Drew

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “You do know that they’re more afraid of you than you are of them, right?”

  “I beg to differ. They can hide and never be seen, but they always know where I am. Who do you think has the bigger scare factor?”

  “Touché.”

  “Alright. I have to get to work. Thank you for breakfast.”

  “Any time.”

  I got up to take my dishes over to the sink, but Drew stopped me with a hand on my arm.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thanks. I’m meeting with Harper at lunch today, so I may have an answer about the addition by tonight.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you tonight.”

  I ran upstairs really quick and brushed my teeth, then headed out the door. The whole way to work, I couldn’t get over how domestic and natural that all felt. I wondered if that would be what living with Drew would always be like, or would we fall into different routines over time?

  Work was hectic as usual, but Hank always made sure I took breaks nowadays.

  “Sarah, you have to slow down. The work will get done. That’s what delegating is all about.”

  “I’m not about to slack off and have someone else do my job just because I’m pregnant. I’m perfectly capable of doing things myself.”

  “Yeah, until the babies come early and then I’m down a daytime manager sooner than I thought.”

  It came out all surly and angry, but I knew it was based on concern for me and not whether or not he would be down a manager. He had already told me to take at least three months off after the twins were born.

  “First of all, I’m not a manager yet, so you won’t be down one. Second, if I was feeling like it was too much, I would stop.

  He grumbled as he walked away about the damn woman needing to know when to slow down. I smiled at his retreating form and went back to work. At noon, I let Hank know that I was going out and met Harper at Maggie’s down the street. It was a cute little diner that had great food and Harper’s friend, Cece, worked there. Harper was already seated at a table when I got there, so I headed for her booth. There was a woman sitting next to her in the booth and I recognized her as Sean’s sister, Cara.

  “Hey, Harper. Cara. It’s good to see you again.”

  She looked uncomfortable to say the least and it didn’t go unnoticed that Cara seemed to be shrinking into the wall while Harper appeared to be guarding her from the rest of the restaurant. I had no idea why, but I figured bringing it up would be tacky.

  “Sarah, you look really good. I hope Hank’s not working you too hard.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He keeps telling me to sit down and take a break. You would think I was the first woman to have a baby.”

  “Well, no, but you aren’t having one baby. You’re having two.”

  “True, but I wouldn’t overdo it. Not when I’m the only one to take care of them.”

  “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Cara has been looking to move out of Sean’s place and is looking for some place to stay. Are you still looking for someone to help you out?”

  She knew damn well I was and this was the most awkward way of talking about a potential candidate. I didn’t think she would bring her with! I nervously glanced between the two, trying to figure out how to proceed.

  “Um, well, Cara do you have experience taking care of babies?”

  Her cheeks flushed and she looked down. “This was a bad idea, Harper. You shouldn’t have bothered.”

  She tried to push her way out of the booth and I had a feeling that something more was going on than I was aware of.

  “Hold on. Why don’t you tell me the whole story, because I get the feeling you aren’t telling me everything.”

  Cara leaned back with a sigh and Harper started to fill me in.

  “Cara has been living with Sean for about four years now. She was attacked by a serial killer and escaped out of sheer luck. You remember Cole talking about his girlfriend, Alex?” I nodded. “The same man attacked her also. They caught him about nine months ago and Cara wants to take the steps in moving out of Sean’s place. Sean doesn’t want her to go yet because he doesn’t think she’s ready.”

  “Are you?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  “I want to be,” she said quietly. “I don’t think I’m ready to live on my own, but I could handle living with someone else. I just don’t want to live with Sean anymore. I’ll never get better if I’m always being babied by my brother.”

  “Do you think you could handle taking care of twins? I mean, what if you get scared? How would you handle it?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I wish I could tell you that everything would be fine, but I won’t know until I try. I love kids, so that’s not a problem. I haven’t had any issues with being alone at my brother’s house, but I’m sure he would insist on installing an alarm system at your house. I mean, he wouldn’t expect you to pay for it.”

  I nodded and thought about it for a minute. I didn’t really know anyone else that could help and I really didn’t want to take the babies to daycare. It would be better for them to be in their own home, if possible.

  “Well, I’m planning on starting construction on my house as soon as possible. In the meantime, I would be living with Drew. Ryan thinks my house could be completed before Christmas. Would you be comfortable living with Drew and I until the house is ready.”

  “Yes.”

  I looked at Harper, but I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She obviously wanted me to hire Cara, but wasn’t going to push.

  “Have you thought about a salary?”

  “I would do it for free if it meant I could get away from Sean.”

  I laughed at her honesty. “Well, I would still have to pay you. You won’t be a nanny forever and you would want money saved up for when you’re ready for something new. Let me think it over and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

  Harper and Cara both seemed satisfied with that answer. Cece came up to the table looking quite worn out, her belly protruding just enough to let on that she was pregnant.

