Please, Sage, please understand that we have only made this decision in all of your best interests. We want you all to have lives. Happy lives.
We love you all and only want what’s best for you.
Love Mom and Dad xoxoxo
PS: Jen you are my only sister and I know this is the biggest favour anyone could ever ask, but please take care of my babies and do what’s best for all three of them.
Love
Meri xoxoxo
* * *
“Sage, you have to believe I didn’t know anything about this.”
“I do,” Sage said. “It doesn’t change anything though. I have lost everything, my home, Bails and Netty and my parents. The thing that hurts the most is them. They’re gone and they died thinking that I wasn’t someone they could trust.”
“It wasn’t that at all.”
“Yes, it was, Aunt Jen. They dressed it up, but that was basically what they meant.”
“I think you need to read the letter a few more times when you aren’t so upset.” Jen wrapped her arms around her niece.
Sage nodded. “What am I going to tell the kids, Auntie?”
“I don’t know. We can leave it for a week but then it might be a good idea if we take them with us so they aren’t here when people come to look at the place. That’ll still give us a few weeks before we have to move to break the news to them and give them time to adjust, seven weeks until we have to leave.”
“Oh, God, I forgot—you’re moving and they’ll be even further away.”
Chapter Two
“Coming!” Sage yelled from the bedroom upstairs where she was changing Netty’s bed sheets.
“It’s only me!”
“Cliff,” she said, running down the stars to open the door. “Hi, I didn’t think you were coming over today.”
“I know, but I thought I’d see if you needed some help and I wondered if you wanted to have dinner or something?”
“Or something? Well, the chores are done. Uncle Harry helped when he picked up the kids.” She’d let the kids go stay with their aunt and uncle. Let—more like she had to let them go. She hadn’t told anyone that yet, not even Cliff, who had been around often. It just seemed too hard to say the words, like if she said the kids were being taken to Florida, then it would happen. Now that they were gone though, she had things to organise.
“The kids aren’t here? I thought it was quiet.”
“Yeah, they’re at Aunt Jen’s.”
“Good, it might do you good to have a break for a few days.”
“I don’t need a break from them,” Sage said a little more sharply than she intended. “I just, I thought they needed a break from me, and the work, from everything. It’s only for a week.” And she didn’t need them overhearing any phone calls. She especially didn’t want them here when the for sale signs went up.
“Is everything okay? You seem a little stressed or something,” Cliff said.
“I am stressed, my parents just died.” Now she was sounding downright hostile and she didn’t mean to. It was just coming out all wrong.
“I’m sorry, Sage, I didn’t mean anything. I know you must be under enormous pressure. I just thought you were a little more rattled than you were last time I saw you is all.”
This conversation was getting deeper than Sage wanted. “So you said something about dinner?”
“Yes, I thought you might like to go out or maybe I could cook for you here?”
“I can cook you know.” Sage grinned. “How about we cook something together, or at least heat up a casserole? There’s still some frozen ones left.”
Cliff grinned. “That could work. We could make corn bread or biscuits to go with the food.”
“We have a bread maker here.”
“Sacrilege! Why don’t we make our own rolls, I’ll show you how?”
“Deal.” Sage frowned. “Are you on some kind of mission to make sure that I’m fed or something?”
“No.” Cliff chuckled as he rattled though the pantry looking for ingredients. “I like to cook and I don’t like to cook for just myself.”
“Fair enough. One more question, isn’t it a little early for dinner?”
“The dough has to prove.”
“Ah.”
“And the casserole needs to thaw out…”
“Okay then, I guess I’ll get one out of the freezer. Any preferences? There’s a few.”
“Surprise me.”
The situation was surreal, Sage thought. The smell of fresh bread and beef stew wafted through the screen door and out to the porch where she and Cliff sat sipping on red wine. “This is nice.”
“It is,” Cliff said. “Are you going to be all right here by yourself while I’m away?”
“I’m not your responsibility, Cliff, I’ll be fine.” It would be nice to be someone’s responsibility.
“I know, but I can’t explain it, it kind of feels like you are or you should be.” He took another sip of his wine. “I want to help, I like to help, I just feel bad because I have to go on this trip and I have work to do on the ranch before I go. I can’t let go of the feeling that I’m deserting you or something. Especially now that the kids aren’t here. You’re all alone.”
“What are you doing anyway?”
“I’m taking some cattle to sell.”
“Oh? I thought the idea of a rancher was to gather more cows as you went along.”
“I’m culling and picking up some new bulls.”
“Culling?”
“I’m selling some heifers that if I kept them, would lessen the quality of my herd.”
“I love business and I love the country, but I hate the business side of the country. It seems so harsh.”
“A ranch has to make money, Sage, or you can lose everything. Animals on a ranch aren’t pets, most aren’t anyway.”
She knew that well enough, in fact, if she didn’t change the subject she was liable to blurt out everything, all the stuff that she hadn’t said out loud yet, about losing the kids and having to maybe sell the ranch. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone or maybe even to admit it all to herself. “I guess. Anyway, I can smell that that stew is ready. Let’s go eat.”
