Rough Terrain (Vista Falls #1) (22 page)

“You have?” Since Sage had always been discouraged from talking about the adoption, she assumed her parents had put it out of their minds.

“Of course.” Her smile was sad when she said, “We’re not monsters, dear. But I’m afraid we may have been misguided parents who thought we knew it all.”

Sage had never heard either of her parents admit to being wrong or apologize for anything, so she was a little stunned by her mother’s admission.

“The last time you were here…” Her mother sighed softly. “I cried myself to sleep that night because I was terrified we’d lost you for good this time.”

“Mom,” Sage said, her voice gentle, “it’s not that I don’t want a relationship with you guys. I do. I just want you to respect my right to make my own decisions.”

“I know.” She nodded. “And you’ve earned that right. It’s not that you have a pattern of making stupid mistakes. You’ve been very responsible as an adult, always doing what was right. We’re very proud of you, you know.”

Sage had given up hope of hearing that years ago. She’d even convinced herself she didn’t need her parents’ approval. Still, it was nice to hear she had it. “Thank you.”

“And if you want to build a life with Wes, we’re not going to try to stand in your way.”

There was no way they could have, but Sage appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“And of course we understand why you want to get to know your son. Anyone in your position would.”

“Would you like to get to know him, Mom?” Sage knew Nick may not be ready for that given what he’d read about them in her book, but she hoped he would eventually be open to the possibility.

“I think that would be lovely,” she said, smiling.

Sage leaned over, and they shared a warm embrace as she whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. So very much.”

Wes was making a snack for himself and Nick that would hopefully tide them over until their dinner date with Sage in a couple of hours when Nick said, “Uh, Wes, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure.” Wes popped a cheese square into his mouth, followed by a couple of crackers, before passing the plate and a bowl of pretzels to Nick.

“You think it would be okay if I spent the summer here with you guys?”

“Uh…” Wes didn’t know how to respond. He’d have loved nothing more than to hang out with Nick for a couple of months, but he had no idea how Nick’s mom would feel about that. He couldn’t commit to anything until he’d spoken to both her and Sage.

“If you’re too busy or whatever, it’s cool. I just thought maybe—”

“It’s not that I’m too busy. But why don’t you want to go up to the cabin with your mom and stepdad? I’m sure there’s some great fishing up there. Maybe you could get a little hunting in too.”

“And be cut off from my friends for the whole summer?” Nick said, sounding disgusted. “With no internet, no cell service? Ugh. I might as well be in jail.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad,” Wes said, chuckling.

Nick glared at him. “You think this is funny? This is my life we’re talking about! Not that I expect that to matter to you. You’ve never given a shit about me. Why start now?”

“Nick, that’s not fair.” If anyone else had blown up at him like that, Wes would have let them have it right back. But Nick had a right to his anger, so Wes was determined to give him a long rope.

“Not fair?” He jumped up, nearly upending the chair. “You want to know what’s not fair? That I don’t get a say in anything. My so-called parents dump me with strangers when I’m a baby. My old man leaves me with some douche who doesn’t even care what happens to me. Did you even think about the consequences before you got her knocked up?”

Wes gripped the edge of the counter, trying hard not to lose it. “You don’t know—”

“No, you don’t know! You don’t know how it feels to have no one want you!”

“Jesus, Nick,” Wes said, hanging his head. “Don’t think that.”

“It’s true, and you know it. My mom doesn’t even want me anymore. Ever since she got remarried, she’s been treating me like an inconvenience. I know she doesn’t really want me with them this summer. I’d just be in the way.”

Wes cursed when his phone buzzed with a text from Colt asking him to call immediately. It was an emergency. Wes had turned his ringer off earlier, and since Colt wasn’t prone to panic, Wes knew it had to be serious. He thought both he and Nick could use a cooling-off period. “I have to make a call in my office.”

“Of course you do,” Nick said, rolling his eyes. “Isn’t that what you do best, walk away from your problems?”

“Look, I get that you’re angry, but I won’t have you disrespecting me.”

