Midlife Wolf Captured My Heart (Fated To The Wolf #7)

25. Sadie

25

Sadie

S adie drove home blinded by tears, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were white. She knew that it was coming. Prior knowledge didn’t take away the pain in her heart that threatened to rip her soul in half. Dakota had become such an important part of her life in such a short amount of time.

She pulled into her driveway and sat there sobbing for several minutes. Her chest hurt and she struggled to breathe as the reality of Dakota’s leaving hit her full force. Sadie knew it would be painful when he left, but she hadn’t expected it to be this excruciating.

Her sobs subsided to hiccups. She put her hand on her still flat stomach. The tiny life growing inside of her was a secret she had chosen to keep from Dakota. There was no way in the world that she could do anything to force him to stay in Angel’s Creek when his heart wasn’t in it.

“We’ll be okay, Little One.” She wiped away her tears with her other hand. “Your daddy needs to follow his dreams. He might not be here physically, but he’ll be a part of who you are and who you become. He’s a good man who would love you so very much if he knew. I just couldn’t force him to choose between his heart and his soul – his love for us or his need to be free.”

Sadie knew, deep in her heart, that if she had told Dakota about the baby and begged him to stay, he probably would have. Over time, though, his duty to them would have turned to resentment, poisoning any love they had for each other, and affecting their baby.

“I’ll give myself tonight to be sad. I’m allowed. Tomorrow, though, I have to get myself together. You’ll be here in five months or less and I have a lot to do. I’ll get Talia and the other women to help me clean out the guest room and turn it into a nursery. Mom will fall in love with you.”

She got out of the car and slowly walked up the steps to her front door. She told herself that the baby would be a reminder of the beautiful time she and Dakota had together.

Sadie let herself inside the house, put in the code for the alarm, and dropped her purse on the table in the foyer. After setting the alarm, she went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and plopped down on the couch without bothering to turn on any lights.

Patting her stomach again, she promised, “Your daddy might be gone, but you’ll never doubt how much you are loved. I promise you that.”

The next day went by in a haze. She was on automatic pilot the next day. It was Dakota’s last day in town. She knew he would be too busy to see her even if she wanted to. Walking away from him a second time would break her. There was no way she could handle that.

She cried all over again when she got home. The collage that Dakota had made her was propped up by her door. He didn’t leave a note or anything else.

“Why should he? We said all that we had to say last night.”

The rest of the week dragged by. She knew she wasn’t herself. The shifter kids brought her small gifts to try to make her feel better, and they all told her how happy they were that she and Mrs. Garner were okay. She thanked them and assured them that she would be back to normal in no time.

Talia stopped by after school on Friday. “Sebastian, Conner, and Rory are going with the rest of the Griffins on a bike ride. Savvy, Beth, and I are going to hang out at Beth’s place. She’ll cook and the kiddos can run all over the place. Why don’t you come, too?”

Sadie thought about it. On one hand, she could sit on her couch, watching true crime shows, and feeling sorry for herself, missing Dakota. That would be easier than motivating herself to go hang out with her friends. On the other hand, her friends would support her and, while they couldn’t take away her pain, she could cry on their shoulders.

“What time?”

“We’re going to head over there about nine. If you come that will give us the fourth person we need for spades. Beth and Savvy beat us in two out of three games last time. We must get our revenge.”

“Sounds good. I’ll be there.”

Talia paused for a moment. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I knew he was going to leave. It was just harder than I thought it would be.”

“Do you want to come for dinner tonight?”

“Nah. I’m good, thanks.”

Sadie went home and started going through the items in the guest room. She had a box for the things that she could donate and moved what she was going to keep to other rooms.

“I guess I could donate the dresser and bed frame. They weren’t part of a set or heirlooms.” She took the pictures off the wall and stripped the bed. “I’ll call the women’s shelter to find out if they could use the bedroom furniture.”

She was surprised at how late it had gotten outside. Sadie was shocked to see that it was almost eight. Her stomach rumbled.

“I got your message loud and clear. We need pizza.”

As she waited, she thought about getting a puppy. The baby and the dog could grow up together and be best friends. There were plenty at the sanctuary who could use a home. The nice couple who ran the place knew the animals intimately and would know which would be a good match.

“One life change at a time,” she muttered to herself.

The rest of the night consisted of episodes of Evil Lives Here and Who the Bleep Did I Marry? pizza, and sweet iced tea. It wasn’t until she went to bed that it hit her that she would never again be wrapped up in Dakota’s strong arms again. She cried herself to sleep.

Beth, Savvy, and Talia were already on the front porch with coffee when Sadie pulled up. She could feel their eyes on her as she walked toward them, holding the strawberry cheesecake in her hands.

