A Little Thankful (Small Town Lovers #8)

Sage 2

Present Day…

I wasn’t looking forward to driving home to Cricket for Thanksgiving. Matter of fact, I’d tried to cancel the whole thing several times, but my parents wouldn’t allow it. They were only in town for a couple weeks and insisted I spend it at home with them. After all, we hadn’t seen each other in almost a year and a half.

Mostly their fault, not really mine.

When I drove through the outskirts of town, I noticed that the old lumber warehouse was for sale. My maternal grandparents had worked there for most of their lives, until a flood destroyed the building when I was about fifteen years old. Over a hundred people lost their jobs when it closed down, including my grandparents. It caused them to move away to a town in Oregon where my grandfather could find work until he could retire. How I cried when they left.

Who would buy that place was beyond me? It had been vacant for about eighteen years. I couldn’t imagine what it looked like inside.

Fortunately, the rest of the town was in much better shape.

Now, as I drove up Moon Street, heading to my parents’ house on the other side of town, I wasn’t too sure this had been the right decision. Just seeing the good citizens of Cricket walking past the familiar shops and restaurants, caused my stomach to pitch.

Yes, the town looked great, inviting even, but was I ready for it?

Was I really going to do this?

Was this the right time to come clean?

Would my parents accept all my personal reasons for keeping my secret?

Sure, they’d made it impossible to actually see them, still I could’ve told them on countless occasions. I chose not to.

I’d convinced myself that I’d had no choice. That I didn’t want or need their kind of pressure. I wanted to figure everything out on my own terms in my own time. After all, wasn’t that what adulting was all about? Making your own decisions?

I couldn’t afford to let them have any kind of influence over me. Not at this stage in my life. And I intended to keep it that way. I had my own path to walk, and I didn’t want or need them as a crutch. Those days were long over. Arty had seen to that.

At least that was the plan.

Mom and Dad owned businesses all over the world, and because of that, they liked to be hands-on as much as possible. They’d spent the last sixteen months in Bali, Singapore, London, Rome and Peru doing exactly that. Well, not in Peru so much… they went there to mountain bike up and down some monster mountain. My parents were fitness junkies and that included biking, skiing, hiking, repelling, and just about anything else that required physical endurance.

Me?

I used to be that way… maybe not quite as intense, but enough so that working for them kept me in shape, and seemed like the logical thing to do while I dated Arty, and even afterwards. They sold the equipment, the gear, and the clothes for all those outdoor sports, but they also taught the mindset for it through books and in person lectures, along with YouTube and Zoom workshops.

They were now richer than they’d ever thought possible, and wanted me to continue to be part of their enterprise, which I’d agreed to do. And ever since I’d graduated from college with my MBA, I’d been working for them in one capacity or another.

I actually liked my job where I helped with the mindset end of things. When I first took over Arty’s old position, it was in marketing, which wasn’t really my thing, but working with the speakers and the various venues had been a perfect fit. I liked being in the background… gathering the right motivational speakers, and making sure the venue supported them correctly and the various programs ran smoothly. These were all things I could do from home, with just a few traveling days per year which, in the last year and a half, had turned out to be a godsend, considering everything I’d gone through for my new baby daughter, Autumn.

Yes, I was a new mother.

No, my parents didn’t know. I’d kept her a secret.

No, I wasn’t married, mostly due to the complicated nature of the pregnancy itself.

I had absolutely no idea who was the baby daddy.

In truth, I had a general idea of who he could be, but as yet, there was no conclusive proof.

No DNA test.

And absolutely no way to sort any of it out, because none of them , the guys I’d had sex with, had used a condom.

Why?

Because my brainy specialist had told me when I was nineteen years old that the possibility of my having my own children was next to impossible due to PGT, which seemed to run in my family.

The operative words here were “next to impossible” which I’d failed to hear. There was always a possibility, but I never took it seriously.

Until I got pregnant.

Of course, I should’ve known that there might, at some point, be a possibility because a doctor had told my mom the same thing, yet she got pregnant with me. Another astute doctor had said the same thing to my aunt, who now struggled with a teenaged demon child, who truly believed the world existed just for her.

Both my mom and my aunt had had a miscarriage, which I’d worried about, but when it didn’t happen, I was as surprised as any other woman who’d been diagnosed with this malady.

So, the complication in all of this was that I’d had sex with my three crushes all at the same time and we used absolutely no protection whatsoever.

