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But Savannah was softer than me in some ways. I had hardened quickly living under my mother’s roof. I shielded Savannah from some of that, but she and I were just different anyway. She had always been more sensitive, while I always had to be strong. Fun, whereas I was strict and disciplined.
Savannah’s chin dropped to her chest. “Not since I told him about the baby.”
I scoffed. The nerve of him. I didn’t even like the guy but the least he could do was muster up the decency to be there for his kid.
Then, because I caught the sheen in Savannah’s eyes, I reached over and clasped our hands together. “I’m here now. I will you help you however I can. I know I’m looking for a new place, but I fully expect to spend a lot of time here when that baby is born. You won’t have to do this alone.”
A lone tear fell down her cheeks, and I brushed it away.
I just didn’t want her to take back her scum bag of an ex just because she was scared. I’d do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.
He had been her high school sweetheart, and they’d been on and off ever since they left the hallowed halls of Haver’s Creek High. I didn’t fully understand his job. He seemed to be coming and going every couple of months, something to do with sales, maybe.
“What if he comes around? What will you do then?” I asked. I supported my sister unconditionally, but I needed her to think about what would happen if Rick suddenly woke up one day and decided to play a role in this baby’s life. Would she take him back? Would she give visitation rights? These were things she needed to consider. To fortify herself to stick to what she wanted and not have him railroad her into doing whatever he wanted.
She shook her head. “I don’t know what I want.”
At least she was being honest.
“Well, think about it. It helps if you imagine these different scenarios and then how you want to react to them, just in case they become your reality.”
I squeezed her hand again. “You are strong. You are amazing. You can do this. And you’ve got me. You and the baby will be fine, I promise. I won’t accept anything less than that.”
Pushing back my chair, I closed the gap between us and enveloped her in a big hug. “Come on, it’s late, we gotta get you to bed.” I held on tightly to her, as we walked together to her room.
Later that night I tossed and turned, worried for my sister. Still battling with morning sickness, on top of the baby’s father just up and leaving, it was a difficult time. I feared her stress would hurt her and the baby, so I’d do everything I could to alleviate that stress. No matter what.
At nine the next morning I found myself at Coffee Creek waiting for Katie to arrive. I intentionally got there early so that I could get some work done. Thanks to my sister’s venue suggestions and hours of searching, I found eight promising properties I wanted to check out. Scheduling the tours came next, so I planned to spend the entire afternoon doing that once Katie showed me a few houses.
Savoring the aroma of the ground beans and brewing coffee, I found myself strangely happy to be back in Haver’s Creek.
A ringing phone broke me from my spell.
It took a few seconds to realize the noise emanated from my purse. Assuming it was Katie, I picked up the call right away.
“This is Whitney,” I answered.
“It’s Jack.” My heart stopped at hearing his voice. Elbows on the table, I braced myself.
“Good morning, Jack. What can I do for you?” I asked him in my most professional party planner voice.
“Well, I’ve been thinking. We only have a couple of weeks to do all this work on the gala, so we’ve got to get started right away. I thought I’d pick up some pie from Barb’s and bring it over to Savannah’s tonight after work so we can sort through the details.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear to stop myself from saying something snarky. “I’ve already come up with several gala themes and am going to schedule venue tours. Why don’t I just send you my suggestions via email and you can get back to me that way. I’d hate to take up any of your time.” I fake smiled as if he were sitting right across from me.
“No, I think we should talk this through in person,” he countered. “We don’t want to let Barb down, and this way I can explain to you more about what went on in gala’s past.
“Actually—” I started to counter.
“I’ll see you at seven, Sprinkles.”
Then he hung up.
“That bastard,” I cursed at my phone.
“Excuse me?”
I looked up to find Katie in a fancy baby blue suit that must have cost her a fortune.
