Page 56 of Wait in the Truck
With my lip pinned between my teeth, I nod. “Yeah. That’s fine. Do whatever you need to do.”
SAGE
30
The anniversaryof Jonah’s and Lucy’s deaths dawned without any word from the sheriff’s department. I’ve been doing nothing more than surviving ever since we reported my father’s disappearance.
“You okay, Wildflower? Wanna watch something different?”
I draw in a breath as I realize I’ve been staring at the television screen without processing what I’m seeing. Kade and I had settled in on the couch in the family room—not the den where my father spent his nights because I can’t handle it—and I don’t know how much time has slipped by without me noticing.
Kade tugs me closer to his side and presses a kiss to the column of my neck. I close my eyes and shake my head in what proves to be a futile attempt at gathering mythoughts. When I’m finally able to express myself, my voice is infused with my unending heartbreak. “This day is so damn hard for me every year. Is it the same for you?”
Kade’s breath feathers over my skin, eliciting goose bumps. “Yeah. I miss them, too,” he rasps. “Every day.”
“It’s just worse today—with everything happening, I feel bad I wasn’t focused solely on remembering their beautiful lives and how much they loved each other. You know?”
“Yeah. And that’s okay. They’d both understand.”
I turn in his arms, snuggling closer, and press my forehead to the solid wall of his chest. For several moments, we simply huddle there, breathing together. Hanging on tight. Because what other choice do we have but to move on with our lives. I inhale the scent of Kade’s cologne, letting it soothe my nerves. I’m raw, like an open wound. When I think I can get more words past the lump forming in my throat, I whisper, “What do you miss most about your sister?”
An odd, strangled sound erupts from him, and I feel every bit of his sadness. Needing to comfort himandmyself, I climb onto his lap, straddling him so we’re facing each other. I stare into the wells of his dark eyes, and his torment over our mutual loss washes over me. He takes a heavy inhale before mumbling, “Probably her charismatic, confident nature. How warm and generous she was. I even miss thefucking dramatics. That girl could get so wound up over the littlest things,” he finishes with a soft chuckle. “You? I liked Jonah, he was good to my sister, but what do you miss most about him?”
As my heart tugs painfully in my chest, I try to hide my sniffle but fail. I slam my eyes shut against the tears that prick the backs of them, threatening to fall at any moment. I swear Kade senses I’m having difficulty, because he takes my head between his hands and gently forces me to look into his eyes. “Talk to me, Sage.”
“You really want me to be honest?”
“Always. However you feel is how you feel. And you deserve to be with a man who can handle the truth inside your heart.” His lips twitch up on the side. “What’s on your mind?”
I inhale deeply before letting the breath out slowly from between pursed lips. A quick nod later, and I’m spilling my guts. “Jonah was a lot of things. Bold. Maybe a little too wild sometimes. Competitive. Passionate about anything he took an interest in.” I can’t stop the grin that begins to form.
He chuckles. “Yeah, I know. Including my fucking sister.”
“Yeah. He loved her.” My smile turns into a wide one, and I nod. “I miss all those things about him that I mentioned. But most of all—” My breath hitches. “I missknowing that if anything were ever wrong in my world, he’d be right here to make everything okay.”
The hard swallow that works its way down his throat surprises me, and a second later, his voice comes out rough and gritty. “Sage, he was your big brother. That’s what he was supposed to do.” His head bobs for a moment. “I hope he’d approve of me being the one you turn to. The one who makes you feel safe, like he did.”
A tear splashes down my cheek. “Jonah would have loved you for me. I know he would have. You’re everything he’d want me to have in a partner.”
The muscle at the back of his jaw jumps, twitching hard, like he’s grinding his teeth. “Good. That’s really fuckin’ important to me that you believe that.”
“I do.”
A breath huffs from him. “I don’t claim to know why things happen the way they do. But I hope Jonah and Lucy are looking down on us and can see how fucking happy we are together.”
I bite my lip, turning toward him. “How do you always know the right thing to say?”
Placing a few fingers under my chin, he tips my face up to accept his kiss. It’s equal parts affection and hunger, and it sends me reeling as we become lost to each other and the moment.
I’m completely carried away when Kade pausesunexpectedly and mutters, “Don’t panic, Wildflower, but I think someone is here.” He eases away, his head cocking to the side, listening.
My heart thuds viciously in my chest. I can only think of one logical explanation based on how the events of the last few days have unfolded. Way down deep, I know who it must be.
Gently squeezing my arms, Kade lifts me from his lap as he stands and sets me on my feet. Moving toward the window, he shifts the curtain out of the way. “Sage, remember… everything is going to be fine. It’s the sheriff and one of his deputies. There are a couple cars out front.”
I wrap my arms around my body and glance nervously toward the entryway. Together, we move toward the door, pausing on the other side of it just as footsteps sound on the wood planks of the porch, followed by a sharp series of knocks.
“Go on.” Kade gestures toward the door, guiding me toward it with a hand on my lower back. In a low rumble, he murmurs, “Everything is gonna be okay. I’m here with you.”
