Rough Terrain (Vista Falls #1) (7 page)

***

Gabby was waiting on her front porch when Sage got home, and she was glad to be saved a phone call.

“Come in,” Sage said, fitting her key in the lock. “We’re opening a bottle of wine. I need my best friend.”

“Um, I’m not sure you’ll feel that way when I tell you what I did.”

Gabby wasn’t big on regrets. She usually just plowed ahead without thinking twice, so if she was feeling remorseful, it had to be big.

“At least let me open the wine before you tell me,” Sage said.

Following Sage into her tidy Tudor-style home, Gabby said, “You know I love you, girl. That’s the only reason I did it.”

“Oh, God.” Sage reached into the fridge for the emergency bottle of white wine. “My parents just said the same thing to me. Now I’m really scared.” Sage’s hand trembled slightly as she poured two glasses of wine and handed one to her friend. After a healthy swig, she closed her eyes. “Okay, let me have it. What did you do?”

“I went to see Wes.”

Sage’s eyes flew open. “What? Why?”

“I got to thinking after I left your office,” Gabby said, claiming a stool at the island in the middle of the room which served as both a table and prep space. “I’m not going to lie—I’m worried about you going with Wes to meet your son… and I told him so.”

Sage sighed, bringing the bottle of wine with her as she claimed the stool beside Gabby. “Honey, I know your heart is in the right place, but I can take care of myself. If I didn’t think I could handle it, I wouldn’t have agreed to go with Wes.”

“But I thought I may have pressured you into it,” Gabby said, her eyes filling with tears. “If you had a setback after meeting him because of me, I’d never forgive myself.”

Sage gave her a one-armed hug, laying her head on her friend’s shoulder. “You got me through those months after the adoption. I’m not sure I would have made it without you.”

“Don’t say that!” Gabby said, swiping at her tears. “Don’t even think that!”

“It’s true, and we both know it.” Sage sat upright and took another sip of wine while handing Gabby a napkin to dry her eyes. “But I’m not that same broken girl anymore. I’m a grown woman now, and a lot of years have passed. I’ve gotten a lot stronger. Writing the book helped me work through a lot of those emotions, and I really think I’m ready to meet him, assuming that’s what he wants.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Gabby asked, looking at Sage out of the corner of her eye. “Have you thought about how you’re going to feel if he doesn’t want to meet you guys?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it.” She took another sip. No amount of alcohol would dull the pain if that came to pass.

“And?”

“And I can’t live my life in fear anymore. I have to face the past, come to terms with what I did. Tell my son that I’m sorry, I’ll always love him, and just make sure he’s okay, you know? He’s getting to that age where he’ll be thinking about college soon. What if his adoptive parents can’t help him with that? I want to be able to.”

“Don’t you think you have your hands full trying to support your own family?”

“But he’s my family too, and I’d do anything for him.” If she got a call asking her to donate an organ to him, she would do it without hesitation. That was how much she loved this person whose name she didn’t even know.

“You really think Wes would let his kid stress about how he was going to pay for college? Come on, you know he’d step up.”

“Yeah,” Sage said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she kicked off her high heels. “I know he would. But I’d want to do my part too.”

Before Gabby could respond, Sage’s doorbell rang. “Are you expecting company?”

“Nope, though a pizza sounds good right about now. I left my parents’ house before…” Sage stopped in her small foyer when she realized who was standing on the other side of her door.
Wes.

“Ohhhh,” Gabby said, grasping Sage’s wrist as she came up behind her. “I wonder what he wants.”

“I don’t know.” The thought of having Wes in her personal space made Sage suddenly feel very vulnerable.

Nudging her toward the door, Gabby said, “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Open it already.”

Wes had driven by her house twice, trying to decide whether to head home, but he knew he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep until they had this conversation face to face.

“Hi,” Sage said, her cheeks flushed as she opened the door. “How’d you know where to find me?”

Wes tried to keep a straight face when Gabby nudged her forward so they were standing mere inches apart. “Uh, you’re listed in the phone book. I hope you don’t mind me stopping by like this. I really need to talk to you, and I didn’t think it could wait ‘til morning.”