“I’ll put it in the fridge,” Sadie said. “I assume there’s more coffee for me in there?”

“All you can drink,” Beth assured her.

She came back out with a cup and took one of the chairs on the porch.

Beth spoke first. “How are you doing?”

“As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

Talia sipped her coffee and looked at her. “Did you get a chance to tell him about the baby?”

“Baby? Congrats,” Savvy said.

“I’m sorry, you didn’t know,” Sadie said. “I swore Beth and Talia to silence until I could tell Dakota. I never got a chance to tell him.”

The women were silent, giving Sadie a chance to gather her thoughts and share what she wanted to.

“I was going to the other night. I told him we needed to talk and he agreed we did. He explained how he had been working for the last few years to get permission to photograph the cloud leopards in Bhutan and he finally got permission. Then, he told me all the reasons why our relationship wouldn’t work and said that he had no intention of coming back to Angel’s Creek.”

“Oh, damn, I’m sorry.” Talia laid her hand on Sadie’s shoulder.

“I knew it was coming. I decided not to tell him about the baby because I didn’t want him to stay just because he felt trapped. There wouldn’t be a happy ending for anyone.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Beth smiled. “The good news is that between the three of us, you have tons of support. All together we have eight kids.”

Sadie looked at the new infant sleeping peacefully in the cradle next to Beth. Savvy’s baby was sleeping in a stroller next to her while her toddler was trying to keep up with Taryn and his older brother and sister. Talia’s baby was waddling around in the playpen.

“I guess between the three of you, there is a bit of experience. Plus, I know that Taryn is magic with kids. She might be one of the most powerful witches this world has seen in centuries, but her heart is pure gold.”

Beth nodded. “That it is. I couldn’t be prouder of her, especially since my mother is one of the darkest witches in existence.”

“I cleaned out the guest room last night – as much as I could. I’m planning to invite Mom, Dad, and Eric over for dinner tomorrow night and give them the news. They’ll be oh, so happy.” Sadie’s sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on anyone.

“We’ll help you get set up. There’s a great place to buy all your baby furniture and between the four of us, we can put everything together. I’m sure that when your clan and our pack find out that there’s a new edition, you’ll have all the clothes, toys, stuffed animals, and anything else you could possibly imagine.” Talia shook her head. “I know I got a ton of stuff for the baby. Whatever you need that they don’t give you during the party, the three of us can supply – except diapers. You’re on your own for those.”

“Thanks, guys.”

Sadie was able to relax. She knew being a single mother wouldn’t be easy, but she had a ton of support, so it wouldn’t be as hard for her as it was for others.

She was nervous the next day. Sadie cleaned the house and made sure it was perfect. The family showed up exactly at six when she had told them to. She pulled out the hamburger and potato casserole that was one of her favorites. It was a great comfort food.

Once everyone had eaten, Sadie took a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

All eyes were on her.

“I’m pregnant.”

Her father’s face turned red. “You’re pregnant and Dakota left town, anyway? I’ll kill him.”

“He doesn’t know.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t tell him. Dakota had been honest with me from the very beginning of our relationship. He told me he couldn’t settle down. It would kill him. I didn’t want him to feel trapped. He would resent me and the baby, destroying all our lives. It was better to let him go.”

Eric looked at her intently. “How can I help?”

“Well, for one, I need help taking the bed and dresser in the guest room to the women’s shelter. I called them this morning and they said they could use it. The room needs to be painted.”

“I can help with that.” Her brother smiled at her reassuringly. “You won’t be alone for any of this.”

“No, you won’t.” Opal smiled at Sadie. “I hope it’s a girl.”

Sadie smiled. Taryn had already told her that the baby was a boy. She wasn’t ready to break the news to her mother, though.

They stayed for a while and Sadie was very relieved by the time they left. Even her father had come around and promised her baby would be much loved.

When morning came around the next morning, she woke up with a smile. She missed Dakota, but all would be well. The school day went by quickly, and Sadie was looking forward to getting home and planning on how she would decorate the room.

Her smile faded when she walked outside. Billy was standing by her car.

He held up his hand before she could say anything. “I just wanted to come by and say goodbye. I’m moving back to New York because I have a new job offer. I had hoped we could rekindle what we had, but you made your decision very clear and I was a jerk. I’m so sorry to have stressed you out. Forgive me, please.”

“All is forgiven.”

He kissed her on the cheek. “I wish you a lifetime of happiness and love.”

Sadie watched him walk away, feeling as though another chapter of her life had ended. Then, she touched her stomach and realized that a new one was about to begin.