by Amelia Shea
“You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” he stated and leaned back into the couch.
She nodded.
“Well, Sadie, I’m a man who believes in being forthright and up front.”
She nodded.
He looked her in the eyes. “I’m here to take you to Houston.”
“What?” Her eyes widened in confusion.
“I’m here to bring you home.”
“Mr. Garrison, I…”
“John, call me John.”
“Okay. John, I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing but Stone ended things with me. We aren’t together,” Sadie sadly expressed.
“That’s the rumor I hear.”
“No, I’m sorry, but I think you’ve made a mistake. It’s over between us. It’s really over.” Her tone was firm but her eyes threatened tears. Saying out loud that she and Stone were over made it more real. Her heart ached at her own words
He stared at Sadie and gazed up to the ceiling. Her palms were sweating and she started to fidget. This was so awkward. He came all this way to bring her back to Stone, which warmed her heart. Yeah, this was definitely the dad Sadie would have chosen. Unfortunately, Stone didn’t want her anymore, so this wonderful fatherly gesture was pointless.
His eyes landed back on hers. “I know it’s an old man cliché but can I share a story with you?”
“Sure,” she whispered.
“Good, well as you know, Darla and I adopted Stone. We always wanted children, thought we had all the time in the world to start a family. But as fate happens Darla was not able to get pregnant. Doctors encouraged us to keep trying and we did, but no babies. It almost ruined Darla; she wanted a big family, lots of children. Imagine a dream so big, a dream you’ve wanted all your life, and then being told that dream of yours is just not possible. But she was a strong woman and eventually she came to terms with it. We both did. I always wanted kids but more than children, I wanted Darla. We had a beautiful life, Sadie! Still, Darla was missing something. She had so much love to give it seemed downright unfair God wouldn’t bless us with children.”
He inhaled a deep breath and Sadie continued to listen. It was a sad story and her heart ached for John and Darla.
“But God works in mysterious ways and when we least expected it we were blessed. We were blessed with Stone. He was a hard kid to crack. No matter how many times we told him our home was his home and we would never send him away, he held back from us. But Darla,” he laughed, “she would not give up on him. She made sure she hugged him when he’d let her, told him she loved him every chance she got, and made sure that boy knew he had a place in our family.
“When his biological mother finally gave up her rights, we adopted him. One of the happiest days of my life, knowing that boy was mine. It was a wonderful day, we had a big party. All the family came. It was a celebration. But I found Stone in his room halfway through the party. He was crying. I worried that he wasn’t happy with Darla and me as parents, although he seemed to love us. When I asked why he was crying, it about nearly broke my heart, Sadie. He said, ‘She gave up on me. She was supposed to fight for me and she gave up.’”
Sadie’s heart broke and the tears streamed down her face, picturing a young Stone. She wiped her tears but it did no good. They continued to fall.
“I never told anyone that story. Not even Darla. It’s mine and Stone’s. And now yours.”
“What happened?” Sadie swiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“I told him I would always fight for him, right or wrong. I spent the years since that day proving it to him. I will spend the rest of my life proving it to him. Now my question to you, are you going to fight for him, Sadie?”
She wiped the tears from her eyes and sobbed. “He doesn’t want me, John.” Her heart wrenched. She wanted him but he didn’t want her.
“That’s not an answer. Do you want to fight for him, yes or no?”
“Yes!” Sadie said with tears streaming down her face.
“Good. Go get packed, our flight leaves in three hours.”
* * * *
They were waiting in the airport lounge having a drink. After packing, she washed up and they headed to the airport. She didn’t have time to second guess her decision. Now, they were at the airport with only time to kill. Boarding started in twenty minutes.
John told Sadie he had a hard time getting a flight to Nebraska and back. He joked about dipping into Stone’s inheritance to make it all happen. She found out her ticket was already purchased and he just needed to change the date. Apparently, she was booked on a flight with the others originally scheduled for Tuesday night to fly into Houston. Stone wanted her to come home with him for the holiday. He was going to tell her on Monday, the day he ended things.
John told her Stone insisted on everyone leaving Monday night. He even paid for all the ticket changes.
“I don’t understand why he ended it with me then.” Sadie was still unsure about going. Stone didn’t want her, he told her that.
“Sometimes we do things because we believe we are protecting the people we love; it’s not always the right thing. I gather he thought breaking things off with you would protect you. Love does strange things to people.”
“But Stone doesn’t love me.”
John laughed as he answered his ringing phone.
“Baby girl!” He answered with love in his voice. He hit the button on the side of his phone, the volume button.
“Hey, Daddy! Where you been all day? I got your note but I thought you’d be back by now.” Hearing Roxanne’s voice made her smile.
“I’m on my way, should be home in a few hours. Everything ready for tonight?”
“Yeah, the guys cut up the wood and Bogs and I got all the food ready. Emory is on her way over now.”
“Good. How are the boys?”
“Well, Bogs is still annoying, if that’s what you’re asking? But T and Ethan have been working. They got in touch with Trent and got that whole mess squared away. And Stone’s at his place.”
“How is he, Roxanne?”