“No, I don’t mind.” Sage stepped back to let him in.

Gabby gave them both a quick hug before she winked at Sage and said, “Call me if you need me.”

Sage closed the door behind Gabby and leaned against it, facing him. “Um, I was just having a glass of wine. Would you like one?”

“Uh, a beer would be great, if you have one?”

Sage smiled before leading him into her small kitchen. “I should have known better than to offer you wine. You’ll always be a beer guy, won’t you?”

Wes stood in the doorframe of her kitchen, wondering how many men she’d prepared meals for in this room. “There are some things I would change about myself if I could,” he said, accepting the longneck she offered. “But beer consumption isn’t one of them.”

She snagged the bottle of wine off the island, along with her glass, and led the way into the living room. “I skipped dinner. I was just thinking about ordering a pizza. Care to share?”

“I’d love to.” It had been a long time since they’d shared a meal, and Wes couldn’t help but hope this would be the first of many more.

She called their order in before sitting beside him on the two-seater white slipcovered sofa, tucking her legs under her. “So what would you change if you could?”

It wasn’t easy to think straight with her sexy bare legs within stroking distance, but he forced his eyes back to her beautiful face. “What’s that?”

“You said there were a lot of things you would change about yourself if you could. Name one.”

He smiled, settling back as he prepared for one of their talks. It had been a long time, but Wes hadn’t forgotten how much Sage liked to philosophize. She’d always claimed she was an over-thinker, but he liked that about her. She forced him to dig deeper than he would have without her there to ask him the tough questions. Like now. “I’d work less. Your turn.”

“Ditto.” She propped her elbow on the back of the sofa, resting her head in her hand. “That’s not entirely true. When I was working on the book, the hours were grueling, especially when the deadline was looming, but I loved every second of it.”

“So you’d rather work on something you’re passionate about instead of working out of obligation?” He hated to think of her wasting her life by supporting a family who had never really appreciated her. Unless her parents had done a complete one-eighty in recent years, they wouldn’t even acknowledge that she’d sacrificed her life for theirs.

“Something like that.” She took a sip of wine, staring at him over the rim of the glass. “Okay, your turn. Name something else.”

“Hmmm.” He knew she didn’t take these questions lightly, and he saw this as an opportunity for them to get to know each other all over again, so he took his time before responding. “I’d travel more, for pleasure. I get to travel a lot for work, mostly throughout the States to scope out new locations for retail stores and deal with suppliers. Since we’re committed to domestic production to help save jobs, I’ve never had much cause for international travel.”

“You always used to talk about the places you’d like to visit on some of those extreme outdoor adventures,” she said, scrunching her nose. “Sport fishing in the Amazon, big game hunting in Africa…” She shuddered. “The thought of you doing some of those things used to scare the hell out of me. Of course, you didn’t have two nickels to rub together back then, so I knew there was no immediate threat.”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “Ironic, isn’t it? Back then I had no shortage of time, but I didn’t have the money to make it happen. Now it’s the other way around.”

“Did moving here increase your workload?”

“Not really.” He tipped his bottle back as his eyes scanned the room. The large pieces of furniture were light and neutral, but there were feminine touches like aqua curtains and throw cushions.

“What?” she asked, following his gaze around the room. “You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s great. I always wondered where you’d live, the kind of house you’d have.”

“Then you thought about me over the years?” she asked, looking into her wine glass as her fingertip circled the rim.

He wanted to tell her he’d thought about her more than he cared to admit, but he was determined to keep it casual. “Of course I thought about you. How could I not? We were a big part of each other’s lives for a long time. And after what we shared…” He didn’t want them to keep circling back to the adoption, though it was inevitable. “Well, I guess it’s only natural we’d wonder.”

“I thought about you too.” She sounded almost shy as she admitted, “I’m really glad you’re back, Wes. I’ve missed you.”

Those three little words made it even more difficult for him to suppress the urge to kiss her. He’d wanted to ever since he laid eyes on her in Rusty’s bar, and every time he saw her, he wanted it more.

