Chapter Twenty

Tatum took a deep breath before she dialled her mother's number. She hadn't spoken to Kenny yet, but she figured she'd first tell someone who would actually be happy about the news. She could use a little happiness, after the atmosphere in the house last night had been ridiculously tense. it had started when Isabella and David had returned to the bar, but she'd insisted that everything was fine. Tatum had wanted to talk to her sister when they got back home, but David didn't leave her out of his sight for the entire evening. She thought she'd heard raised voices, but then this morning they seemed to be talking to each other again.

"Hello?" her mother's familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Hey mama, it's me," she said as she lay back against the pillows at the head of her bed and played with her red hair.

"Tatum? Oh bless my soul, it's so good to hear from you. How is everythin' with the bar and Isabella?" Maya said happily, making her daughter chuckle. Nothing had changed there.

"The bar is great, we're doin' quite well. And Izzy and I are gettin' on," Tatum told her.

"And the Millers?"

"They're..." she hesitated slightly. "They could've been worse," she settled on. She didn't want to lie and say nothing had happened, but she also didn't want to tell her that they had been bugging them.

"Oh honey, are you okay?" her mother knew what they were capable of. She'd fretted about her daughter, but the messages that Tatum had sent sporadically eased her mind a little. All her concerns now came back to life.

"I'm fine mama, I promise," Tatum assured her. "In actual fact, I'm better than fine," she added, thinking this made a nice detour into the reason she called.

"Oh? Have you met someone?" Maya asked curiously, making her daughter laugh.

"No mama, I haven't," the redhead said with an amused smile. "But I guess it does have summit to do with a guy," she said mysteriously, able to imagine the confused look on her mother's face. "You're gonna be a grandma, mama," Tatum told her now.

"You're pregnant? Oh my god!" her mother squealed, making her laugh again. "But how, if you've not met anyone?"

"It's Kenny's," she admitted grudgingly.

"Oh dear... does he know?"

"Not yet."

"Oh, well... good luck I guess," Maya said, knowing that Kenny had not been happy when her daughter had finally told him she was leaving him for good. "But it is really good news, congratulations honey," she added now, focusing on the positive that her daughter's phone call had brought. "Do you need me to come help? I don't mind," she offered, despite feeling a twinge of nervousness and anxiety at the idea of having to move back to Little Grove.

"That's really sweet mama, but you don't need to uproot your whole life," Tatum quickly assured her, knowing how much it would've taken just to make the offer. "I got Izzy and her boyfriend David here," she added.

"I'm glad you've got family there with you. But if you ever need me, baby, all you need to do is ask," Maya offered with a smile, hearing her daughter smile too.

"I know mama. And I appreciate it," the redhead said, nodding to herself.

They talked for another hour or so, during which Maya tried to give her daughter as many tips and pointers as she could about how to get through the next few months. She also made Tatum promise to keep in touch better than she had and to send a copy of any scans over. By the time they hung up, Tatum was exhausted and in no mood to call her ex-boyfriend. That conversation would have to wait.

Isabella woke up feeling exhausted the next day. She'd hoped sleep would settle David's mood and her nerves, but instead she'd slept fitfully. Her dreams couldn't let go of how he'd held her and bruised her in public, or the look on Austin's face when she still left with her boyfriend. The disapproving expression had haunted her memories of her favourite summer, as their summer romance had come to an abrupt end. So instead of feeling rested, she felt like she'd not slept in a week. She took slight comfort in the fact that her sister didn't seem to be much better off this morning, even if she did have a good excuse for not sleeping well. The brunette wasn't sure if she wanted David to stay in and away from possibly running into Austin, but then more likely to be even more on edge from staying indoors all day. Either way, it wasn't going to be good.

Despite her misgivings, Isabella wished him a good day and even managed to give him a proper kiss. It helped that her sister was in the hallway waiting for her. It made it easier to keep up the charade that they were in a relatively happy relationship.

"You guys okay?" Tatum asked softly, only minutes after pulling away from the house.

Her sister was sat slumped in her seat, staring out of the window. "Uh huh, all good," the brunette nodded.

"Sure? I thought I heard raised voices last night," the redhead continued to probe.

"Yup."

"But I..."

"Tatum, I said we're fine. Just leave it," Isabella snapped at her now, taking her sister by surprise. Neither of them had massive tempers, but it was the redhead's that usually flared a little quicker than the brunette's.

"Okay... If you say so," Tatum nodded eventually, not saying anything further as she continued the short drive to the bar. She wasn't sure why her sister was lying to her, but she guessed they were still getting to know each other again really. Could she blame Isabella for not wanting to spill her guts to her about the ins and outs of her relationship? As she couldn't answer that question without hesitating, she figured she'd leave it for now. So long as they didn't keep her up again.

They drove the last bit in silence, not sure what else there was to say right now. Tatum parked her truck next to one other just to the side to the bar, and they were both distracted enough not to realise who's it was. Until they walked in and saw the Sheriff making conversation with their waitress.

"Howdy Sheriff, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Tatum put her tiredness and mood behind her, the sight of him enough to cheer her up a little.

"Well howdy beautiful," Austin said to both of them, but looking quite clearly at her brown-haired sister. Isabella didn't flinch or smile but walked pointedly towards the bar to head to their office in the back. "Eh I just wanted to check you had no more trouble..."

"More trouble? When did we have trouble?" Tatum jumped on what he said. No one had mentioned any recent troubles to her and, while she knew she'd been a little distracted recently, she'd have hoped that both Isabella and Sue knew to tell her if anything had happened. Sue shook her head, not knowing anything about this either.

"Did I say more? I just meant no trouble," Austin tried to recover with a slightly ashamed chuckle, noticing that the brunette had paused briefly in the doorway behind the bar to make sure he wasn't going to say anything about the scene he'd witnessed. When she was sure he wasn't going to say anything, she walked on. Austin jumped up from the barstool and gave both the remaining women in the bar a crooked smile before he wordlessly followed the brunette.

Tatum chuckled when Sue gave a disappointed sigh.

"I wish he'd follow me around like that," the waitress mumbled.

"You and me both," the redhead said with another chuckle, regardless of her current condition.

"Bella..." the Sheriff called out softly as she was about to head into the back office. Again, she hesitated briefly but continued her way into the office. Before she could close the door, he followed her and stuck his arm out to stop the door. "Bella, are you okay?" Austin asked. Her light brown eyes briefly moved up to meet his blue, but she didn't offer an answer. In her opinion, he was lucky she wasn't laying into him for once again trying to act like nothing had ever happened between them all those years ago. Her insides were screaming at him for hurting her, for ignoring her before, but her exterior was calm and collected as she sat down behind the desk to go over last night's takings. "Well eh... I guess if you're okay, then I'd better get back to work," he said slowly when it became quite clear that she wasn't going to be answering him normally. At this, Isabella gave a small nod, as if to say, 'you do that'. The Sheriff sighed and returned the nod. "Yeah... well... take care... beautiful," he said, going back to how he'd been addressing her since she'd returned to Little Grove. With a wry smile, he backed out of the small office and headed back to the bar.

"Everythin' okay?" Tatum asked curiously when she noticed he was back. 

"Yeah... course," Austin said with a shrug. "Ladies, I gotta go. Stay beautiful," he told them, as he put his hat back on and, noticing their blushes with glee, left the bar.