Page 9 of Stone

The family decided that the dinner tonight was going to be a celebration. She was nervous and a little afraid of meeting them all at one time. Then there was the child, one that she had no relationship to other than coming here to bring her to the Danielson home.

After talking to the Danielsons at length about things that she’d found out about Hailey, she was to send pictures to them as soon as she met the child. Sage only hoped that the little girl didn’t hate her because she was there to take her home.

They decided too that they were going to spend the night in the new house. She didn’t know what Stone’s plans were about sleeping in the house, but she was going to put her foot down about them sharing a bed. She didn’t know him any more than she did Hailey and wasn’t jumping headfirst into a sexual relationship with a stranger. No matter how much she liked him. Then there was the money situation.

Could he really have that much in the way of money? It was more than she could have thought, a number for what he’d told her. He did say that he couldn’t lie to her, but that could have been a—

“You’re thinking way too hard. Just ask me what it is that’s bothering you, and I’ll answer it. I promise you when I tell you that I’d never lie to you. About anything.” She told him that was hard to believe. Everyone lied. “I won’t to you. Not ever. Ask me?”

“What do you want from me?” He asked her what she meant. “What is it…am I going to be one of those women that you get tired of as you never get older? Are you going to toss me aside?” He shook his head, and before she could tell him that he needed to use his words, he spoke to her.

“You’re immortal as well. Nothing can kill you. You’ll not die of old age simply because I’m your mate. You’ll never gain weight, but only if you were to be pregnant with our child. If you want any.” She asked him what that meant, thinking for the first time in her life that she wanted to have this man’s child. “We’d have to have sex to begin with then—ouch. You’re very painful to be around sometimes.” His laughter took away some of the sting of what he said. “I love you, Sage. So very much.”

“You’ve only just met me.” He told her that it didn’t matter, that he did love her with all his heart. “You’re a romantic, aren’t you? I don’t know if I’ve ever had anyone want to woo me or not. I’m not good around people.”

“I’ll help you with that. I’m very good around people. Most of the time, anyway. I get frustrated with humans sometimes. Not so much kids but the adults are bad. They take advantage more than not.” She pointed out that she was a human. “No, not anymore. You have magic. A great deal, too. I shared with you when you became my mate. Rain and Storm have also shared simply because of I being your mate. Edwin as well though I have no idea how much he has given you. He’s the pack leader now, and you would have gotten something from him.”

“What can I do?” He said that he’d not know until she told him. “Okay, I’m not going to freak out again like I did yesterday, but I was in the shower and decided that I needed something less manly for myself. Suddenly, it was just there.”

“That’s good, right?” She glared at him. When he laughed, she did as well. “Look, you’re notgoing to die ever, and everything that I have is now yours. Everything.”

A sudden thought popped into her head, and she felt stupid for thinking of being sexy for Stone. When his cell phone rang, he pulled it out of his pocket without breaking eye contact with her. She didn’t know what was going through his mind, but she got up to go and get her jacket. They needed to get to the Griffin house soon.

“That was the school board. I have to decide if I want to go back to teaching or if I can take over the principal job. And Jorden has been arrested. He’s the former principal at the elementary school that I taught at.” She asked him if he was the one that shot at them. “Yes. Storm and Rain found him after figuring out where he was standing when he shot at us. Mostly, it was me, but it doesn’t matter. He hurt you, and for that, he’s going to pay.”

“Good. I don’t know what I can do to help the process, but hopefully, he won’t be getting out of jail anytime too soon.” He told her about a hearing that was going to determine if he was going to go to prison or not. “I guess it would be attempted murder.”

“Yes, times two. He shot at where you and I were both standing and made it so that we were both hurt.” She asked him about his wounds. “He shot me in the head. But as soon as I—breath honey. Just breathe.”

She found herself kissing her bottom, as her grannie used to say, and could only stare at her feet. He’d been shot. In the head. And he was making it sound like that was no big deal. When he told her that his family wanted to know if they were going to dinner with them, he asked her what she wanted to do.

“Dinner with your family. And just so you know, the next time that you’re shot anywhere on your body, I don’t want to know like you just told me. I know you can’t lie to me, but if you could give it to me in bits and pieces, I might well be…” She looked up at him. “It just occurred to me that I love you. How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know. But I’ve loved you since…to be honest, it feels like I’ve loved you all my life. I just needed for you to find me before I knew what true love is.” She told him he was a romantic. “I guess I am. I’ve never thought of myself as one until now. I do so deeply love you, Sage. With all my being.”

They walked over to his brother’s house. She knew that it was being catered, she’d been asked several times what sort of food did she like. Mexican had always been her favorite, and the hotter, the better. She was told that Edwin liked it hot, too. The family was wondering who could take it hotter. Also, the triplets liked it spicy, too, she’d been informed.

It was a little overwhelming at first. All the men in the family were large. Not fat but tall and well-toned. She wondered again if they lifted cars in their spare time to keep in such good shape.

“I heard that you got to see Stone’s wolf.” She said that he’d been protecting her from the gunshots. Harman asked if she’d been hurt. “You should get to used to seeing all of us around. That way, our wolves will get your scent to find you if you need us to.”

“Mostly just small cuts that healed quickly. I think that it was the glass from the windows. Or perhaps the stones that were in the turnabout. I don’t hurt at all.” He told her that was good. “I am happy that it didn’t hurt me all that much.” She looked over at Stone, who was talking to his other brother. “He told me that he was shot in the head. That scared the crap out of me. I really would hate for something to happen to him when I’ve only just fallen in love with him.”

~*~

Hailey didn’t want to be around all these people, but she knew that she was going to have to be in order to go home to her grandparents. She didn’t understand how they were her great-grandparents, but it didn’t matter right now. This woman was telling her that she was going to take her to them.

“But I don’t want to go to them. I like it here.” She said that they were looking forward to raising her. “I’m not going.”

“I’m sorry, honey, but it’s not up to you. You’re just a little girl that has been dealt a crappy hand, and now that you’re parents are gone, you have to go someplace.” She asked why she couldn’t stay here. “Because they’re not your family. Earl and Margaret Danielson are.”

She knew that it was a done deal, as her mom used to tell her. But she didn’t want to have to stay with strangers again. It was all right now that she had the other little girls around, but these people were going to take her from them, and she didn’t want that to happen.

“You keep me then. I’ll be the best little girl you’ve ever seen. I don’t want to go away again.” She started to cry and remembered what her dad used to tell her. That tears didn’t get you anywhere. No one at the other house had said that to her, and she loved having friends in the other four little girls like her. “I won’t do anything to get you into trouble. I promise. I just don’t want to move again.”

“I’m so sorry.” When she started to cry, tears again, she let the other woman, she thought her name was Sage, hold her. It was a nice feeling to be held by someone. When she asked her if she was all right, she wanted to tell her no, but she was just a kid, and her opinion didn’t matter to anyone. “You’ll see, honey. Things will work out for you. They’re going to be good for you.”

She heard her cell phone ring, but instead of answering it like her parents did all the time, she just held her. Telling her about the house that her great-grandparents had wasn’t anything like the one that her new friends were living in. They didn’t even have a pool.

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