And didn’t that conversation feel like it had the potential for land mines? She picked up a hammer that had been mislaid when she’d hung a new sign earlier and put it on a shelf near the register.
“I do, too,” Erin said carefully, gathering up some donated items she planned to put into the storage area. “Would you mind opening that door for me?”
“Sure.” Sarah hurried to help, turning on the overhead light with the pull chain. “Wow. Look at all this cool stuff. Want me to bring anything elsein here?”
“There are two more stacks of things that were brought in today?—”
“I know the ones.” Sarah was already rushing away, only to return half a minute later with both stacks.
“You are incredibly efficient.” Erin waved her down the narrow steps into the small unit that had been a root cellar at one time. She loaded the clothes into a moisture proof chest for sorting another day. “I don’t know what you plan do for a career, but you’ll be awesome at it.”
Sarah stilled. “Did my dad tell you I didn’t apply to colleges?”
“No.” She had sidestepped one land mine only to land on another, apparently. And as much as she didn’t want to step on Remy’s toes with parenting she also couldn’t help thinking this young woman could use some more female influences in her life. It wasn’t easy being eighteen. “That is, I know he worries about you, but I didn’t know that. Don’t you want to go to college?”
“Maybe.” Sarah ran a hand over an old toboggan that Erin liked to use in Christmas window displays. “It’ been hard to think about college with Dad so unhappy. It’s like he’s been stuck since Mom died, and if I’m not there to help out…I mean, I guess he’ll be okay. But we haven’t felt like a family lately. And he’s, you know…all I have left.”
The tender thoughtfulness behind the words just about took Erin’s breath away. Her eyes burned.
“You will keep on being family no matter where you go.” Erin wasn’t a natural-born hugger, but she found herself draping an arm around the teen’s shoulders and squeezing. “Your dad is lucky to have you. As more time passes, he’ll see how much you’ve been there for him.”
“Because it was sweet of him to adopt me andeverything, but it’s just a piece of paper. And my biological father sure did ruin Dad’s life.” Sarah swiped away a tear.
The bastard had ruined his daughter’s life, as well. She noticed Sarah didn’t mention that, her tender heart more concerned for Remy. Did she ever put her own needs first? Her own grief first?
“Sarah. You are not his daughter because of a piece of paper. He told me last night that he would have lost his mind a long time ago without you. Another time, he told me you were a ‘powerhouse personality’ and he smiled with such pride when he said it.”
“Really?” Sarah’s lips quirked sideways, her green eyes hopeful.
“Yes. And that’s how a father looks when he talks about his kids. At least—that’s how good, devoted fathers should look when they talk about their kids. You might have gotten a bad hand from your biological father, but the father you chose? He’s the best.”
Sarah swiped more tears away and smiled. “Itotallychose him, too. My mom had dated some real loser guys before Dad showed up. But Dad clapped for all my dances and ate all the terrible food I made and pretended it was great. I was determined to make that match happen.”
Erin turned to dig in a supply closet and found the extra paper products. She pulled out a new box of tissues and handed Sarah a few, kept one for herself while she was at it.
“Well, you had good instincts. But I don’t think you need to miss out on college to keep that relationship strong, Sarah. He will want to see you settled and happy somewhere.”
“In the old days, kids learned their parents’ trade and had apprenticeships.” Sarah blew her nose and shoved thetissue in her pocket. “Aristotle didn’t have a college education and he turned out okay.”
“Aristotle?”
But Sarah was already in the supply closet, putting away the tissue box.
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe you have this mirror.” She came out of the storage shelves with a small gilt-framed piece. An angel head was centered over the top, with smaller cherubs on either side, the gilt frame taking up twice the square inches of the reflective glass.
“Isn’t it beautiful? I got it last year when I was traveling, but I don’t have a good Italianate or Victorian section of the store to showcase fancy pieces like that.”
“Just yesterday I was telling Ally about my mirror collection on the wall of our old house. I had one so similar to this.” Sarah cradled it in careful hands, tracing the angel face with the tip of her butterfly manicure.
“That’s serendipitous. It must have been meant to find its way to you.” She suspected it was left behind in Remy’s haste to move them far from Louisiana.
Sarah looked up from the intricate gold scrollwork. “Oh, I couldn’t keep it.” She tried handing it back to Erin. “I think it’s just another sign that I’m on the right track with the next match I’m making.”
The girl’s hopes were so obvious Erin worried. As much as she wanted to spend more time with Remy, she knew he wasn’t ready to take things faster.
“I don’t know about any matches.” That sounded like trouble to her ears. She tucked her hands behind her back so she couldn’t take the mirror from Sarah. “This is my gift to you so you’ll remember me when you’re having an amazing first semester at a fun college. I know you’ll be glad that you didn’t follow in Aristotle’s footsteps.”
“Well, thank you.” Sarah hugged the mirror. “It’s a good omen and I could use some more of those. Thank you, Erin.”
