“Darla would have loved that one.” He heard his Aunt Judy’s voice.
Yeah, his mom would have loved Sadie.
Stone had his arm around Sadie’s shoulder while he had an intense conversation, with Bogs and his Uncle Joe about who should be in the playoffs. The Garrison men didn’t mess around when it came to their football.
Stone had just taken a swig of his beer when he heard Emory call out Sadie’s name. He turned with Sadie in his arms. Emory was walking toward them with a weird look on her face. Stone glanced down at her hand and saw she had her hand braced on a cell phone, covering it. Stone looked closer; it was Sadie’s phone. He felt her back straighten around his arm. When he looked down at her, her face paled.
“Hey, so your phone was ringing in the kitchen and well, I saw it was your mom and I picked up. It rang different three times and I thought it might be an emergency. Shit, Sadie, I’m sorry!”
Stone immediately grew tense. He hadn’t met her mom but Stone knew her. From everything he read in Sadie’s file, he knew her and didn’t like her. This woman was the definition of a shitty mom. Sadie gave Emory a tight smile.
She reached out for the phone “That’s ok, Em, thanks!”
Emory handed Sadie the phone but didn’t walk away. Stone watched Sadie tense as she brought the phone to her ear.
“Hi Mom,” Sadie greeted in an even tone. Stone could tell the way her body further tensed that she was bracing herself for what she knew was coming.
“Sadie Marie Wallace, where the hell are you?” She shouted so loud Stone could hear her perfectly. Which meant everyone else standing nearby could hear, too. It was confirmed when the entire room grew silent. Shit!
“I’m in Texas.”
“What the hell are you doing there?” she shouted louder. She was apparently getting angrier; Sadie stepped away from Stone but didn’t get very far when he grabbed her wrist and stopped her retreat. Sadie looked up at him with tears threatening her eyes. His girl was humiliated. He stared at her as he took the phone from her ear and held it up to his own.
Stone inhaled a deep breath. “Sadie is spending Thanksgiving with me and my family.” His tone was firm but didn’t convey the anger he was feeling. For Sadie, he wouldn’t embarrass her any further than her mom had.
“Oh, really, and who the hell are you? Put my goddamn daughter back on the phone.”
Stone watched Sadie’s face flush and she looked down at the floor.
Stone gently put his hand under her chin propping it up so she met his eyes. He was mad but held her eyes as he responded to her mom.
“My name is Stone, Sadie’s boyfriend. You obviously didn’t understand me when I said it before so I’ll say it slower this time. Sadie is here spending Thanksgiving with me and my family. And from what I can tell, she was having a great time before you called. So, this is what will happen, I’m going to hang up and we are going to continue our good time. Sadie will call you later, if she wants to, but what won’t happen is you calling back. You got me?” Stone made sure his eyes never left Sadie’s when he spoke.
“So, I’m supposed to just spend Thanksgiving by myself?” she asked incredulously.
Stone snorted. “Yeah, why not? Sadie did it for years and you didn’t give a shit!” His voice was laced with anger he couldn’t hold back. The nerve of this bitch. How someone as sweet and loving as Sadie could come from someone so fucking evil as her mom, Stone just didn’t know.
“You son of…”
Stone abruptly hung up. He was done with that bitch and so was Sadie.
His face slowly broke into a grin, which had her confused. Stone pulled her to him and kissed her head.
“I gotcha, baby, I always gotcha. Ya hear me?” he whispered against her ear.
Sadie didn’t say a word but he felt her nod against him.
He pocketed her phone and with his arm over her shoulder, Stone started his conversation about playoffs with his uncles again. The entire room went on as if her mom never called.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Everyone was taking their seats at the dining room table when Sadie excused herself to use the bathroom. She had just closed the door when loud footsteps came down the hall followed by a loud whisper. “Would you fucking stop?”
Sadie pressed her head to the door and listened. The footsteps stopped right in front of the bathroom door.
“What?” She recognized Emory’s voice whispering nastily.
“What the hell is your problem?” A male angrily whispered back. It was Ethan.
“What’s my problem? Are you serious, E? I just walked in on you, pants around your ankles, getting blown by your cousin, and you are asking me what my problem is?” Emory cried incredulously.
“Would you lower your voice for Christ’s sake?” He hissed.
There was silence.
“She’s not my cousin,” Ethan murmured.
“Oh my God! That’s all you have to say? Really?”
“Well, she’s not! Why are you so mad anyway? It’s none of your business,” he countered with an edge in his tone.
There was silence again. Sadie knew she should have stopped listening but she stayed with her ear pressed against the door.
“Fine, Ethan, you’re right. It’s none of my business who sucks your dick,” she spewed crudely.
She heard a few loud footsteps and then they halted.
“Wait!” Ethan was no longer incensed, but concerned.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” She was furious. Sadie flinched at her tone. She didn’t think sweet, funny, easygoing Emory could ever sound so enraged.
“Don’t you ever touch me, Ethan. I am done, so fucking done with you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ethan sounded confused. So was Sadie.
She let out a
