Page 78 of Burned

“Don’t be so hard on him. He’s doing the best that he can.”

Sadie raised a brow, surprised at Lily’s defense of Rhys. “Why are you taking his side?”

“I’m not taking sides. The few times I saw him with Elizabeth he was very attentive. It’s clear to me that he loves her.”

Sadie rolled her eyes. “I didn’t realize you were a Rhys fan.”

“Relax, sis. I’m just saying he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. His brother is a creep and his daughter could possibly be the spawn of Satan, but Rhys seems okay.”

“You sound like you want to join his fan club. And Carys isn’t so bad. She’s been going to counseling. She’s not the same girl I originally met. She’s actually been quite nice.”

“If you say so. But do you think you can trust her around Elizabeth? What if she decided to act out and hurt the baby?”

“I trust that she won’t harm the baby. We’ve gotten to know each other better and we’re becoming friends.” And it was true. Whenever Carys came on the weekends, she’d sit with Sadie and they’d talk about school and her friends and how she was working part-time at the stables so she could earn enough money to buy her horses back. She was doing better in school and making good grades. She seemed to be much happier than the sullen teen she’d first met.

“Well, if you can forgive Carys, then why can’t you forgive Rhys?”

“I forgave him.”

“But have you really?” Lily pressed.

Sadie was over this conversation. With an exaggerated sigh, she said, “Can we please change the subject?”

“Okay. So what do you plan on doing when we get home?”

“I’m going to cuddle with Elizabeth and feed her and then cuddle with her some more. Probably change her and then watch her while she sleeps.”

“That sounds productive, but don’t you think while she’s asleep we should put her crib together?”

Sadie groaned not wanting to think about all the work she had ahead of her. Because she’d had her daughter so early, she didn’t have time to get Elizabeth’s room together. When Sadie would come home from the hospital, she was physically and emotionally exhausted. Fortunately, she’d purchased a bassinet so Elizabeth could sleep in it next to Sadie’s bed until she could get the baby’s room together.

“Well, maybe when Elizabeth is sleeping, we can start working on the crib.”

“I don’t want to move her into her bedroom until it’s all done. I haven’t even started the painting. I got the paint in my basement but I’m not up to decorating today.”

“Well, take advantage of me while I’m there. I want to help you in any way I can.”

Sadie reached out and placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Thanks,sis. It really means a lot to me that you took a week off of work to help me out with the baby.”

“You’re my sister. Family looks out for each other.”

“Well, I still appreciate it.”

When they pulled into Sadie’s driveway, she frowned when she spotted all the random cars parked on the side of the street. “I wonder if the neighbors are having some kind of event.”

Lily shrugged.

Sadie carefully extracted the baby out of her car seat while Lily collected all her bags. When she walked into her house, she got the shock of her life when a handful of people screamed, “Surprise!” There was a huge banner across the wall that read, Happy Baby Shower.

Her living room was filled with her closest friends and family. Her aunt and uncle were here, along with a few of her former coworker. Even Daisy and Rose were in attendance. And standing in the middle of the room was Rhys and Carys.

Lily leaned over and whispered in her ear, “See, I told you he had something important to do.”

Sadie was moved to tears. “What’s going on? Who put this together?”

Rhys stepped forward. “Since you didn’t have a proper baby shower, we thought we’d throw one for you.”

“You did all this?”

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