  “Sorry it took so long. We’re slammed today.”

  Harper looked up at her with a smile. “No problem. We were just chatting anyway.”

  “So, what can I get for you?”

  We all placed our orders before the conversation turned back to pregnancy and the impending birth of children. It seemed babies were in the air right now. I was due in a couple of months, Cece was due in roughly five months, and Harper was just about a month along. I thought about all of us raising our kids together and for the first time in a long time, I actually let myself consider what it would be like to have a family of friends that my kids would grow up with.

  “So, Harper, based on Jack’s reaction to your news, I’m guessing this wasn’t a planned pregnancy?”

  “Definitely not. I wanted Ethan to be at least two before we even thought about having another, but we haven’t been the most careful since he was born. I suppose it’s all my fault, but if he wasn’t mounting me every five minutes, this probably wouldn’t have happened.”

  “Well, all your kids can grow up together now.” Cara, who had been quiet, finally joined in the conversation. She looked uncomfortable to be talking, but I smiled to help put her at ease. I wondered when the last time was that she had even considered a relationship with a man.

  “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” I asked them.

  “We’re going to see Alex. She’s still recovering from the attack, but she’s doing much better. She and Cole are talking about finally getting married, so Cara and I thought we would bring over some bridal magazines to perk her up.”

  “How was she injured?”

  “We were in the bar at New Year’s and she was attacked and beaten with alcohol bottles. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and it’s taken all this time for her to recover,” Harper said.

  “Oh my gosh. That’s terrible.” I looked over at Cara who had tears in her eyes. “Was this t
he same guy that attacked you?”

  “No. He was killed a few months before that. This guy was a fan of his. He was upset with Alex for taking away his mentor.”

  I put a hand over my mouth as I digested all that was said. As horrible as it was to run from the mafia, I couldn’t imagine a serial killer being after me either. Cece arrived with our orders, breaking the tension in the room. She had four plates with her and waved me over so she could sit with us. I slid over and she tiredly sat down.

  “My feet are killing me. This is my first break since this morning. We’ve been slammed all day.”

  “Why’s that?” Harper asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

  “Some convention in town.”

  “You know Logan would be fine with you quitting your job,” Harper said pointedly, but Cece just waved her off.

  “There’s no way I could sit at home right now. What would I do all day? When this little one comes, I’ll gladly stay home.”

  “How did you meet Logan?” I asked.

  She smiled, but her smile dimmed some. “I knew him from a long time ago. Long story short, he broke my heart ten years ago and when I saw him again, I took my revenge on him and almost destroyed his business. I lost my career and my reputation trying to fix it, but he forgave me. Now the only place I can get a job is as a waitress in a diner.”

  I started laughing, thinking this was some crazy joke, but when she didn’t laugh along I stared in shock. “You’re serious?” She nodded. “That’s…the craziest and probably the most romantic story I’ve ever heard.”

  “It’s romantic that I almost ruined his life?”

  “It’s romantic because you were reunited after all those years and despite some unwise decisions, you still found your way back to one another.”

  She considered that for a moment. “I guess I never thought of it that way. I guess that is kind of romantic. Crazy, but yes, it is kind of romantic.” A smile lit her face as she rubbed her belly.

  I finished up my food and then headed back toward The Pub. I still had a long day ahead of me and I had one more call that I needed to make before I headed home for the night. When Sean stopped by, I took my afternoon break and took him back to my office.

  “Thanks for coming, Sean.”

  “No problem. What can I do for you?”

  “I met with your sister and Harper today for lunch.”

  A shocked look crossed his face. “Wow. She hasn’t gone anywhere in a long time. How did she do?”

  “I could tell she was uncomfortable, but she didn’t break down or anything, if that’s what your asking.”

  “I noticed at your party that she seemed pretty okay with you. I was shocked because she hasn’t really connected with anyone since she…”

  “Since she escaped?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you know she’s considering moving out of your house?”

  “What? Where would she go? How would she provide for herself?”

  “Harper seemed to think that moving in with me would be a good idea.”

  “With you? Why’s that?”

  “I need someone to watch my kids when I go back to work. They seem to think this would be a good solution for her. It would give her some independence, but she would still be with someone. The reason I called you is because I need to put my kids first. I need to know if she’s had any episodes or anything that would put my kids at risk.”

  He leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, running his hand across his face. “I don’t know if it would be a good idea or not. Honestly, I’m not with her very often anymore. She’s pushed everyone away, including me. Mostly, we fight when we’re around each other. She’s never had any violent reactions toward anyone, just anger in general at what happened. She used to have nightmares a lot, but those pretty much went away when the guy was caught. It probably would be good for her, but I’m not going to ask you to take that chance with your kids.”

  “We would be living with Drew for a few months while an addition is being built onto my house. Do you think she would be okay with that?”

