone.
“Travis Donaldson is getting out of prison in about a week, I’m pretty sure that Sara doesn’t know. Rachel overheard Amber talking about it at the market today. I just don’t want her to be alone when she finds out.”
“You have to make things right with her Lucas, you know that right?”
Lucas was irritated, he didn’t need his little brother telling him what to do.
“It’s not that simple Reece, she’s not like Synclair the situations are entirely different.” He griped through clenched teeth.
“Bullshit, that line doesn’t work Lucas, you should have been with Sara this whole time, you should have raised that boy, they’re both family, everyone recognizes that but you,” Reece shouted. Lucas heard his brother’s harsh breathing, a warning that Reece was struggling to get himself under control.
“Lucas, what happened with you and Sara and Travis was awful, yeah, you fucked up and let your anger and your pride best you, but you saw me go after Synclair, I didn’t give up. I didn’t let her push me away, you gotta make a choice Lucas. That boy deserves a father, deserves a family and so does Sara. How long are you going to watch her standalone against the world man?” Reece grumbled.
Lucas knew he was right, he had always watched Sara from a distance. He was acutely aware that his siblings were engaging with Logan, he had looked him in daycare. The kid was a riot, Logan was always laughing, those blue eyes twinkling with mischief. He assembled those Legos so quickly, he reminded him of Dalton and when Logan pet the class Guinea pig with such respect and gentleness it reminded him of Reece.
He never saw Travis when he studied Logan, he saw Sara. Strong, kind, Sara. The Sara that stood by him when he gave in to all the pressure of raising his siblings and running the family business and turned into a moody asshole. Could he make things right with her? The chemistry was still great between them, the night they had sex, a few months back, was extraordinary. It was better than incredible, it was right, falling asleep with Sara in his arms was the best thing in the world, at least until he woke up and she was gone.
“Lucas you there man?” Reece asked.
“Yeah sorry I was thinking.”
“Well think quicker, I just got a text from Rachel saying that Synclair and Sara are at Dairy Queen, and Synclair just shoved her chocolate swirl ice cream cone in Amber’s face.”
“SHIT. I’m on it.”
“I’m calling Dalt to get Logan, and I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Lucas clicked off the call and dropped his cell in the seat next to him. Making an illegal U-turn, he sped back to town. If Amber had already gotten to Sara, then Sara knew Travis was going to be released, and if Synclair was there, Amber was probably going to her ass kicked by a pregnant woman, God he loved his sister-in-law.
Moments later Lucas pulled up to the Dairy Queen. As he threw open his truck door and waded through the crowd that had assembled, he struggled to contain the feeling of Déjà vu. The last time he had shown up to an altercation between Synclair, Sara, and Amber, cops were involved.
Running his hand over his face he tried to make sense of what he was looking at.
Synclair was straddling an ice cream covered, Amber, shoving bits of the cone in her furious face. Synclair looked ferocious, he managed to catch her gaze for a moment, she stopped to give him an evil grin and went back to her task. Rachel was standing with her arm around an extremely pale looking Sara. He could see by the expression on her face she was horrified, what he didn’t know was i
f it was because of the scene before him or from the announcement that Travis would be out soon, he could predict which one.
After taking a long moment, he thrust the people in front of him aside and stepped up to Synclair and Amber.
“Lucas, Lucas, get her off me, she’s totally mental.” Amber screeched trying to grab at Synclair’s hands.
“This bitch has done nothing but be a boil on the butt of humanity for years, I would be doing the world a favor if I ended you.” Synclair retorted.
It didn’t take Lucas long to guess that Amber had told Sara about Travis, of course, he was sure Amber had communicated the message in her usual tactless fashion, after that he suspected that Synclair stepped in to support Sara. He admired the fact that Synclair fiercely guarded the people she cared about, she fit right in with the Hudson family. However, when Reece showed up, he was going to give birth to a cow, himself, when he discovered his pregnant soon to be wife brawling outside the Dairy Queen.
“Someone call the cops, make sure someone films this.” Amber insisted.
