Page 83 of When Morning Comes Around

~ ~ ~

As Sadie drove down the hill on Tuesday evening, she sang along with the radio. She smiled when it hit her that it was something that she always used to do – when she lived here. When she thought about it, she and Josh used to sing as she drove him around when he was small, but she couldn’t remember having done it in years. After he’d grown up and left home, there hadn’t been much to sing about in her life with Dale.

She’d talked to him this afternoon – he’d called as she was leaving Jake’s garage. She knew that he was worried about her,and she’d done her best to reassure him that she was doing fine. He was cautiously optimistic from what she’d told him about Dom – although, she had kind of played things down. She didn’t feel guilty about it; she didn’t want him to worry, and she knew that if he came to visit as he said he would, he’d see for himself that Dom was a great guy.

He wasn’t thrilled that she was working for Jake. She’d told him that she was just helping out, but he knew her too well. He’d asked again about the divorce. At least she’d been able to satisfy him there – her meeting with Leanne had gone well. At first, Leanne had given her so much information, and so many choices that she’d felt overwhelmed. After a while, Leanne had leaned back in her chair and studied Sadie closely.

Then, she’d asked, “Can I do this my way?”

She’d felt embarrassed when Leanne went on to tell her that she was too nice, and that she ran the risk of letting Dale screw her over.

Leanne had explained that she hated seeing good people taken advantage of – almost as much as she hated seeing assholes come out on top. She’d said that if Sadie would give her permission to do so, she’d make sure that she came out with the best deal possible.

In the end, Sadie had agreed. She knew damn well that if she were left to her own devices, Dale would be able to twist things to his advantage. It wasn’t as though she’d given Leanne carte blanche, but she trusted her and knew that she’d go after Dale harder than she would have herself.

When the next song came on the radio, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind and started singing again. She’dworry about the details when she was faced with them. In the meantime, she was doing okay. Her dad was doing better, she was doing better, she had enough money to get by. The only downside was that she was going to have to find herself a place to live, and she wasn’t going to be able to afford the kind of place that she’d like. It was only temporary, though. When the divorce came through, she’d get back on her feet.

When she reached the development at Four Mile Creek, she turned in and parked in the lot behind the lodge. She was looking forward to this evening. Dom had asked if she wanted to come over here for a drink with Taryn and Dalton. It turned out that his brother, Damon, worked behind the bar on Tuesday nights, and his lady, Jo, came to hang out while he was here.

Savannah was home tonight. That made Sadie feel better. Even though her dad had insisted that things should get back to normal now, he’d been tired when he came in from the garden center, and she liked knowing that he wasn’t home alone.

She found a parking spot and climbed out of the minivan. Dom had offered to come and pick her up, but that hadn’t seemed right. It would mean that he had to come all the way over to Hidden Valley to get her, and then do the same thing to take her home, when he lived fifteen minutes in the opposite direction.

He’d tried to insist, but in the end, he’d given in and agreed to meet her here. She locked the minivan and set off for the lodge. She stopped and smiled when she saw Dom waiting at the bottom of the steps.

He came to meet her and rested his hands on her shoulders as he dropped a kiss on her lips. “Hi.”

“Hi. You didn’t need to wait out here for me.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I know, I wanted to come get you.”

She slid her arms around his waist. “It didn’t seem right to make you drive all that way there and back twice when I could just meet you here.”

He held her closer. “I wouldn’t have minded – I’d get more time with you that way.”

“True. I should’ve thought of that.”

“I’ll forgive you this time.”

She laughed. “Oh, you will, will you?”

His eyes seemed to twinkle as he smiled. “I will, on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“That you let me pick you up after you’re finished at Jake’s tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you working tomorrow night?”

“I am, but there’s somewhere I want you to come with me after you finish work.”

“Where are we going?”

He chuckled. “Do you want to know, or can it be a surprise?”

“Ooh! I like surprises.”

“Good to know. So, you’ll come with me?”

---