“He didn’t come back for me, Allie.”
“How do you know that?”
Sabrina glanced at her friend with a sigh. Allie was such a hopeless romantic. “I know because I haven’t heard from him in ages. I know because he’s been gone for nearly two months and I know because he sure as hell didn’t call me to let me know he’s back.”
Damn, that was a headache coming on. “Maybe if…maybe if he’d come back here after Syria, maybe then things would be different. But he didn’t. He headed to Paris and that was that.”
“I hear what you’re saying. But sometimes it takes a man more time than we’d like to figure things out.”
“Time isn’t a luxury that I have, Allie. Not really. A person can be happy and fulfilled and in love and within a heartbeat, it can all change. I’m not interested in anyone who needs time to figure things out. I’ve got two kids to think about and…”
She stopped herself just in time, biting her bottom lip as a wave of hot emotion rolled over her. Just how much was the universe going to throw her way? How much was she expected to deal with?
“Even if he’s back here for me, I don’t think that Teague and I are a good fit. He’s not the kind of man to stay in one place for very long. I don’t think that would make him happy.”
“What are you going to do?”
Sabrina got to her feet and did what she’d been doing for the last few years. She put one foot in front of the other. She gathered up the messy poutine box and decided that she’d work on the side gardens after she was done on the mums.
“I’ll finish up out here and then get ready for the baptism tonight.”
Allie hugged her. “Everything is going to work out,” she whispered into Sabrina’s ear.
Sabrina didn’t know how to respond to that statement, so she remained silent. Things working out hadn’t exactly been her life experience so far. And she didn’t hold out much hope that the situation would change anytime soon. All she could do was face the shitstorm coming her way head on, and deal with the fall out as best as she could.
“If you need to talk later, after the baptism,” Allie said, pulling away. “I’m home alone tonight.
Paul’s away for work.”
“Thank you.”
It was nearly two o’clock and Harry and Morgan would be home from school in an hour. She glanced around the gardens and got to work.
She just had to get through the evening and she had to figure out how to deal with Teague.
She could do this. Who was she kidding? She had no choice.
She had to do this.
* * *
Sabrina had never seen this much activity in Gravenhurst. The streets were crawling with folks hoping to catch sight of any one of the Simons and it took her at least forty-five minutes to get out of town and then to Lake Road, which led to the cottage. She tried calling Jack, just to let him know that they might be late, but discovered not only was her cell phone dead, but that the charger was missing as well.
“Mommy, I have to pee,” Harry whined, for the tenth time and that headache that had been threatening all day pinched just behind her eyes.
“Just hold it. We’re almost there.”
They’d just passed a security check point at the top of Lake Road and should arrive at their place in less than five minutes.
“It’s really bad,” Harry said.
She glanced into her rearview mirror and a little piece of her heart melted at the sight of her children. Morgan had insisted on wearing her princess dress, and after a few tears and more arguments than Sabrina would like to admit, she finally gave in. She wished that Morgan had left the magical fairy stick at home, but she’d learned to pick her battles with this one, and truthfully, Morgan looked adorable.
Harry, on the other hand, had presented no problems when Sabrina had laid out his cargoes, a white button down shirt and a tie. With his freshly scrubbed face he looked handsome. Even with the cowlick that couldn’t be tamed.
“Mommy, what’s that?” Morgan asked, her face pressed against the window of the car.
Shit. She’d totally forgot.