"How about we walk over there and see if we can get a table?" she suggested, already tugging his arm in that direction.
Keith was going to protest that it wasn't nice enough- he could see the red checked tablecloths and jeans clad waitresses through the window-, but Sara's stomach picked that moment to let out a loud rumble and made the decision for them.
"Let's check it out, though we're probably going to be way overdressed," Keith warned, but steered her across the street and up the wide front steps of the converted home.
"I'm too hungry to care as long as you don't mind," she said as he pulled open the door for her. "Oh look, they have live blues music at 9:00!" She pointed to the sign on the wall in the lobby advertising a local band for that night. "That would be fun to stay for."
Sara looked back at him with such a look of hope and joy Keith couldn't possibly say no. They had a sitter until midnight so they might as well live it up. "I don't care if we're overdressed as long as you enjoy yourself, babe, and if listening to the Blues would make you happy then we'll do it."
An hour later, Keith had to admit that dinner was much better than he'd expected from the restaurant's initial appearance, but wasn't that always the way. Places that you thought would be disappointing usually turned out to be hidden gems, and Keith knew that they'd be returning to this one. Especially after the night they'd had. It was one he'd never forget. Sara didn't mind that she was the only woman in a fancy dress and heels, instead digging into the two huge BBQ samplers they shared. She'd gamely strapped on the plastic bib the server provided with their ribs and dug in, not caring that her fingers were sticky or that she dripped sauce on her chest. Keith was tempted to reach over and wipe it off himself, but reined himself in and instead just pointed out the drop that had landed in the middle of her bib. And Sara didn't get embarrassed or annoyed like a lot of girls would. Nope, she just laughed at her clumsiness and wiped it off with a napkin before it could run down into her lap.
Every minute he spent with Sara made Keith like her even more. She didn't act bitchy or blame him for making reservations at a place she couldn't eat. She moved on and made the most of where they ended up. Keith almost couldn't believe she was for real, except he knew that was just how Sara was. A good, sweet girl who didn't hold a grudge and always looked for the positive.
After they finished stuffing themselves, the music started, and the band was good. Really good. The place was packed by that time, and they were lucky that they'd kept their table. Before the band even started, it was standing room only, the crowd a mix of young and old, singles and couples. Everyone was dressed casually and obviously out to have a good time while listening to some music, without the usual bar or club drama. Keith wasn't really into Blues, but even he could appreciate the quality of the band.
The whole time Sara laughed and clapped, and sometimes even sang if she knew the song. She let loose and enjoyed herself in a way Keith suspected she hadn't in a long time, if ever. Seeing her like that made him feel things he'd never felt before. Sure, he was having a good time too, but watching her smile and giggle made it one hundred times better.
The evening had turned into one of those rare nights where everything came together to create a magical experience, despite some initial setbacks. When they got back to his house, Keith wanted nothing more than to take Sara up to his room and make love to her, even though it was not what he'd planned. Luckily when they arrived home, Sara proved she still had her head on straight, even after several beers.
"I had a really good time tonight, Keith," she said as he pulled in the driveway. "And as much as I would like to spend the night with you, I hope you'll understand that I think we should wait. I don't want to rush into anything physical and then have it be awkward if it doesn't work out. That wouldn't be good for Carter…or for me."
He turned off the car and looked over at the passenger seat where Sara sat, staring at the hands she was nervously twisting in her lap.
"Sara, look at me," he said softly, but firmly. He wanted no misunderstandings on this point.
When she finally raised her eyes she gasped at the intensity he knew was blazing from his. "I had a great time tonight." He paused then corrected himself. "No, it was the best time I've ever had on a date, and I'd like nothing more than to continue that, but I agree with you that we should take things slow. I want you to understand that it's not because I don't want you. It's because I want you so much that I want to make sure that when we take that step, I'll be the last person you ever take that step with."
He heard her take in a quick breath at his words, and probably the vehemence with which he said them. It may seem insane, but after tonight he knew she was the one. Without a doubt. Because of that, he also knew that there was no need to rush anything. Eventually she would be his in every way possible, and it would be all the sweeter for having waited.
"Okay," she replied on a shaky breath.
"But, you've been drinking so I want you to spend the night in the guest room. I don't want you driving home." He didn't ask or leave any room for argument. There was no way she was getting in her car and if she didn't like it he'd put her over his knee until she agreed, though he didn't really want to end the night that way. Thankfully he didn't have to.
"Okay," she agreed, but didn't turn to get out of the car.
"Are you coming in?" he asked. When she nodded, but still didn't move it took him a minute to figure out what she wanted. When it finally sunk in he laughed. Harder than he'd laughed in a while.
"You're something else, babe."
"What?" she said, giggling. "I didn't want to ruin your gentlemanliness twice in one night!"
Keith got out of the car and quickly went around to open her door. Before she could take a step away, he pulled her in for a kiss.
"Thanks for making this a great night, and letting me be a gentleman, even though we ended up at a BBQ joint." He paused and lowered his mouth to hers for another taste before continuing. "And for not getting mad that I tried to take you to a place that would have put you in the hospital."
