Closing Costs (12 page)

She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed Julie.

"Hurry, tell me not to go after him." She said as soon as her friend answered the phone.

"You know my stance on Jack. And it involves chasing him down, tackling and hog tying him before it's too late." Sara sighed and took a breath, smelled the lust that they'd once again managed to share, right before yet another epic argument.

"Katie isn't feeling too hot Sara. You headed home soon?"

"Yeah, she got sunburned in Florida and has been sniffly and stuff since. I'm coming."

"Congratulate me." Busy trying to pull her stuff together with one hand, Sara answered automatically.

"Congratulations."

"I'm pregnant."

"Holy shit Julie, really? I mean. Yay." She sat, heavily. "You tell him yet?"

"Yeah. He's not happy."

"I'm sorry Julie. That sucks."

"I made him leave, actually. Told him he could move out if he felt that strongly against having a family with me."

"Honey!" Her own troubles suddenly seemed trivial. She had a healthy, beautiful daughter. A man she loved wanting to be the girl's father. What was her fucking problem anyway? "I'll be home in a few. And I'll drink your share of wine for you."

Unable to resist, needing to talk to him and reluctant to admit it, she dialed Jack next. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Your asshole friend, that's who."

"Ah, yes, you are Julie's BFF these days aren't you?"

"Shut up, you ass. What is his problem?"

"Sara the very last thing on the planet that you and I need to be doing is projecting their relationship. They have their issues. We have ours. Let's keep them separate, shall we?"

"Whatever. Go talk some sense into him would you? She's at my house right now."

Jack heaved a teenager-worthy sigh. "Yes m'am." Before he hung up.

Chapter Fifteen

Jack's head pounded, his mouth was dry and he'd give a million of his own dollars not to be manager of a huge successful real estate company right now. Dear God the stress was going to kill him. But he smiled, remembering today was the day he and Katie were going to pick out paint and all the furnishings for her room at his house. She'd been pretty blasé about the whole "room at Uncle Jack's" thing too, which had been a huge relief.

He pulled into Sara's short driveway, noting her car in the garage. Automatically grabbing the newspaper and her mail from the box at the street, he pushed open her front door. His heart already felt lighter at the thought of an entire weekend with Katie. He'd passed on a potentially hot date even, and not given it too much thought. "Sara! Katie! Where is everybody?" The house was quiet. He stuck his head in the miniscule downstairs room that passed for Sara's office and came to a dead stop. The late afternoon light shone through the window and hit her hair, lighting it up with golds and ambers. She had earbuds in her ears, and he saw the budget spreadsheets on her computer.

His chest tightened as he watched her brow furrow in concentration, then his palms itched to touch her as she stretched her arms up, arching her back. He gulped, and willed his cock back under control. He still loved her and would likely never stop. He smiled when she turned and jumped at the sight of him, pulling the music out of her ears.

"How long have you been..."

"Long enough," he grinned and stood in front of her, ran a finger down her face. She moved away from him.

"Cut it out."

He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Where is she?" Sara waved her hand.

"Outside, in the treehouse. We had a fight, and she's pouting."

"Fight about what?"

"She wanted to make brownies, you know, the second she got the idea in her head. I needed to get some work done. She didn't care for the delay. It devolved from there. I don't know." Sara ran a hand over her face. Jack frowned. "I missed her so much while she was gone, but damned if she's not aggravating when she's here." She looked up at him and shrugged. "Bad mommy."

"Nah." He kissed her quickly, not committing to anything more lest he get himself in trouble. He was trying to swear off Sara. To see how he could manage without her in his life. So far, it sucked.

He strolled outside and over to the elaborate tree house Sara's brother had built last year, climbed up the ladder and stuck his head through the floor. "Hey lovely lady. Time to go shop…Katie?" He looked around. The huge room was empty. Even her favorite toys and books were gone. A small finger of panic flicked at his brain. He climbed down, determined to remain calm. He looked around both sides of the house, ran back in and up to her room, ignoring Sara's wide-eyed stare. "Katie! Answer me now!"

Not under the bed, not in any kitchen cabinets. He shoved Sara aside to stomp down to the basement. Katie didn't like basements, but she might be just stubborn enough to hide there to make a point. "God damn it Kate where are you?"

