And maybe “socializing” with Gavin would improve their relationship.
She hurried out of the stables. When she found him and accepted his invitation, her repeat reaction to his sexy, satisfied grin had her reconsidering her motives and cursing her vulnerability.
SAGE STILL HADN’T TOLD Isa about the paternity test, and they would be at Powell Ranch in less than twenty minutes. She started to speak, only to have her courage desert her. How did one explain to a six-year-old that her father insisted on proof she was his biological daughter?
One didn’t, obviously, and neither would Sage. She’d give some other reason for the test. A simplified version of the truth Isa would understand.
As her daughter prattled on about Chico and seeing Cassie, another mile came and went. Sage stared at the road, at the passing landscape, half listening.
A memory from two years ago suddenly sprang into sharp focus. Isa had fallen from the swing set at preschool and broken her arm. The bones hadn’t healed correctly and after ten days, the orthopedic surgeon recommended rebreaking the arm.
It would hurt. A lot. Isa would cry. But it had to be done or she would be left with limited range of motion in that arm. Preparing Isa for the procedure had been one of the worst times in Sage’s life. But then, thirty minutes later, it was over. Isa, sucking on a lollipop, sported a pink fiberglass cast of which she was quite proud. A week later, she’d forgotten all about the pain.
Maybe it would be the same with the paternity test.
Sage turned off Pima Road and headed east on Dynamite. Less than fifteen minutes until they reached the ranch.
“Mija, Mama has to talk to you about something important.”
Isa stopped her animated chatter. The stuffed cat, named Purr-o, came to rest in her lap. “What?”
“We, you and I, have an appointment tomorrow morning.”
“Where?”
“At a testing facility.” Smile, she told herself, and relax.
“We have to take a test?”
“Yes.”
“Like a spelling test?”
“More like a medical test.”
“I’m going to the doctor?” Fear widened Isa’s eyes.
“No, not a doctor. I swear.” Sage reached over and stroked Isa’s hair. “And the test won’t hurt at all. Someone called a technician will just take a small sample from both of us.”
“What kind of sample?”
She went on to explain the procedure in terms Isa could comprehend. “It’ll only take a few minutes, and I’ll be right with you the whole time.”
Isa hugged Purr-o to her chest. “Do I have to?”
Here was the question Sage had dreaded the most.
“You remember Mama telling you about the money Papa pays for you?” She’d briefly mentioned the child support to Isa, omitting the part about Dan not paying for four years. “We need to have the test done in order to get the payments.”
Isa’s small brow knitted in confusion.
“You see, the test results will go to…” Sage paused, worried she might be overexplaining. “Will go to Papa.”
“Why?”
“He asked, and I said yes.”
Isa scowled and stuck out her bottom lip.
“Really, sweetie pie, the test won’t hurt a bit. Afterward, when your papa pays the money, I’ll buy you a pony.”
Bribing her child. Could she be a worse parent?
“Will I get to meet Papa?”
Another question Sage had dreaded and one she was even less ready to answer.
“Soon. Maybe while we’re here visiting Tia Anna and Tio Roberto.”
First bribing and then lying to Isa. Sage truly was a terrible parent.
“Can you call him?” Isa asked out of the blue.
“What?”
“Papa. Can you call him and tell him I want to see him?”
Sage took her eyes off the road to study Isa. “Are you sure?”
Isa nodded vigorously.
“O…kay.”
“When?”
“Well, I—”
“Now?”
What would she say to Dan? What would she say to Isa when Dan refused?
“Please, Mama.”
With shaking fingers, Sage picked up her phone and dialed Dan’s number. Relief flooded her when the call went straight to voice mail. Then shame at her relief.
“Dan,” she said after the beep, “this is Sage. Call me as soon as you get this message. It’s about Isa. Sorry, mija,” she said, gratefully disconnecting.
The delay was temporary, she reminded herself. Soon enough, she’d have to deal with Dan. If only to keep her promise to Isa.
“Are you excited about the trail ride?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Isa’s response couldn’t be more glum. The poor kid was having way more thrown at her than she deserved.
Sage pressed a hand to her chest and the knot of misery lodged there. She didn’t cry a lot. Being a single mother, the sole support of her child, financially and emotionally, had toughened her up. But the past few days had severely weakened her defenses.
“What kind of pony will I get?” Isa asked, her tone marginally brighter. “Will it be a mustang?”
“Probably not.” Sage fought the tears pricking her eyes. “Mustangs are big. And too wild for a little girl.”
“Chico’s big.”
“But he’s old. And very tame.”
“Like Black Beauty.” The movie was one of Isa’s favorites.
“A little.”
She concentrated on the end of the month, when she and Isa would head home in Show Low, with the first of the delinquent child support payments in the mail. She didn’t consider Dan and his unlikely visit with Isa, having heard his fabricated excuses once too often.
By the time they reached the entrance to Powell Ranch, Sage was dry-eyed.
“There’s Cassie and Blue.” Isa bounced excitedly in her seat, her former happy self once more.
