Page 140 of Down Knot Out
Sadie’s hands tremble as she reaches for the lemonade. “When I found out I was pregnant, I asked him what I should do. He said I was lucky ithappened with a Patel. Someoneimportant. Harrises don’t have scandals, he said, but a family connection could be spun as a win.”
She gags on the memory. “Told me to keep my mouth shut and make it look like a normal, happy accident. Everyone would believe it. Who would ever think the golden girl could be anything but perfect?”
The words rattle around my ribcage, scraping everything raw.
Sadie tips her head back, staring up at the porch beams, her cheeks shining. “I couldn’t stand my life, couldn’t stand being mated to the man who... So I drank to numb it all out. God, I celebrated the day that man got into a car accident anddied. It was the only good thing he ever did.”
Her face crumples. “Quinn is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Blake. But she’s also…”
She falters before she forces the rest out. “She’s a living reminder. Every day I saw her face, I remembered what he did to me, what Dad let happen, and what I had to pretend wasn’t there. I love her so much it hurts. But I can’t hold her without wanting to peel my own skin off.”
Silence settles, broken only by the scratch of abird on the roof and the slap of Quinn’s feet on the grass.
Sadie scrubs her hands over her face, nails dragging angry red lines down her cheeks. “I want to be her mother, I do. But I can’t. Not now. Maybe not ever.”
She risks a glance at me, her eyes wet and red. “You’re better for her than I’ll ever be. You know that, right?”
The knot in my throat threatens to choke me. “That’s not true. She needs you, too.”
Sadie laughs again, softer now. “Maybe someday she will. Maybe when she’s older, and I can tell her the truth.” She wipes her cheeks, still shaking. “For now, let her keep being a kid. Let her believe it’s okay to be happy and grow up in a family that loves her. Don’t let her end up like us.”
I reach for her hand, and she doesn’t pull away. Her fingers are ice cold, and she holds on as if afraid to let go.
We sit for a long time like that as pride fills me for my sister finding the strength to tell me and fury at my father and Patel. Both emotions swirl inside me as we watch Quinn and Sprinkles be silly in the sunshine.
Sadie is the first to speak. “Will you tell her I love her?”
“She knows,” I manage, my voice breaking.
She smiles. “She deserved better parents than what she got. I’m glad she has you.”
Quinn climbs the porch steps, cheeks flushed and hair wild, clutching the pig toy to her chest. “Sprinkles got mud on the toy, but he says it’s his new favorite. He wants you to throw it next time.”
Sadie’s smile turns real, a flash of the girl she used to be. “Next time, for sure, kiddo.”
Quinn hesitates. “Do you have to leave right away?”
Sadie’s mouth works, searching for the right answer. “Not if you want me to stay for a bit.”
Quinn beams. “Will you read my story? I wrote about the salmon and the crab.”
Sadie nods, her hands steady. “I’d love that.”
I stand and help her up. “Let us officially introduce you to our pack. Then we can have lunch and show you around the Homestead.”
Her eyes widen at the invitation, and she takes a steadying breath. “Yeah, I’d like that.
Mrs. Reynolds stands and comes over, taking Sadie’s arm. “I’ve got her, Mr. Harris.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds.” I open the door for them and motion for the rest of my pack to join us. “Before you go, I’d like to speak to you aboutsigning a new employment agreement. I’d like to take over paying your salary.”
And if it’s possible, I’ll take over governing the bank accounts that the Patel pack set up for Sadie after that worthless piece of shit that dared to call himself her husband died. Because there’s no way in hell I’m leaving any part of my sister’s life to be governed by our father for a second longer. Not now, after discovering what he put her through, put all of us through, all those years ago.
He’s the reason Sadie is the way she is. But I’ll be damned if I let him continue to have power over her future.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chloe