Lucas could see Amber realized she made a mistake when those words escaped her lips. In a flash, Synclair had flipped Amber over grabbed her around the neck in a chokehold, making sure the crowd would have a frontal shot of Amber’s face.
“That’s right, make sure you’re recording, Amber likes to show pictures to people, she likes to arrange them so they don’t represent the truth, and she likes to whip out photos when she wants to destroy people. Well, guess what bitch, either that shit ends, or I end you, I don’t actually care, which.” Synclair sneered pulling her arm tighter around Amber’s neck.
Lucas stood there dumbstruck, he knew Synclair had grown up on the streets of Vegas, but he’s never seen such a furious look on her face. He was about to calmly ask Synclair to let go of Amber’s neck before she turned a deeper shade of purple when he heard Reece yell and slam his truck door.
Lucas stared at Reece’s face when he shoved through the crowd. The man looked terrified. Lucas knew Reece loved Synclair more than anything, and now that she was pregnant he was always worried about her getting hurt. Still, even through all that concern, he saw something that looked a little like pride creep across his brother’s face.
“Synclair, sweetheart you gotta let go hon.” Reese reasoned as if he was whispering to an injured animal. Lucas watched as his brother knelt by his fiance.
He noticed that Synclair had a far away look on her face. Crap, he thought. She was apparently lost in some awful memory, and she didn’t look like she was slackening her clutch on a flailing Amber. Lucas realized that he and Reece could drag her away, but he didn’t want to risk making whatever had hold of her even worse. From the expression on Reece’s face, he thought the same thing.
“Reesy, thank god baby, you gotta get this insane woman off me.” Amber choked out. Synclair growled in answer and tightened her grasp.
“Not helping Amber.” Reece hissed.
Reece knew Synclair hated Amber. She had been part of the group that had made the wager that Reece couldn’t get Synclair, then a college freshman into bed. She had also altered a videotape to show that Synclair was cheating on Reece with his brother, and of course, it was Amber who showed Lucas the pictures of Travis and Sara. Did Amber have this coming? Absolutely, but the hell if his woman was going to go to prison for murdering this bitch.
“She. Hurt. Sara. She’s a bully Reece, a manipulator, and an abuser, she’s just as liable as Travis for hurting Sara. I won’t stand for it.” Synclair explained, her eyes glazed over.
Reece ran a hand through his hair in frustration. She was protecting Sara, like she looked after all abused women, like the women she guarded in Vegas at the women’s shelter. His woman had an enormous heart, and he respected her for it, but he had to take charge before Amber passed out.
“Sweetheart, you gotta let go.”
“No.” She responded instantly.
“Come on, If you let the ice cream witch go, we can stop by the cake shop on the way home and get those cream filled cupcakes you like.”
Lucas stared at Reece like he’d lost his mind. His fiance was strangling the hell out of his ex-wife, and he was trying to entice her with cupcakes. Lucas was about to step forward when Synclair suddenly grinned and angled her head to Reece.
“Hmm, the ones with caramel on top?” She inquired, sounding more like herself.
Reece visibly relaxed, “Yep, we’ll pick up enough for Logan, Dalt just picked him up from daycare.” He held out his hand, and Lucas could see the asking in Reece’s eyes when he studied Synclair’s unreadable expression.
After a lengthy moment laden with Amber’s wheezing, Synclair let go of Amber’s neck and pushed her aside. She grabbed Reece’s hand and let him pull her up.
Without hesitation, Reece scooped up Synclair and started carrying her to his truck.
“I can walk Hudson.” Lucas heard her saying.
“Honey, you almost killed a woman in front of the Dairy Queen today, for now just let me hold you,” Reece insisted.
Lucas ignored Amber’s wailing as he closed the distance between Sara and himself.
“Sara?” She looked bewildered and pale. For a moment, he feared she would pass out since she was shuddering so bad.
“Rachel, drive Sara’s car to the house, we’ll get yours tomorrow,” Lucas ordered his sister. Rachel didn’t need to be told twice, she pried Sara’s keys out of her grip and took off.
