Lost and Found Family by Jennifer Ryan

Margaret stared at the papers spread before her and thought of all Sarah had revealed. Denial came first. “She’s lying. This can’t be true. Sean . . . He wasn’t like what she said.” Margaret tried to put it all together and understand what happened.

“People change. And sometimes they don’t always show us who they really are. But Sarah . . . She’s open and honest.” Luke’s admiration rang loud and clear in his words.

“It’s just so unbelievable.”

“Is it? Do you think Sean would tell you any of the things Sarah revealed?”

No. Sean never admitted wrongdoing, even when caught. She’d had to scold and punish him for lying often when he was young.

Luke drew her from the past back to the present she didn’t want to face. “If Sean was the one doing all the work, how did she keep the company running and profitable after his death?”

“I . . . I don’t know. I just assumed she hired people to do it. I’m trying to make sense of it.” She wanted to believe her mischievous son had grown up into a good man, despite the lack of decent male role models in his life. She’d picked poorly when it came to the men in her life. And she feared Sean had learned the wrong lessons, and Bridget had learned to walk away when things got tough.

Margaret stood from her chair. It took a little extra effort these days, but she managed. She made her way around to the other side of the desk and sorted through the papers. A handwritten letter from Sarah, financial statements marked with the Spencer Software logo, and a bank statement that stunned her. She slowly sank into the chair behind her. “This can’t be. She couldn’t have turned three hundred and something dollars into this. It’s not possible.”

“How much is in the account?” Bridget asked, coming around the desk to look for herself.

Margaret had never told her about the envelopes. She held up the statement. “One million six hundred forty-two thousand eight hundred seventy-two dollars and fifty-seven cents.” Margaret put her hand to her open mouth, disbelieving what she saw and admitted out loud, “I had no idea. For two years she’s been sending me these envelopes, and I never opened them. I was too angry. I thought she just wanted to shove it in my face that the company was thriving while Sean missed it all. I never dreamed she sent me money.”

“Just you?” Bridget asked.

Luke moved closer. “Seriously? You think you deserve a piece of what she built? It goes to her character and how much heart she has that she did anything for Margaret.”

Bridget wound up, but Margaret cut her off before she spoke. “He’s right. Sean left her with two little boys and not much else. She didn’t have to protect his name and do this for me.” Margaret thought about it and understood what Sarah intended. “She knows I’m always here to support you, Bridget. I’m sure she meant for me to help you with this money, just like I’ve done in the past.”

Bridget picked up the statement and stared at it. “This changes everything. I could stay home with Sophia. We could move into a nicer place. She can go to college.”

Margaret pressed her lips tight, not liking that Bridget wanted to do what Sean had done, live off the money Sarah made and not work for what she wanted. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, dear. I’ve given you all I have up to now and I need to dig myself out of the hole I’ve put myself in.”

“Yes, but . . .” Bridget pointed to the statement. “This is a lot of money.”

“It is. And it’s thanks to Sarah that our financial future is sound. So long as I spend wisely.”

Luke jumped in. “In other words, Bridget, that money isn’t your ticket to easy street and living off your mom the way Sean lived off Sarah’s hard work.”

“No one asked you,” Bridget snapped.

“He’s right,” Margaret interjected, grateful Luke said exactly what she wanted to say. “I’ll help, but I won’t enable you to stop taking care of yourself and your responsibilities.”

Bridget silently fumed.

Luke changed the subject. “Do you mind if I look at some of this?”

“Go ahead.” She pushed the documents toward him. “Maybe you can tell me what these statements mean.”

Margaret opened some of the other envelopes and sorted through their contents. Each one contained essentially the same items: the financial statements for both the company and her personal account that Sarah had set up, pictures of the boys and their artwork, and a letter from Sarah.

Tears gathered in her eyes and regret and self-loathing filled her gut as she read the lovely accounts of the boys’ lives. “She talks about the boys’ first day of school, fun things they like to do, and their accomplishments.” She held the letters up. “It’s like watching the boys grow up through Sarah’s eyes and words.” Margaret felt terrible for ignoring all of this. Especially when Sarah had signed every letter the same, “Best wishes, Sarah.” She didn’t hold a grudge. She’d tried to build a bridge and Margaret had dynamited every attempt by ignoring Sarah and piling on the scorn.

None of the letters contained any hostility or said anything about what Sarah had gone through to get the company back on solid ground, or how hard she’d worked to make it a success.

Shame washed over Margaret.

Sarah had done everything to make sure Margaret knew about the boys and their lives. Margaret had been too stubborn to even open the envelopes.

She’d missed out on so much.

And it was all her fault.

Luke gave a half smile and held up the papers. “She’s done an amazing job with this company. These statements show that when Sean died the company was out of money and headed toward crippling debt. After just six months, the company made a small profit. Quite an accomplishment based on what Sarah had to overcome. After the first year, she made a generous profit. She even gave out bonuses to the employees. Though she could have, and deserved it, she didn’t take one. The second year she more than doubled the profits and the projections for this year are four, almost five times as much. She’s projected to make almost two hundred and thirty-five million. That’s the profit, Margaret. All of that is after she pays her staff and overhead.”

