Here, it is our first chapter on Sarah's life. As you read, remember... not everything is always as it seems. I can guarantee you'll be surprised!

Dare To Heir
Chapter 3

Sarah was tired, big time. The children had been especially difficult today, and although she loved them all; they could be a bit trying. Gideon had been absolutely no help. Oh sure, he put on a good front but in many ways, like most men, he was useless when it came to the little ones. Initially, they had started out with four kids and had then moved onto six. How she had let Gideon talk her into that was a mystery, and now he was trying to wheedle in two more!

Sarah had told him time and time again that three sets of twins were quite enough, thank-you very much, but he persisted with his puppy dog eyes and full-lipped pout. Sarah was determined that this time it was not going to work she was sticking to her guns. With her luck, she'd end up with triplets this time.

It wasn't as if they could afford to hire someone to help them out. Resources were strapped at the moment although some help other than Gideon's would have been a Godsend. Briefly she considered calling on Irene, but squashed that idea immediately. Though they had established a much better relationship over the years, Toby was still a kid himself and quite the handful at that. Besides, Irene thought she was a complete nutter and just couldn't get why she would "burden" (Irene's word) herself with two let alone four and then horror of horrors, six. She'd been absolutely gob-smacked when Sarah and Gideon had broken the news to her dad and her. Irene's look could have shriveled a lesser man, but Gideon took it all in stride.

She sighed. Gideon was getting worse, and Sarah was at a loss as to how to deal with it. She loved the man; she truly did, but love could only take a person so far. His lackadaisical outlook was as much of a problem as trying to change two dirty diapers at once. Not that he would know. At first he'd been so gung-ho and was just as invested as she was, but as time moved along he'd started to shirk some of his duties, leaving the majority to Sarah to finish off herself. It was completely frustrating!

There were moments when Sarah would wonder what life would have been like for her if she hadn't met Gideon when she was eighteen. If, she hadn't, let things get so out of hand. She knew it'd been a tremendous disappointment to her father when she'd told him that she wasn't going to the Beaumont School of Performing Arts. Tennessee was, at this point, a no-go. Even to this day, Irene and her dad had been hoping that eventually Sarah would shift the duties of the children to Gideon and finally follow her dream.

While she wouldn't exchange the kids for all the tea in China, Sarah would be lying if she said those same thoughts hadn't passed through her noggin. It was still a possibility. After all, twenty-three wasn't old or anything, but it also wasn't the care-free, comfortable existence she'd enjoyed in her mid-to-late teens; everything was so much more complicated now.

She schlepped herself into the nearest chair with a groan. Carrying around toddlers and babies all day was making her ache. You'd think by now that she'd be used to lugging the little darlings from here to there. Her musings were cut short when the door at the far end of the room burst open, admitting the very person whom she'd been ruminating on.

"Hello, dear heart." Gideon waltzed to where she was sitting and placed what he hoped would be a placating kiss on her cheek.

Sarah, too tired to get worked up, only asked, "Where have you been?"

Encouraged by her calm demeanor, he smiled showing off perfect white teeth. He knew how to work it and work it good. After all what was the sense of having good looks if one couldn't use them to your advantage, Sarah thought wryly. She knew that, although he used his charms shamelessly on her and others that it was a benign charm and not the smarmy charm of a used car salesmen.

His one regret was that he'd never been able to win over Irene. She was one of the few women who were totally immune to his winning ways. There wasn't a chance in hell that Irene would ever warm up to him. Sarah knew that although Irene never came out and said the exact words to her face, she got her point across just fine with a look. Irene believed that Gideon had been the ruination of all that Sarah had once aspired to be. She didn't doubt that many a night her father and step-mother sat around the kitchen table discussing the loss of her "golden opportunities" as Irene called them.

"I stopped by the mini-mart and got your favorite caramel-mocha coffee," he replied while producing a large Styrofoam cup from behind his back.

She took it from him gratefully enjoying how the warmth from the cup penetrated her chilled hands. His timely offering didn't stop her from lifting a skeptical eyebrow and questioning in a low voice, "For three hours?"

Not in the least bit flustered, he flashed that smile of his again while stating, "I know how much you dislike coffee that's been sitting around awhile. I stayed until the old stuff was empty and waited until fresh was brewed for you. It was no big deal. Nothing is where you're concerned."

Sipping the piping hot brew, Sarah wondered how best to broach the subject that had been weighing on her mind and just decided to go for broke. "Are you happy?"

Gideon looked confused. Grabbing a chair, he pulled it around to face her and straddled the seat as he positioned his forearms so that they rested on the back of the chair. He looked down at the floor briefly before meeting her eyes, his own unusually serious. "Of course I am." He reached for her free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Aren't you?"

Sarah was a bit surprised. It had been a long time since he'd asked her that question. She supposed that since she hadn't actively admitted it that of course he'd have no idea what she was feeling. She gulped down another swallow of the coffee which was rapidly becoming lukewarm. She almost laughed at the irony. The coffee she held was a good example of their relationship at this point. How do you tell someone you love that you aren't happy? An unhappy which was bordering on miserable, truth be told.

"After all, dear heart I treat you like a queen," he joked while performing a sweeping bow to the best of his ability while seated.

Sarah couldn't help it; she giggled into her cup. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Gideon still managed to find a way to make her laugh. It was truly one of his gifts. Stifling another giggle, she stated, "You're the queen bee around here, not me."

"Yes, well I certainly dress better." He puffed his chest out causing his pale blue dress shirt to gape open until a hint of tanned flesh could be seen. Gideon then made a great show of straightening the cuffs and collar. Dark dress pants with perfect pleats down the front adorned his legs. His blond hair was gelled into spikes sticking out in different directions, and he had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He was definitely a walking fashion plate.

Sarah was well aware that, in contrast, she looked like a badly put together soccer mom. Her shorts consisted of cutoff blue jeans washed so many times they looked almost grey. The T-shirt – which had seen better days – was dark blue with splashes of acid white. One time she'd asked Gideon to do the laundry and he'd managed to mix white with colors. Add to that with a healthy dose of bleach and you were bound to end up with the T-shirt which now graced her trim figure. Let's face it. Long days filled with various forms of spit up, runny noses, filthy hands, food-laden angelic faces and poop-filled diapers were not the ideal situation for swanning around in ones' best. Attempting to be a fashion icon while dealing with youngsters just wasn't on.

"Listen," Gideon said quietly, "If there's a problem, we should talk about it before it gets bigger than both of us."

To her dismay, Sarah felt tears burning at the back of her eyes and struggled to hold them at bay. Sweet, sweet, Gideon; he took the nearly empty cup from her hand and set it on one of the plastic tables which littered the room. Hunkering down, Gideon grasped her chin between his fingers and lifted her face until he could see her clearly. What he saw in her lovely green eyes worried him and Gideon wasn't one to worry. He barely knew the meaning of the word, but now seeing what he must have been blind to have missed for God knew how long had his gut clenching into a tight ball of worry - worry and fear.