"Jack!" Sara called down. "What are you doing?" He grabbed her wrists.

"Are there any other hiding places? Any place you can think of she'd go? The park? Where?" His throat had closed up and red tinged the edges of his vision. Then, a calm descended. Sucking in a breath, he released Sara's arms. He could feel her terror starting to swirl around him. "Listen to me. You have to think. Be calm and focus for me." He led her to the chair and made her sit. She reached for her phone and held it to her ear a minute.

Tears started pouring down her face. Jack bit back the renewed urge to shake her and sat on the ottoman, gripping her ice-cold hands. "J-j-jack. Oh God. Where is she? I'm, we. Oh shit. I did this."

"Stop it. Stop making this about you dammit."

He stood, unable to stand it another minute, whipped out his phone and he held back the terror. Fought off the images of her lifted from the sidewalk by a predator. He had to keep it together. Obviously, no one else would. He gazed out onto the innocent looking front lawn, the beautiful day just a mere half hour before, now a nightmare. "Call your brother," he called out to her. "I'm going around the neighborhood."

An hour and a half later, he returned, sweaty under his dress shirt, nearly unable to breathe from fear. Several cars lined the street outside Sara's house. He shoved the door open onto the tableau. Julie sat holding Sara. Evan stood at the window, his jaw clenched. Blake and Rob stood with phones to their ears, shoulder to shoulder. Jack took a breath and entered the fray.

They all looked up at him, the hope on Sara's face nearly undid him, "Call the police. Now."

"Already did," Rob snapped. Jack stomped into the kitchen and slammed a glass of water, and sound from behind made him turn.

"Your best bet is to stay away from me right now." He stared at Sara, a complex roil of emotions churning through him: Anger, frustration, need
–
none of it good. But then, he watched himself as he grabbed her, held on for dear life, tried to summon what he had left to give her. She clutched at his shirt. "Baby. Shh. It's okay. She's fine. You know she is."

"G-g-god Jack. I was such a bitch. I told her…" she sucked in a breath. "I told her if she thought you could do it better to go live with you."

"You told her what?" His heart nearly stopped.

"I told her to…" He took the four steps between the kitchen and the living room in two.

"Get in your car," he barked at Evan. "Go via Stadium. I'm going via downtown. Meet at Cambridge." He named his street, his head spinning, trying not to picture how many major roads the girl would have to cross to get to his house.

"Jack, she would not do that. She doesn't know how to get to your house from here." Julie stood one arm around Sara. Evan moved near her but Jack saw the look she shot him, making him back up.

"If she gets it in her head, then she will try. Let's go people. Blake you stay here. Sara, come with me." Everyone scurried around and did as they were told.

Evan put a hand on his arm as he started to get in his SUV. "It'll be okay man. I know it." Jack ignored him. Holding it together took every ounce of energy he had.

"Just help me find her, okay?" He tried to keep the fear out of his voice. Sara climbed in the passenger's seat and they took off.

Sara's world had narrowed to a pinprick, a brief millisecond of time between then and now. A tiny, shiny moment where she'd stared at her own daughter and had yelled at her. The girl had been so unbelievably unbearable since returning from Florida. It was "Uncle Jack" twenty-four seven. It grated on Sara's nerves to no end. She'd had had such a shit day, needed to decompress, needed space. But Katie had started in on the brownies, on how she wanted them, right then and there. She'd snapped, yelled, she couldn't even remember what she had said until the second she recalled advising her to go "live with Uncle Jack" if he was so damn great. The girl's eyes had filled with tears before she stomped out.

"I hate you Mommy! I only love Uncle Jack."

Please, God, do not let those be the final words I ever hear from her.

"Hold it together Sara. No falling apart. Not right now." Jack's voice permeated her fog of agony. "I mean it." His hand clutched her thigh. She stared at it, unable to speak. She nodded and strained her eyes left and right, begging every higher power she could conjure to catch a glimpse of the pink and purple form, pulling the wagon they'd discovered missing from the garage.

