Page 4 of Stone
The odds of her not seeing anyone on the way back to Locks’ were extremely small. She’d slept until nine a.m. and then she’d taken a while getting ready. It was ten a.m. but she was a big girl. Time to face the music.
She stepped outside onto the porch, closing the door and hurrying down the steps. She walked quickly back to the house. As she passed Sarah and Scoop’s house, Sarah was walking back toward her house.
“Hey, Naomi, on a morning walk or returning after a fun night out?” Sarah asked.
“Umm, well,” Naomi stammered, blushing. Why was she blushing when she was an adult? Sarah chuckled and motioned Naomi to follow her into the house.
Naomi looked toward Locks’ house, which also had the daycare and bail bonds company in part of the lower level, and decided that Sarah’s house was less threatening. There were at least twelve cars parked in the front lot that she could just see.
Naomi had only been in Sarah’s house once since moving here, but she already knew where Sarah would be—the kitchen.
“Pumpkin bread and some coffee?” Sarah asked.
“I’d love some,” Naomi said, taking a seat at the island that dominated Sarah’s kitchen. Naomi had loved getting to know her cousins, but if she had to meet someone right after her experience, Sarah, with her calm and nurturing air, was perfect. She was always bringing pumpkin bread by to share.
Sarah set the warmed bread and the container of honey butter in front of Naomi, then filled their coffee cups. Naomi appreciated the quiet while they fixed their food and coffee. Sarah sipped her coffee, closing her eyes.
Naomi grinned at Sarah’s face.
“Enjoying the coffee?” Naomi prompted.
Sarah opened her eyes. “I’m debating if I love my husband enough to give up this nectar for nine months to have another baby,” Sarah replied.
“How old is Noah?” Naomi asked.
“Almost ten months. I hadn’t really thought about how soon we’d have another baby, but my husband, in his adorable and sometimes awkward way, just blurted it out—while we were hunting down information. No lead up to it. Just—'I want to put another baby in you,’” Sarah recounted, shaking her head.
“How did that make you feel?” Naomi wondered softly.
“Oh, you’re a good one. Since we don’t know each other well, you’re trying to feel out what I think before giving your appropriate response. Naomi, you’re my cousin, which in the Franks sisters’ world means we’re family but not in that distant ‘I’ll chat with them only at Christmas and Thanksgiving, then ignore them the rest of the year’ way. It means I care about what you think because you’re now a part of my life. I wouldn’t have shared if I didn’t think you had a different perspective. Besides, then I get to ask you why you’re walking across the compound in the dress you were wearing yesterday evening,” Sarah pointed out with a playful wink.
Naomi smiled at Sarah’s long reply. She thought about her life over the last eleven years since the girls had been born. She’d done everything, including curbing her responses, to make sure the girls weren’t witnesses to any corrections.
“Sorry, I did do that. It’s been so long since I answered someone without considering what the possible consequences would be to speaking my mind that my question was an automatic response. What I wanted to say is, wow, that sounded like it came from one of my romance books. Jared never ever sounded like that but at the same time, do you want anotherbaby this soon?” Naomi confessed, leaning forward over the kitchen island.
Sarah stared into her coffee, taking another sip. “I love Noah and I always thought we’d have a few kids. Growing up with my sisters, I want my kids to have that community. I guess in my head I was thinking we’d space them apart but I’m older than my mom was when she started having kids. I guess after I got over the shock of him blurting it out, it was kind of hot.” Sarah grinned, shaking her head. “Okay, we’ll pause that for a minute because I need to wrap my head around it, and let’s go to you. What has you walking back in your dress from yesterday?”
Naomi blew out a breath, then leaned her head on the island. “Because I’ve embarrassed myself.”
“Oh, it can’t be that bad. What happened?” Sarah asked.
Naomi repeated her evening adventures, keeping a close eye on Sarah’s responses. She didn’t want her new family to think badly of her. Sarah was smiling at her when Naomi finished with the note and waking up alone.
“I’m going to lead off with: Friggin’ hell, woman—what a night! I love that Stone invited you to his porch, listened to all your information, then let you spend the night when you didn’t want to come back to Dad’s house. I thought he was a sweetie under all that gruffness, but this proves it,” Sarah exclaimed, fanning her face.
“It was really sweet of him, but I’m embarrassed I shared so much,” Naomi admitted, looking down at her coffee.
“I think the note says it all. You shouldn’t be embarrassed. He’s willing to cover your scars with tattoos, and if I know Stone, he was livid that you’d suffered that,” Sarah said.
“I guess,” Naomi offered weakly. She wasn’t sure if it would bother him.
“Oh, come on, do you honestly think Stone would think it was okay? I’m kind of surprised Scoop or I didn’t get a message asking us to track down your ex,” Sarah said.
“Why would he care about tracking him down? I guess I assumed everyone here would be like my dad,” Naomi mused.
Sarah refilled their coffee cups and nudged the plate of pumpkin bread closer to Naomi.
“Did you tell your dad about the corrections?” Sarah asked.
