He stared at her briefly before he extended his hand. “You must be Sadie.”
She was taken aback that he knew her name. But she shook his hand and nodded.
“My girl was right. You’ve got honest eyes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sadie. I’m John Garrison, Stone’s dad.”
Her mouth fell open. Stone’s dad was at her front door. The color must have drained from her face as she started to tremble because he lost his smile and his brows hiked up. A look of worry washed across his features. Sadie was still holding his hand. She was shocked that he was here and confused as to why. Just the mention of Stone’s name threw her into heartache mode. He looked down at his hand, which she was still holding. Sadie immediately pulled it back.
“Mind if I come in?” He gestured inside. Sadie blinked out of her daze. This may have been the first time meeting John Garrison but she knew him. All the stories Roxanne shared, she felt as though she knew their dad.
“Of course, I’m sorry.” Sadie stepped back as he walked in. He looked around and smiled at her.
“Would you like to sit down?” She gestured to the couch awkwardly.
He walked over to the couch and sat in the middle. Sadie sat at the end closest to the door. Her mind was reeling that Stone’s dad was in her living room. Her heart started to race as to why he might be here. Is Stone okay? Did something happen? Was his dad here to yell at her and tell her to stop harassing his son with texts and calls? Okay, that might be a little farfetched, even for her imagination.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” he stated and leaned back into the couch.
Her breath hitched and she swallowed. “Is Stone okay? He’s not hurt or anything, right?”
His face softened and the corner of his mouth curled. “No, Sadie, not hurt. At least, not physically. The heart, well that’s another matter.” He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and clasping his hands in front of him. “Ya know, I hadn’t planned on coming here. I had to make a quick trip here on business last night and I was just heading back to the airport.” He tilted his head. “Something in me just had to come. Needed to see for my own eyes.” He smiled. “And I just saw it. I made the right decision in taking a detour and coming here.”
She nodded, unsure of what he was saying. She still had no clue why Stone’s dad was sitting in her living room, or why he made the comment about Stone’s heart. She’d been trying to reach out to him but he wouldn’t answer her. It was over.
“Sadie, I’m a man who believes in being forthright and up front.” He glanced down at his watch and chuckled. “And we’re running outta time so I’ll just lay it all out for you.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He looked her in the eyes. “I’m here to take you to Houston.”
“What?” Her eyes widened in confusion.
“I’m here to bring you home.”
Her heart sank. “Mr. Garrison, I…”
“John, call me John.”
“Okay. John, I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing but Stone ended things with me. We aren’t together,” Sadie sadly expressed.
“That’s the rumor I hear.”
“No, I’m sorry, but I think you’ve made a mistake. It’s over between us. It’s really over.” Her tone was firm but her eyes threatened tears. Saying out loud that she and Stone were over made it more real. Her heart ached at her own words. “He won’t talk to me.” A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly brushed her sleeve against her face. “He ended it.”
He stared at Sadie and gazed up to the ceiling. Her palms were sweating and she started to fidget. This was so awkward. He came all this way to bring her back to Stone, which warmed her heart. Yeah, this was definitely the dad Sadie would have chosen. Unfortunately, Stone didn’t want her anymore, so this wonderful fatherly gesture was pointless.
His eyes landed back on hers. “I know it’s an old man cliché but can I share a story with you?”
She sniffled and forced a smile. “Sure,” she whispered.
“Good, well as you know, Darla and I adopted Stone. We always wanted children. Thought we had all the time in the world to start a family. But as fate happens Darla was not able to get pregnant. Doctors encouraged us to keep trying, and we did, but no babies. It almost ruined Darla; she wanted a big family, lots of children. Imagine a dream so big, a dream you’ve wanted all your life, and then being told that dream of yours is just not possible. But she was a strong woman and eventually she came to terms with it. We both did. I always wanted kids but more than children, I wanted Darla. We had a beautiful life, Sadie! Still, Darla was missing something. She had so much love to give, it seemed downright unfair God wouldn’t bless us with children.”
He inhaled a deep breath and Sadie continued to listen. It was a sad story and her heart ached for John and Darla.
“But God works in mysterious ways and when we least expected it, we were blessed. We were blessed with Stone. He was a hard kid to crack. No matter how many times we told him our home was his home and we would never send him away, he held back from us. But Darla,” he laughed, “she would not give up on him. She made sure she hugged him when he’d let her, told him she loved him every chance she got, and made sure that boy knew he had a place in our family.
“When his biological mother finally gave up her
