Until Sage (Until Him 2)

“I’m okay,” I assure her, seeing the worry and anger in her eyes. “Promise.” Sage reaches over to take my hand and pulls it to his lap.

“That woman isn’t worthy of the air she’s taking up by being alive,” Dad grumbles, and I turn around to look at him. Those words were not only harsh but also full of pain, and that statement coming from my dad means he’s upset.

“Dad—”

“No, don’t try to make me feel bad for feeling that way. She was a horrible woman when we met her at the hospital when we adopted you, and she hasn’t changed. The only thing I wish was different is that she would have let us have Kelly, too.”

“Me, too.” I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying, and Sage’s hand squeezes mine.

“Sage,” Chris interjects a minute later, and I look at him to find his eyes on Sage’s in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah?” Sage answers.

“You know how to get into someone’s house unnoticed, don’t you?” he asks, and I wonder where the hell he’s going with this.

“Why?” Sage questions, instead of answering with the fact he has no idea of how to get into someone’s house unnoticed, making me raise a brow.

“I want to break into Ginny’s house and get that box,” Chris explains casually, like he’s talking about what color the sky is and not about breaking and entering then robbing someone.

“Chris, that is not happening.” I shake my head at him.

“Why not? She probably wouldn’t even notice it’s missing. Hell, I can just get some of the ashes from the bigger box and leave the smaller one, and then she will never know.”

“It’s not happening,” I repeat firmly, noticing Sage hasn’t told Chris that his idea is absolutely ridiculous and he won’t be a part of it. “You won’t do that, right?” I ask Sage just to confirm, but he doesn’t answer me. He just gives my hand a squeeze, which makes a chorus of quiet laughter breakout in the back of the car.

Great.

*

HEARING THE FOREIGN sound of a house phone ringing, I pull my eyes from the book I’m reading. I look into the house through the glass doors that lead inside from the sun porch, where I’ve been sitting with my mom since we got back to Sage’s house. Seeing Sage move across his living room and into the kitchen, I watch him grab a slim black phone from its hanger on the wall and put it to his ear.

“I really wish we didn’t have to leave tomorrow,” Mom says, and I pull my attention from Sage to look at her. When we arrived out here, I took up one of the long padded benches lining the wall and she made herself at home in one of the three rope hammocks hanging from the ceiling. “Maybe I should stay. I’m sure your dad could handle stuff for a few days without me.”

“I have to get back to work, too,” I remind her. Even though Frankie told me to take as much time as I need, I can’t afford any more. After forcing my parents to take the money back for Kelly’s cremation, I don’t have much savings left, which means I need to get back to work. “And I need to get out of Sage’s house. He’s been really nice letting us stay here, but I don’t want to take advantage of him and overstay my welcome.”

“You think you could overstay your welcome?”

“Yeah.” I shrug, and she studies me for a long moment before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“What’s so funny?” I frown at her, and it takes a second but she gets herself under control.

“That man wouldn’t care if you moved in and redecorated everything pink. But he will care if you tell him you feel like you’re taking advantage of him and overstaying your welcome.”

“Mom—”

“Chris told me.” She cuts me off, and my eyes widen.

“What?” I breathe as she swings her legs around and sits up, putting her feet to the floor.

“He told me what happened. He told me about what Kelly did to Sage and what happened between you two. I get why you made up the lie about you and Chris being an item, and I even get why you were so cautious about letting anything happen between you two again, but I don’t understand why you can’t see he feels what you feel.”

“God.” I tip my head back. “Chris totally got you on Team Sage, didn’t he?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Sage got me on his team by being sweet to my girl, by holding her when she needed to be held, by staying with her while we couldn’t be with her. He got me when he stopped you outside the funeral home to tell you that he would take care of everything, if that’s what you wanted. He got me when he offered your father and me a place to stay, not knowing us from Adam. That’s how he got me. What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t want the best for my baby? You deserve a man like him in your life. You deserve a man who looks like he would take on the world if it was to protect you.”