House of Payne: Sage

by Stacy Gail

  “And I love you for that, but I still say your dad eased your path by a lot.”

  I love you for that.

  Damn, he’d never get tired of hearing that. “What else do you love me for?”

  “You want a list? You’re funny, you’re just the right amount of bossy, you get me hotter than the surface of the sun with just a glance, and you have a dick that would have been worshipped in ancient cultures.”

  That startled a laugh out of her, and suddenly the world seemed brighter. “Damn, Daniels. Listen to you. With you coming out of your shell so much, I’m not sure if I can accurately call you Skittish anymore.”

  “I’ll always be your Skittish,” she promised him, reaching out to lay her hand over his on the steering wheel. Like that, the tension in him left completely, and he flipped his hand over to lace their fingers together. “But you’ve definitely shown me how to find my own strength. That’s another reason why I love you, by the way. That, and how you chase away all my darkness.”

  “That’s what you’re doing for me right now.” Even as he heard the words come out of his mouth, he realized just how true they were. “You’re vanquishing my darkness, and I am fucking loving it.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. So keep that shit up, because we’re here.”

  “Oh, boy.” With her hand still in his, she looked out the windshield. There wasn’t a lot to look at, as far as he saw it. Woodbridge Automotive was unremarkable in just about every way. Its single-story, middle-of-last century, flat-roofed building had always been a garage, complete with ‘50s-era gas pumps still in the front, relics that had never worked for as far back as anyone could remember. The office fronted the building with dusty picture windows, while the garage’s nuts-and-bolts work area was in the back, with three work bays with hydraulic lifts and a jumble of every automotive tool known to man.

  “Sage, look.” Sliding out of the SUV, Mads stared at a point beyond him, and the beginnings of a smile lit her face. “By the sign with the lube and oil specials.”

  Automatically he turned, knowing exactly where the sandwich-board sign was located, because nothing ever changed at Woodbridge Automotive.

  Except something had changed.

  Glinting in the afternoon sun, his sculpture, Smoke, stood proudly right next to the front door.

  “I knew your father bought your sculpture, but somehow I didn’t really believe it until now.” Sounding awestruck, she reached for his hand. Never before had he been so grateful for a hand to hold than he was at that moment. “It’s right at the front door, so everyone can see it. Just like your eagle sculpture.”

  “The old man putting fine art outside in the fucking elements,” he muttered, and he had to clear his throat to ease the strangled tightness of it as he stared at his sculpture. Right there, where everyone could see it. “Typical.”

  Movement in the doorway snagged his attention, and every muscle tightened as if bracing for a blow. Beside him, Mads brought her free hand to rest on his forearm, a simple gesture of comfort and support even as his father stepped out into the afternoon sun.

  “Damn.” More stooped than Sage remembered but still rangy and muscular enough to wrestle an engine block from a car, Charlie Woodbridge came to a halt just outside the door, the faint breeze sifting through hair that had once been as dark as his own, but was now almost completely white. “Look what the cat dragged in. You lost, kid?”

  So, it was going to be like that, was it? “I just wanted to make sure you knew how to take care of my sculpture. That’s fine art you got there, in case you didn’t know.”

  Charlie shot a casual glance at it over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I bring it in when I close up shop. It’s easier to move around than the eagle.”

  Heh. “You don’t still have that hunk of junk, do you?”

  “’Course I do. Got it in my office, right next to that damn printer that’s always running out of ink. Who’s this?” he went on, lifting his chin toward Mads.

  “Hi, I’m Mads. Mads Daniels.” Sage walked with her so she could shake his father’s hand, and the way she held her head high and gave Charlie that killer smile of hers filled him with pride. Men had fought wars to have such a woman by their side, yet he was the lucky sonofabitch who had her with him. “It’s a pleasure to meet a man who’s got a good eye for fine art, Mr. Woodbridge.”

  “Might as well make it Charlie, and I’ll call you… did you say Mads?”

