Chelsea lasted for three of Sawyer and Hancock’s thirteen trips on the Poltergeist. If someone had told her a month ago that she and Sawyer would be riding roller coasters together at an amusement park, she would have been anything but amused. A month ago she could not stand the thought of Sawyer. Today his presence wasn’t even bothering her. And that bothered her.
Chelsea was relieved to have Sara and Tony around as a buffer. “They say it’s the simple things in life that make you happy. But happiness is anything but simple. Just look at us,” Chelsea said to Sara as they watched Sawyer and Tony help Hancock and Emily launch rubber frogs onto metal lily pads in hopes of winning a giant unicorn. Hancock had already claimed an oversized octopus with tentacles that had just begun to glow in the dark.
Hancock and Emily were never as happy as when their dad was around, and nothing made Chelsea happier than seeing her children thrive. As much as she tried to distance herself from Sawyer, her happiness would always be tied to him.
“Sawyer seems to be doing really well these days,” Sara said. “You know he told Tony he’s been talking to one of his pastor friends in Austin?”
“Good for him,” Chelsea said. “I want him to be better, ya know? For the kids.”
“Score!” Sawyer’s cheer carried over to the breezy cabana where Chelsea and Sara were waiting. Hancock’s frog had landed smack-dab on the middle of a lily pad.
“We won, Mom!” Emily waved her trophy like a true champion.
“Impressive!” Chelsea called as the group came to join them.
“Mom, can we stay for the fireworks? Dad said we need to ask you,” Emily said.
“Well, Uncle Tony and Aunt Sara probably have to get home to the babysitter. Plus they have church tomorrow.”
“Well, maybe Dad could take us home?” Hancock asked.
“Well . . .” Chelsea scanned the group for reactions. Everyone was nodding.
Thanks for the moral support, Sara.
“Okay . . . if you’re sure that’s okay?” she asked Sawyer.
“I’d be happy to be your chauffeur,” he said, dipping his head in a bow.
Emily curtsied. “Gracias, señor.”
“I guess that’s settled then,” Chelsea said. But she wasn’t feeling so settled inside. This was the first time they had been together, just the four of them, since the separation. She didn’t want the kids to get the wrong idea. Or Sawyer either, for that matter.
Their last exchange drifted through her head more than once as the evening progressed.
I have every reason I need to divorce you.
I know you do, but I’m going to keep hoping you don’t.
Would he feel the same way after she delivered the divorce papers? Chelsea knew she could do life alone. She had proven it to herself and to everyone else. But did she want to?
She banished the thought as soon as it entered her mind, blaming the elaborate fireworks and lack of adult company. She didn’t have to worry about that anymore. After all, she had options. Dennis Darling told her she had an open road. Full of possibilities!
“There are a lot of really great opportunities right now,” Sawyer said as they cruised down the highway, kids snoozing in the backseat. “In both Austin and San Antonio.”
Chelsea had not seen Sawyer this enthused in a long time. At least not over anything so unremarkable. It was strange how the tables had turned. Here Sawyer was in the middle of a job hunt, while she was running a successful business. A million-dollar business.
“I always knew I wanted to get into coaching,” he continued. “I just wasn’t ready to humble myself and do it. But this might be the hard reset I need for my life. Plus I can be nearby, you know? As close as you want me to be.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Chelsea said.
Wait, what am I saying? Close isn’t wonderful.
Sawyer’s magnetic field was scrambling the data, so neatly stored and sorted in her brain. “Austin would be a great fit,” she said.
And a forty-minute drive at least.
Sawyer’s face fell a bit. “Yeah, we’ll see . . .” he said.
They rode the rest of the way in silence.
Chelsea forced her reeling mind to the café and the mouth-watering, multilayer cake waiting for her in the kitchen. She hadn’t heard from Manny and Katrina since morning, so she assumed the day had been uneventful.
But the moment Sawyer pulled into the drive, Chelsea knew something was wrong. The front door of the café was swinging on its hinges in the wind. Shattered glass covered the porch. A trail of shards led to the supply closet, where coffee beans had spilled onto the floor in a heaping pile. But these were the least of Chelsea’s worries.
The router was missing. The God Blog was gone.