Margaret couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Luke leaned in. “Did you know she does the major projects that have catapulted the company to success? She puts in a sixteen-to-twenty-hour day. While she has Camille to help with the house, cooking, and the kids, she takes the boys to school and picks them up herself. She goes back and forth between work and home with the boys at least four times a day and works well into the night and early morning. I listened in on a call between Sarah, her assistant Abby, and her team. They all adore her. And I’ve learned a lot more about Sarah these past weeks.”

“Like what?” Bridget asked for the both of them.

“The company’s main revenue comes from the lower-level programmers who do website design, database programming, and system security, but Sarah is a world-class programmer. She does the major projects that make them big bucks. She has as many as fifteen to twenty projects going at all times. She keeps to herself and rarely meets with clients directly because she doesn’t have the time. She handles most of the business meetings by phone or has someone from her team attend in her place. The press is constantly trying to interview her because she has one of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley. They expect it to grow as fast, or faster, than many of the Internet companies. She refuses all requests for interviews and sends the co-CEO Evan to do public relations and press conferences. She doesn’t date. Ever. She works seven days a week more often than not. She only takes one week of vacation and goes camping with the boys. For that one week, she turns off her cell phone, doesn’t answer email, and spends the entire seven days with the boys.

“Did you know she also owns a ranch not far from here? She has the best stock of quarter horses in the state. I know because I tried to buy some from her a while back, but she wouldn’t sell to me. She only sells to people she knows run a good ranch. She didn’t know my ranch, or me, so she wouldn’t sell and put her animals in possible jeopardy. She has integrity. She’s not out to make a quick buck. She’s mentioned that she has another business. I don’t know what it is, but if it’s as profitable as the other two she runs, I’d imagine she could quit it all tomorrow and never need money for the rest of her life, or those boys’ lives.”

Luke went on, “She’s brilliant, you know. She just finished a huge project for the company. The biggest one she’s ever accomplished. She did the majority of the work on her own. Her staff cheered her over the phone when they found out she’d accomplished something no one else has done. She thanked them for their hard work and told them it had been a team effort. They balked at the notion that they had done anything. They gave her full credit and still she made them feel as if she couldn’t have done it without them. In my book, that alone says a lot about her character. You’ve completely misjudged her, and I’ve been guilty of the same thing.”

Luke placed his hands on his hips. “She works harder than anyone I know and loves her kids bigger and better than a lot of parents I’ve seen. Sean didn’t appreciate her. He didn’t love her the way she deserves to be loved. I won’t make the same mistake. I’m always holding back and pushing women away. All I want to do now is hold on to her.”

Margaret had never heard Luke speak so passionately about anything or anyone. “She does all that and still agreed to take the time to come here. No wonder she collapsed the other day.” Margaret felt terrible for the way she’d treated Sarah. She never gave Sarah a chance. She’d added on to Sarah’s load by leaving it to her to clean her room upstairs, cook most nights, and make the yard safe for the boys to play.

“I’ve watched her working,” she continued. “She’s so intent and focused when she’s at the computer. She sometimes has two or three going at the same time. She moves back and forth between them. It’s funny, though. I always thought she didn’t pay enough attention to the boys, but whenever they interrupt her, she stops whatever she’s doing and gives them her full attention. She’ll stop everything to get them a glass of water or play a game. And then, when she can, she goes back to doing her work with the same focus and intensity she had before. I didn’t want to admit it to her, but I thought she was doing a good job with the boys. I don’t know what she does on those computers, but I guess she really is good at her job.”

She should have set aside her anger and talked to Sarah. At the very least, her grandsons deserved better than for her to just drop out of their lives. But she’d grieved deep and hard for Sean. Her only son. She’d had such high hopes for him, and it killed her to see his life cut short when he’d been on the precipice of achieving so much.

Or so she had thought.

She leaned on her elbows on the desk and held the sides of her face in her hands and stared at Luke. “I don’t know what to do about all this. I’ve been awful to her. Cruel, even, blaming her for everything when Sean treated her terribly.” She picked up several papers. “Did you see these letters and pictures? She wrote and told me about the boys every month. I didn’t cash the check and she took a little bit of money and turned it into a fortune. She didn’t have to do all of that. I certainly didn’t deserve it after the way I treated her.”

Luke gave Margaret’s hand a soft squeeze. “I can’t believe someone like her exists. I’m in love with her. I’m going to marry her.”

Margaret gasped. She had no idea they’d grown so close in such a short time.

“You can’t be serious?” Bridget’s whole body went rigid. “She gets the company, all the money, and marries a rich guy?”

“You’re looking a little green with envy, dear.” Margaret gave Bridget a look Bridget knew all too well. Margaret spent a lot of Bridget’s youth reminding her that life wasn’t a competition.

