Page 138 of The Wayward Son

“Why would she do that to me? I thought…” He blew out a breath. “I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot.”

“I need to go.”

She tightened her grip on his hand. “Don’t go. Stay and eat.”

“I can’t. I’m not hungry anymore.”

“At least take it with you.”

He pulled his hand away and stood. “I’ve got to go.”

Sage looked up at him. “Are you mad at me?”

He kissed her on the forehead. “No. Thank you for telling me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take a drive.” He smiled at her. “I’m fine. Really.”

He left then and Sage looked down at her burger. She wasn’t hungry anymore, either. But she knew she wouldn’t feel like making something for herself when she got home.

She finished her burger, then asked Carla for a box for Sawyer’s burger. She left the coffee shop and drove to the ranch. Sawyer’s truck wasn’t there, so she went into the barn and up the stairs to the loft, then she opened the door.

“Sawyer?” She went inside and put the burger in the refrigerator, then left and drove home.

When Sawyer left the restaurant, he headed home, then passed by the driveway and kept driving. Five miles down the road, he turned on Black Butte Road. After a mile, it turned into a dirt road as it wound up the side of Black Butte. He drove all the way to the top, then stopped at a wide spot at the end of the road. He backed up to the edge of the butte, then got out and sat on the tailgate. He could see the whole valley laid out below.

He could make out the town with its few main streets and the surrounding patchwork of the neighborhoods right in town.Closer to him and almost directly below, he could see the Green Springs Inn and J.T.’s house. A few miles west was the ranch. And up on the ridge further west, he could see the little brown specs of the cattle in their summer pasture.

He sat there until the sun started to go down and the lights began coming on in town. When he saw the lights of the ranch come on, he got back in the truck and drove down the road. By the time he got home, it was completely dark.

He went up to the loft and started a fire in the woodstove, then rubbed his stomach. He needed to eat. He went to the refrigerator and saw the take-out box from Cathy’s.

“Thank you, Sage.” He took the box and a beer to the couch and began eating the burger cold. When he finished, it was only eight o’clock. He still had four hours to go until Jade got off work.

He’d go kill some time in the gym if he hadn’t just eaten a giant burger and drank a beer. He decided to try to read, but two chapters in, he got tired. He tossed the book aside and laid down on the couch. The next thing he remembered was Jade kissing him.

“Hey sleepy head.” She was kneeling next to the couch.

Sawyer sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I tried to read, but it made me tired.”

She looked at the remnants of his burger. “Did you get dinner at Cathy’s?”

“Yeah.”

“You should’ve come into the bar to say hi.”

“I was with Sage.”

“Well, she could’ve come to say hi, too.” Jade tried to kiss him again, and he dodged it and got to his feet. She looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

He went to the woodstove and put another piece of firewood on the red coals. Then he turned and looked at her.

“No. I’m not okay.”

She stood. “What’s wrong?”

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