Thank goodness.
Cassie waved them over. Sage pulled to a stop and pushed the button to lower Isa’s window. “Can Isa go with you while I park?”
“Sure. Come on, pip-squeak.”
Isa bailed out of the truck, charging Cassie and throwing her arms around the older girl. Blue, connected to Cassie by a leash, jumped up on Isa’s legs and begged for attention. Isa bent and scooped him up in her arms.
Her delighted laughter floated through the open window, acting like a balm on Sage’s bruised emotions.
She drove slowly to the parking area behind the barn, carefully avoiding all the people and horses. The trail ride and picnic was obviously very popular with the ranch clientele. She spotted Ethan and Conner. Gavin, however, was nowhere in sight.
Just as well. Sage didn’t want another confrontation with him.
Slipping the truck into an empty space, she shut off the engine and opened the door. Rather than get immediately out, she waited, needing one last minute to compose herself before facing people.
Flipping down the sun visor, she checked her reflection in the small mirror.
Wonderful. Her mascara had run and left black smudges beneath her eyes. She searched among the pile of toys and folders and CD cases for a tissue. There was none. Using the cuff of her shirtsleeve, she dabbed at her ruined makeup.
Later, she would find humor in the situation. At least no one was nearby to see her.
“You okay?”
She started at the sound of Gavin’s voice. Where had he come from?
“Great,” she mumbled, issuing what she hoped was another forgivable lie.
“You don’t look great.” He stepped closer, in between her and the open truck door.
“Allergies. Something must be in bloom.”
“Here.” He removed a red kerchief from his back pocket. It was clean and folded in a tidy square.
She turned it over in her hand, hating the idea of messing it and impressed by his sensitivity. “Thank you, but—”
“Go on,” he urged. Kindly. Sweetly.
It was a little more than Sage could handle. Even as she wiped at her eyes, fresh tears spilled. Then a sob escaped, which she quickly swallowed. She could not, would not, break down. Not in front of Gavin.
Before she quite knew what was happening, she was being lifted from the truck and onto the ground…then into Gavin’s arms.
Every shred of common sense she possessed urged her to step away. She hardly knew him. Not really. One personal conversation didn’t make them intimate friends.
Except his arms had settled comfortably around her and held her close with just the right amount of tenderness.
“Everything’s going to be all right,” he murmured in her ear.
“You don’t know,” she protested, a catch in her voice.
“I don’t have to know. You’re a strong woman. You’ll get through it, whatever it is.”
How long since a man, since anyone, had held her and offered her comfort? Been a shelter during a storm?
Maybe Dan, in the early days of their relationship. She honestly couldn’t remember. Gavin, with his broad chest providing a very nice, very welcoming place for her to lay her head, was wiping away every memory of every man that came before him.
His hand drifted to the middle of her back and pressed lightly. Sage’s own hands rested awkwardly at the sides of his denim jacket. For one brief second, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to circle his middle with her arms and nestle fully against him.
Crazy. And highly inappropriate. Certainly not the kind of thoughts a crying woman had about a man.
Except she wasn’t crying anymore.
“Sorry about that,” she murmured, and slowly began to disengage herself.
“Don’t be.” He halted her by tucking a finger beneath her chin, tilting her head up and bringing his mouth down on hers.
Her arms, no longer awkward and indecisive, clung to him as she gave herself over to what quickly became the most incredible kiss of her life.
Chapter Eight
Kissing Sage hadn’t been Gavin’s intention when he first spotted her sitting in her truck, struggling not to cry. He was only going to ask if he could help.
But then he caught sight of her face and her lost expression, completely unlike the capable and fearless woman he’d come to know. Taking her into his arms, on the other hand, had been a conscious act. If there was ever someone who’d needed holding, it was Sage in that moment.
Now, leaning in, drawing her close…that was something he couldn’t explain and didn’t want to.
Not while they were fused together, hungry for each other.
Her lips, soft and pliant and incredibly delicious, molded perfectly to his. Then, they parted. That was all it took for Gavin’s thinly held control to snap.
Wrapping his arms more tightly around her, he angled his head and tasted her fully. She responded by pressing herself flush against him, her fingers curling into the hair at the base of his neck. He seared the feel and taste of her into his memory because he would not soon forget this day.
Or her.
Stopping occurred to him. After all, there were people—lots of them—within a few dozen yards of her truck. But the next second she rose up on her tiptoes and traced the outline of his jaw with her fingertips. Gavin quit trying to be responsible for his actions and worrying about proprieties. Instead, he let his instincts take over. They served him well.
When he thought he couldn’t possibly get more lost in the moment, want a woman more than he did her, the inevitable occurred.
They were interrupted.
“Mama, Mama!”
Gavin reluctantly released Sage just as Isa came racing across the parking area, Cassie and Blue not far behind.
“Over here, mija.”
“What are you doing?” Isa’s large brown eyes traveled from her mother to Gavin.
“Getting our food.” Sage reached into the truck’s cab and removed a small soft-sided cooler and two plastic bottles of vitamin water.