The look she gave him made his heart thunder in his chest, and he wished he could make her look at him like that for the rest of her life.
"Thank you for giving me one of the best nights I've had in years, Keith. I know that you were trying to make the night special, and I really appreciate it, but I'm not a fancy girl. I'm just happy we spent time together and had fun." Like everything else she said, Keith knew that she meant every word, and it meant the world to him that she felt that way.
"You're welcome, babe. Now let's go in and go to our separate beds. I'm beat."
"Okay." She leaned in and gave him one last sweet kiss on the lips, then let him lead her into the house, where they both went straight to bed. Alone.
Chapter 7
Picking up an extra two hours of overtime had sounded like a great idea at six o'clock, when his brother asked him for the favor. The holidays were coming and Keith had more presents to buy than he'd ever had before. Unfortunately, his body didn't appreciate the extra abuse and it took the last of his energy to drag himself out of the car and up the front walk.
A dim light shone through the front window from the living room and Keith wondered if Sara was still up or had just left it on for him. When he'd called earlier to see if she minded him working she said it was fine because there was a big assignment for school she needed to get done over Thanksgiving break and she wanted to get it out of the way. Keith thought it was pretty shitty that her professor made them work over the holiday, but apparently that's how things worked in college. Luckily, he'd never had the need, or desire, to find out for himself. Factory work suited him just fine, except when he was stumbling in at 1:30 in the morning, bone tired and in desperate need of a shower.
Usually he used the locker room at work, but tonight he just wanted to get home. Tomorrow was turkey day and the first holiday he was spending with Sara. Angie and Kevin were hosting dinner and his father would be meeting Sara
for the first time. Not that he was worried about his father's opinion, if he even had one. Keith just didn't want Sara to feel uncomfortable or intimated by the surly old biker.
Truth be told, Keith was more nervous about meeting Sara's grandmother tomorrow than she was about meeting his father. Keith had offered to pick her grandma up from the nursing home and bring her over to Kevin's house for dinner, but Sara said that would be too much excitement for the elderly lady, and that she'd just go for a visit before dinner. She hadn't actually invited Keith and Carter, but if she was meeting his dad there was no reason Keith shouldn't meet the woman who raised Sara.
They were at that point in the relationship where he wanted to take the next step and Keith couldn't wait. If it were up to him, Sara would already be living with him, but he knew she was nowhere near ready for that proposition. He'd actually already suggested it once, and she'd shot him down without even thinking about the possibility. His plan was to back off for a week or two and ask again, and then repeat until she said yes. It just didn't make any sense for her to be going home to sleep in her house when she spent all the rest of her time at his. Maybe he was rushing things a bit, but he knew how he felt.
The short walk from the car to the front porch felt like it took forever, and when Keith finally reached the door he was so tired he fumbled the keys when he tried to shake out the correct one. He wearily bent down to grab them from where they'd fallen on the porch, resting his hand on the doorknob so he didn't fall over from sheer exhaustion, and almost hit the ground himself when the knob turned under his hand and the door swung inward a few inches.
What the hell!
Keith gently pushed the door fully open, praying he wouldn't find his worst nightmare inside. Awful thoughts raced through his mind as he fought to remain quiet and calm. What if someone had broken in and hurt Sara and Carter? What if they were gone?
The light from the living room was on low, but it was enough for him to see, to move around and take stock of what he was facing. There were no telltale wet footprints from the melted snow on the entryway floor and nothing appeared to be broken or tossed around. Actually, everything seemed to be fine.
Keith released the breath he'd been holding when he spotted Sara, fast asleep on the couch, a book lying open on her chest, but he couldn't fully relax until he checked to make sure Carter was safe in his crib. Which is where Keith found him seconds later, lying spread eagle in the middle of the mattress, taking up as much room as his small body allowed. If his current sleeping habits were any indication of the future, Keith pitied whoever ended up marrying his son.
Now that he knew everyone was safe and where they were supposed to be, Keith began to get annoyed. Which rapidly turned to frustration and anger as he realized what had happened. He strode down the hall, back towards the living room, fighting the urge to shake Sara awake and lay into her for forgetting to not only set the alarm, but even lock the door. Anyone could have waltzed right into his house and hurt her and Carter without anything to stop them! He couldn't believe her carelessness, especially since she knew how important their safety was to him. He was far too upset to take care of this situation right now, even though he really wanted to address it immediately.
More than that though, he wanted to keep his relationship with Sara, and with the way he felt, he feared he might say something mean or overly harsh. Something he would regret. He needed to take the night to calm down and organize his thoughts.
After locking the door and arming the alarm, Keith gently removed the book from Sara's chest and spread a blanket from the back of the couch over her still form. She looked so sweet and peaceful he almost wished he could ignore the whole incident to avoid upsetting her.
Almost, but not quite. Safety was too important to let her slide on when she broke the rules, and he'd made it a rule that the alarm had to be on at all times. A non-negotiable, no excuses rule.
Which meant that tomorrow, his sweet Sara was going to be one very, very sorry Sara.
