Free Sweet Tea at Sunrise by Sherryl Woods Page A

inside, he leaned down and planted an impulsive kiss on her cheek that had her scowling.
    “What’s up with you?” she asked suspiciously.
    “I just had a good day, that’s all. Spending time with the kids without worrying about turning right around and heading home has been great. The Serenity Inn’s not such a bad place, either.”
    Sarah immediately went on the defensive. “I know you think it’s ridiculous to waste money on a hotel, but there’s no room here.”
    “Hey, I wasn’t being critical. The inn’s fine.”
    She regarded him curiously. “You’re being awfully agreeable this weekend. What’s that about?”
    He hesitated, then said, “Maybe if there’s time after supper, we could talk some. I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
    “Okay.”
    The meal was surprisingly pleasant. Nothing the kids did seemed to faze him, not even when Libby knocked the top off her sippy cup, sending milk in all directions. In fact, he didn’t utter one single criticism of Sarah or the kids. He even mustered up a couple of sincere-sounding compliments for Raylene’s cooking. It wasn’t like Walter at all, or at least the Walter of recent times.
    As soon as they’d finished bowls of ice cream with fresh peaches, Raylene offered to give the kids their baths.
    “I’ll do that,” Walter said, stunning Sarah.
    Raylene waved off the offer. “Let me. You can help Sarah with the dishes. That’ll give you two some time to catch up.”
    Before Sarah could object, Raylene shooed Tommy and Libby from the kitchen.
    “Well, that was subtle,” Sarah said, oddly disconcerted at being left alone with her ex-husband.
    “If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was matchmaking,” Walter said. “But she’s pretty much made it clear that she’s against a reconciliation.”
    Sarah’s mouth dropped open. “Reconciliation? Where’d that come from?”
    “I’m just saying she seems to be against it,” he said defensively. “Not that I’m looking for one or anything.”
    Something in his eyes told Sarah that wasn’t entirely true. “Okay, that’s it,” she said decisively. “Leave the dishes. We need to talk. Grab a beer or tea or something and we’ll go outside.”
    As soon as they were settled on the patio, Walter looked around, clearly trying to avoid her gaze.
    “Mind telling me why the subject of a reconciliation came up?” she finally asked. “I might have initiated the proceedings, but you couldn’t wait to be divorced.”
    He didn’t respond immediately. Eventually he sighed, then said, “I had a confrontation with my dad the other day.”
    She still wasn’t following. “So, what? You want to get back together to spite him?”
    He frowned at her sarcasm. “No, it just got me to thinking about why we split up.”
    “We split up because you showed no respect for me and you let your parents get away with bullying me,” she said flatly.
    “I know.”
    He spoke so softly that at first she wasn’t sure she’d even heard him correctly. “You’re admitting it?” she asked incredulously.
    He shrugged. “I have to. It’s the truth.”
    She sat back in shock. “Well, I’ll be. That must have been some confrontation.”
    “It just made me see a bunch of stuff in a different light,” he said. “I know it’s too late for us. Not even you with your soft heart can forgive all the things I did to you.” He gave her a wistful look. “Can you?”
    “Probably not,” she admitted.
    “You left a little wiggle room in there,” he noted.
    She leveled a look into his eyes. “I didn’t mean to. Look, Walter, if you finally see what a controlling man your father is, that’s great, but I don’t want any part of that life again. I’m trying to get a handle on who I am, and until I figure that out, I don’t want any man trying to shape me into what he thinks I ought to be.”
    “I understand. You sure did get more than enough of that from me. When I think back on some of the things I said, the way I