* * *
They had practically licked their plates clean; or at least wiped them clean with the delicious home made rolls. “I see what you mean about the homemade bread. No comparison,” Sage said with a smile. This was the most mellow she’d felt. They had opened their second bottle of wine and that was helping a lot. “Would you like to listen to some music?”
“Music would be nice. What do you have?”
“Well, you have to remember this is mostly my parents’ taste, I do love it though.”
“Put something on that you like,” Cliff said.
Sage flipped through her parents’ selection and finally pulled out a country legends CD. It made her smile. “I remember my dad bought this for my mom, the Christmas I was ten.”
Cliff said nothing but he did top up their glasses.
The music filled the room and Sage’s emotions surged through her, she turned and almost turned the music off. It was too much, too raw.
“Don’t,” Cliff said, standing immediately and pulling her into his arms. “Don’t turn it off. It’s okay, let it go and have a cry. I have wide shoulders.”
He swayed a little from side to side and she moved with him in what seemed like an awkward dance. “I can’t cry.” Sage really wished she could, but the tears just wouldn’t come. She must be a cold and heartless soul. It did feel nice though to be wrapped in Cliff’s warm embrace. “Are we dancing?”
“Dancing’s a strong word but this is about the closest I come. I like to call it movement to music.”
He didn’t laugh but she could feel a rumble that resonated from his chest and down along his flat belly that was pressed firmly against her. Oh it felt so good. “I’ll take it,” she said. She leaned her head against his chest and continued to sway in time to the music. As song after
song played, the knot of pain in her belly slowly unravelled.
When the music finished, neither of them moved. She could have said something or suggested changing the music, but Cliff’s arms were still tightly around her and she was glad, she was stuck in the moment. When eventually she tilted her head back to speak, his lips found hers. Their first kiss was soft and gentle with a little pressure; just a sweet connection that left her wanting more. Sage broke the spell by sliding her hands underneath his shirt. His skin was warm and she couldn’t resist sliding her fingers into the space just below the waistband of the back of his jeans.
“Oh, Sage, honey, I’m trying to be a gentleman here,” Cliff said, not doing anything at all to remove her hands.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” His voice was husky and, if anything, his hold on her tightened rather than loosened.
“Don’t be a gentleman. I want you to kiss me, really kiss me.” The passion behind that first real kiss took her breath away, literally. His lips took hers, his tongue danced along the slight part, demanding entrance and, of course, she complied, returning his kiss with equal enthusiasm.
Maybe it was the wine; maybe it had been the music that stirred their feelings. There was a distinct possibility that they were two very horny people who were exploring something that had been hinted at some but never acted upon. Whatever the reason, the effects of those deeper kisses or the one long unending kiss were explosive. They dropped to the sofa, hands clawing to remove shirts and tank tops, all the while their kisses deepened. Sage wanted more skin, she was almost too shy to ask but desperation took over. “Upstairs?”
Cliff bent a little and scooped her into his arms and headed up the stairs. “Which way?” he panted as they reached the top of the stairs.
“Right.” Sage clung to his neck, kissing and tasting anywhere within reach that wasn’t covered. The short time it took to make it to her room seemed like an eternity and, when she was finally standing there in front of him, any shyness that she had once had completely evaporated. She turned for him to undo her bra as she stepped out of her jeans and panties, leaving them in a puddled mess on the floor. When she turned, Cliff was naked, except for his socks and a tangled pair of jeans at his ankles. He grabbed at one side and then the other, hopping up and down while he did an indelicate dance of desperation, trying to free himself from his denim trap. Sage giggled, wanting to help but not quite knowing what she could do.
“Funny is it?” he asked with shortened breath.
“Pretty much.” Sage jumped when his hand shot out and slapped her naked bottom. She was still smiling though. “Ooh, that hurt.”
“Good,” Cliff said. He was finally free and wasted no time in reclaiming his prize.
Sage squealed as she was backed unceremoniously onto the bed. In seconds, he was straddling her and there was no going back, not that she wanted to. The air whooshed from her body as he surged deeply into her, filling her with his hard manhood. His mouth was on hers, his teeth nipping and grazing. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around him, her heels kicking at his muscular buttocks, urging him to go faster, deeper.
“Yes, baby girl,” he said, pulling out and surging deep.
Sage’s fingertips dug into Cliff’s back flesh as cold heat started at her toes and crept up her legs, swirling like mini twisters across her body. “Oh God, Cliff,” she puffed out with shallow little breaths, “just there.”
He raised himself a little, his thumb flicking at her swollen nub. “There, baby?”
“Yes, yes.” Sage tightened her legs around his hard body, her knees massaging the sides of his muscular frame. He kissed her shoulders, her neck, her lips. When their tongues met, she peaked and shattered into a million pieces, relishing in the warmth of his eruption deep within her.
When she finally floated back to earth, her eyes sprang open. What in the hell had she just done? Was her life not complicated enough?