  “It’s short for Madelyn, though I’ve never answered to that.” Still smiling, she gave Sage a wry glance. “Your son usually calls me Daniels, so I’ve gotten used to that, if you prefer.”

  “Don’t know if the name Daniels is going to work in the long-term,” Charlie remarked, tilting his head in a way that reminded Sage jarringly of his own posture. “I noticed a flash on your left hand when you put it on this lunkhead’s arm. Am I reading things wrong, or is that some kind of ring you have on your finger?”

  “It’s an engagement ring, and who the hell are you calling a lunkhead, geezer?” Sage wanted to know, shocked at how close he was to laughing out loud. When he’d been a teen, that sort of teasing would have pissed him off no end. “For your information, I was smart enough to get that ring on this amazing woman’s finger, and I was smart enough to drag her here to Vegas where we can be married by the end of the day. The way I see it, these are not lunkhead moves.”

  “Wait, what?” Mads said faintly, her head snapping around so she could stare at him with huge eyes.

  “I will admit, you’ve got good taste in women, at least as far as I can tell.” With a broad smile, Charlie moved to the office door and held it open for them. “Why don’t we go inside and get to know each other better? It looks like Mads needs to sit down.”

  “This should be fun,” Sage said, and to his surprise he meant every word.

  “Hell, yeah, it’ll be fun. It’ll be fun because you’re here.” Charlie’s big, callused hand came down on Sage’s shoulder as he crossed the threshold, bringing Sage’s attention back to him. He now had an inch or two on this old man, which was enough of a shock, but his world reeled when he saw moisture in Charlie’s blue eyes. “I wondered if I’d ever see you again, kid. Can’t tell you how happy I am that these old eyes are looking at you now.”

  Damn, that throat-tightening thing was back with a vengeance. “Yeah, well, you’ve got Mads to thank for a lot of this. She’s got a way of making me see things in a different way—gets me out of myself and helps me get perspective.”

  “I thought as much. You look happy,” Charlie said, and a wistful, almost sad smile curled a corner of his mouth. “That’s really all I ever wanted for you, you know. I don’t know if I ever told you that. I should have. Hell, I should’ve told you a lot of things, kid. I’m sorry that I didn’t.”

  A painful knot Sage hadn’t even known was there in his chest loosened. The sensation was so liberating he couldn’t stop himself from clapping his father on the shoulder, just as Charlie had done with him. “We both could’ve played things better, but that’s all water under the bridge, yeah? As of today, you and I can be living proof that when it comes to family, it’s never too late.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Sniffing a little, Charlie gave him an awkward, one-armed hug, but it felt so good Sage found himself returning it with gusto. “Welcome home, kid. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too, Charlie. I’ve missed you, too.”

  *

  Much to Mads’s relief, Charlie Woodbridge was an absolute delight. Considering her problems with her own father, she hadn't been sure she'd been right to encourage Sage to meet with his father one more time. But with the knowledge that Charlie had bought Smoke giving her courage, she’d been all but convinced there was still a path to a relationship there.

  By the time she and Sage left Woodbridge Automotive, she knew she’d been right.

  Thank God.

  “That went way better than I’d imagined.” Once again behind the w
heel of their rented SUV, Sage drove along the night-draped freeway, heading toward the brilliant lights of the famous Las Vegas Strip glowing in the distance. “Come to find out, Charlie's just a guy, you know? A regular human being. No way in hell did I see him that way when I was living with him.”

  “How did you see him?”

  “An adversary,” came the immediate reply. “Some stranger who resented my being there and couldn't wait to get rid of me. Looking back, I can see now I never gave the poor guy a chance.”

  “Funny how being a grown-up yourself can give you perspective,” she agreed, watching the world go by as he took an off-ramp. “You two are a lot alike, you know.”

  “Yeah, I guess we do look a lot alike. Nice to know I've got a decent shot at keeping my hair when I'm an old fart.”