Who does that?

Apparently, I do or did for those three days we were stuck in the cabin with one bed and only pie to eat, and wine to drink.

I blamed it on all on too much sugar. It made us do things we shouldn’t have.

Maybe that explained why my baby girl was such a little sweetheart? She rarely cried, and giggled at just about anything. Now, more than ever.

Once I learned there was another beating heart growing inside me, everything changed… for the better.

This was my miracle baby. My impossible child. And no matter which guy had impregnated me, whether he cared about her or not, whether he wanted to be part of her life or not, she deserved all the love and care I could give her, and that included my whole entire heart and soul.

I simply adored her.

I always knew my baby was a girl, from the moment I gazed down at that pee stick and saw that I was, in fact, pregnant. She instantly had all my love, and once love entered my heart, nothing was going to shake it free.

Abortion was never an option for me, and I hadn’t wanted my parents or the baby daddy trying to convince me otherwise. Not that I thought my parents would try to talk me out of it, not seriously, but I simply hadn’t wanted to take the chance. Parents were strange people. Just when you thought you had them figured out, they’d go and do something you never in a million years expected.

But now it was time… probably past time. My best kept secret was finally going to be outed!

I sucked in a deep breath, and slowly let it out as I passed “Just Desserts,” the bakery that Mace owned and operated. Possible baby daddy number one. He’d taken over the bakery from his grandfather just last year, and from what I could see through his front windows, it appeared that business was good. Of course, I always knew he’d succeed at the business from that fantastic double chocolate birthday cupcake he’d made me all those years ago.

And there he was, holding the front door open for two more customers.

Shit!

I tried to duck, but he gazed up for a moment and spotted me as I slowed to get a better look. I wondered if he actually recognized me, or if he let my glance slip by like so many other folks driving along Moon Street on this crisp November morning.

The town was decorated for the upcoming holiday. One thing about Cricket… they did their holidays one at a time. October was dedicated to Halloween festivities, while November was lit up for Thanksgiving with all the fall colors still lingering on the trees, a planned turkey trot, and parade, and December would be an extravaganza of Christmas lights, decorated trees, twinkling boats on the river, a Santa on every corner, and ice skating in the park.

Even though Mace seemed to do a double take when he saw me, I kept right on going, not ready to acknowledge him yet. That would come in time… my time, not his.

Little did Mace know that not only did he have cookies baking in his oven, he might have made a baby in mine… bad joke. Really bad, but nerves were playing havoc on not only my body, but on my mind as well.

It was one thing to tell your parents they were grandparents, and have been for almost six months, but it was something else entirely to tell a guy he might be a baby daddy, then ask him to please take a paternity test to prove it one way or another. The results could change the course of his life.

Oh yes, a simple thing to do. Not a problem.

Easy-peasy.

“What the hell?” I mumbled, so I didn’t wake my little sweetie asleep in the backseat.

After that sighting, I purposely turned on the next corner then turned again to continue my drive up Frog Street, where the firehouse was located. Home to potential papa number two. Ruggedly good-looking Hunter Maplewood, who was almost seven years older than me. I knew I shouldn’t mess around with Hunter. After all, he once rescued me out of a tree when I was twelve and he was nineteen. And we always had that competitive thing going on between us. Plus, he was a heartbreaker.

Until he wasn’t.

Then I was the heartbreaker. I’d purposely cut off all communication with him. Why? Because I wasn’t ready for anyone’s opinion, even if it was a good opinion.

I had to do this on my own, in my own way.

In my defense, I hadn’t quite been myself that weekend. I was rebelling against my parents. Against Arty. And against everything. So much so, that to this day the memory of those three days still turned me on, especially that last night with all three men in my bed. But this man was his own four-alarm fire, and once lit, nothing could bring him down short of his own intense release.

And sure enough, there was Hero Hunter, spraying off the only fire engine in town, showing off those arms and thighs of steel.

Once again, I slowed, and this time, I knew potential pappa number two spotted me. He even tossed me one of his gorgeous smiles, and waved.

“Oh my God… Oh my God!”

I didn’t return the gesture. Instead, I sped away like I wanted to hide, which in Cricket, was impossible. The town was too damn small for anyone to hide anything, including a secret baby.

Which everyone would know about as soon as I opened my car door.

