Finding Home by Ann Vaughn

back on
his bed.  Part of him wished he had brought Sarah home with him.  He
hated her being in that old house all alone.  Truth was, though, he was
afraid to be alone with her again; afraid that he wouldn’t be able to control
himself around her and they would end up rushing into things like they’d nearly
done this morning.  He wanted whatever was growing between them to
continue at a good pace, and he wanted their first time together to mean
something and not just be an escalation of hormones. 
    What would she think of him looking
into her adoption, he wondered.  Would she be upset?  He hoped she
wouldn’t, but as far as that went, he wasn’t sure.
    Picking his phone up again, he opened
a text to her.
    Hey, babe, I’m home.  Enjoyed
being with you today. 
    He saw that she was in the process of
typing so sat back to wait for her reply.
    I loved sitting with you on the
couch last night, watching you fall asleep.  I know you were tired but I’m
so glad you spent the day with me.  I missed you when you were gone.
    He took a deep breath and decided to
ask a few questions while he knew she was in a good mood.
    Have you looked through the box
your mother left you?  The one she said was about your birth mother?
    Her reply was short.  No.
    He sighed.  Why not?
    I don’t know.  I guess I
don’t want to hear the story of a young girl who made a mistake and had to give
me up.
    What if you have brothers or
sisters or both?  You could have a family out there.
    Yes, I’m sure I do have biological
siblings out there, but really, Colt…if you had given up a baby for whatever
reason would you really want that child showing up nearly thirty years later?
     I just thought you might
want to know more about your birth family.
    I might…someday.  But right
now, I’m just not ready. 
    Colt scrubbed his hand over his face
in frustration but knew he couldn’t push her on this.
    OK, babe.  What time do you
want to come over tomorrow?
    Whenever you want me to, she replied.
    He was in the middle of a reply when
his phone rang and he saw it was Claire.
    Claire’s calling.  Hang on
just a second…
    “Hey, sis.”
    “I saw your lights on.  When did
you get home?”
    “Not too long ago.  What’s up?”
    “Well, I thought maybe you’d want to
bring Sarah over for lunch tomorrow.  Give us all a chance to meet.”
    “Claire,” he groaned, “I just started
seeing her.”
    “Oh, please, Colt!  You don’t do
casual dating.  You haven’t ever had this kind of interest in someone and
I want to meet her.”
    “I haven’t dated much because I
wasn’t exactly in the line of work that was conducive to having a relationship,
and then all I cared about was making sure you and the girls were all right.”
    “Honey…Coop and I have been married
for over a year now.  You’re free to pursue someone.  You’ve found
someone you like, and I want to meet her.  Lunch is at noon.  Be
there with her or I will send the girls over to bug you every time I see that
you have her at your house.  You got me?”
    She hung up before he could
reply.  That was Claire.  Always railroading him.
    “Dammit,” he groaned.
    Claire invited us over for lunch
tomorrow.  That all right with you? He texted Sarah.
    Sure, that’ll be great.  What
time do I need to be over?
    Lunch is at noon.  You can
come over any time before then.
    OK.  See you tomorrow,
then.  Sweet dreams.
     
    Nervous didn’t begin to describe how
Sarah felt as she rifled through her closet trying to decide what to wear to
lunch with Colt and his family.  She didn’t want to look like she was
trying too hard but she didn’t want to look like a total slob, either.  She
finally decided on a white hi-low skirt and a black sleeveless top with a
scallop neck to show off her silver necklace and simple black beaded
sandals.  She pulled her hair into a loose, messy ponytail at the nape of
her neck.  Studying herself in the mirror, she thought she looked nice