“I’ve missed you too.” His voice was raspy as he tried to find a balance between the truth and scaring her off by revealing too much. “I’ve dated a fair bit over the years, when time allowed, but there’s only been one Sage in my life.”

She smiled, taking another sip of wine. “How selfish would I be to admit I’m happy to hear that?”

The doorbell rang, drawing them out of the moment.

Wes reached for his wallet. “That was quick.”

“They’re just around the corner,” she said, jumping up. “You don’t have to get that. My purse is in the—”

“Hey,” he said, grabbing her arm before she could reach the hall. “I got this. You wouldn’t want to get pizza sauce all over your fancy work clothes. Why don’t you go throw some sweats on while I get the door?”

“Okay, thanks,” she said, making a beeline upstairs.

He paid the delivery guy, grossly over-tipping him because he remembered what it was like to have a job like that. As he brought the box in and set it on the coffee table, his eyes drifted to a framed baby picture he hadn’t noticed before. As he studied it, he sucked in a sharp breath.

“I have a feeling he’ll look just like you,” Sage said softly. She stood in the doorway, watching him. She’d changed into yoga pants, a black tank, and a white cropped hoodie.

Wes swallowed continuously, fixating on the perfect little baby in the old photograph. “Where did you get this?”

“Gabby took that just after he was born. I have another copy at the office. You should take that one.”

“No, I couldn’t.” He set the frame back on the table, his eyes never leaving it. He tried to imagine the kind of young man that baby had grown into, but he couldn’t. Would he be tall and broad like him or smaller in stature like his mom? Would he have Wes’s blue eyes or Sage’s dark eyes?

“Please,” she said, walking over to the table to pick up the frame. “I can always have another copy made, Wes. You should have this one.”

He wanted it. More than anything. “Thanks.” He realized his hand was trembling when he reached out to take it.

She must have seen it too because she gave him a wobbly smile. “I’ll just grab us some plates and napkins for the pizza. Do you want another beer?”

“No, I’m driving, so I shouldn’t.”

“A soda or water then?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

He appreciated her excuse to leave him alone for a minute. He needed to collect himself before he made a damn fool of himself by weeping. It’s not that he hadn’t cried over the loss of his son over the years. Just not in front of anyone.

She returned and set a bottled water down in front of him.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I’m so scared,” she whispered, staring at the photo in his hands. “What if he hates me?”

Wes wanted to tell her that was impossible, that no one who knew her could hate her, but their son didn’t know her and could very well hate her. “Actually, that’s what I came here to talk to you about.” He set the frame on the table. “I’m guessing Gabby told you about our talk?”

“Yeah, that’s why she was here. She was afraid she overstepped by going to see you, and she didn’t want me to hate her.” She dished up the pizza and handed him a plate along with a paper napkin. “But she knows I could never stay mad at her, even if she does stick her nose in where it doesn’t belong sometimes.”

“Because she loves you.” Wes knew he didn’t have to remind her of that. He’d never known two women more connected than Gabrielle and Sage.

“I think she loves us together, if you want the truth.” She laughed almost self-consciously. “You know how many times over the years she’s told me I haven’t gotten serious with anyone else because you were my soul mate?”

Wes took a bite of pizza because if he didn’t, he would blurt out something stupid like…
She’s right!
Judging by the sudden color in her cheeks, Sage was wishing she could take her words back.

“But she raised a good point,” he said, trying to give her a graceful way to change the subject. “Maybe I should reach out to him first. I can try to explain the situation. If he’s willing to see us again after that, he might be more receptive to seeing you, after he’s heard the story.”

“No.” She shook her head emphatically, reminding him of the stubborn girl he used to love. Once she dug her heels in about something, there was no changing her mind. “I want to meet him. With you. I don’t want you to try to convince him he doesn’t have the right to feel hurt or angry or confused. He does. I don’t want to make him feel guilty for feeling that way. I’m sure we would in his position, right?”

“I guess you’re right.”

“You know I am.”