Page 38 of Searching for Sadie (Mystic Falls #5)

SADIE

T he next day Sadie was still only half packed.

She just couldn't quite figure out what she needed.

Trying to figure out what she was going to wear on camera had become a nightmare for her after the show.

The night she was going to go out to dinner with her parents, that would be fine.

But then the night before that she had a mixer with the cast, which she was dreading.

Friday was the day they would be filming the reunion.

She wasn't sure she'd dreaded anything quite this much.

Lucas had offered to go with her, and she wasn't sure why she told him not to go.

She wanted him there. She wanted him there more than she cared to think about.

But in the same breath he's already seen her humiliated on screen and held her while she cried because of the show.

Having it happen in person again was just too much to bear.

She didn't want him to see her like that.

Even if she was terrified to go face her family and the show on her own, the idea of him watching it was too much.

As she sat in the window seat that overlooked her front year and her and Lucas's driveway, she couldn't help but think about how things had changed since she'd been here.

She remembered sitting in this seat crying and listening to Dolly trying to figure out her next step. Things have changed a lot since then.

When she'd gotten here, she was jobless, broken hearted, and humiliated.

She didn't know what she needed. But somehow, she found exactly what she needed in Mystic Falls.

She had a job at the diner, but she was also working with Liam, which is beyond a dream come true.

She had a group of friends that accepted her the way she was.

And she had Lucas. Just the thought of him made her smile.

No one had ever made her feel the way he makes her feel.

As she thought about him and his house, she looked around this room.

It was small, but the only room in this house that seems to contain any piece of who she was.

Claiming more of this house seemed disrespectful to her aunt’s memory.

She for whatever reason loved her pink and her flowers.

How could Sadie get rid of those things she loved?

But her aunt had given her this house for a reason, and it wasn't to keep it in a weird memorial.

As she was sitting thinking about all of this, George started yowling in the hallway. What has the cute little monster gotten into now? When she opened her door, she found George with his little paw under the bedroom door of her aunt's bedroom trying to open it.

"What are you up to now?" she asked as she went over and opened the door.

George instantly trotted in and hopped up on the bed before sprawling out in a warm sunbeam.

The way the sunlight filtered in gave this room a warm glow.

It was much bigger and sunnier than the one she was in.

It even had a bathroom which as she peaked in had a new shower up in some time with a half tile wall and a rain shower head.

How did she not know that was here? The big window had a bench seat as well, but it overlooked her backyard and all the beautiful plants her aunt had spent her days taking care of.

Sadie moved over to the bed and sat down on the softest mattress she'd ever sat on. Maybe it was time to change rooms. As that thought rattled through her head an envelope on the nightstand caught her attention.

It was a pink envelope with her name on it. Her head cocked to the side as she picked it up to examine it. She thought the lawyer had given her all the paperwork there was, but as she pulled it out it was a letter to her in her aunt's old loopy cursive handwriting.

My Darling Sadie,

I know many people were confused as to why I gave you this house.

You seem to have a wonderful life in Nashville, and I'm so proud of everything you've done.

You are such a talented young songwriter, but more than that you are an amazing person with a big heart.

I see a lot of myself in you, and I guess that's why I wanted you to have this house.

When I moved to Mystic Falls all those years ago, I had nothing but a job teaching music at the high school.

My family didn't want to move here by myself, it was a different time for women then.

But I did. I did, and it was the best decision of my life.

This town saved my life in so many ways.

This town gave me a safe place to discover who I was.

Well, when I knew the cancer was back and I knew my time here was limited I really started to think about the legacy I was going to leave.

I have my family, but sometimes those relationships are too complicated to support me in the ways I need.

I couldn't help but observe, you might struggle with some of those same problems.

One day I had my friend Bridget over for tea.

She saw your picture on the mantle and asked about you.

Of course, I had to sing the praises of my songwriter great niece.

That is when I had the idea to leave this house to you.

Bridget told me that this house might just give you the fresh start you needed, and while I don't know if you need a fresh start or not, I've learned in my time with Bridget to just go with it.

Now if you don't want this house, please sell it and have a nice nest egg for your next adventure. But if Bridget was right and you could use a fresh start, there is no better place than Mystic Falls.

I love you,

Aunt Rosie

PS I have a very handsome neighbor who is single and one of the kindest men I've met. You should meet Lucas.

PPS I'm sorry about George... He's just going to do his own thing.

Sadie brushed away the tear that streamed down her cheek as she read the letter.

It had been so strange to everyone in her family just why she'd been given this house.

Her aunt and her had always been kindred spirits from the music to the way they just couldn't seem to ever do things the easy way.

That was what Sadie had thought. But somehow her aunt had known she would need a fresh start in a new place. She was right about that.

She was also right about Mystic Falls. This little town and this community were just what she needed.

They had embraced her with open arms. And then there was the little postscript about a handsome neighbor.

A teary laugh bubbled up out of her when she thought about exactly how right her aunt had been about that.

How could she have known? She would have to ask Lucas who Bridget was.

George bumped her hand holding the letter.

"Hey buddy," she said, giving him a scratch behind his ears. "Aunt Rosie was pretty smart, wasn't she?"

A knock sounded on her front door, and she was hoping it was her handsome neighbor. As she made her way to the top of the stairs, she could see the large expanse of chest filling up the window of her front door. A smile spread across her face. It was exactly who she hoped it would be.

Her feet quickly carried her to the front door as she flung it open and threw herself at her big strong next-door neighbor.

"Lucas!"

His arms quickly encircled her.

"What is it baby? What's wrong?" He pulled her back to examine her. Concern covered his face but upon taking her in that concern turned into curiosity.

"Nothing wrong. I'm just happy it's you."

A grin spread across his face before he pulled her back into his embrace.

Something in that letter had mended a part of her broken heart nothing had yet been able to touch. The idea that this was her home settled deeper inside. Lucas pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she melted even more into him.

She pulled back just enough to smile up at him. "My aunt was right about you."

He cocked his head to the side, "I'm not following."

"I found a letter from my aunt today. She told me I should meet her handsome next-door neighbor."

He laughed as he ran a hand through her hair. "Oh, she did, did she?"

"She did. She also told me that she gave me this house because of something Bridget said."

"That tracks," Lucas said with a nod.

"Does it?" Sadie asked with a slight giggle. "I didn't think it made any sense."

"Well, you clearly need to spend more time with Bridget." He cupped her face and gazed down into her eyes. It felt like he could see straight into her soul, and while that should terrify her, with Lucas all she ever felt was safe. "What are you up to tonight?"

"I have book club with the girls."

His eyebrow cocked, "You gonna come home drunk again?"

She laughed and batted at his chest. "No... If only because I need to be at the airport at 9:30 tomorrow morning."

That thought seemed to sober them both up. Maybe she should ask him to come with her, he did have a way of making her feel better. But she needed to face this herself. And she found herself feeling a little more confident after getting that note from her aunt.

"Okay, I'll be over around 7. That should get us enough time to get to Glendale and be there in time for your flight."

"You don't have to take me."

"Songbird, you're mine. I'm going to take you to the airport so I can soak up every last second with you before you leave," he said before dropping his head to press a kiss on her lips.

"If you insist," she said, grinning up at him.

"I do," he said before kissing her again. This time she slipped her arms around him holding him close and he did the same. One of his hands slid lower until he was cupping her ass, giving it a little squeeze.

Later that night she was walking into the corner bookstore. She was running a little late because packing was a nightmare. But she was here, and she was ready to have a good night with her new friends after the new sense of being the letter from her aunt had given her.