* * *
Cliff lay there in the dark, the woman of his dreams sleeping on his chest. He allowed his hand to roam up and down her naked back, stopping at the swell of her bottom to gently squeeze. Why did he feel so guilty? They were both adults now, what had happened had definitely been consensual. Still, Sage had just lost her parents and they’d been drinking. He had taken advantage, well, kind of. He should have deterred her, and himself in some way, for heaven’s sake, shown some kind of self-control even if he’d had to do it for the both of them. He soon drifted into a deep sleep; all the guilt was a problem for another day.
* * *
“I made you breakfast,” he said the next morning when Sage padded into the kitchen looking sheepish and shy. He had to admit she looked adorable in her oversized dungarees. All she had beneath them was a tank top, which showed more than a tiny piece of what he now knew were very womanly curves. It looked like she’d deliberately dressed down and she was avoiding looking at him. The fact that she was wearing sunglasses, practically confirmed it.
“Thank you, but I have stuff I have to do.”
Hmm, she was giving him the brush off. “The work’s all done.” He gave her his most engaging smile, hell, he didn’t want this to end here.
“All of it? How’d you have time?”
“It’s a quarter after ten. I thought you deserved a sleep in.”
“For services rendered?” Sage’s voice was gravelly and grumpy.
Wow, that stung. “I see you’re not a morning person then?” He’d never seen a bigger pout. In fact, it was the same one that Netty had worn when he wouldn’t let her ride his horse by herself.
“I am actually. Look, I don’t mean to be rude but we both know what last night was and there’s no need for you to pretend that you’re actually interested in me like that, no need at all.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing, pretending to like you out of some kind of misplaced guilt?” This was not the scenario he’d imagined while he’d been cooking that morning. Yes, he had felt a little guilty right after they’d made love, but this morning, he realised that he still couldn’t wait to see Sage this morning. It was more than the drink that brought them together. In a perfect universe, Sage, he hoped would have felt the same way. He’d imagined the same girl he’d been in bed with all night to come down the stairs, at the very minimum with a smile. A kiss and cuddle would have been a bonus, but he’d even have settled for politeness.
“Maybe.”
“Well, you’re wrong. To tell you the truth, I like you, I like you a lot and I enjoyed last night and I thought you might like to sit down at the table and partake in a little relaxed breakfast with me because you had a good time last night too, even before we made love. I hoped you wanted to continue to delight in my company as I would like to delight in yours.”
“I did have a great time last night, you are a very good lo—you’re good at sex,” she said bluntly.
“Oh, you are cruising for it, little girl.” He shook his head and narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what on earth was going on in her head.
“And there we have it, little girl. You still think of me as a child.”
“I think of you as a very womanly woman who is acting very much like a rude child and who if not very careful, is going to end up being treated like one. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Sage’s face blushed as pink as her tank top. “Yes, I’m sorry if you thought I was being rude. I guess, well, I guess I’m just not very good at this one, night—”
“You better not finish that sentence. That is not what that was.”
“Whatever you thought it was, Cliff, it can’t happen again. I have too much on my plate right now, to even try and analyse this.”
“That answer I’ll accept, for now. Now, would you like to join me for a neighbourly breakfast and a nice hot cup of coffee?”
“We’ll say no more about the other stuff?”
“For as long as you think you’re not ready.”
“Deal.”
* * *
They had spent some time together in the three days since they’d spent the night together. It had been purely platonic though which was about all Sage was capable of dealing with at that moment. Now the kids and Cliff were gone and she was there on her own. Before they went to Aunt Jen and Uncle Harrys, Sage hadn’t told the kids about the letter or about the possibility of them having to live with their aunt and uncle. She hadn’t told them about anything. Little kids shouldn’t have to worry about any of that stuff. Anyway, it was a moot point, she wasn’t going to let any of it happen. When she spoke to them on the phone, all they asked was when they were coming home. All that was needed was a plan and she had that covered, hence the need for her to be alone, but she hated that she couldn’t put their minds at ease.
Things were coming together. Sage had seen a realtor and had put the house on the market, the signs were going up the next day. Hopefully it would keep the bank happy for a while. She was asking a much higher price than the property was worth but that was the point; she didn’t want to sell. What Sage needed was some more time, that and a husband; the second part of her plan.
The husband bit was extreme and she’d had to talk herself into that one but when it came down to it, there was no choice. It was an idea that had come to her before that night with Cliff had happened and she wasn’t going to allow what happened between them to alter her plans in any way. She couldn’t. Besides, the marriage didn’t need to be anything more than a business arrangement and that’s exactly what she would make sure it would be.
Sure, it would be a lot easier to tell Cliff about her problems, to ask him maybe if he wanted to help her out, kind of throw her a metaphoric ring, but she’d rejected that idea right off. He was handsome, cute, bossy, he could cook and oh she hated to even think it, but he was even beyond sexy. There, she’d gone and put the thought right at the forefront of her mind again. He was a sexy as all get out and that’s why she’d rejected the thought of asking him to marry her. Every fibre of her being told her that she there was no way she could be married to Cliff in name only. So, that was off the table and she had to employ other means to meet her end.
An Unexpected Wife Page 3