There's Only Been You (12 page)

He started up the engine and flipped on the wipers. “I'd better get you home before your brothers send out the entire police force to look for you. The last thing I want is my son's first glimpse of me to be on the front page of the Press-Gazette, spread-eagled and face-down against a squad car."

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"Sara, there is one fine-looking man asking for you out in the store,” Teresa said, sticking her head through the door.

Sara rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. “I'll be right out."

She was in the process of decorating a sheet cake for twin girls who'd be celebrating their third birthday the following day. But it was Ethan and Mike who'd been monopolizing her thoughts all morning.

Later that afternoon she planned to tell her son that not only was his father alive, but she and his Uncle Garrett had lied about him dying in a car crash. The thought of what Ethan's reaction might be had kept her stomach in knots all morning.

She wondered what had Mike searching her out so soon. He was anxious to meet Ethan, she knew, but she'd told him it'd probably be a few days before the time was right.

The sudden urge to check her reflection in the mirror overcame her as she passed the restroom. She cursed herself even as she peeked inside to make sure she didn't have pink icing on her face.

Not good, but not bad, she thought, hating herself for caring. She stepped through the swinging door.

And came face-to-face with Jason.

"Hey, beautiful.” He winked at her, then glanced around, looking very much like a little kid in a candy store. “Man, there ain't nothing like the smell of a bakery. Hope you don't mind me stopping in, but your brother's been bragging about your sweet rolls all morning. And I have to admit, it was the perfect excuse to come see you."

Sara silently cursed the disappointment she felt. “Of course I don't mind. And let me guess, Garrett wants you to bring back a couple dozen sweet rolls?"

Jason grinned. “You know him well."

"That I do.” She plastered a smile on her face, folded one of the large white boxes and slid open the doors of the display case. “Well, I know what everybody down at the station likes except you. What's your pleasure?"

He sent her an odd look before glancing down to peruse his choices. “What are those?"

"Apple fritters. Would you like to try one? They're the best in the city, even if I do say so myself."

"No, I believe you, they look awfully good. Throw a couple in for me."

Sara smiled and started filling up the box.

After a minute, Jason cleared his throat. “I was wondering, if you don't have plans tonight, would you like to have dinner with me? There's an Italian restaurant around the corner from my apartment I've been meaning to try."

She looked up and could've won an Emmy when she said, “Oh, I'm sorry, but I have some personal business to take care of tonight."

"How about this weekend?"

"I'll definitely try. But like I said, I have some personal stuff going on, and I'm not sure if it'll be resolved by then."

"You know,” he leaned a hip against the display case, “if you need someone to talk to, I'm a good listener."

She sighed. “Thank you, that's really sweet. But frankly, I don't know you that well and—"

He held his hand up. “Please, you don't need to explain. That was pretty presumptuous of me."

"Jason, I didn't mean it like that.” Sara felt like a first-class witch. She gave her head a rueful shake. “I'm just really wound tight today. But I'd love to have dinner with you. How about Friday night?"

Jason beamed. “Friday it is. Pick you up at seven?"

She taped the box and held it up for him. “I'll be ready."

Sara watched him leave with an uncomfortable feeling gnawing at her gut. She still wasn't sure how she felt about him. He seemed like a really great guy. Yet a few minutes ago, when she'd walked out into the store, the hair on the back of her neck had stood up.

With a shake of her head, she headed back into the kitchen.

Mike set the phone in its cradle with a feeling of complete satisfaction. Today he'd accomplished everything he'd wanted to and more. He'd originally planned to clean out his parents’ house himself, as he'd been long overdue for some vacation time. But now that he had a reason to hurry, he'd decided to hire professionals. He wanted to find a home for his new family as soon as possible.

He had Goodwill coming within the hour to haul away as much as they could fit into their truck, with the exception of his mother's personal things, which he planned to pack up and take with him. Four women from a local cleaning service were due shortly after to clean the house from top to bottom. He also had a carpenter coming to repair the louvered door he'd busted and a few other things that had been neglected over the years.

