“Thanks,” he said, lifting the mug. He took a long sip. “Apparently, Dad was so in love with her that when her car broke down, he gave her his truck so she could get to school and work, and he’d walk five miles from the ranch to see her. Then back. He brought her candy and flowers.”
“Bo had a good side, Axel. We know that. My mom was madly in love with him despite his flaws.”
Daisy and Noah’s mother had come along not long after Axel’s had had enough of Bo’s hard-living ways—drinking, gambling, staying out late, flirting and no doubt cheating. Axel and his brothers had adored their stepmother, Leah, who was kind and compassionate and treated them like they were special. He’d never forget that. He’d been devastated when she’d died. Axel had been thirteen, Daisy eleven, Noah nine. Axel’s mother hadn’t been comfortable letting him and his brothers visit their father longer than a day with just Bo supervising. As teenagers, they’d barely seen him at all except for occasions, and he never failed to let them down in big and small ways that had stung.
Now he had a list of four addresses.
“So you think the other addresses will tell a story, too?” she asked.
“I have a feeling, yes. Not sure I want to hear it, though.”
“You don’t, but you do. That’s always the way it is with complicated stuff, Axel.”
Didn’t he know it.
* * *
For the next couple of hours, Sadie and Danny explored the grounds around Axel’s gorgeous log cabin. They’d found a hammock in the side yard, and she and Danny had stretched out for a while, soaking up the beautiful September sunshine before Danny got bored and wanted to run around, flying Zul. Then they’d met up with family for an early lunch at the cafeteria, Danny gobbling up the chili and corn bread. As always, there were multiple kid zones in the lodge, for the under-five, under-twelve and the teen set, and so she’d watched Danny have a blast in the toddler playground. The kid rooms were supervised, which was nice because there was also a refreshment table offering coffee, and Sadie needed some.
Ping.
A text from her sister: I hear you’re staying at Axel’s for a couple of days till Gram and Great-Gram are better. How about if Marshall and I bring dinner over tonight? We can pick up from the caf or bring in Thai or Italian—whatever you guys want. I’ve been craving pasta like crazy lately.
Sadie swallowed. She loved the idea of texting back, Sure, and get pasta carbonara for me, penne in butter and cheese for Danny and baked ziti for Axel. Oh, and garlic bread.
She knew Axel loved baked ziti and garlic bread because they’d talked about their favorites last night. I could eat five servings of even meh baked ziti myself, he’d said.
She sucked in a breath and texted: My sister has invited herself and her fiancé over to your house for dinner tonight, but they’re bringing the food. Italian? Baked ziti for you and tiramisu for dessert?
She hit Send and looked to see what Danny was doing. He was sitting at a little table with a staff member, coloring a picture. She eyed her phone. Nothing.
A full minute later, still nothing.
He’s busy, for God’s sake. He’s on a wilderness tour and is responsible for the safety of several of your relatives. Except the trek was at nine and it was now past two.
She imagined him reading her text and thinking: She’s going too far. She and Danny were foisted on me and now she’s arranging dinner get-togethers at my house with her family? It’s getting to be much too much.
Her stomach hurt.
Ping.
Sounds good. Don’t forget the garlic bread.—A
He’d added the smiley face emoji in the cowboy hat again.
Her heart did five backflips.
She texted Evie to let her know they were in and their orders. As she finally pocketed her phone, her cousin Daphne, who’d been on the hiking trip on Badger Mountain that fateful day Danny had gone missing, came up to the table and poured herself a coffee. She’d been pregnant then and now had a baby girl named Bea.
“Daph, has my mom or Tabby ever talked to you about what happened between them that day on the mountain?”
Daphne pushed her long red hair behind her shoulders, then added cream to the cup. “They’re still in a fight? Jeez. I remember them arguing while the search crew was looking for Danny but I didn’t hear what they were saying since I was so focused on the search. I sure hope they make up this week. I mean, how can they not?”
