“We’ll take care of it,” said Ham. “I am sorry, ma’am.”
“Me too,” she said. “I’m sorry for my two children, who will one day ask me why their father is such a piece of shit.” When the door slammed shut, Ham turned toward Myer, who could barely see or breathe.
“If you ever even show your face near Sadie, I’ll kill you.” Back in the SUV, they headed to the airport, where Chipper was waiting for them.
“Home, boys?”
“Home, Chipper,” said Ham. “I have a girl I need to spend the rest of my life with.”
CHAPTER TEN
Ham and the others didn’t think much of the box, dropping it off in the auditorium before heading to their homes. It was Friday, and everyone was looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
Sadie had started to come to the main property for meals at least once a day. She was talking more and enjoying her old friendships more and more. Seated with Ham and some of their friends, she looked up to see Christopher and Patrick walk in the door. They stopped, just staring at her with concern etched on their faces. They weren’t sure what to do. Should they go to her or wait?
“Excuse me,” she whispered to the table. The boys stared at their sister, unsure of what to do. Still dressed in their uniforms, she took off running toward them, leaping between them into their arms.
“Sadie,” sniffed Christopher, hugging his sister to his side.
“Sis,” said Patrick.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m so, so sorry. I love you both so much. You’re the other two-thirds of my soul. I didn’t know what I was doing, I swear it.”
“Sis, we knew,” said Patrick, kissing her cheeks. “We were so fucking worried about you. Dad said Ham is the one responsible for bringing you back to us.”
“He’s amazing, you guys. I love him. I need you to love him, too.”
“He’s a great man, Sadie. We already knew that. If you love him, we’ll love him, too.” Christopher kissed her forehead, hugging her again.
“I’m so glad you’re both home for the holidays. Are you getting out?” she asked.
“Maybe,” shrugged Patrick. “We’re still thinking about it.”
“I hope you will. I miss you both so much, and I’m not sure I want to go back to the U.N. I haven’t made any decisions yet.”
“Well, for now, we’re here.”
It was like old times in the cafeteria. The entire team had come over to decorate the grounds for Christmas. There were dozens of trees ready to be placed in cottages and in the cafeteria and office, as well as in the gardens.
Claudette and Jake wanted to make the big house as beautiful as Irene and Matthew had done. On the other island, they were doing the same thing, and tomorrow, Patrick, Christopher, Ham, and Sadie would decorate the island mansion.
“I’d love to do a holiday cocktail party at the mansion,” she said to Ham as they placed ornaments on the tree.
“I think that’s a great idea,” smiled Ham. “You tell me what to do, and I’ll make it happen.”
Thomas was stringing lights around the windows, laughing with Axel and Max.
“Hi, Thomas,” said Sadie. “Where’s May?”
“Oh, she ran to the office to find two boxes of ornaments that were stored there. We think they had the ornaments that the kids made last year.”
“Oh, I loved those,” smiled Sadie. Ham watched her, fearful that talking about the kids might cause her to take a step back. She simply looked at him and kissed him. “I’m good.”
“There she is,” grinned Thomas. May walked toward them with one box, and Ham frowned.
“That’s the box that we brought back from Myer’s house.”
“Where did you get this?” she asked, looking at the men. “Where? Who gave this to you?”