  “It goes deeper than looks, though it’s obvious where those sexy brows and jawline come from,” she drawled. “I’m talking about your stubbornness, as well as your warmth and generous nature. And, now that I think about it, your occasional less-than-ideal way of sharing what’s in your heart of hearts.”

  “What?” He shot her a baffled look as they approached their hotel. “What does that mean?”

  “Remember how your father overlooked that all-important step of telling you that he was your biological father? Sure, he showed you through actions that he’d accepted you wholeheartedly into his life. But since he made the mistake of not actually saying the words out loud, you were left feeling less than secure.”

  That earned her a scowl as he drove up to the valet podium. “And how, exactly, am I like that? Because I’d do any damn thing in the world to make you feel more secure, not less.”

  “Not only did you assume I knew you loved me because of your actions—”

  “You know I love you now, so we’ve moved beyond that.”

  “—you’re now cracking jokes about dragging me to Vegas for a quickie wedding ceremony,” she said, amazed she had to explain this to him. “Luckily for you, I’m now starting to understand what your nonverbal cues are saying. Obviously you think I’m going to be skittish and drag my feet about tying the knot, so that joke was your way of letting me know I need to think about setting a date. Right?”

  He stared at her, ignoring the vested valet who ran around to the driver’s side. “No.”

  Oh. “Well then, what did you mean by that?”

  “I meant we’re getting married tonight. New Year’s wedding—new year, new beginnings, new life together. We’re getting married in Vegas.”

  “Holy shit,” she said faintly, while the world disappeared and suddenly Sage was the only person in existence. “You were serious? You want to get married now? Like, right now?”

  “Look at me, Daniels.” He put the SUV in Park and turned in his seat toward her. “You love me?”

  “Yeah,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I love you.”

  “For how long? Tell me.”

  Damn it. “A day past forever. Until the sun burns up. To my very last breath. But—”

  “No buts. What we have, Skittish… it’s like a fucking miracle, and miracles don’t happen every day. When the person you belong to comes along, you don’t hesitate. You lock it down and make sure it’s forever. You’re my miracle, so I’m locking you down. Forever. Tell me now if you’ve got a problem with that.”

  The instinctive panic vanished, and in its place flooded in the absolute belief that he was the man who had her heart and soul. “I don’t have a problem with marrying you. The only problem I have is that you broke the news to your dad rather than talking to me first about it. It’s not like I’d ever say no.”

  “You sure about that?” His scowl didn’t let up, and in that moment he looked like the least romantic groom-to-be on earth. “You seem to be kicking up a helluva fuss now.”

  “First, you’ll know when I’m kicking up a fuss. Second, you missed the point.”

  “What point?”

  “The point that you told your dad your plans to be married by New Year’s before you told me about it. The next time we get married, I damn well better be in the loop.”

  Slowly his scowl faded into a grin. “We only have to get married once to make it official, Skittish.”

  “You don’t know my sister like I do, pal. She’s going to be pissed she’s missing out on being my maid of honor. At some point down the road, we might have to do this again just so she can get her maid of honor moment.” She gave him the best “Sage-scowl” she could muster. “Now it’s your turn to tell me if you’ve got a problem with that.”

  His smile was better than sunshine. “No ma’am.”

  “That’s the answer I want to hear.” She opened the SUV door and looked back at him. “You coming? I’m going to need a groom to marry, you know.”

  She may have sounded like she was brimming with confidence, but part of her kept rocking with the surrealism of it all. Any minute now, she fully expected him to tell her that he was just kidding, and how pathetic she was that she couldn’t take a joke.

  Story of her life.

  But that was what her father had trained her to expect. It was a long, hard slog to overcome that kind of programming, but she had Sage by her side. He was a man she could believe in, and she knew without a doubt he loved her.

  So what did that mean?

  It meant she was getting married to the most amazing man she’d ever known.

  So maybe it was all right to allow herself to be happy.

  No.

  Not just happy.

  Joyful.