She focused on Luke. “I’m sorry I didn’t see her the way you do. I guess congratulations are in order. And I really do wish you both all the happiness in the world.”

Luke smiled. “She doesn’t know I want to marry her yet. I’ve asked her to stay here with me. We haven’t worked everything out, but I hope we will before it’s time for her to head home.”

“Nothing would make me happier than to have the boys nearby. I really want a chance to make things right. But how am I going to do that?”

“Tell her you’re sorry. Tell her your feelings have changed. She’ll appreciate your making the effort. Thank her for everything she’s done. I’ve discovered that she appreciates the simple, heartfelt things the most. I’m trying to do the same because of her.”

“I’ll talk to her. Maybe I can do something nice, like watch the boys so you two can go on a proper date.”

Luke’s eyes brightened with excitement. He really had it bad. “I’d appreciate it. I’m sure she will, too.”

“So she gets everything she wants,” Bridget said, still smarting from not receiving her own fat check.

“Maybe if you worked as hard as she does, you’d have everything you want,” Margaret suggested.

Bridget threw up her hands and let them fall. “Seriously, now you’re comparing me to her. I’m out of here.”

“Why did you stop by?” Margaret hadn’t been expecting her.

“To talk to my mom about my sucky life, but you’ve made it perfectly clear you have no sympathy for my situation and I’ll never live up to the amazing Sarah, who is so smart and kind and generous. Never mind what Sean thought about how she treated him.” Bridget stormed out.

Margaret took a second to absorb her comments. “She still misses Sean. And her divorce was just finalized. She’s in a bad place.”

“And looking for an easy way out. I get it, but none of that excuses her for thinking Sarah owes her something or that she can take what Sarah gave you as a gift. She can’t blame Sarah for everything and hold Sean harmless.”

“I think, like me, she needs time to process all this.” Margaret planted her hands on the desk and pushed herself up. “Let’s go find Sarah, so I can start making things right.” They headed to the door.

Luke let her walk out ahead of him.

They didn’t find Sarah or the boys in the main part of the house.

Luke glanced out the front door window. “Her car is gone.”

“She just left.” Margaret worried she wouldn’t come back.

“I’ll head back to the ranch. Maybe she needed a break and the boys needed to get some energy out so she took them for a ride.” Luke headed down the steps and pulled something off his truck window, held it up, then read it out loud.

“Luke,

Took the boys grocery shopping. Invite Margaret to join us for Sunday dinner at your place. See you soon.

Love, Sarah”

A half smile split Luke’s face. “I invited her to meet my family.”

“Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?” Despite everything she’d just learned about Sarah and what happened with Sean and the company, she still wanted to look out for Luke.

“I know what I want, and it’s her. Come to dinner. Watch her with me and my family. You’ll see what I see.”

Margaret hesitated because she wasn’t sure Sarah really wanted her there or if she’d invited her just to be polite. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not. My parents would love to see you again.”

“You’re this sure about her?”

“Yes.” Luke sounded too sure for her to doubt him. “Please, Margaret. Join us. See what I see, so you and Sarah can truly move on and be there for the boys together.”

“I’d love to.”

“Great. I’m headed home to check on the horses.”

“Thank you, Luke. I feel like without you, I’d have never known the truth. Sarah and I would have gone on as we always have, enduring each other. I wouldn’t know about the money either. I was about to lose this house, and that would have just killed me. I love this place.”

And because of Sarah, someone she’d blamed for everything and treated terribly, she got to keep her home. She had financial security, the boys were back in her life, and given time, she had someone she could count on to be there for her if she needed them.

But there was a lot of healing left to do.

“It’ll be nice for all of us to be living close together someday soon.” Luke waved his goodbye, climbed into his truck, and drove off with a quick honk.

Margaret’s head spun with all the new information and the possibility that Luke and Sarah would live next door if everything worked out with them.

She needed time to come to terms with Sean’s other life. Because it wasn’t the one she thought he’d been living. She needed to reconcile what she’d believed of Sarah and the reality that all this time she’d been reaching out and helping.

Margaret wanted to believe it was to make up for the things Sarah had done to Sean, but if that were true, she’d have stopped long ago when her attempts were ignored and outright dismissed. Yet Sarah had persisted with her notes.

Sarah hadn’t turned her back on Margaret the way she’d done to Sarah. She’d stepped up to be the family Margaret didn’t deserve and Sean didn’t know how to be, because she hadn’t taught him well.

Maybe she hadn’t been the best mother. But she’d taught Sean better than stealing and using people to get what you want.

Sarah hadn’t told her everything. She’d talked about what happened with the business and how Sean’s accident—not so much an accident if he was driving drunk—affected the business.

She hadn’t spoken about how his drinking impacted their marriage, or how his traveling strained things. She hinted about Sean being absent a lot. But had Sarah pushed Sean away? Why didn’t he want to be home with his wife and children? What really went wrong in the marriage? Margaret knew all too well how easy it was for one to collapse.