Sarah: The Hawthorne Sisters, #4

By Ava Catori

Sarah's entire world crumbled when her father died. Nothing was the same. She didn't mean to keep making bad choices. When she got shocking news that she couldn't undo, she'd never felt more alone.

Grady wasn't looking for love, and he certainly wasn't looking for a life sentence. About to turn eighteen and leave for college, his entire universe shifted. There was just one problem...he wasn't the only piece of the puzzle.

Too young to be pregnant, confused and afraid, can Grady and Sarah find acceptance and love? Or will Grady turn away when he hears the news, leaving Sarah to go it alone?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ava Catori Books
• Release date: Dec 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781507057711

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sarah hunched over the bucket. Her stomach lurched as the wave of nausea washed through her. She hoped it would be over soon. This wasn’t how she planned to spend her senior year of high school. Crawling into bed, she dreaded going back to school. How would she make it through an entire day? Christmas break gave her time to deal with this mess, but her vacation was coming to an end.

Gretta placed crackers and ginger ale on the bedside table. She was still frustrated trying to deal with her daughter’s pregnancy, but at the end of the day it wasn’t going to change. She wouldn’t let her go through it alone.

Sarah’s shock eventually wore off. She just didn’t think it would happen to her. She was careful, used protection, and still ended up pregnant. It wasn’t fair!

Nobody at school knew yet, but in a few months there’d be no hiding the truth. Her pregnancy would more than give itself away. Sarah was embarrassed by her condition. She’d be pointed at, looked down on, and be an outcast. She tried to convince her mother to let her finish schooling at home, but with only 6 months left, Gretta wouldn’t budge. Sarah needed to deal with the consequences of her actions.

Sarah climbed out of bed to brush her teeth. At least she could feel human again. She took the bucket with her, just in case the toothpaste made her nauseas all over again. This wasn’t how she planned to spend the holiday break.

How are you making out? Maggie saw her coming down the hallway.

Eh, she grunted and pushed her way into the bathroom. She didn’t have much left to say. Morning sickness was only supposed to be in the morning, right? The joke was on her. It lasted on and off all day long.

It was a done deal. She was pregnant, no matter how much wishing she did. After the shock wore off, she finally accepted it. It didn’t change how much she resented the situation. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was going to finish school, go away to college, and get out of this go-nowhere town. Saddle Brook might be fine for farmers and such, but she wanted a fun life in the city. She wanted to go to clubs and shopping malls. She wanted to be in a busy place with throngs of restaurants and things to do. In this two bit town, she had to drive just to get to a bigger town, and that was still small compared to most towns. Wyoming was vacant next to bigger, fancier places like Los Angeles, Miami, New York, or Chicago. Heck, even smaller cities were better than the area she lived in. There was nothing to do out here in no man’s land unless you were boring and old, and she was neither.

Back in her room, she flipped through magazines. She’d pictured a different lifestyle than the one she was currently living. And now with a baby coming, her shot at happiness would simply be a distant memory. She’d be tied down, a mother way too young, and who knew what Grady would do.

When she told him, he didn’t say much. He just looked at her. What?

I’m pregnant.

Yeah, well, I’m not ready to be a father.

Like I’m ready to be a mother?

They hadn’t talked much since that day. At least she had her mother. As grown up as she felt most of the time, Sarah was terrified. She went from feeling ready to take on life to feeling like a child. She wasn’t ready to be a mother.

As much as she wanted the outcome to be different, this was real. Her entire life had been changed because of one night of promiscuity. Her first reaction was anger, the denial. Crying didn’t help, so she took a second test. When it showed the same results she sat in the bathroom staring at it. In shock, she shook. This can’t be happening. Sarah shivered and pulled her arms tight against her chest. She’d never felt so alone. She was horrified. How would she tell her mother? It wasn’t easy. It didn’t go well, but the words spilled out eventually.

Bargaining came next. If the next test I take is negative, I promise I’ll go to church regularly, do all my homework and not do it again. Please, please, please. If I take the test and it’s negative, I’ll never cuss again, I’ll stop talking back, and I’ll be a better person. None of it worked. The test was still positive.

January brought depression, and the thought of returning to school was overwhelming. Thankfully the weekend offered her an extra day off, but tomorrow was Monday and there was no getting out of it. Even with all the morning sickness, her mom told her to suck it up and get to school. She did this to herself, and it was time to