Say It Again (First Wives, #5)(51)

They ate and let Lilliana entertain them.

Claire asked questions about the ranch and kept Sasha from having to talk.

“I need to wash my clothes,” she told Trina when they were finished eating.

“I can do that—”

She shook her head. “If you can direct me to the laundry room, I’ll manage.”

Trina smiled and motioned her to follow. “You have the baby, okay?” she asked Claire, who was content with the task of babysitting.

“It’s just you and me, kid. Let’s go pick up some guys,” Claire said in a high-pitched voice.

They walked up the stairs and toward the bedrooms. “Grab your clothes. I’ll show you the laundry room on this floor.”

“You have two?”

“If you count the guesthouse and the staff quarters, we have four. Crazy, right? There is another laundry pair downstairs, but it’s used mainly for cleaning towels and household stuff.”

“It’s a big place.”

“Huge. And if Wade has his way, it will be even bigger in the next couple of years.”

“Oh, why?”

“He wants his daughter to live here forever. He thinks that if he can buy neighboring ranches, she can have one and always be close by.”

They stopped in her guest room and Sasha gathered an armful of clothes. “He’s a good dad.”

“He really is.”

Sasha was happy they’d found each other.

“Is that all you have?” Trina asked.

Sasha glanced at her laundry pile. “We weren’t shopping when we left Europe.”

“I guess that’s true. You know, you and Shannon are about the same size. She has several outfits here. I’m sure she won’t mind you using them. Now that we’re all having babies, it makes sense to leave clothes at each other’s houses. Packing for kids is hard enough.” Shannon was one of Trina’s friends who lived in California.

“I’m not sure—”

“At least borrow something while you’re doing laundry. She has great taste.” Trina led her into a guest room, this one with a crib. She opened the closet and pushed through several hangers. “This is Shannon’s stash.”

Sasha looked down at what she was wearing, then back to the closet. The blue jeans were stylish enough. “You sure?”

“Of course. You change. I’ll grab a laundry basket.”

After sliding into jeans and an olive green short-waisted sweater, Sasha checked her appearance in a mirror. Not her normal outfit, but it worked. She turned to look at her back and grinned. Even her skinny butt looked good in denim.

In the laundry room, Trina stuck around and helped.

And by helping, Sasha meant did the work. “Wade and I hope you’ll consider coming over for Christmas. We’re going to California for Thanksgiving, since Lori will have the youngest babies. I know Reed and Lori would love to see you.”

“Reed mentioned it.”

“So you’ll come?”

“We need to clear up all this before I can even speculate where I’ll be.”

Trina’s face told Sasha that she knew the chances of her showing up were slim . . . even if everything going on in her life at that moment was in the past. As a polite woman, however, she didn’t say a thing.

With the washer doing the work, they walked back downstairs, where Sasha planned on making a quick exit to find Neil. Talking about babies, cooking, and laundry was not in her skill set, and all the domestic stuff was weighing on her.

They found Claire sitting on the floor, her legs stretched out in front of her, and Lilliana curled up on her shoulder, fast asleep.

Both Sasha and Trina stopped in the doorway to stare.

Claire held the baby while quiet tears slid down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Trina asked softly.

Claire bit her lips and tried to talk. “I-I don’t know how any mom can walk away.”

While Sasha stared, Trina moved in and knelt down to her level. “Oh, honey.”

Sasha realized then that Claire had been abandoned, not orphaned. The results were the same, but the trauma was completely different.

Claire started to cry with shuddered breaths.

A knot in Sasha’s throat caught.

“Here, let me take her.” Trina reached for her daughter.

Once Lilliana was on her mother’s shoulder, Trina offered to help Claire up with a free hand.

Once on her feet, Claire walked straight to Sasha and placed her tear-streaked face on her chest. Claire’s arms wrapped around her with a sob.

For a minute, Sasha just stood there, unsure what to do. No one had ever thrown themselves in her arms and cried before. One look at Trina and Sasha closed Claire into an embrace. One that sparked more tears.

It took a lot of effort to hold back emotion.

Sasha couldn’t remember the last time she’d let that emotion happen, but it sure wanted to now. “Some people suck,” she told Claire.

“Yeah.”

The door leading from the kitchen to the outside opened and AJ walked in beside Wade.

Both men stopped when they saw the crying teenager.

AJ stepped forward. “What happened?”

Claire sucked in a breath and pulled away to collect herself. She looked up at Sasha with a brave face.