His Temptation, Her Secret

Her hand went to her forehead. “Money’s good. Money’s great. And yes, paying her bills is a help.”

“But…?”

Sage looked levelly into his eye. “She needs a family, TJ.”

It took him a moment to get her meaning. Then it took him another moment to wrap his head around it. “You’re saying…”

“She needs me. She’s a little girl all alone in the world.”

“Grandmother?” TJ asked. “Aunts, uncles?”

“There’s nobody.”

TJ looked past Sage to Heidi and Eli together on her bed. “You want her to stay with us?”

“I want to adopt her.”

TJ had known that was what Sage meant. He looked back into her eyes, seeing compassion, sincerity and determination. “And you called me impulsive for tearing down a wall.”

“I need to do this, TJ.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “We need to do this.”

Her eyes widened, then went glassy with unshed tears. “Thank you.”

She surged forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, TJ.”

He hugged her close, telling himself to think about Heidi, to think about Eli, to think about Sage as a caring and capable mother. But that wasn’t what he was thinking.

He was thinking about her naked, in his arms and in his bed. He told himself to let go. But his arms wouldn’t cooperate. They tightened around her instead.

CHAPTER NINE

At the kitchen table in Melissa and Noah’s house, Sage smiled at a text message from the new housekeeper, Kristy.

“Both kids are asleep,” she said to Melissa, Jules and Tasha.

“Wish I could say the same about the twins.” Jules looked up from her own phone. “Caleb is sending up an SOS.”

“Tell him to call Matt,” Tasha said, her hand going to her rounded stomach. “Matt needs the practice.”

Sage grinned and typed into her phone.

“How is Heidi settling in?” Melissa asked Sage.

“It’ll take some time.”

It had been a week since Heidi’s mother had passed away. They’d held a small memorial service, where Heidi had clung to Sage. On the recommendation of the head nurse, and with the help of TJ’s lawyers, a judge had granted Sage and TJ emergency custody of Heidi. The actual adoption was going to take several months.

For now, Heidi was reeling from the loss and still struggling to heal from her injuries.

“She seems like a strong little girl,” Tasha offered.

“She smiled yesterday,” Sage said. “She and Eli were painting on the wall, and Eli ended up with red paint on his nose. Heidi thought it was funny.”

Sage’s heart had warmed at the sight.

“That paint wall is inspired,” Jules said.

“It was Lauren’s brainchild,” Sage said, feeling like she had to give the woman credit.

One entire wall of the big recreation room in TJ’s basement was designated as an art area. Once it was covered, the plan was to photograph the artwork, then paint over everything in white and start over. It was a simple concept, but the kids seemed to love it.

“I hear she had a big hand in the festival,” Jules said, gazing at the large map of Lookout Park spread out in front of them. “The special lunch made with foods all harvested within a hundred miles and the local art booths were both her ideas.”

Sage fought the reflexive feeling of inadequacy she seemed to experience whenever people talked about Lauren. The woman had been beloved by more than just TJ.

“Creativity is not my forte,” Sage said.

“What is your forte?” Jules asked.

“She’s a fantastic mom, obviously,” Melissa said.

“She was a genius in high school,” Tasha said.

“That’s a huge exaggeration,” Sage felt compelled to tell them.

“What subjects did you like?” Jules asked.

Sage thought about it. “Math, I suppose. I did well in physics. I really liked the concrete subjects. You learn the answer, and you’ve got the marks. The creative subjects frustrated me. How do you get one hundred percent on an essay?”

“I never got a hundred percent on anything,” Melissa said.

“That just makes you human,” Tasha said.

They all laughed.

“Still, math,” Jules said. “I’m not exactly sure how that translates to the festival.”

“I can write checks,” Sage said.

“That’s huge,” Melissa said. “Looking at the budget, I’d say that was the best talent of all.”

“The budget,” Sage said, inspired. “Can I help with the budget?”

“You mean beyond your very generous contribution, actually manage the budget?”