Sadie massagedher temple as she drove from the bakery to Avery’s school. Thank God it was only a short drive, because she did not feel well today.
She’d had this headache that refused to go away all day, probably from dehydration, but the very thought of drinking water made her feel so unbelievably sick. And that wasn’t even the worst part of her day. Just about everything had gone wrong at Sugar and Spice. Mixing tools had refused to work, the electronic scales wouldn’t switch on, and one of the fridges had stopped working overnight, meaning that half the prep she’d done yesterday had been lost.
It had been one big, fat mess. A mess she hadn’t felt up to dealing with, but she’d had no choice because there was no wayshe was letting her elderly grandmother deal with everything on her own.
She almost wished the nausea would come back instead of the headache. She’d texted Elle as soon as she’d woken and her friend had been in exactly the same state, confirming Sadie’s thoughts that the damn cheese had given them food poisoning. Either that or the meat.
When she reached the school, she parked out front and climbed out. The second Avery saw her, the eight-year-old sprinted forward, and the first real smile that day curved Sadie’s lips.
Avery beamed. “Sadie!” She ran full tilt toward Sadie, almost sending her to the ground when she flung herself at her.
Sadie dipped her head and kissed her. “Hey, Ave. I missed you.”
Avery giggled before pulling back. “I saw you yesterday morning. But I missed you too.”
“Good.” She took Avery’s hand and headed back toward the car. “How was your day?”
“It was great!”
Over the course of the drive back to Eastern’s, Avery did not stop talking. She told Sadie about her school day from start to finish, about a boy named Ethan who she had a crush on, about some new kids she played with at lunch. It wasn’t until they stepped inside the house that one part of her story niggled at Sadie’s mind.
“You said Miss Davies could tell you were upset this morning. Why were you upset?”
Avery nibbled her bottom lip as she lowered her bag to the floor and moved into the kitchen. “Mom was at school this morning.”
Sadie’s skin chilled. “Does your dad know?”
Avery nodded as she slid onto a stool at the kitchen island. “He told me to go inside, and then he spoke to her without me.”
The poor kid. This was why Jamie had to leave. She was causing more trouble than good. “And seeing her made you sad?”
“It made me scared. It always makes me scared. I love living with Daddy, and I love having you back. I don’t want things to go back to just her and me again.”
Suddenly, everything, including her aching head, paled in comparison to this beautiful girl in front of her. She moved closer and touched Avery’s arms. “Remember when I told you that Daddy was going to fight for you? I wasn’t lying. Hewillfight, and he’ll fight hard.”
“I know. But every time I see her, I can’t help but think…”
Sadie frowned. “Think what?”
“That she won’t fight fair.”
God, that statement was so much wiser than her eight years. “It doesn’t matter whether she does or not, you’re safe here with your father.”
“And you.”
“And me.” She tugged Avery into her arms. “I love you, Avery.”
“I love you too, Sadie.” They stayed in the embrace for a few long minutes, and when they finally separated, Sadie tucked some of Avery’s hair behind her ear. “What do you say we get your homework out of the way so we can do something fun?”
The smile returned to Avery’s lips. “Like braid hair and bake cookies?”
“You read my mind.”
Avery jumped off the stool and ran back to her backpack. The next couple hours were a blur of homework, baking and braiding hair. Sadie tried to forget about her headache. She even tried to sip water, but the throbbing just worsened.
When the door finally opened and Eastern stepped in, she breathed a sigh of relief. Not because she didn’t love caring for Avery, but because she really needed some rest.
“Daddy!” Avery ran into her father’s arms, and he threw her into the air. “I drew you a picture at school today.”
