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Sarah’s head snapped back to Abby. Her mouth dropped open. “Abby-” She shook her head, bewildered. “Abby I’ve never even worked in a kitchen, except for helping out Thomas at the bar in the afternoons. I could barely be a sous chef, let alone run an entire kitchen.”
“That’s where the rest of the offer comes in. You’re too smart, Sarah, to wait tables and do grunt work. And your cooking is amazing. If we put some technical skills behind all that creativity, we could have the best restaurant in the city. We’re not in Vegas. Or Chicago, or New York, or L.A. It really is possible to make a go of it here. I’m only using half my degree,” Abby told her. “Hotel and Restaurant Management. But I don’t have the creativity or the food knowledge.”
Sarah shook her head, amazed at the opportunity but knowing it was beyond her capabilities. “I don’t, either.”
“You will,” Abby insisted. “After you go back to school.”
Sarah stared at her. “What? School? Where?”
“Black Hills State. It’s only in Spearfish. The commute isn’t terrible. And you’d only need some basic certifications. It wouldn’t take as long as a four year degree. They have a culinary arts department.”
Sarah was having trouble processing everything Abby was telling her. It was more than she’d ever hoped for.
“I’ll front you the money for school,” Abby explained. “When the restaurant takes off, you pay me back. No big deal.”
Sarah tried to keep from hyperventilating. “Abby-”
“Don’t you dare say no, Slick. Or anything like you can’t do it. Because I know you can.”
Sarah glanced around again, taking it all in. Her gaze finally settled back on Abby. “You’re right,” she said. “It’s an offer I can’t refuse.”
Chapter 6
By mid-October the leaves were starting to change and the wind had kicked up, making it seem slightly chillier than it was. Sarah pulled a sweater down over her head and, as she always did, ran a hand over the bump that was growing larger by the day. But she didn’t mind. Chris came up behind her, wrapped his hands around her waist and placed a large hand up underneath her sweater. She leaned back into him and closed her eyes.
Chris had always been affectionate with her, throughout their whole relationship. But he was even more so these days. His hand always seemed to find its way to her bump. It was not unusual to wake up in the night and discover that he’d pulled her closer and slipped his hand inside her short night gowns. Skin to skin seemed to be the way he preferred it. And that suited her just fine.
“Ready?” he murmured into her hair.
She nodded.
Chris had been to every subsequent doctor’s appointment despite having missed the first one. Sarah couldn’t be happier. They really were together again. The stress of trying to get pregnant had pulled them apart, but the reality of being pregnant had brought them closer together than ever before. Chris listened intently as she read childbirth books out loud to him, though she was fairly certain he was not all that interested the gory details. And he’d said not one word when she came home with samples of nearly every color commercially available and applied each one to the walls of the bedroom that they were converting to a nursery.
In the waiting room, Sarah was so excited she could barely contain herself. More than once he’d had to put a hand on her knee to stop her from bouncing. He was grinning, though, and she knew that he was just as excited as she was.
In the ultrasound room she barely winced as the cold gel was applied to her bump. Chris held her hand the entire time. Sarah Sullivan’s medical experiences up until a few months ago had been nothing short of horrific, an aftermath of violence that seemed at times that it would never truly end. Surgeries and stitches. Rape kits and referrals for psychologists.
Gradually these memories were pushed further into the back of her mind as new, happier memories replaced them. Measuring her belly, listening for the heartbeat. Sarah had all but forgotten about the scars on her stomach now that she was more concerned with what lay within.
She kept her eyes fixed on the monitor, though the finer points of understanding what she was seeing was lost on her.
“Well,” the technician said. “Are we ready Mom and Dad?”
Sarah took a deep breath and glanced at Chris.
“Ready,” he declared.
Sarah nodded.
The technician smiled. She pressed a button and a still photo came out of the attached laser printer. She plucked it out of the tray and handed it to Chris and Sarah.
“Daddy’s little princess,” the technician announced.
Sarah’s breath caught in her throat as her heart hammered away in her chest. Chris stared at the picture and then at Sarah. He squeezed her hand and leaned toward her.