“He misses her, Daddy. I tried to get him to talk to me but he wouldn’t. He said it’s over but Dad, he’s hurting, I can see it. And he completely freaked on me when I said I was going to call Sadie. I just want to make sure she’s okay. But I didn’t. Stone asked me not to. I still feel bad, I miss Sadie, too.”
“Well, everything happens for a reason. Go finish everything up and I’ll see you soon.”
John ended the call, looked over at Sadie and winked. The intercom announced their flight was ready to board. John took out his wallet and threw cash on the bar. It was time to go.
“You ready?” he questioned.
“I’m ready.” She smiled up at him. Stone was hurting. He didn’t want to end it? Now she was going to find out why he did. It was time to go fight for him.
* * * *
Stone had been sitting in his truck for the last twenty minutes. He would never get used to the idea that this place was now a part of his life and he’d always have a love/hate relationship with it. Usually he came here with his family. On rare occasions, like today, he came by himself.
Stone got out of his truck and slowly made his way down the small cement stairs. It was quiet here today, nobody else in sight, just him. He walked across the grass, passing the statue of Mary. This was the love part he had for this spot. It was open, and flowers adorned the grounds. Large oaks were scattered throughout. It gave a park-like appearance, a place where one came to be at peace.
He didn’t need to count the three rows he had passed. He would be able to find where he was going even if he was blindfolded. He would always find his way here. He turned down the fourth row, ten feet in and stopped. This was the hate part.
Here he was.
“Hi, Mom.” Stone’s voice cracked with emotion. It always did when he visited her at the cemetery. Three years had passed but it was still so raw for him.
He stood at the foot of h
er headstone.
Beloved Wife and Mother
Darla M. Garrison
There was a light breeze and Stone could almost feel his mom wrapping her arms around him and whispering, “Hello, Stone.”
Stone stared down at his mother’s headstone.
“So, I met a girl. Sadie.” Just saying her name brought her face into his mind.
Her beautiful face with that smile. Her soft brown eyes looking back at him and seeing inside him. She saw him, really saw him. And he saw her. If he was being honest with himself, beyond her body that tied him in knots, her heart was his undoing. You can tell a lot about people by how they interact with others when they thought no one was watching. Genuine kindness wasn’t something Stone saw often, until he met Sadie. All the nights she spared extra time for the lonely old guy at the counter, a small act of kindness that probably meant more to him than she realized. Then, that kindness was directed at him. The way she listened when he talked about being adopted. The tears she shed for him. She understood his pain, she even tried to console him. Stone snorted at the irony. After her own screwed up childhood, she was consoling him. He knew why though. Because that was Sadie. She had a good heart. A heart that he broke.
Stone rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair in frustration.
“I messed up, Mom. I had her and I let her go. This girl was everything and I pushed her away like she was nothing. I never even gave her the chance to accept it, to accept me. I did what I always do…” Stone exhaled harshly.
“Fuck!”
Stone froze and held out his hands and released a sad laugh. “Sorry, sorry, Mom.” He smiled. “I can almost hear your voice.”
In his mind, he could hear her. “Garrison Stone, you better watch that mouth.” Her disapproval was laced with warning.
“I miss your voice.” Stone stood, head bowed.
“I fu…messed up and I don’t know what to do. I walked out on her. She was crying and I just walked out, letting her think I was done, that I didn’t want her, like she was nothing. I did that to her. She’ll never forgive me, hell, why should she, I don’t deserve her. I treated her like she meant nothing to me.” Stone looked up at his mom’s stone. “She means everything.” His voice cracked with emotion and he whispered, “I love her.”
Stone stood there for a while, silently seeking the comfort of his mother. The first woman to ever love him, care for him and truly accept him. He couldn’t hear her or see her but he felt her, she was there, with him.
He stepped back and glanced at his mom one last time with a sad smile.
“Thanks for listening, Mom,” he whispered.
Stone walked down the row, across the grass and back to his truck with a light breeze surrounding him. Yeah, she was there.
Chapter 19
The flight had been nonstop and quick. Sadie had not even had time to grasp that her first airplane ride was to Houston, another first for her. They landed on time, grabbed her bags, and headed to John’s truck. It was a big truck, like the one Stone had been driving in Nebraska. Like father, like son. John’s house was a thirty-minute ride from the airport. She looked out the window at the big city. It looked so beautiful with the lights and all the people. It was dark so once they were out of the city, she couldn’t see too much but she looked anyway.
During the ride, John had told her how all the guys had houses and condos of their own.
“Stone and Bogs have condos in the same community, Scarlet Heights. T just bought a house, his first. It’s a rambling shack but he’s gutting it and he’s working on redoing it,” John explained.
“And Roxanne lives with you?” Sadie confirmed.
“Yep, only Roxanne still lives at home. Before I know it, she’ll be out in her own place too.” John smiled and glanced over at Sadie. He winked and turned back to the road.
“Where does Ethan live?”
“An apartment in the city. It’s fancy. I make sure I double wipe my shoes before walking in to Ethan’s place.” He laughed hard and she giggled.