“Can I carry it?”
“Sure.”
Isa took the cooler and bottles. She didn’t appear to notice the vivid flush staining her mother’s cheek or the unsteadiness in her voice.
Gavin did and grinned. He couldn’t help it. He rather enjoyed knowing he was the cause of her discomfort.
Sage scowled at him.
He didn’t let it faze him. She’d participated in their kiss every bit as much as he had. And enjoyed it every bit as much, too.
His grin died when he caught Cassie staring at them with a much-too-knowing look on her face.
Shoot. He might have some explaining to do later. For now, he chose to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary. Not easy to do when the past five minutes had been extraordinary.
“What did you bring to eat?” he asked Isa.
“Leftover chicken, fruit salad, tortillas and chocolate cookies,” she answered proudly.
“Enough for me, too?”
The little girl looked dismayed. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry.” He tugged on her earlobe. “I was joking with you.”
“You can have one of my cookies.”
“Now, that’s an offer I won’t refuse.”
Sage slammed the truck door shut and pocketed her keys. “We should probably get going.”
Isa trudged out ahead of them, the cooler slung over one shoulder and the water bottles clutched to her chest. Cassie walked along beside her, Blue obediently trotting at her heels.
Gavin tried not to read too much into Cassie’s silence. It hadn’t occurred to him to speculate how his daughter might react to a new woman in his life since the prospect had been nonexistent until now.
Considering that Sage was leaving soon and was his business partner’s ex, those chances were still pretty nonexistent.
Two more last-minute arrivals pulled into the parking area. The occupants of the vehicles waved as they hurried into the stables to saddle their horses. Already riders were assembled in the open area in front of the arena, some mounted, some gathered in small groups. All of them excited.
Gavin liked the monthly trail rides and picnics, and not just because they were his brainchild. Something about them reminded him a little of when he was young, back before his mother got sick and Mustang Village was built. Families from various ranches in the area would gather together a few times a year for similar trail rides and picnics.
Gavin spotted his brother helping one of their regular students, and his thoughts turned contemplative.
Also in those long-ago days, Ethan had both legs and his best friend was Clay Duvall. Gavin remembered the two boys, no more than eight or nine, fishing in the river while everyone else ate and relaxed under the shade of nearby trees.
Now Ethan wore a prosthetic leg, their mother was gone and neither of them had spoken to Duvall since his father sold the Powells’ land to the investor.
Times change, and all the wishing in the world couldn’t restore what had been taken from them. The best Gavin could do, for himself and his family, was take whatever life dealt them and adapt.
Until he was on solid financial ground, until his and his family’s future more secure, until he knew if Cassie was living with him permanently or returning to Connecticut, he had no right getting involved with any woman, much less Sage.
But then, there was the kiss.
“We should talk about what happened back there,” she said.
“Why spoil it with talk?”
“It was a mistake.”
“There you go.”
“Gavin.”
He chuckled at her exasperated tone, which earned him another scowl.
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
He had a lot of ideas at the moment, none of which felt wrong despite his earlier attempt to convince himself otherwise.
“Kissing men I barely know isn’t something I do.”
“So, I’m sp
ecial?”
She groaned.
“Relax, Sage, it was no big deal.”
“It wasn’t?”
Her dismay made him grin.
“Are you kidding?” He came to a halt. When she did, too, and he had her full attention, he said in a sober voice, “I can’t remember when anything was a bigger deal.”
For a moment, her eyes softened, and he saw what could be between them if things were different. But then she closed her eyes and drew in a breath. When she next looked at him, the resolve was back—as was an emotional shield he didn’t have to see to know was there.
GAVIN AND SAGE FOUND the girls in the stables.
“Hey, Dad!” Cassie had already saddled old Chico and Barbie Doll, her favorite horse, well before Isa arrived so they’d be ready to go. “Can Isa and I ride around while you get ready?”
“It’s up to her mom.”
“Sure.” Sage lifted Isa onto Chico. “Don’t go far.”
Cassie tucked Blue into the front of her jacket, adjusted the zipper over his head, then mounted. No sooner was she seated than the puppy’s head popped out.
“You be careful you don’t drop him,” Gavin warned.
Cassie tried to push Blue back inside her jacket. He resisted. What would she do when he got bigger?
Gavin refused to think about Cassie returning to her mother’s after the holidays and not seeing Blue grow up.
“Maybe Isa and I can go with you tomorrow to capture the wild mustang.”
“You have school.”
“Uh-uh. Fall break.”
Oh, yeah.
He was inclined to let Cassie come along. His grandfather and father had taken him on rides in the mountains when he was much younger than twelve. Isa, he was less sure about.
“Can we, Mama?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not, sweetie pie.”
“Please,” she begged.
“No. You’re too young.”
Gavin recognized the tone. It was the same one his mother had used on him when further arguing was useless.
He hesitated telling Cassie she could come along if Isa couldn’t.
Fortunately, Cassie spoke up.
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