California Homecoming Read Online Free PDF Page B

wouldn’t have been any help, Mom. He couldn’t even change a light bulb. I can do it by myself, Mom. Don’t you have any faith in me?” Sarah’s muscles tensed and she could hear her voice grow louder. “Just because I got pregnant, doesn’t mean my life is ruined. I can make this work. I don’t need a handyman, or a chef, or anybody.” She burst into tears, ran from the room, and slammed her bedroom door behind her before flinging herself on her bed. The soft pillow absorbed her tears.
    I’m a two-year-old having a temper tantrum. I’m not old enough to have a baby.
    She couldn’t stop herself. Every time her breath began to slow, the list of things that needed to be done overwhelmed her and her sobs grew louder.
    Even her mother’s gentle knock on the door couldn’t stop her.
    The mattress dipped when Elizabeth sat down and wrapped her arms around Sarah. Sarah leaned into her mother’s warmth and let herself cry, just as she had when she was a little girl. Her mother stroked her head and whispered, “It’ll be okay. In a few months the hormones will settle down. You’ll feel better.”
    I’ll never feel better.
    “You don’t have to do things alone, you know.”
    Why does everyone keep saying that?
    Her mother’s voice soothed her. “You know, the last time Annie and I were at Costanoa Grill, Mandy said something about stopping by the inn to see if she could help you.”
    “She came by,” Sarah said in between sobs. “She said she’d help. She’ll give me a list, but then what? And who’s going to do the work?”
    “You’ll have to start looking for a handyman.”
    “I’ll figure out the plumbing. How hard can it be? I don’t want a man around — any man.” Sarah started to cry again. “Men suck. They lie and tell you what you want to hear. Then when you need them, they go away like … Rick … and, well, you know what Daddy did to you.”
    “Hush, sweetheart. Not every man is like Rick. As for your father, we were too young when we married.”
    “That’s no excuse. He should have been better!” Sarah balled her fists.
    Her mother laughed. “We all should be better than we are. But we’re human beings. With flaws.” She touched Sarah’s chest. “Even you.”
    “I suppose. But I still don’t want a man in my life.”
    “I’m sure that will change,” Elizabeth said.
    “Not likely.”
    “I understand how you feel, but give it time, okay? Things will be brighter in a few months. I promise you.”
    “Okay.” Sarah got her trembling lower lip under control.
    “Come eat.”
    “I’ll be there in a minute.” Sarah raised her face. “And thanks, Mom. Sorry I was nasty.”
    Elizabeth smiled. “Comes with the territory.” She sat back down on the bed. “I meant what I said earlier. You don’t have to do this all by yourself.”
    Oh, but I do.
    • • •
    Once he left the inn behind, Hunter turned north on Highway 1. If he could find the cabinets he’d made at his parents’ house, it might ease his disappointment at not being able to live in his childhood home. Maybe Joe would let him use the shop to finish them. The anticipation of warm wood coming alive under his fingers brought a smile to his face.
    He took the exit that led to Highway 17 North. With rain clouds threatening, there was no point in taking the longer, more scenic coastal route. Fortunately, traffic was light and he made good time until he got to San Francisco.
    No matter what you did, there was no easy way through the city to Marin County. He joined the crawling BMWs, buses, and work vans on Nineteenth Avenue to the Golden Gate Bridge and over the entrance to the bay.
    Even in January, sailboats dotted the water between San Francisco and Sausalito. His father had always told him sailing was the mature way to tackle the waves, but Hunter preferred the raw power of surfing.
    He and his father had never agreed on anything.
    Hunter pulled into the narrow driveway of his parents’ house on the hill.