“That’s my hope, too. I’m about to go see my mom—she’s taking care of Gram and Great-Gram, who have colds.”
“Hey, my sister and I are about to take her kids over to the petting zoo. I’m happy to take Danny along if you want a break.”
Sadie smiled. “I’ll bet he’d love to go with you guys. Text me when you’re ready to leave the zoo and I’ll come pick him up.” She walked over to where Danny was admiring his drawing of Zul.
“Look, Mommy!”
She kneeled and smiled at the drawing. “It’s Zul, saving the day. I love it. Hey, I’m going to see your grandma right now. Want me to give it to her as a present from you?”
Danny beamed. “Yes!”
“And while I do that, do you want to go to the petting zoo and see the animals with cousins Daphne and Lauren and their kids?”
“Yay, petting zoo!” Danny scrambled off the chair and ran straight to Daphne, where the group was waiting.
“Have fun!” Sadie called, blowing a kiss. She waved at Daphne and watched the group leave, finished her coffee and then headed out for her cabin. She hoped to run into her “fiancé” while she was walking but she didn’t see him anywhere. She saw his brother Noah and his wife, Sara, the forewoman, and gave them a wave, but no Axel. What she would give to drink in the sight of him...
She made her way the quarter mile down the path to her cabin. The guest quarters managed to be secluded and not at the same time. Each cabin was spaced far enough apart that you couldn’t see the others, trees giving privacy. Sadie loved the woodsy setting and breathed in the fresh scent of pine and flowers and earth.
As she rounded the cabin to the front, she saw her aunt Tabby stomping angrily away, her shoulder-length auburn hair bouncing behind her. Uh-oh.
“Tabby?” Sadie called out. “You okay?”
Her aunt turned and marched over, tears and anger in her eyes. “No, I most certainly am not! Vanessa and Izzy are my mom and grandmother, too, not that your mother seems to remember that!” She stalked off before Sadie could say another word, then ran back and kissed Sadie on the cheek. “I don’t mean to take out my frustration on you, Sades. Love you! Toodles!” Then she stalked away again, and Sadie could see her swiping under her eyes.
Oh, dear.
Sadie shook her head as she walked up the cabin steps and knocked since her mother had texted five times she should do so instead of coming to “cold central.”
“Coming!” she heard her mother call.
Viv opened the door and frowned. “Honey, this is sick bay. You can’t be here! You’ll get sick, then Danny will, then Axel will!”
She held up the drawing. “I’m dropping this off. Danny drew it and wanted you to have it.”
Her mother smiled. “Love that boy. And so talented. I’ll put it on the minifridge for now. Shoo now, before the germs get you.”
“You have those germs all over you, Mom,” Sadie pointed out. “And you don’t seem to have caught their colds.”
“I just don’t want a cold getting in the way of you spending this quality time with Axel or you and Evie making plans for the weddings. Nothing is worse than feeling rotten with a cold, honey.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Vanessa called out in a congested voice. Sadie heard her blow her nose—loudly.
“Aw, poor Gram and Great-Gram.” She lowered her voice. “Look, Mom, I truly appreciate that you care about me. But, I ran i
nto Tabby leaving and I’m not leaving this porch until you tell me what is going on between you two. What happened, Mom? You have to tell me because it’s my fault.”
Viv frowned and then looked sad. “How is it your fault?”
“You know why. You and Tabby stopped talking the day Danny went missing.”
“That’s not your fault. It’s Tabby’s—” She clamped her mouth shut.
“Aha!” Sadie said. “So you blame her for Danny going missing?”
“I hear Izzy calling for me,” Viv lied. “You can’t keep an ill ninety-nine-year-old waiting when she wants her chicken soup.”
“Mom, c’mon. This is our family reunion. Were you trying to shut Tabby out of helping nurse her own mother and grandmother? She’s their daughter, too.”
“So everyone should get sick?” Viv asked. “Tabby’s the one who wanted to stay with our cousins instead of bunking with us like she always does at the reunions. So tough noogies.”
“Mom, seriously.”