“The boys all went their separate ways, starting their own lives but every holiday they come home and stay in their childhood rooms and all wake up together. I think they did it because Darla asked and well, they loved their mom. She had always hoped that tradition would live on even after the kids all started having families of their own. I’m still holding out hope that they will.” His voiced was laced with emotion, a little sadness.
“So,” Sadie said, “Roxanne told me about your bonfire ritual on the eve of Thanksgiving. It sounds awesome!”
John smiled over at her. “It’s been tradition since Darla and I first got married. We bought our property forty-five years ago. At the time it had a tiny two bedroom house that sat on fifty acres. Over the years we added onto the house to accommodate our growing family. When we adopted Roxanne and Ethan we added a new master suite and Roxanne’s room on the first floor. It looks a lot different than it did when we first bought it.” John laughed.
They pulled into the drive around nine o’clock. The driveway was long and every twenty feet had a post lamp. They pulled up to the house and Sadie nearly stopped breathing. It was breathtaking. It was a huge colonial with two large pop-out windows in the front. It had a detached three-car garage on the left. They parked in front of the house. There were several trucks and cars in the driveway.
Sadie opened her door and slid out onto the ground. She could hear music and laughing. It sounded like it was coming from behind the house. Sadie looked around to the trees in the moonlight. She was sure it was even more beautiful in the daylight.
John grabbed her bags and led her up the porch. The porch was surrounded by plants and flowers. It was a masterpiece.
“T spent days working on the woodwork as a surprise to his mom. This was her favorite spot on the property. She would spend hours swinging on this porch,” John said with pride in his voice.
She looked over to it. She could almost imagine a beautiful happy woman swinging on the porch while watching her children play.
Sadie followed John into the house. It had a large living room to the right with a huge brick fireplace. The walls were adorned with pictures of kids—some alone, some together, school pictures, degree certificates. The room was filled with what looked like comfortable family furniture. This was definitely a place where happy memories were made.
To the left was a large formal dining room with a huge table. It had already been set for dinner tomorrow. The setting was something out of a magazine. Two centerpieces of fall flowers decorated the table. It looked very elegant.
“Roxanne sets the table every year; she’s been doing it since she was six.” John smiled into the room.
“Come on up, let’s get your bags into your room and head out to greet everyone.” They ascended a large grand staircase in the middle of the house. Once they reached the top of the stairs he pointed to the right, down a wide hallway.
“That’s the main bathroom, Bogs is the next door over, T is across from him, and Stone is the door at the end. Up the small staircase is the attic, Ethan’s room.” Sadie peered down the hall as he walked to the left.
“And here you are. It’s the original master so you’ll have your own bathroom. I hope you like it.” He flicked on the lights.
The room lit up. It was gorgeous. The room was painted a light sage and cream colored curtains draped the windows. The large bed had cream and silver bedding with a bunch of throw pillows. There was a cream colored fuzzy carpet that covered half of the hardwood and the furniture was a light oak. Her eyes zeroed in on a sage plush chair tucked into the corner of the room.
John came up next to her. “That was Darla’s favorite spot. She said it was the perfect…”
“…spot to read,” Sadie said along with him.
He smiled and quietly muttered, “She would have loved you.”
She peeked out the window to see the party below. There was a huge fire pit with chairs and wood stumps as seating. There
were about twenty people that she could count, all friends she assumed. Her eyes immediately found Stone sitting in a chair. He seemed to be listening to the blonde next to him. The pretty girl was talking and laughing and using her hands a lot. She placed her hand on Stone’s arm and he looked over at her and smiled. The smile didn’t reach his eyes but he gave her his smile. Sadie’s heart dropped and panic set in. Maybe coming was a mistake. Maybe he meant it when he ended it. What if coming here was a huge mistake?
John stepped close behind her observing the group. Bogs got up and did what looked like a funny dance move and said something she couldn’t make out. The whole group laughed. You could hear them over the music from where she stood. She watched Stone and he laughed too. This time it was genuine. The pretty blonde reached out to rub his hand. And he let her. She’d made a mistake coming here. Stone had moved on.
“John, I think this is a mistake,” she quickly uttered as jealousy raced through her.
“Grab your phone,” he ordered.
“What?”
“Grab your phone,” he repeated. Sadie pulled it out from her pocket, unsure of what he wanted her to do.
“Now text him, hit send, and watch him.”
“Text what?” she asked, a bit confused.
“Text what you feel,” he answered, never looking away from the window.
Think. How do I feel at this exact moment? Sadie reached down and typed.
I miss you
She hit send and watched him. Seconds later he reached into his pocket and read his phone. Her message. The look on his face was that of a man destroyed. He stared at the text before starting to type. But he stopped and just continued to stare. Finally, he put it back in his pocket and glowered into the fire. The pretty blonde reached out to touch him again. This time he shook his head. She sat back in her seat and watched him while he watched the fire. He was inconsolable.
John left Sadie to freshen up. She was to meet him in the kitchen behind the staircase when she was ready. She washed her face and applied makeup before she changed into a black, flirty short dress and red cowboy boots. She peered in the full length mirror for one last look before she went downstairs. She had curled her hair which left it full and wavy hanging past her shoulders. Her whole look screamed, “Back off, bitch, I’m here for my man.”