They drove slowly through downtown, leaning forward, not speaking. At South University they had to stop and make room for a couple of screaming Ann Arbor police cars. Sara clutched Jack's leg. "Oh God."

"Stop it." He hissed. "Don't."

The cars made their way onto Washtenaw Avenue, a busy four-lane street that crossed over interstate twenty-three, and continued on, lights and sirens blaring. Jack followed them, his face grim. Sara couldn't stop the constant flow of tears. They pulled into the Whole Food parking lot and screeched to a halt by the front door. Jack parked and got out. Sara couldn't move until he motioned for her, his blue eyes angry. She took a breath and climbed out.

The cops jumped out and headed into the store. Jack stayed behind them, then, as Sara watched, he went down on his knees right in the Whole Foods foyer. Her mind couldn't process it. Did he fall? The small pink and purple something that hurtled into his arms made her stumble, gasp, cry out.

"Katie!" She screeched, pushing past the gawping crowd. "Katie!" She dropped to her knees, wrapped her arms around them both. The girl seemed no worse for wear. A young looking couple stood behind her, talking to the police.

A hand on her face made her look up into a pair of worried green eyes. "Mommy? Mommy, are you okay?"

"I am now." Sara mumbled into her daughter's hair. Fury surged through her then. She took Katie's arms, shook her. "Don't you ever, ever, ever do that again. Do you understand me? Do you hear me?" Katie started to cry in earnest. Jack picked the sobbing girl up and without a glance in Sara's direction walked outside with her leaving Sara on her knees, in the middle of the giant Whole Food foyer, surrounded by "tsk-tsk'ing" parents obviously better suited to the task then she. She flopped onto her butt and sat, not giving a shit who had to walk around her, until a young policeman with a kind face pulled her to her feet.

Within minutes Julie, Blake, Rob and Evan were there. Jack stayed apart, Katie's small form cradled against him. Evan walked over to him then back to the group. "C'mon," he tugged Sara towards his car. "I'm taking you home."

She jerked out of his grip and marched over to her daughter. "Katie," She put a hand on the girl's back. Jack stared at her. The girl wouldn't raise her face from his shoulder. The evening had settled in on them, purple, cool and pleasant.

"Talk to your mommy, sweetie," he muttered at her. Katie raised a tear-stained face and glared at Sara. Then she reached and out pulled Sara close, forcing her to hold onto Jack as well. They stood there for a while then Jack spoke.

"Katie. What were you doing? Why did you leave your house?"

"I wanted to live with you. So, I packed my stuff and went to your house. I was almost there too." Jack shook at that, and Sara tightened her grip. "Then those people found me and made me come inside the Whole Foods. I was afraid of them. They're strangers. Then some police cars came. Then you got here."

Jack pulled away from Sara then, leaving her alone on the sidewalk. He deposited the girl in his SUV, shut the door and turned to her. "So help me, Sara. If you ever pull this shit again…"

"Me?" She was shocked. Had hoped the whole thing might have even made them closer.

"Yes. You. A fucking kitten has a better mother than my daughter." Sara took a step back. He closed the gap she had created. "Don't make me sue for custody Sara. Because I will win." She gasped, started towards him.

Blake started to say something but Rob put a restraining hand on his arm. Evan cleared his throat and Julie put an arm around her. Jack ducked into his car without another word to anyone and left her standing there, surrounded by her friends, his friends and her family.

No one said a word.

****

Sara cried herself to sleep. Her dreams were a muddle of images between Jack yelling at her and Katie crying and a weird alarm that wouldn't stop clanging. She fought to be awake, and saw her phone screen. Jack. Calling her at two a.m.

"What do you want?"

"Katie's sick."

"So, you're perfect. You heal her." She rolled onto her back.

"She is burning up and crying about her ears."

"Yeah. Ear infection. Give her some Tylenol and I'll take her to the pediatrician tomorrow."

"I'm going to the ER now. Meet me there if you want." The phone went dead.

Great. Yet one more example of her has shit mom of the year. Maybe she should let Jack raise the kid. Her face heated up.

Fuck that. I carried her. I had her. I nursed and raised her. Fuck him.

 
She leapt up and pulled on clothes before heading to the emergency room.