“I’m being serious as a you-know-what.” Viv stepped aside. “Toodles, hon. Say hi to Axel and kiss my darling grandbaby for your ole ma, will you?”
The door closed.
Could her mother be more frustrating? How could two grown women who used phrases like “Toodles” be so stubborn?
Some family reunion. Her mother and aunt weren’t speaking. Her grandmother and great-grandmother were sick with colds, and Sadie couldn’t visit with them if she wanted to keep the peace with her mom. And Sadie’s whole world had turned upside down with one little white lie.
At least Sadie knew she had pasta carbonara in her future. And garlic bread. And Axel.
Chapter Nine
As was the case these days, Axel both liked and didn’t like that Sadie was sitting on the living room carpet with Danny next to the tower of blocks when he got home. Like they lived there. Like they were his family. His wife, his child.
He got that discomfort in his chest, as though air was squeezing out. But at the same time, good goose bumps traveled up his spine at the sight of beautiful Sadie and her sweet toddler, whom he had to admit he adored. When he’d worked at Badger Mountain, he was used to coming home to an empty house with Dude, his partner on his missions, and then it would be just the two of them unless he went out with some of his colleagues on the search and rescue team. He’d tended to save that for only events—birthdays and welcomes and retirements. So it was always just him and Dude in his cabin, first the small one and now here at the ranch.
Then again, these past weeks, being right on the property, he found himself spending a lot of time with his brother and sister and their families—and liking it. For the longest time, the thought of the Dawson Family Guest Ranch had reminded him of his father, of bad times. But now, the place made him think of his baby niece and nephews, of dinners with his siblings and their spouses, commiserating on tough days when there were guest injuries or issues, laughing at Daisy’s funny stories, feeling grateful when Noah would talk about those months he and a team had spent rebuilding the family ranch into something new but that still paid homage to their grandparents.
Axel had been changing without even realizing it, he now knew.
“Zul!” Danny said as Axel came inside, leaping up and careening straight for him. The little boy wrapped his arms around Danny’s legs, and Axel scooped him up, hoisting him high.
“Building Zul’s tower, I see,” Axel said. “Looks great.” He put Danny on the ground and the boy ran to his blocks, toddler-telling him all about it.
Sadie smiled up at him. “Evie and Marshall will be here at seven with Italian from Figorella’s. I love that place.”
“Not in Bear Ridge, right? I haven’t heard of it.”
“Prairie City. My parents go every Friday night.”
The small talk made him aware of how strange this was. This woman and child in his house, staying with him till at least tomorrow. Her family coming over as their guests.
It’s just till tomorrow. They’ll head for the cabin. At the end of the week, they’ll return to Prairie City. This will all be over.
And you’ll be on your own again.
The idea of them leaving didn’t sit right either, though.
For the next hour there was tower building and then Sadie gave Danny his bath, and then it was Zul story time, so once again, he settled Danny on his lap, the baby-shampoo scent of him reminding him of another time, another child, and again, the air seeped.
Another single mother in the doorway, watching, seemingly happy.
Seemingly. Interesting. Was he expecting Sadie to pull a fast one on him? They weren’t even in a real relationship. He was losing his mind, clearly.
Maybe it had just been a long day.
With Danny tuckered out and in his crib, fast asleep within minutes, they tiptoed out of the nursery and went downstairs. Her sister and her real fiancé would be here any minute. Danny had eaten earlier and Sadie had mentioned she’d put his penne in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.
Axel was starving. And looking forward to the baked ziti and garlic bread and tiramisu.
* * *
“You two are such a great couple,” Evie whispered after dinner as Axel got up from the table to collect the empty tiramisu dishes. Marshall hopped to it as well, and the men brought the dishes and silverware into the kitchen.
“He’s a good guy,” Sadie whispered in turn, not surprised she and Axel had come across as a real couple during dinner.