“Why should I respect you?” He glared at Wes. “Because you’re rich? Because you built some big-ass company that—”

“No.” Wes couldn’t think of a single reason why Nick
should
respect him, so instead of continuing the argument, he did exactly what Nick accused him of doing—he walked away.

***

Wes swore a blue streak as he tore around the house looking for Nick half an hour later. The call with Colt had lasted longer than he’d expected after he found out that a manager in one of their retail stores had been selling merchandise off the truck for months.

“Where the hell could he be?” Wes asked himself as he texted Nick, though he didn’t expect a response. “It’s not like he had wheels. How far could he have gone?”

He jumped in his truck after almost forgetting to lock his front door, though in Vista Falls, that was hardly necessary. He hoped Nick would come back after a short walk, but something told him this was a lot more serious than needing a little breathing space. All of that anger Wes hadn’t realized Nick harbored had come pouring out as soon as he felt as if he was being rejected all over again. Not that Wes was surprised. He probably would have reacted the same way.

He kept his eyes peeled on the short drive to Sage’s house, but there was no sign of Nick. Since she was the only other person Nick knew in town aside from Rush and his mother, Wes prayed that’s where he had gone. Though Nick probably viewed Sage as the enemy right now too.

After barely throwing the truck into park in Sage’s driveway, Wes jumped out, his heart beating out of his chest as he ran up the steps. “Please, God, please let him be here.”

“Hey,” Sage said, smiling at him when she answered his knock. “I wasn’t expecting you guys for at least another hour.”

“Then Nick’s not here?”

Sage’s smile fell as her gaze drifted to the truck. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s not here. I thought he was with you.”

“He was, but we, uh, kind of got into it, and he bailed when I was on the phone.”

Sage staggered back, looking pale and shaky. “Where could he have gone? He doesn’t know his way around town. Did he even have any money?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll find him, baby. Don’t worry.” Telling her not to worry was crazy—he was terrified. “Maybe Rush or my mom have heard from him.” Both had given Nick their contact information at brunch, so while Wes knew it was a long shot, it was the only shot he had.

Sage closed the front door as she watched him dial Rush’s number. It took only a few words to eliminate that option, and Wes could tell fear was getting the best of Sage.

“He hasn’t heard from him?” she asked, running a hand through her hair as her eyes filled with tears.

“No, but I’ll try my mom. Maybe she has.” They had hit it off, so Wes was still holding out hope that she was the person Nick had turned to since he didn’t know another soul in town.

Sage paced in the living room while Wes’s mother told him that she hadn’t seen or heard from Nick either. She promised to let them know if she did.

“I can’t believe this,” Sage said, sinking onto the couch. “How did this even happen?”

“He asked if he could spend the summer here with us, and—”

Sage raised her hand. “Wait. What? And what did you tell him?”

“I…” Wes replayed the conversation in his head, realizing how bad the truth would sound if he relayed the conversation to Sage verbatim. “I asked him why he didn’t want to go to the cabin with his mom and stepdad. I told him it could be fun.”

She narrowed her eyes as though she suspected he wasn’t telling her everything. “And?”

“And he blew up. He said no one wanted him, that no one had ever wanted him. And when I told him I had to make a call, he accused me of walking away like I always do.”

“I don’t believe this,” Sage said, dropping her head in her hands. “Why didn’t you just tell him that you’d talk to me about it? If you didn’t want him, he could have come to stay with me! Now he’s out there somewhere by himself, thinking we’ve abandoned him all over again! What is wrong with you?”

Wes reminded himself that Sage was just upset, that she didn’t really blame him for Nick running away. Did she? Maybe she was right. Maybe this whole thing was his fault. He sat next to her, reached for her hand, and she pulled back.

Feeling as if someone had gut-punched him, he said, “Look, there’s no sense fighting about this now. We have to concentrate on finding Nick.”

“If you weren’t ready to be a father, why reach out to him at all?”

“What?” Wes couldn’t believe she would even think that. Of course he wanted to be a father to Nick given the chance.

“You knew he’d lost his dad. You had to know he’d be feeling lost and vulnerable. I thought when you reached out to him, it was because you were finally ready to be the father he deserved.”