“Let’s get you home,” Lucas told her. She must have been really out of it because she didn’t object when Lucas led her to his truck or when he passed the street that would take her to the home he knew she shared with her father. Lucas had no intention of taking Sara anywhere but where she belonged, and that was to the Hudson house. He had no idea when he had made the decision, but Lucas was all in, he wanted to be Sara’s hero and Logan’s father, and a Hudson always got what he wanted.
**********
Sara felt numb. She had been totally unprepared when Amber sauntered up to her and Synclair as they were leaving the Dairy Queen and dropped the bomb that Travis was being freed in a week. It wasn’t that Sara wasn't mindful that it would happen, she had just figured she had about two more years to get used to the notion. She’d hoped that by the time he was released, she would be running a successful restaurant, able to afford any lawyer she desired if he sought to get custody of Logan.
It wasn’t that Sara thought that Travis wanted anything to do with his child, the whole Donaldson family made certain everyone knew they didn’t believe the child belonged to Travis, but Sara knew it would be a way to punish her, and Travis was certainly capable of that play. She wasn’t ready, she wasn’t near ready, they needed a bigger house with a backyard so that Sara could show a court how completely she provided for Logan. Then there was a theory that Travis would move back to town, and she’d be forced to see him every day. The idea of whispers didn’t disturb her as much as what poor Logan’s life would be like. The idea of kids picking on him or harassing him in school because his father raped his mother made Sara feel like she may lose her lunch.
She had been so shocked by Amber’s words that she scarcely registered Synclair push Amber to the ground. Sara knew Rachel had shown up because she felt her small arm go around her shoulders. She even vaguely recalled hearing Reece and Lucas. Looking around, she realized she was in Lucas’s truck, and they were about to pull into the driveway. Pulling herself together, Sara bolted straight up in her seat.
“Wait, Lucas, this isn’t my home, I need to go get Logan.” She shouted grabbing his arm. She needed to go get her baby and hug him, she needed to wrap her arms around her little man and let him know she would keep him safe.
Lucas ignored her as he turned off the engine. Pissed beyond belief Sara shoved him back when he opened the door for her. Was he deaf? She needed to go home, she needed to get to her child.
“I’m going home to my son Lucas, I am going back to Logan, you and I have nothing to say t
o each other.” She remained there shivering with outrage.
She expected Lucas to roar at her or, at least, call her out on being ungrateful, seeing as he had come to help her and Synclair. But Lucas didn’t do anything of the sort. In fact, he grinned, he actually grinned like the Lucas she had known when she was a teenager.
She was about to inquire as to what was so amusing when a little voice caught her attention.
“Mama, Mama, Uncle Reece got me a cupcake and Aunt Synclair said I could eat it before dinner cause it’s opposite day, she’s making chocolate pancakes.” Sara turned and stumbled to her knees as Logan threw his small body into her arms.
“Mama, you’re kind of squishing me,” Logan grumbled.
“Of course, I am silly, I love you.” She replied reluctantly letting him go.
Logan looked ecstatic. His blue eyes sparkled with joy and his cupcake covered mouth still showed it’s small dimples. Laughing Sara ruffled his blonde hair and stood. When she rose up, Lucas was observing her. Still not ready to deal with him, she lifted Logan up into her arms and started to turn toward the house, Logan’s sweet voice talking nonstop about all the fun he was having.
Sara felt that Lucas had accompanied her inside, she could practically feel him scowling at her. She recognized she was a coward, but she didn’t want talk about Travis. She didn’t wish to think about the implications of his impending release, she needed to hug her baby and get herself together. If he couldn’t honor that, then tough. She wasn’t the same old Sara she had been, she was done being a push over.
“And Uncle Dalt built me a fort out of sheets in the family room.” Logan pointed eagerly to the mansion that Dalton had somehow constructed out of blue and white sheets.
Sara put Logan on his feet, and he promptly rushed into the lavish array of layers. “Wow, Dalt, that’s not a fort that’s a damn castle.” She informed him, still in awe. There was no doubt that man was talented.
Baby Mine: A Hudson Family Series- Book Two- Lucas and Sara Page 4
