Page 4 of Taming His Honeydoll
“He’ll never know if I have anything to say about it,” she retorted.
He folded his arms across his broad chest and stared at her. “I’m beginning to have some sympathy for your poor beleaguered brother,” he stated baldly.
“Ha! Beleaguered my ass,” Emma replied acidly.
“His threats to spank you being the part you hated most,” he added with a twinkle in his eye. “By Jove, I must say he had his hands full with you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah...well...I never asked him to be my father.”
Emma lay her head back and closed her eyes to shut Henry out. Images of Sawyer played through her mind—laughing images, his lips coming down to press against hers, and his hands sliding up to cup her breasts. The last thing she needed was to see Sawyer again and be reminded that he’d lied to her when he’d said he loved her. She didn’t need his pity, nor did she want him to put up with her for Levi’s sake.
“All right, Poppet,” Henry caved with a sigh. “Let’s get this divorce done so we can both move on with our lives.”
She nodded her agreement.
Six Months later
Rachel Blackland was making her way down the sidewalk next to Bevier Park on Jefferson Street when a laughing child raced towards the street in front of her.
“Levi! Stop!”
A young woman raced frantically after the boy, but Rachel could see that she wouldn’t be able to stop him from entering traffic if he didn’t stop himself. The way he was giggling told her that wouldn’t happen because he was having too much fun. Quickly she moved to intercept, grabbing the child and sweeping him up into her arms.
“Whoa there, little man,” she said with a laugh, holding him up to look into his beautiful face. She stared in stunned disbelief. This young boy could have been Sawyer at the same age.
“Oh, thank you, thank you,” the distraught young woman said breathlessly as she took the boy from her hands. “Levi, you need to stop when Mama calls you,” she scolded, hugging him close.
The girl turned to thank the woman once again. “Thank you for stopping him, he’s in this stage where everything is a game. At this rate, I’m going to have to put him on a leash,” she said with a laugh.”
“It was my pleasure,” Rachel replied, patting Levi’s back. “I’ve raised a little boy myself so I know what a handful they can be.” She held out her hand. “I’m Rachel.”
Emma adjusted Levi to her hip and smiled. “I’m Emma Tremaine,” she replied, shaking Rachels’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Do you come here often?” Rachel asked, her heart beating erratically.
“Usually on Saturdays when it’s nice. The fall weather is starting to get nippy though, but he loves chasing the leaves around. Pretty soon it will be too cool to bring him out.”
“I usually walk in the park a couple of times a week after my part-time shift at the hospital, but I’m just grocery shopping today,” Rachel replied. “I like to be outside as much as I can. I’ve never seen you here before though.”
“Well, my husband used to take him to the park, but since we divorced, I’m trying to fill that role.” She let the squirming Levi down and he started pulling her back to the leaves. “It was nice meeting you, Rachel,” she called over her shoulder with a laugh and a wave.
“Have a nice day, dear,” Rachel called back and waved.
As they rushed away, Rachel hurried to her car parked down the street across from the Supermart where she had just stocked up on a canned goods sale. The park had been so beautiful with its stately elms and colorful maples that she’d decided to take a small walk. Her doctor had urged her to walk more and enjoy the sunshine outside. She was so tired all the time though, especially since her husband Carter had died.
As she got into the red Lincoln, her thoughts flew to her son. The last time Sawyer had dated had been in college before he enlisted. He’d been excited about a girl named Emma. Then they broke up just before he went overseas and he’d never mentioned her again. He hadn’t dated anyone more than a time or two since he’d come home.
Sawyer had stayed for another enlistment after his first one was up, but he’d come home early to take care of her instead. Due to his field of expertise, he still consulted with his commander and had resumed his master’s studies part-time while taking over the ranch responsibilities.
Oh, there were girls calling the house from time to time, but Sawyer never seemed interested. One persistent young lady named Marie had even been out to see him twice, uninvited, and had been kindly, but firmly sent away.
Rachel’s dearest wish was for her son to get married and have a wife and children to keep him company in his old age. She and Carter had always wanted a large family but it wasn’t to be. Sawyer was their only child.
She worried about Sawyer being alone once she was gone. especially since they had no other family in the States. She and Carter had immigrated from Germany years ago. They had purchased ten acres when they arrived and had slowly added to that as it became available. Now they had over six hundred acres with the most beautiful view of the White Mountains in the background. It was a wonderful piece of land, one she dearly loved.
As she pulled into the driveway of their two-story home on the outskirts of Bevier, Maine and got out of the car, the wind gently swirled colorful leaves around her feet as she made her way up the concrete walk to the front door. She could have parked in the garage, but she liked the horse rails in front of her home and the white picket fence surrounding the immediate yard. Quaint, country, and beautiful with an array of shrubs and different flowers nodding their heads in the breeze. As many as she could entice to grow over the years—which had been a lot.
The old oak tree in the side yard still sported a huge black tractor tire on a chain that Sawyer had loved to swing in when he was a child, and the treehouse above it that Carter had built. On an impulse she swished through the leaves to the tire swing and peered inside. It needed cleaning up, that was for sure. That would be her project tomorrow, she decided. Cleaning out all that buildup of mud and stink from years of leafy deposits, and making sure there were no creepy crawlies inside to scare her grandson.