* * * * *
Sara woke snuggly warm, but with a stiff neck and very confused. The last thing she remembered was reading a textbook on Keith's couch, waiting for him to get home from work. Now the book was gone and there was a blanket keeping her toasty. He must have come home and found her asleep, and covered her up. Hopefully he wasn't annoyed that she'd passed out, but Sara couldn't imagine him being upset over that. Usually he wanted her to spend the night.
The sky she could see through the living room window was barely gray and only a few lone birds chirped in the pre-dawn hour. Even though it was disgustingly early, Sara quietly stood up, folded the blanket and straightened up her things. She didn't bother packing her books up since she'd be back here later tonight anyway, and she wanted to get out of the house without waking either Keith or Carter.
Guilt made her hesitate at the front door, but she shoved it away without another thought, and quickly turned off the alarm before slipping down the front walk. Keith had made several comments about coming with her to visit Grandma today, and Sara just wasn't ready for that yet. She didn't know how to explain her reluctance to Keith so her plan was to go to her house this morning and get ready, and just head to the assisted living facility on her own. Then return to Keith's house so they could go to Thanksgiving dinner at his brother's together. He'd probably get a little upset about it, but she had no other choice. When the time was right she'd explain everything to him and hope he'd understand, but today was not the day.
Three hours later Sara was on the road. Even though it was still early she knew Grandma, always an early riser, would be up and ready to face the day. That was a personality trait that Sara hated as a teenager, when Grandma would roust her out of bed at seven-thirty every day, even the weekends, but now she was grateful.
The whole situation made Sara cringe when she thought of how sneaky she was being, but she didn't know what to do about it, other than coming clean to Grandma. And she really didn't want to upset her on Thanksgiving. Maybe she was being overly cautious, or she was just scared to admit her lies to the woman who had wielded a paddle with an iron hand for most of Sara's life. It didn't matter that Grandma spent her days in a wheelchair. That fear of disappointment and punishment was still very much alive and Sara still wilted whenever she received Grandma's stern stare. Either way, no confessions were being made today.
The facility was busy even at eight-thirty in the morning, with family coming to pick up their relatives to spend the holiday together. Keith had offered to do that too, but Sara declined without even considering, giving him some excuse about Grandma being too delicate for all that excitement. Which was a complete crock of shit. Sure it had been rough the first few years, but now Grandma was pretty much back to her old self, at least mentally. If she ever found out that Sara said the excitement of going to Kevin and Angie's for Thanksgiving would be too much for her, Sara had no doubt Grandma would be mortified. And very angry with her.
What Sara should have done was tell Keith the truth when he first asked instead of covering up her lies with another lie. He would have understood why Sara did what she did, even if he might not agree with her reasoning, but now it was too late.
Grandma's room was only a few doors away so Sara tried to block out her guilty thoughts and worry over what would happen when the truth did come out so Grandma wouldn't read it all over her face. Pasting a bright smile on her face and wielding the doughnuts she'd purchased on the way there as a shield against any suspicions, she knocked and opened the door when she heard a robust, "Come in!"
"Hi, Gram, Happy Thanksgiving!"
"Hi, dearie, how are you?"
Sara bent down to place a kiss on Grandma's soft cheek, inhaling her familiar scent. It never failed to remind her of the safety and security her grandmother had provided when Sara was growing up and she instantly relaxed.
"I'm good, Gram. Here's a treat for breakfast for us." Sara bustled around the small table by the window where Grandma sat and poured herself a cup of
coffee from the pot already there waiting. She took her time getting out two paper plates and selecting a doughnut for herself before setting the box in front of Grandma. The whole time Sara could feel her grandmother's eyes on her, inspecting her, and probably seeing far too much.
"Is everything okay, Sara? You look tired and stressed," she asked, after Sara finally sat down across the table from her.
At least Sara could answer that question somewhat honestly. "I was up late studying for this project I have to complete by Monday. The class is really hard and I have to get a good grade, because it's a requirement for my program."
Grandma studied her again, apparently not quite satisfied with her answer. "Is that all that's bothering you?
Again Sara had an answer at the ready. "I'm a little worried about the state of the house. I think it's definitely going to need to be painted in the spring, and the porch needs some work, but I don't know if I'll be able to afford it."
Grandma took a bite of her cruller and chewed slowly, contemplating Sara's words. Hopefully she'd be satisfied with those two issues and not press for more information. After a long moment of scrutiny, she finally relented.
"Don't worry about the house right now, Sara. Focus on your studies and get through your first semester at this new school," she declared with the authority of a ruler that expects to be obeyed without question. "We'll talk about the house in the spring. You can't go fixing it up when it's cold and snowing out anyway."
Relieved that Gram had absolved her of worry about the state of the house for now, and that she'd accepted her excuses, Sara smiled. "I will, Gram, thanks."
"Now tell me what else is new. How's your new nanny job going?"
"It's good. The baby is sweet and growing like crazy," Sara replied, choosing what she disclosed carefully. She'd told Grandma that she'd gotten a new job in childcare, but not what the connection was to their family. Of course, how could she tell Gram about Carter when she'd never told her about Molly being pregnant!
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