Page 126 of Scrape the Barrel
I peeled back the sheets, then eased her onto the bed, cradling the back of her head as I laid her on the pillow.
My fingers brushed some of the hair off her forehead as my other hand covered her with the blanket. She looked so similar to her mom, down to those little hairs that always dangled in their faces.
I wondered if, one day when we had kids, they'd look just like Sage, or if they would be a perfect blend of us both.
Tiptoeing out of the room, I eased the door shut, being careful that the knob didn’t make a loud click.
Heading back down the hallway, I found Sage in the kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove. “Tea?” she asked.
I came up behind her, turning her around so she was facing me. “I’ll make it.”
“Okay,” she said, her green eyes sparkling up at me with something so deep, so raw, that I wanted to hold her close for the rest of my life to ensure she’d never feel the way she did tonight again. “Thank you.”
“It’s only tea, baby.”
She shook her head. “For stepping in. You’ve never hesitated when the moment calls for it, and I think that’s always been a problem of mine.”
“Hesitation?” I asked.
She nodded.
“That’s not a flaw, Sage. It’s a reaction ingrained into you because of the consequences that happen when you don’t. But you never have to hesitate around me. Lay it all out, the good, the bad. All of it. You want to get mad at me? Get mad. You want to cry? Sob like there’s no tomorrow. But, baby, never hold it in. Not with me.”
The words were what she needed to hear, and what I needed to say.
“I’ve been in your shoes, maybe not verbatim, but with thinking that I had to think before I reacted, to filter myself to appease someone else. We don’t have to do that, not with each other,” I told her.
“Your ex?” she asked, bringing it up for the first time.
I nodded. “You and I are both soft people, Sage, but there’s nothing wrong with being soft. The world tries to make it seem like we have to be hard, have our guard up at all times, but that’s not right. It shouldn’t be. I’m just happy you’re alright, and that he’s gone for good.”
“Me, too,” she agreed. “Already, it feels nice not having to look over my shoulder or worry that he might show up.”
My hands rested on her hips. “I’ll be looking over your shoulder for you. No more doing it alone.”
Her lips lifted in a slight smile. “No more doing it alone,” she repeated.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”
“For a million years,” she murmured.
I had my girls, the house, the job.
It was all I had ever wanted.
Happiness presented itself to me in the form of these two women, and I wouldn’t have asked for it any other way.
41
Callan
The bay stood quietly where he was tied to the fence. I did my best to stick a sparkly pink bow on his back, but it wasn’t staying very well, so anytime he shifted, it slid right off.
I called to Brandy where she was in the round pen working on desensitizing a colt.
“What’s up?” she called back.
“Got a minute?”
