Eastern: Great. I’ll let her know. She’ll be excited.
For a few seconds, Sadie closed her eyes. Avery was both part of the reason she’d left…and the reason she’d come back.
After Jamie had let Sadie go, it was hard to live in the same town as Avery and not be allowed to see and spend time with her. No, Avery wasn’t her child, but she’d loved the little girl as if she was. So when Scott had been offered the job in Atlanta, she’d encouraged him to take it, thinking the new town would help her get over what felt like a genuine loss. It hadn’t.
After she’d walked away from her wedding and her grandmother had asked her to come home—while in the same sentence, mentioning that Avery’s mother was gone—the decision was easy.
Sadie had never told anyone what being fired by Jamie had done to her, but her grandmother had known. Like she knew everything else.
Sadie: I can’t wait.
CHAPTER 4
Sadie pulled up in front of Eastern’s home. She felt nervous. Which was crazy, right? Why would she be nervous to look after a child she’d cared for almost since the day she was born? She’d never been nervous before, with Avery. But it had been an entire year since the last time it was just the two of them together.
One thing was for certain, shecould notcry. Even if she got ridiculously emotional at the sight of her. She’d thought about Avery every day since she’d left Misty Peak, and every day, she’d felt that devastating pit in her belly over not seeing her.
With a deep breath, she climbed out of her car. She’d just straightened when the front door of the house flew open and Avery ran out. Her little face was stretched into a smile that was so achingly familiar, Sadie’s pulse took off in a gallop. She barely had time to drop to her haunches before the eight-year-old ran into her arms.
And the hug…God, it was everything.This kidwas everything.
Sadie tightened her arms around her and dug her face into Avery’s hair. She smelled exactly the same. “I’m so excited to see you, Ave.”
“Me too!”
From over Avery’s shoulder, Sadie saw Eastern step onto his front porch, a slight crease in his brows as he watched. Why did he look worried? Before she could put any thought into the answer to the question, Avery pulled back, and there were tears in her eyes.
Sadie frowned, brushing a tear away as it fell down the girl’s cheek. “Hey, you’ll make me cry.”
“Sorry, I just missed you so much!”
Her own eyes burned, but she held back the emotion. “I missed you too. And you were my biggest draw when it came to moving back home.” She tucked a lock of hair behind Avery’s ear before finally rising. “I might have brought our favorite game too.” She reached into her car and pulled out the small box.
“Skip-Bo!” Sadie yelled as Avery took the worn card game from her hand and ran over to her father. “Dad, look what Sadie brought!”
Sadie turned to grab her bag out of the car. She felt Eastern’s gaze on her as she walked up the path, and when she glanced at him, his blue eyes watched her intensely.
Man, oh man, why did he have to be so big and sexy and godlike?
“Hi.” Jesus, her voice was so high-pitched.
He leaned forward and touched a kiss to her cheek, and holy shit, was she blushing? Because she felt like she was blushing…
“Thanks for coming, Sadie.”
She almost shuddered at the way he said her name with that deep, gravelly voice of his. “Thanks foraskingme to come.”
Avery grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the kitchen. “Daddy wanted to leave money for takeout, but I asked him to buy everything we need to make my favorite spaghetti and meatballs. Is that okay?”
Memories of the countless nights they’d spent making those meatballs hit her hard. She’d barely made the dish since because it made her chest ache with memories of Avery. “Yum. I love spaghetti and meatballs. But you might have to remind me how to make it.”
Avery giggled. “It hasn’t been that long.”
Really? Because it felt like a lifetime. “Maybe we can make cookies for dessert.”
Her little eyes lit up. “Triple chocolate chip?”
A quiet growl sounded from behind before Eastern spoke. “Maybe just chocolate chip.”