And as if seeing both those hot, sexy nights reminders wasn’t plenty of drama for me, I chose to swing up Moss Street. Sure enough, I spied Forrest, baby daddy number three, heading up the sidewalk, probably on his way to lunch at Sweetie Pies, his favorite hangout. Fortunately, I didn’t slow down this time, and he didn’t see me. His office was located just up the street. Forrest, who had always been a bit of an intellectual guy, worked with his dad in his dad’s accounting firm. Rumor had it that Forrest was about to take over the business, which probably played right into his hands.

Oh yes, Forrest had the best, slow hands I’d ever felt. They were made for a woman’s body, and he knew exactly where and how to touch her… or rather, me. Just looking at his hands gave me a rush of heat. How he ever learned what to do and how to do it, I didn’t know, but I felt certain that God put him on this earth in order to seduce a woman… and do her taxes, when needed, of course.

Baby Autumn wouldn’t play into his plans. He’d told me over the course of those three days that being a father wasn’t part of the equation until he turned thirty-five.

“Yeah, well, the universe had other plans, buddy,” I said as if he could hear me.

Forrest was twenty-nine, while I was a mere twenty-six, and Autumn was six months old. Life had a way of messing up your best laid plans with unexpected situations, namely baby Autumn asleep in her car seat inside my new, cherry red SUV, a necessary purchase soon after Autumn was born. Just one of the many concessions I had to make to accommodate my new life as a single mom.

Not exactly the world beater my parents had hoped I would be or for that matter, not exactly the course I’d planned for, but the life the universe had decided I needed.

After that encounter of the third kind, I rolled into the long driveway of my parents’ house or estate, depending on how anyone wanted to look at this modest, two-story, forty-five hundred square foot California bungalow.

The house had purposely been built on this property for two reasons. One, it was perched up on a hill, and second, the river ran through the property at the bottom of the hill, so any flooding wouldn’t harm the house. Apparently, my maternal great-grandparents, who were part of the founders of Cricket, knew this might happen even back then.

Before I could park, turn off the ignition and open my door, my mother, wearing her best holiday designer outfit in shades of rust and dark green, her blond hair dusting her shoulders, and that familiar warm smile, approached from the house, her arms outstretched. If she was anything, she was a loving mamma.

She liked to hug and kiss on me like I was still her sweet little girl.

“Sage, my darling Sage!” she called out. “You’re here! You’re finally here!”

She even wore lipstick in the perfect dark rust shade to match her outfit. Her earrings touched her shoulders, and her white sneakers bore the Michael Kors logo.

Here we go, I told myself as I exited my car.

“Yes, Mamma. I’m here,” I sighed, falling into her loving embrace.

“It’s been way too long, my sweet girl. Next time, you’ll have to fly out for a long visit.”

“Sure, Mom, whatever you say,” I told her, still in her embrace. I had to admit, it felt wonderful to be in her arms. She had a way of making me feel loved and protected that no one else in this entire world could do for me… not even my dad.

When we finally moved apart, she took a step back. “Let me look at you.” She gave me a once over, and I knew she’d either say something about my wearing Yoga pants, which in her mind were not suitable street clothes, or she’d comment on the fact that I’d put on about five pounds. Those were lingering baby pounds that I couldn’t seem to shake, but we hadn’t gotten to that part yet. “Oh darling, what’s going on? You look tired. Was the drive taxing? Is something bothering you? Either way, you’re here now and you don’t have to do another thing. Just come inside, and your dad will drag in your things.”

Then she slipped her hand around my waist as if we would be walking inside.

Little did she know we weren’t going anywhere without Autumn.

“Not yet, Mamma. There’s someone I want you to meet first,” I told her and immediately my heart started thumping against my chest.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out as I swung open the back door, and gently reached in for my baby girl.

She stirred, and when she opened her big blue eyes, she smiled up at me like she always did whenever she saw me. She wasn’t one of those babies who cried when she first woke up. Instead, she liked to play with her feet, which she only recently discovered, and giggle, like the world was a fabulous place to be, and she couldn’t wait to explore it.

“Hey, pumpkin,” I fussed. “We’re here. You get to meet your grandma Martha. She’s going to be really surprised, so be prepared.”

Autumn kicked out her legs and held out her chubby arms, like she understood me and couldn’t wait.

I picked her up and turned around to face my mother’s wrath, prepared for the absolute worst, and what I got, shocked me.