They talked so easily, were truly interested in what the other had to say, and Axel had cute stories to tell about putting Danny to bed and building towers. He really did seem like Sadie’s fiancé and Danny’s dad-to-be. To the point that at times during dinner, Sadie had almost forgotten he wasn’t. And he was warm and friendly to her sister and Marshall, sharing memories about growing up on a dude ranch and about his work as a search and rescue specialist. Evie was in love with Dude and couldn’t stop petting him. The Lab had spent the meal under her feet for that reason.
“It’s so obvious how much you two care about each other,” Evie added, then took a sip of her coffee. “The way he looks at you—warms my heart. With such love and respect.”
Well, he did seem to respect her but he certainly didn’t love her.
Evie’s diamond ring twinkled on her finger as she covered Sadie’s hand with her own. “I’m so happy for you and Danny, Sadie. You truly found a real hero.”
Okay, a crummy weight lodged in Sadie’s heart. She wanted this to be real. She wanted Axel to be her and Danny’s hero, and for her and Danny to be his heroes. She needed a little rescuing in some ways and so did Axel. And she was up for the job.
If only, if only, if only.
As the guys came back, Sadie thanked them for being on table-clearing duty, and they went into the living room and plopped down on the comfortable sofa with their coffees.
“So I brought this fun game,” Evie said, getting up and walking over to the foyer where she brought in a paper bag. She sat and pulled out a bright red box. The Love Game: So You Think You Know Your Significant Other?
Uh-oh. Party games could be fun but this one was going to be a disaster. Please don’t let there be embarrassing questions about sex, she thought, bracing herself for the worst and most mortifying.
“Okay,” Evie said, taking the lid off the box and pulling out stacks of cards. “We each get three cards with a letter on it—A, B and C.” She handed those out. “These are our answer cards for the multiple-choice questions. We keep those hidden from one another. Then, we take turns picking a face-down question card from the stack. Each card has a multiple-choice question for you to answer about your partner. After you read the question aloud, your partner chooses from the three possible answer cards—A, B or C—and places his answer card facedown in front of him. Then you answer. If you two are in sync, you get ten poi
nts. If not, you lose ten points. The losing couple treats the winning couple to dinner next time!”
Sadie glanced at Axel. He didn’t look miserable or like he wanted to crush the cards in his hand into dust. That was good.
“Who wants to go first?” Evie asked.
Sadie swallowed. Not me. Axel didn’t shoot his hand in the air either.
No one seemed eager, not even Marshall, who presumably knew his fiancée well after three years.
“Guess I’ll go first!” Evie said, taking a sip of her coffee, then picking up the top card from the face-down stack. “‘Your partner forgot your birthday. Will your partner, A, Say, oh, sorry, happy birthday, by the way. B, Rush out and buy you a card and gift. C, As if my partner would forget my birthday—puhleeeze!’ Okay, so Marshall, now you choose either an A, B or C card as your answer and put that card facedown. Then I’ll answer.”
Marshall eyed his cards and swished his mouth around. “Hmm,” he said. “Okay, got it.” He put a card face down on his knee.
“The only possible answer is C,” Evie said. “As if I’d let you forget! Am I right, Marsh?”
Marshall grinned and triumphantly held up the C card.
“Well done,” Axel said to him.
Evie beamed. “Okay, we’ll go clockwise, so it’s your turn, Sadie.”
Sadie glanced at Axel, then picked up a card. “‘Your partner comes home with an adorable puppy in a cardboard box. You’re a cat person. You, A, Instruct your partner to find another home for it ASAP. B, Bring it to the animal shelter. C, Name your new puppy and welcome him to the family.’” All eyes turned to Axel. He quickly chose his answer card and put it on his knee. “I’m going with C,” Sadie said.
Axel didn’t know her well enough to know what a sappy soft heart she was, right? As if she could not immediately fall in love with a little or even big puppy with its sweet puppy eyes. Axel was probably the same. Or maybe he knew her better than she thought.
Her faux fiancé smiled and held up the C card. “Dude turned Sadie into a dog person.”
A Family for a Week Page 10
