Part 108
Huffing and puffing, Becca collapsed onto a large boulder, her face flushed with exertion. "Damn, Sarah ….."
Sarah laughed, not in the least contrite. "Aw c'mon, Bec. It'll toughen you up, get you in shape to chase a toddler around all day."
"Somehow I don't think there's enough toughening in the world to get me ready for THAT," Becca grinned.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Sarah asked, looking over the ledge to the house below.
"It certainly is. Is this the place you told me about?"
"Um hmm. I forgot that you'd never been up here before." Sarah stopped to watch Becca, who was lost in thought. "Are you all right?" she asked quietly.
"No, not really." Once again her eyes filled with tears and she angrily dashed them away.
"Damn hormones … all I do lately is cry…."
"It's okay to cry, Bec." Sarah sat closer to her friend, putting her arm around her shoulders.
"How do you do it?" she asked. "How do you find the strength to cope with everything you've been through, Sarah?"
"I have Howie. He's my rock. I'm not always strong, Becca, but he's there to help me, to keep me on track. Just like Nick is for you, you know?"
"Yeah, I *do* know. He's amazing, Sarah."
"Well …." Sarah hedged, laughing.
"Stop it, you know what I mean," Becca laughed.
"What's he done now?"
"He took me to the cemetery yesterday."
"He what?!"
"I know, crazy, huh? We went out for a drive and ended up at mom and dad's graves."
"Wow. How did all that come about?"
Becca explained what had happened and by the time her story was finished, both she and Sarah were crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, it's okay, really. That's just so … so mature." She laughed when Becca gave her a look. "He's really special, Bec, hold onto him. We got lucky, girlfriend."
"Yeah, we did." She sighed. "I miss your mom, Sarah."
"Me too."
"God, I feel so selfish when I say that, she wasn't even mine …"
"She thought of you as hers, Bec. When your dad died, she just adopted you into the family."
"I just wish she could be here to see the baby. Be a grandma."
Sarah's eyes were wet thinking about her own baby. "I know, Bec."
"But I guess your dad will more than make up for it right?" She smiled, glancing at Sarah.
"No doubt. Look, he's down there working on Nick now." Sure enough, they looked down at the house to see all the men engaged in a heated game of basketball, the girls on the sidelines acting as cheerleaders.
"Oh no. Think the guys need rescuing?"
"Probably. You ready to meet the toughest bunch of fans in the world?" Sarah smirked.
"I do NOT like the sound of that."
"Hey, if you can pass the test with this bunch, then you're home free."
Setting off down the mountain, Sarah coached Becca on her nieces and all of her friends. By the time they reached the house, Becca was ready to do battle for her man.
**************
In no time at all, the girls were waiting on Becca hand and foot. As the boys played ball, Becca sat with her feet propped up drinking lemonade with a handful of rapt preteens sitting at her side. She had no doubt it was all because of Nick, but she chose to just enjoy the moment.
Becca told them the story of her island wedding and they sighed at how romantic it had been. When she got to the part about AJ falling overboard with the bouquet, they were all giggling hysterically. Just about then the game ended, and Nick bounded over, sweaty and triumphant from his victory. He leaned over to kiss Becca and when the entire group of girls let out a collective sigh it was all she could do not to laugh. Nick stood up, looked at the girls and winked, which set off a new round of giggles.
Sarah just shook her head. "God, another generation falls prey to the Carter charm," she whispered to Howie. "Bec, if you can pull yourself away, we need to think about getting ready to go into town."
"Yeah, the visitation is tonight," Howie added.
"I'm a mess," Nick said. Turning to Becca, he caught her yawning. "Come on, baby. You can stretch out while I get cleaned up. You overdid it today." Pulling her to her feet he walked with her into the house as Sarah just watched them go, shaking her head.
"What, Angel?" Howie asked.
"Nothing," she grinned. "Just amazed at how things work out sometimes."
"Yep, I can vouch for that," he said, kissing her sweetly.