Wednesday, he had a crew coming to paint the entire inside of the house. They'd assured him the job would be done by Friday, Saturday at the latest. Then the house would be ready to put on the market.

The lawn and some other yard work he'd take care of himself. And since the house was solid brick, there wasn't much that needed to be done to the exterior except repair a couple of windows. Amazingly, his father had sprung for a new roof recently, so Mike didn't have to worry about that either.

His father. Mike had received a call from a lawyer earlier informing him that his father had a will, and that he needed Mike to come down to his office so he could go over it with him. Frankly, Mike had expected to spend months in probate court before the house was legally declared his. But as it turns out, the old man had done one decent thing—he'd left Mike the house. And a considerable sum in his bank account as well.

Leaning back in the kitchen chair, he took a sip of his coffee as his thoughts drifted back to Sara and Ethan. He still couldn't believe he was a father. He was so damn happy it was all he could do not to run to Toys R Us and buy out the entire store. Sara probably wouldn't appreciate that anyway, he thought with a grin.

But once he found the perfect house, he was going to let Ethan buy anything his little heart desired. Mike had a lot of birthdays and holidays to make up for. And since he'd managed to save a good chunk of his salary over the years, as well as make a few decent investments, he had the means to spoil his son rotten.

Once he'd hung up with the lawyer, Mike had placed a call to Lieutenant Stoddard. After briefing him on what little information he'd gotten so far on Thomas, he'd told him about Sara and Ethan, and also his intent to stay in Green Bay permanently. Much to his relief, Lieutenant Stoddard had completely understood.

"No shit, huh? An instant family. Well, I'm thrilled for you, Mike, I truly am. Life's funny, isn't it?"

The phone rang, bringing Mike out of his reverie.

"Yeah, hello?"

"Mike? This is Leslie Morgan from A-1 Realtors. You're not going to believe this, but I think I may have found exactly what you're looking for."

Sara had never been more scared in her life. In only a few minutes, Garrett would be home with Ethan and they'd sit him down and explain about his father as best they could.

She'd rather face down a grizzly bear than tell her son the two people he trusted most in this world had lied to him. Besides the fact that his little heart would be broken, he had one heck of a temper, much like his Uncle Garrett.

And his father.

She got up and paced the kitchen. Her eyes were drawn to the fridge where Ethan's latest artwork hung. A mosaic made from little squares of colored tissue paper in the shape of their house. And as with most of his pictures, he'd drawn a big ol’ dog sitting next to the huge blue spruce in the front yard.

A tear slipped down her cheek. She tore off a paper towel from the roll above the sink and dabbed gently at the corners of her eyes. She hadn't worn any eye makeup today, so she didn't have to worry about telltale black smudges giving her away when Ethan walked through the door.

She glanced at the table where a plateful of Ethan's favorite chocolate chip cookies sat. Just something to possibly soothe the pain.

Her thoughts drifted, and she wondered what Mike was doing at that moment. She couldn't even imagine what he must be feeling, walking through that house, reliving all the pain and humiliation he'd endured at his father's hands.

Yet his mother had also lived there. Mike had only spoken of her a few times, but Sara knew how much he'd loved her and regretted the horrors she'd had to deal with while battling cancer. Mike had been too young to be of any help to her, and that had eaten away at him for years. For all she knew, it may still be eating away at him.

Sara gave her head a mental shake. The last thing she wanted to feel was sympathy for Mike. Sympathy could lead to other feelings, and she needed to keep as much emotional distance between herself and Mike as possible.

She walked to the back door and gazed out at her vegetable garden. So far everything looked good. By the end of next month she'd be canning green beans and making tons of zucchini bread, for both home and the bakery. That was the great thing about zucchini, she thought. It grew in such great abundance.

She wondered if Mike liked zucchini bread. He'd probably love the chocolate-chocolate chip kind she made so much of. She would have to remember to send him some...

No! She refused to get back into the habit of feeding him and taking care of him. It would be too easy to fall back into that familiar pattern. Things had changed.
She
had changed. She was a mother now, and a successful businesswoman.