“Who’s this?” she asked, grinning like she might be meeting one of my friends. “What an adorable baby. And all those red curls. She looks like…” she stopped in mid-sentence, as if reality hit her without my having to say another word.

“Mamma, this is Autumn, my daughter. Autumn, this is your grandma Martha, my mother.”

There was a moment of silence when no one said a word or moved or breathed. Even Autumn didn’t move or babble.

Then, like some miracle, my mother grinned, and held out her arms. Baby Autumn squealed with excitement and leaned across my arms for my mom.

As soon as she took her, Autumn instantly rested her head on my mom’s shoulder while my mom rubbed her back and cuddled her, something my mom had always been good at.

“Why didn’t you… When did… Oh my God, is she really yours?”

“Yes. Can’t you tell by all that red hair?”

“She’s beautiful, but Sage, what’s going on? How can… Why didn’t you tell me? All this time I could’ve been with you. And where’s your husband? You do have a husband, right?”

I knew that would be the first place her mind would go. One of the reasons I hadn’t told her or anyone. I hadn’t been ready to get married or be part of anything other than my pregnancy.

My head flooded with excuses that I knew wouldn’t appease her or anyone else in this family.

“I’ll tell you everything once we’re in the house.” My heart kept right on racing.

I turned back to my SUV and unfastened the car seat to bring it inside. It served as Autumn’s chair as well. I also grabbed my diaper bag.

“Whose baby is this?” I heard my dad ask while I was still trying to wrestle with the car seat.

“We’ll talk about her once we get inside,” my mother assured him. “Can you grab some of her things out of the trunk?”

I sucked in a breath, pulled out the seat, and turned to face my dad. And when I did, I noticed my grandma Iris, my mom’s mom, coming towards me, along with Aunt Sylvia, my mother’s older, more spontanious sister and her entitled teenage daughter, Sami.

“Mom, you didn’t tell me everyone would be here. I thought you said this would be a quiet Thanksgiving?”

“It is, sweetheart. I invited your father’s family, but fortunately, they’re still renovating their vacation house in Florida, so they couldn’t make it.”

“Well, at least that’s something,” I mumbled, but as it stood, there were far too many family members to explain things to.

My father had two brothers who both owned vacation homes in the Florida Keys. His dad lived with his brother Bill, who was divorced with grown children. His other brother Fred was on his third wife and had no children. Although I liked my dad’s side, I wasn’t prepared for that much family intrusion. It was enough that I now had to spill everything to my mom’s side, which was more family members than I’d anticipated.

As I headed for the house, my dad stopped me. “What’s this all about? Why is your mother holding a baby?”

I refused to answer him. “Can we just get inside first?”

“Is it yours?”

“Dad! She’s not an it … her name is Autumn.”

“Fine. Just tell me if Autumn is yours. I deserve to know if I’m a grandfather or not.”

I stopped and looked at him, wearing a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and black dress pants. His gray hair seemed shorter and his face seemed more lined, as if his age was finally catching up with him. Dad would be sixty on his next birthday, whereas Mom was still in her early fifties.

Dad stood waiting for my reply. He never could let things go. Always had to know the answer right then and there. Obviously, he was never a Beatles fan or the song, Let It Be would’ve had a bigger impact.

I tried channeling Paul McCartney, but when I didn’t feel his presence, I backed down and took the advice for myself. “Yes dad, you’re a grandfather, but can we please go inside now?”

He just stared at me. His jaw slack, as if what I’d told him had sent him into some kind of mind overload and he didn’t know how he should respond. I’d heard that sometimes when people see a catastrophe for the first time, they get so confused they become paralyzed and can’t react.

Dad had that headlights look, and I had no idea if this was a good thing, or something that would break my family apart, forever. Whatever happened, I knew little Autumn and I would be all right.

After all, this was Cricket, and nothing bad ever happened in Cricket, well, except for that whole Carrie Ann story, but that was a completely different time. Folks in Cricket had changed. We were kind now, compassionate, accepting of other peoples’ choices. We didn’t lock children away, nor did we kidnap them like Carrie Ann’s fake parents had done all those years ago.

Of course, with that kind of logic, I should have told my parents about Autumn as soon as I decided to keep her, but I didn’t.

What did that say about my relationship with my parents or with the folks in this town, or Autumn’s potential daddy?

It said, I was scared… to quote my absolute favorite character in a TV series: What the actual fuck?