Inherited: Instant Family by Judy Christenberry

Everything shuts down until it ends. Then we go on as usual.”
    “How do you deal with that?”
    “I’ve learned how. But you…well, you’ll have to work harder, because we’ll be there for every meal.”
    She smiled. “I think that might be fun,” she said softly.
    “You’re my kind of girl, Sarah,” he said with a grin.
    Was she really?
    Brad insisted they go out for a steak dinner that night.
    “Are you sure we’re not going over our budget?” Sarah asked.
    “We have a budget?” he joked.
    She wasn’t amused. “Brad, we have to be responsible. They may not pay for steak dinners.”
    “I think they will. You’re going to make their case for them, Sarah. Without you, your stepfather would’ve skated on this, and they didn’t want that.”
    “Neither do I.”
    “I know. Do you want an appetizer?”
    “No, I think the steak dinner will be quite enough.”
    He grinned at her. “I bet you have a budget for each month.”
    “If I don’t, we end up with no money at the end of the month.”
    “But you don’t need a budget for the next few months.”
    “Why not? What if I spend too much money and you can’t afford me? That wouldn’t be smart.”
    “Nick is going to love having you as our housekeeper.”
    “Doesn’t Abby have a budget?”
    “Not much of one. She doesn’t like budgets. When she was a single mother, she hated having a budget. She kept to it, but she hated it.”
    With a sigh, Sarah agreed. “I understand how she feels, but I’m afraid they’re necessary.”
    When the waiter brought their steaks, they ate silently for several minutes.
    Then, with a frown, Sarah asked, “Do I really have a budget?”
    “Yeah, but it’s a generous one. Nick didn’t want Abby to worry. And I don’t want you to worry, either. Relax. You’ll do fine.”
    Sarah turned a bright pink.
    Brad acted as if he hadn’t noticed her embarrassment. “You know, I was thinking today.”
    “Yes?”
    “Does your stepfather know you’re going to testify?”
    “I would think the prosecutors will have sent my name to the defense team.”
    “I guess they’d have to do that. But ifthat’s true, why hasn’t he pleaded? I mean, how can he expect to win if you’re testifying against him?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You wouldn’t think he’d get a sympathy vote.”
    “I certainly wouldn’t give it to him.”
    Brad smiled at Sarah. “Maybe they’ve seen a picture of you and thought you wouldn’t be able to testify in front of him.”
    “Maybe they think I’m not coming back for the trial.”
    “Guess you’ll prove them wrong, won’t you?”
    “Yes.” After a moment, she said, “I have to do this for my mother,” and then added, “And for Anna and Davy.”
    “I know.”
    When they finished eating, they walked out to the car and he held her hand. Strangely enough, she liked the feel of her tiny one in his larger grip. With a sigh, she said, “I feel like going back up the mountain.”
    “We can do that,” he assured her.
    “No, I didn’t mean—
We don’t have to do that.”
    Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed her palm and smiled. “I think I feel like mountain climbing, too.”
    “Brad, really, I was just teasing.”
    “Liar,” he said, smiling at her.
    She didn’t respond. He opened the car door for her. Then he came around and got behind the wheel.
    “I think we should just go to the motel so we can get a good night’s sleep.”
    “You’re going to sleep at eight o’clock?”
    “Well, I—I have to get ready for bed.”
    “Nice try. But we don’t have to go tomorrow until about nine-thirty. The tour doesn’t start till ten.”
    “Oh.”
    They drove in silence for about ten minutes. “Really, Brad, we should just go back to the motel.”
    “You got a favorite television program you want to watch tonight?”
    “No.”
    “Oh, I thought maybe you wanted to watch Desperate Housewives .”
    “That doesn’t come on tonight.”
    “Aha! That is one of your favorite