The problem was she still wanted him. Even after all these years. And he knew it, too, the conceited jackass. But pride wouldn't allow her to just fall back into his arms—back into his bed—as if nothing had ever happened. He hadn't trusted in her love, and Sara didn't think she'd ever be able to get past that.

And maybe she wasn't supposed to. Maybe kismet had delivered Jason into her life at this exact moment in time for a reason. Mike Andrews, at least on a romantic level, was her past. Maybe Jason was her future.

She heard Garrett's truck pull into the driveway and nearly had heart failure. Good Lord, she wasn't ready for this! Everything was moving way too fast, and she wished for just one more day with her son before she had to rip his comfortable little world apart.

The front door flew open and Ethan ran into the kitchen, his eyes immediately spotting the cookies on the table. He reached for one, then paused as if remembering his manners. “Can I have one? I already ate lunch at Billy's."

Sara nodded, not bothering to correct his grammar. She hoped her somber mood wasn't reflected in her eyes. “Of course, sweetie. As a matter of fact, I brought them home especially for you."

Ethan stuffed one in his mouth and took a huge bite. “Weally? Dey all for me? If Unca’ Danny wants one, I ca’ say no?"

Sara laughed. “They're all for you. You don't have to share them with anyone. Unless, of course, you want to."

He pondered that for a moment while he chewed and swallowed. “Well, you can have one since you brought ‘em home for me. But just you. No one else."

"Not even me?” Garrett asked with feigned outrage as he strode into the kitchen.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Fine. But don't tell Uncle Danny or he'll want one, too."

Sara took a deep breath and soundlessly expelled it. “Ethan, can you take a seat, please. Uncle Garrett and I need to talk to you."

With a shrug, he hopped onto one of the chairs and took another bite of his cookie.

Sara poured him a glass of milk before taking the seat to his left. Garrett was already seated to his right, and she watched as he started drumming his fingers on the table. This was going to be so hard on him.

She cleared her throat. “Ethan, what I have to tell you is incredible. You're going to be so happy, I can't even describe it to you."

"Then why do you look like you're gonna cry?” he asked, dunking his cookie in his milk.

Damn her expressive face. “It's just that I'm so happy for you, and you know how mushy I get when I'm happy."

Ethan's eyes grew big as saucers. “I'm getting a puppy!” He looked to Garrett for confirmation.

Garrett shook his head. “Sorry, sport, you're not getting a puppy. At least, not yet."

"I can't think of anything else that would make me happy.” Ethan took another bite of his cookie and chewed thoughtfully.

She and Garrett exchanged glances before Garrett said, “Ethan, do you remember a long time ago when you asked me about your dad?"

"Uh-huh."

"I told you that he'd passed away in a car accident and lived up in heaven?"

"Yep. And he's an angel watching over me.” Ethan dunked his cookie again and popped the rest into his mouth.

Sara couldn't let Garrett say the words. They had to come from her. “Ethan, it wasn't true. Your father is very much alive."

Ethan stared at her, as if he hadn't comprehended what she'd said. Then his little brow creased and he asked, “Was it like, a mistake? They thought it was my dad who died, but it wasn't?"

"No, honey. It was a mistake all right, but it was my mistake. I told you that your father had died when I knew he hadn't. I lied to you, and I'm so sorry."

"But ... why? I don't get it."

Garrett jumped back in. “Ethan, your mom and I had a very hard decision to make and we recently found out we may have made the wrong one. And for that, we're sorry."

Ethan propped his elbows on the table and cradled his face in his hands. He looked more thoughtful than upset, and Sara felt optimistic for the first time that day. “Am I gonna get to see him?” he finally asked.

Sara smiled and smoothed her hand over the top of his head. “Of course, sweetheart. Your father is very excited about meeting you. But I told him it would be up to you when the two of you meet, okay? So you don't have to feel pressured or—"

"Let's go now. Can I see him now?” He climbed off the chair and stood staring at her expectantly.

"Ethan, don't you think we should talk about this? I mean, you must have more questions for us ... don't you?"