“I am.”

“Then why did you reject him like that?” She sniffled, brushing away the tears slipping down her cheeks. “How could you do that? Do you know how hard it must have been for him to ask whether he could stay with us this summer? And for you to react like he was wrong to ask—”

“I didn’t imply he was wrong to ask!” Wes knew this wasn’t getting them anywhere, but he felt he was being attacked by the woman who claimed to love him. “You’re forgetting one thing, Sage—we’re not his parents. Not legally. We have no right to make any decisions without checking with his mom first.”

“His mom,” she said, jumping up. “Have you called her?”

“No, I wanted to check in with everyone I could think of here first.” He raked a hand through his hair, setting his cell phone on the coffee table. “God, what’s she going to think? Our first weekend visit with us and he runs away.”

“I don’t care what she thinks right now. I only care about making sure he’s safe. Maybe he called her and asked her to pick him up.” Sage pointed at the phone. “Call her!”

Wes’s hand was shaking as he dialed the number. She picked up after the third ring, and he forced himself to take a deep breath before he said, “Mrs. Martin, this is Wes Davis.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked, sounding alarmed. “Nick isn’t giving you a hard time, is he?”

Oh God, she hadn’t heard from him either.

“Um, no. Everything’s fine.” Wes held up a hand when Sage frowned at him. He had a tough decision to make: worry another woman half to death or try to fix this mess himself. “Nick mentioned something about you guys going away this summer to your husband’s cabin?”

“Yes.” She sighed. “I’m afraid Nick’s not too happy about it.”

“I know. He asked if it would be okay if he stayed here with us this summer.”

“He did? Oh my, I didn’t expect him to do that. What did you say?”

“I kind of put him off. I wanted to talk to you first, find out whether you’d consider letting him do that.”

She sighed. “I know you’re his parents and all, but…”

Wes thought that so far he’d been little more than a sperm donor, but he wanted a chance to rectify that. “I wouldn’t ask unless I was sure it could be a good experience for him. He could stay with either me or Sage, and I could give him a job working for me. It would give us all a chance to get to know each other better.”

“Well, I was considering leaving him with my parents while we were gone since he’s so opposed to coming with us. I suppose leaving him with you wouldn’t be that different.”

“We could check in with you once a week, or as often as you want, to give you an update on how he’s doing. And of course we’d encourage him to call you. I could even bring him up to the cabin to spend a few days with you midsummer, if that would make you feel better about it?”

She laughed. “That’s not necessary. I know he doesn’t want to be here. He’s made that clear.”

Wes wasn’t looking forward to broaching this delicate subject, and he questioned whether he should do it over the phone, but he had to put this matter to rest once and for all. “Mrs. Martin, I hope you won’t be offended that I brought this up, but Nick mentioned the fact that he’s been feeling…” He searched for the right words, not wanting to put her on the defensive. “Like maybe he’s been in the way since you remarried.”

“I know.” She sighed. “He’s said that to me before. We argue more than we ever did when his dad was alive. My husband really likes Nick, and they seem to get along well enough. I mean, there’s no animosity between them or anything like that. I guess it’s just hard. After all, he’s not the man who raised him, so they don’t have that bond.”

“Of course.” Wes wanted to make their intentions clear without making Nick’s mom feel as though they were trying to take him away from her. “I just want you to know that we think you’ve done an amazing job with him. He’s a great kid. But anything we can do to help, we want to. I haven’t had much to do with teens, but I’m guessing they can be a bit of a challenge.”

She sounded slightly weary when she said, “You have no idea. You know, I’m turning fifty this year—which isn’t old, I know. But sometimes I feel like I’m eighty, especially when Nick and I get into it.”

“I can imagine. And I just want you to know that we’re here if you ever need us. If you feel like you just need a little break or some time for both of you to gain some perspective or maybe even just a second opinion, we’re only a phone call away.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Um, there’s one other thing. Would you be okay with me setting up a college fund for Nick?” Wes asked, as he watched Sage alternate between glaring at him and pacing.