SADIE

I picked at a piece of wood at the dinner table in my new house. All the kids were still over at Dane’s place, so he thought it’d be best just for me to spend time alone with Ethan, Cooper, and Alice tonight. I wanted him here, but he was right. There were things that needed to be discussed without kids present.

I had just finished telling Ethan everything and was waiting for him to process it all.

“Are you kidding me, Sades?” Ethan took a drink of his high-dollar wine. “To me it sounds like this Dane guy and his family are calling all the shots. Have they given you any say at all?”

My mouth opened to speak but he cut me off.

“You said yourself, tell me if I’m wrong,” he said looking at his brother and Alice then at me again, “that you told Dane about your son, then Dane’s friend who is a lawyer got rights for Dane, Dane told you he would build you a house to keep you at arm’s length, and you’re just going along with it. This isn’t the Sadie I know. The Sadie I know and adore would stand her ground. You are Tate’s mother. You have as much say, if not more, than anyone else. Yes, you did choose to give him up when you were a minor. A minor, Sadie. Not an adult who was capable of making decisions herself. I just can’t wrap my head around you giving up being a dance instructor at Juilliard, the job you have been working toward since you stepped foot on campus. If Dane loved you so much, why isn’t he packing his shit and moving there?”

“Because his family is here. He is Millie’s legal guardian, and there is no way she could leave Stockbridge. I already explained this to you earlier.”

He scoffed. “O-kay, so Dane is putting his niece, who has family here that is capable of taking care of her, over you? There’s no compromise with him, don’t you see that? You are just going along with everything. What happens when you wake up one day and realize all you let go because you let some redneck punk call all the shots?”

Juno was lying by my feet, and she growled at him before placing her head on my shoes.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes, he’s putting his niece before me, and I’d have it no other way! Dreams change, Ethan. And I love how you talk like you’re some saint that I’d actually want to come back to in New York!”

“Okay, breathe, you two,” Cooper said calmly.

“Redneck punk? Did you just insult my little brother?” We all looked up and saw Zach standing in the doorway. He looked at me. “Joshua left his blanket here.”

I had it folded on the table. I picked it up and stood. “I need some air.” I walked out with Zach and handed him the blanket. Tears were falling, and I was so pissed I was crying. I hated letting Ethan get to me like this.

“Don’t tell Dane he said that. He doesn’t need any more stress.”

He wiped at my tears. “I can go kick his ass.”

I laughed a little. “No. I’ll handle it.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Stop.”

I walked to his truck and said hi to all my boys.

He chuckled. “I’m going to head home. Joshua won’t go to sleep until he has his blanket.”

“Mine!” Joshua squealed when he saw me. For some reason, Joshua had taken a liking to me and dubbed me with the name “mine”.

“Goodnight, boys.” I blew them all a kiss and shut the door. I waved at Zach after he got in and backed out.

I froze when I heard Ethan say my name from the door. When I turned, he walked over to me.

“Dammit, Sadie, I’m sorry. You know I pop off shit without thinking.”

I wiped my eyes. “You have no right to talk about someone you don’t know. If you knew Dane, you wouldn’t have said that.”

He reached out to wipe my tears, but I slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

Anger and hurt flashed in his eyes. “Why are you always pushing me away?” he asked in a harsh tone.

“Because you have this hope that we’ll be something and we never will. I don’t know how to make that clear. I’d love to be friends with you, but you can’t accept it.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. His lips formed a hard line, and I knew he was losing his patience with me.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” I said quietly.

I heard the front door of Dane’s house open. I looked toward it and saw him watching me closely. “Tate wanted to say goodnight.”

“She’ll be there in a second,” Ethan grabbed my arm to stop me from walking.

Dane took a step toward us. “Let. Her. Go.” His jaw was clenched.

Ethan hesitated but finally let go.

Smart move.

“Leave,” I demanded.

“No, we have things to discuss.”

“No, we don’t. It’s clear you don’t and never will accept that this is my life now. There’s no point in trying to be friends. You’ve made that clear.” I walked off.

“Whatever, go run off to your little bitch ass boyfriend and play house! Fuckin’ bitch.”

Oh fuck!

Dane had him by the throat so quickly, I was shocked he could move that fast. He slammed him against my Rover.

“What did you call my Daisy?”

Cooper and Alice rushed out.

“Dane, let him go,” Cooper pleaded.

I didn’t care if he beat his ass. I was so pissed I was ready to pop some popcorn and watch.

“Not until he apologizes to Daisy.”

“You should be the one apologizing to her,” Ethan sneered. “Did you know she was given an instructor position at Juilliard? Head instructor. You didn’t see the blood sweat and tears she put in to get it. But I saw it. I was there to doctor her blistered feet, motivate her and cheer her on, wipe her tears…”

Dane squeezed his throat a little tighter. “Apologize,” he said in a growl.

“I’m sorry for calling her a bitch,” Ethan said with a bit of a struggle. “I’m sorry, Sadie. You know I didn’t mean it.”

Dane let go of his throat but shoved him into the Rover before turning to me. “Are you okay, Daisy-Love?”

Was I okay? I wasn’t really sure. I wasn’t the girl that was supposed to have two guys fighting over her. It didn’t feel as good as it looked in the movies. It sucked. I let out the breath I was holding and nodded.

I looked at Cooper. “Get him out of here and back to New York.”

“Sadie—”

I cut my eyes at Ethan. “You ruined your welcome.”

I hugged Cooper and Alice and walked toward Dane’s house. When I made it to the porch, I stopped to wait for Dane.

“I just need a second to breathe before I go see Tate.”

“I probably should apologize for losing my temper.”

I sat on the swing. “Don’t apologize.” I noticed my hands were shaking.

He sat down next to me and covered my hands with one of his large ones.

I watched the Expedition leave. I hated my time was cut short with Alice and Cooper.

“I don’t care about the job at Juilliard. It means nothing to me. Ethan didn’t know that I threw myself into dance and getting that job to busy my mind from the constant battle it was in.”

“I know dancing is important to you, Sadie. And I know the small country town life wasn’t what you wanted.”

“It wasn’t when I was young. But it is now. I’m truly so happy here.”

I turned toward the door when I heard it open. Tate was standing there with a sleepy smile. I patted the spot between me and Dane on the swing. Tate sat down and I played with his hair. My heart swelled when he laid his head on my shoulder. I looked at Dane and smiled.

“Are the boys already asleep?” Dane asked.

“No. They’re talking about how cool my dad is. We saw you pin that guy to the Rover.”

I laughed. “Your dad is the coolest.”

Dane groaned. “Great. But he made Sadie cry and that isn’t okay.”

Tate laughed. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

“I don’t know. Believe it or not I was holding him in a way that wouldn’t cause him any damage. It was more to scare him than to hurt him. I don’t want you thinking you can solve your problems like that. If I teach you self-defense, it will be only to protect yourself.”

Tate nodded. “Okay.”

I stood and held my hand out to Tate. “Come on. I’ll walk you in.”

Dane kissed Tate’s head. “I’ll be in in a bit.”

I nodded and walked Tate inside.