  The moment they’d touched down in Las Vegas they had checked their bags in at their hotel, so she’d expected for them to go straight up to their room. But to her surprise, Sage instead steered her to the concierge desk in the middle of the bustling, Italian marble-covered lobby.

  “I’m Sage McCormick, with Madelyn Daniels. High Rolling Wedding Planners was supposed to leave a packet of legal documents for us?”

  The concierge flashed a bright smile and held up a handheld scanner. “Do you have your QR code available?”

  “Yeah.” In an economy of movement, Sage had his phone out, thumbed the screen, and let the concierge scan the image.

  “Excellent.” Smiling, the concierge handed over a thick manilla envelope. “Everything is as you’ve requested, Mr. McCormick. The guest you arranged a room for has already arrived. The chapel is on the other side of the skybridge and directly across from the atrium waterfall. As far as I know, the chapel’s schedule is running right on time, so your ceremony is booked for the bottom half of the hour, right before midnight. Please feel free to let us know if there’s anything we can do to make your special day that much more memorable.”

  “Let me get this straight.” Too stunned to do much more than gape, Mads let Sage steer her toward the elevators that led to the sky bridge suspended over the casino floor. “You arranged for all this—our wedding—without even bothering to let me in on any of the planning? Am I reading this right?”

  “What you’re reading is me, getting you to the altar without giving you a chance to look for any exits.” He hit the elevator button and guided her inside. “It’s impossible for a skittish bride to get cold feet if I keep those feet moving in the direction I want them to go.”

  It would be wrong to kill the man she was about to marry, she was almost sure of it. “I’m not getting cold feet, and for the last time I’m not skittish about spending the rest of my life with you, Sage. I just would have liked to have been asked about the arrangements. Then I could’ve told you what I wanted for the most important day of my life.”

  “That’s fair.” The elevator doors slid open, and he walked her out onto the sky bridge, a wide Plexiglas walkway with the casino below and the lush tropical atrium with its very own waterfall on the other side. “What do you want for your wedding?”

  “You’re asking me now? Now that it’s too late, and we have the ceremony scheduled at the bottom of the hour?”

  “Quit your bitc
hing and tell me, Daniels. What would you have insisted on when it comes to your wedding?”

  “My sister, obviously,” she said on a sigh. “And maybe a nice dress. Nothing ridiculous with ruffles or anything, because that’s just not me. But something nicer than the jeans and sweater I’m wearing now. I would’ve loved the chance to look my best for you on our special day.”

  He nodded, apparently taking this all in. “Anything else?”

  “No,” she said, then scrunched her nose at him. “Wait, yes. A ring for you. It would have been nice to get you something you would be proud to wear. Could we take care of that after the ceremony?”

  “We don’t have to. It’s already been taken care of.”

  Her brows went up. “You bought a ring to wear?”

  “I bought us matching rings. My best man and your maid of honor have them ready to go for the ceremony.”

  “Wow, Las Vegas really does provide everything, don’t they?” With a dazed shake of her head, Mads kept up with him as they left the sky bridge and rounded a corner toward a brightly lit nondenominational chapel façade embedded within the casino’s wall, with a couple people hanging around outside. “Quickie marriage licenses, quickie ceremonies, even a maid of honor who’s a total… stranger…”

  “Surprise, baby,” Sage whispered gently in her ear. “You didn’t think I’d ever let you get married without you having Serena by your side, do you? I’d do anything to make this perfect for you.”

  “Oh, my God.” Tears of happiness welled up as she stared at her sister, dressed in a sparkling cocktail dress the color of pink champagne. Totally ignoring the person next to her holding several garment bags, Mads ran to her sister and flung her arms around her. “You’re here! I can’t believe you actually here.”

  “Where else would I be, silly? When Sage called to let me in on everything, I did my best to pick out exactly what you would want, so I hope you won’t be disappointed.”

  “Disappointed?” With a baffled laugh, she backed away to stare at her sister, still thunderstruck Serena was there in Vegas with them. “What are you talking about? You picked out what?”