  “She doesn’t really know Drew. He’s been around us for a while, but she doesn’t exactly let people come over to visit her. I guess the only thing I could suggest is do a trial run with her. Maybe ask her to move in with you and Drew before the babies are born. She could do the cooking and cleaning and see how she handles it.”

  “That’s a good idea. From the time I’ve spent with her, I like her.”

  “Two lost souls.”

  My back stiffened. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m pretty sure I know your secret, but given the circumstances, I’m not going to ask you about it. I just want to know that if those demons come hunting you, you call me for help.”

  That shocked me. I thought for sure he was going to tell me to get the hell away from his sister. I was speechless, so I nodded. There were now two people in this town that knew who I was, or were at least pretty sure. That didn’t bode well for me staying under the radar. The itch to run gnawed at me now. I didn’t know how much more I could do to keep my identity a secret. Staying here was becoming dangerous.

  “I see those wheels turning in your head. Don’t run. I promise you, you’re safe here. I only know because I happened to be following the story. I ran your picture through a facial recognition program and changed a few details. Don’t worry. I did it on my home computer and then erased the file.”

  I nodded jerkily, but couldn’t stop the anxiety creeping over my body. After blowing out a deep breath, I stood and walked around my desk.

  “Thank you for stopping by, Sean. I need to get back to work.”

  “Sarah, you’ve made a life here. Don’t run.”

  “If you recognized me that easily, so could anyone else.”

  “True, but not everyone is a suspicious bastard like I am.”

  “Sebastian is too. That’s two people that know. You tell me that that’s safe.”

  “If Sebastian knows, you can bet he’s keeping an eye on all movements from New York. I’ve been keeping an eye out also. If someone heads this way, you’ll be the first to know and there is no way we would let anyone hurt you.”

  Two men now knew who I was. Two men that vowed to look after me and my kids to make sure we were safe. Neither were the man that I wished more than anything knew about me. Still, these were good men and I trusted them with my life. I’m not sure why, but they just gave me a sense of peace and hope.

  “I’ll stay for now, but if anyone else finds out, I’ll have to leave. You have to understand, it’s not just me I have to consider.”

  “Alright, darlin’. I’ll see you later. Let me know what you decide about Cara.”

  “I will.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  Walking into Drew’s house that night, I was greeted by the aroma of pizza. Not just any pizza either. This was the pizza from the local pizza joint, Tony’s Pizza. It was by far the best pizza I had ever tried and even though I was exhausted and wanted to lie down, nothing could keep me from the mouthwatering goodness that awaited me in the kitchen.

  Drew was getting plates and napkins out when I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He smiled at me and shoved the pizza box toward me.

  “Dig in. I figured tonight was a good pizza night. I had a long day and didn’t feel like cooking.”

  “Ugh, I’m so glad because we would have ended up eating cereal.”

  “The exterminator said you should be good in a day or two.”

  “About that. I met with Harper today. She cornered me at Maggie’s with Cara.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she showed up to our little get together with Cara and then suggested that Cara move in with me and take care of the twins,” I said around a bite of pizza.

  “What do you think?”

  “Well, I talked to Sean and he said that he thought it would be good for her. He doesn’t think that she would have any issues, but he didn�
�t want to say she would be fine either. He suggested she move in here with us while the addition is being put on my house. I mean..not move in with us..this is your house. I just meant…”

  “Relax. I know what you meant, but you’re right. She would be living with us. It’s fine with me. If you want to give her a chance and see how she does, then go ahead and tell her to move in. I don’t have a room set up, so she would have to get a bedroom set, but she can take any room she wants.”

  “I think that would probably be best. I need someone and I can’t put it off too much longer. Besides, if I can help her out, then I want to.”

  “What about you? Where would you sleep?”

  He didn’t look at me as he spoke and I got the feeling he wanted me to stay with him, but I didn’t think that would be a good idea.

  “I think it would be best for me to stay in one of the guest rooms. I could probably get a blow up mattress or something. There’s no point in buying a bed for a few months.”

  “Are you kidding me? How would you get off the floor?”

  “Are you saying I’m fat?”

  “No. I’m saying that it would be low to the ground and difficult for a pregnant woman to get up from there. Besides, that wouldn’t be comfortable and it doesn’t make sense to lose sleep so close to having the babies.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “So, does that mean you’re moving in here temporarily?”

  “Yeah. I guess so. I need to call Ryan and set up a time to go over plans.”

  “Let me know what you need from me and I’ll make sure it happens.”

  Two weeks later, Cara and I both moved into Drew’s house and construction started on my house. Now I just had to see if I could live with Drew and not give in to temptation.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Drew

  ONE MONTH UNTIL the twins’ birth…

  “Sarah, you need to slow down. If you keep going like this, you’re going to have the twins early. The doctor already told you this.”

  “Drew, I’m fine. It’s just Braxton Hicks contractions. I’ve been having them for months.”