Page 28 of Wanting Happily Ever After

“I didn’t…I was…” Brody held his arms out at his sides and spun in a half circle, in a desperate attempt to try to explain himself. “Sarah, I—”

“Mom! I want to stay!”

“Don’t do this, Sarah.” Brody took a step toward her again.

But she pressed her lips together and shook her head once. “You knew what this meant to me, Brody. Youknew.”

His heart clenched as he felt every beat of the pain and hurt she was feeling. “Sarah,” he pleaded. “I’m so—”

“I can’t do this.” She shook her head to stop him. “Any of it.”

This time when she turned to walk away, he didn’t try to stop her.

By the time Sarah pulled her car into the driveway, Rory had cried herself to sleep. She dropped her head against the steering wheel and exhaled a long, deep breath.

What the fuck had she just done?

It was a question she’d asked herself at least fifty times on the drive home once Rory had stopped screaming and fallen asleep, allowing her the space to think.

Had she overreacted?

Yes.

Should she have packed up all their stuff and taken off that way?

No.

Was she completely out of her mind?

Oh, hell yes.

Despite being able to logically think it through now, after the fact, Sarah knew she couldn’t have done anything different. Something had woken her from her little nap. When she’d opened her eyes after drifting off to sleep, it had taken her a minute to remember where she was, and why she was there. And then when she looked to where she’d last seen Brody and Rory in the lake, she’d only seen Rory in her bright-yellow and purple polka dot bathing suit, the yellow ducky around her waist, it made sense. It had been Rory’s screech that had woken her up.

And where was Brody?

He wasn’t there.

He was gone.

It all happened so fast after that. She’d never moved so quickly, running down the beach, splashing through the water and grabbing her daughter. It felt as if it took hours to get there, but of course it had only been seconds. And then there was Brody, standing in front of her, water dripping from his hair down his chest, a smile on his handsome face until he realized how upset she was.

Reliving it, Sarah let out a low groan.

She’d totally lost her shit. Everyone had seen it. They must all think she was completely crazy. But then again, maybe not. After all, her husband had died in that lake. The very same lake that she’d just trusted Brody to take her daughter into.

She hit her head a little on the steering wheel. Maybe she’d overreacted. But then again, maybe Brody should have tried harder to make sure she wasn’t put in the situation to react at all.

Sarah allowed herself two more deep breaths. When she was feeling at least a little bit calmer, she gathered a still sleeping Rory out of the backseat, leaving everything else for later, and went inside. She avoided looking at Brody’s truck that he’d left out front, choosing to ride together to the lake. She’d left him stranded there, but no doubt someone would offer him a ride home. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.

She tucked Rory in, still wearing her now dry bathing suit. The poor thing was exhausted from a day in the sun and crying herself to sleep. Sarah would make it up to her and hopefully she wouldn’t be too traumatized from her first visit to the beach.

Sarah poured herself a glass of wine and was just about to sit down on the couch when there was a knock at the door.

She froze and contemplated her options.

She could ignore it. Almost certainly, it was Brody. He’d go away when she didn’t answer.

Another knock. This one harder and followed by, “Sarah. Open the door.”

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