Rough Terrain (Vista Falls #1) (12 page)

“And there’s the issue of her family hating your guts.” Colt chuckled. “Don’t forget that.”

Wes would have bristled at that comment a few months ago. He may have even started spewing profanities about her father that would have made a sailor blush, but over the past few weeks, he’d imagined a hundred different scenarios from a father’s perspective, and that made it easier to understand why Sage’s parents disliked him so much. He’d gotten their baby girl pregnant when she about to go off to college and follow her dreams, her passion. Any parent might have felt the way they did.

“How could I?” Tired of talking about his own problems, Wes asked, “Have you seen Gabby again?”

Colt smirked. “You wanna know how pathetic I am?”

“I already know. But I could use a good laugh, so lay it on me.”

“It was my mother’s birthday yesterday, so I went into Gabby’s shop to order some flowers.”

“Okay.” Wes didn’t see the problem. “And?”

“I’ve never sent my mother flowers in my entire life. In fact, I found out later no one has.”

“Really?” Wes supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised since the poor woman had been married to a deadbeat who’d rather spend money on booze and cigarettes than treat her to a surprise.

“Yeah. So I could have called it in, ordered them online even. But I walked in there instead. Could I have been any more obvious?”

Wes laughed. “Did she call you on it?”

“No, you know Gabby. She wouldn’t say or do anything to make someone uncomfortable. She just took my order and made small talk. I wanted to ask her out for dinner, you know, just something casual to catch up. But I lost my nerve and bailed.”

Colt had never been shy with women, so the fact that he got tongue-tied around Gabby proved he still had strong feelings for her.

“Who ever thought we’d end up back here, pursuing our first loves? It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

“Is that what we’re doing?” Colt asked, leaning forward when he clearly felt a tug on his line. After reeling it in, he rid the bait of weeds and cast it back out. “Pursuing Sage and Gabby?”

No. Pursuing Sage would have meant he’d made the decision that he wanted to be in a relationship with her. And he hadn’t. They were a long way from a relationship. Hell, they’d barely reestablished their friendship. “I’m not there yet. How about you?”

“Nah, man. I’ve got other shit to deal with before I can even think about going after Gabby.”

“You’re talking about your old man?” When Colt ignored him, he asked, “Did you go and see him?”

“Not yet. I might though. I’ve been thinking about it.”

Wes knew it wasn’t his decision to make, but he said, “I think you should. We both came back here to face our pasts, right?”

“No, that’s why you came back.” Colt set his sunglasses on top of his head, glaring at Wes. “I came back because we’re business partners and where you go, I go.”

Wes smiled. “You came back because this is our home. You can deny it all you want, but this lake right here, this is where our dreams were born.”

“Yeah, and it’s probably where they’ll die,” Colt muttered, making Wes laugh as he slapped Colt on the back.

Sage was so nervous on the one-hour drive to Brock that she couldn’t bear to make small talk with Wes. After what had happened the other night, she didn’t know what to think. He’d been the one to pull back, and she was mortified, but she also appreciated how much restraint it had taken for him not to rush in to something neither of them was ready for.

“What are you thinking?” Wes asked, casting a sidelong glance in her direction.

“I’m wondering what he’ll look like, whether he’ll be shy or outgoing, how he’ll treat us.” She’d been thinking about Nick almost nonstop since she learned she’d have the opportunity to meet him. When she wasn’t thinking about his father.

“You’ll have your answers soon enough.” He glanced at the digital readout on his dashboard. “We should be there in about fifteen minutes.”

“I still can’t believe he was living so close to me all these years and I didn’t even know it.” She shouldn’t have been too surprised. She’d known the family that adopted him had been from their state, but she’d never imagined he would have grown up in the very next county.

“I think they moved away for a while,” Wes explained. “The lady at the adoption agency told me they moved back after Nick’s dad died so they could be closer to her family.”

“Makes sense.” Though Sage couldn’t imagine calling on her parents if she found herself in a similar situation. She’d have rather gone it alone.

“I don’t think he’d have agreed to see us if he wasn’t willing to hear us out,” Wes said, reaching for her hand. “When we talked, he didn’t sound angry or resentful, just curious.”

With a thin smile, she nodded, almost wishing Nick would yell and scream and let her have it for giving him up when she should have fought to keep him. That was what she felt she deserved.

“I think he’s had a really good life, Sage. His parents are good people. They love him and gave him a secure and safe home life, something we couldn’t have back then.”

“Then you think we made the right choice?” She bit her lip as she stared at their joined hands. “Giving him up?”

“Was it the right choice for us? Probably not. But it may well have been the right choice for him, and I guess that’s the only thing that matters. You were trying to be selfless because you already loved him enough to want to give him the best possible start in life.”

Her stomach ached when she thought of how her own future plans had factored into her decision. “I’m not as altruistic as you’d like to believe.” She took a deep breath when they passed a hand-painted sign welcoming them to Brock. “I was also thinking about how hard it would be to be a teen mom, all the things I wouldn’t be able to do if I had a baby.”

“Of course you were thinking about that,” Wes said, frowning. “Your life was just beginning. Anyone would have had those thoughts.”

She appreciated him for trying to make her feel better, but she had to ask, “Did you feel the same way?”

He curled his hand more tightly around the steering wheel as he seemed to weigh his words. “You have to remember at that time, I didn’t really know what the hell I wanted. Sure, I was gonna go to college because my dad wanted me to, and I was lucky enough to get that football scholarship. I’d have been an idiot to throw away an opportunity like that. But I wasn’t like you. I didn’t have big dreams. I talked about making it big someday, but I had no idea how it would happen.”

At her questioning look, he said, “Sure, I had things in my life I was passionate about: you, sports, and the outdoors. But I knew I wasn’t going to become a pro ball player. I wasn’t
that
good. And aside from being a fishing guide, I didn’t see how I could make a living from my love of the outdoors. At that age, even the idea of starting the kind of business we did would have been laughable.”

“But I remember you talking about doing something like that,” she argued then bit her lip when the high school came into view.

The parking lot was filling up quickly with everyone in town showing up to support the home team. After growing up in a small town, she knew those boys carried the weight of a whole town on their shoulders, not wanting to disappoint anyone with a loss at the end of a long and grueling work week.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it was a real possibility,” Wes said, drawing her attention back to him.

“When did you decide to go for it?”

“Me and Colt were taking a business course our first year of college. We had to write a business plan for this theoretical business. That’s when it hit us—why not do it for real? The worst thing that could happen was we’d fail. But since there was nothing else we really wanted to do, it didn’t seem like much of a risk. So we went for it.”

“And never looked back,” Sage said, thinking how lucky they were to be living their dream while most people, including herself, only imagined what their life could have looked like if they’d been fearless enough to take more risks.

“I don’t know about that,” he said, claiming one of the last free spots before cutting the engine and turning to face her. “I’ve looked back plenty, thought about all that I left behind. Especially you.”

Moments like this made it easy for her to forget they wouldn’t be together at all if they weren’t so desperate to forge a relationship with their son. They would have had no reason to talk if they passed each other on the street, no reason to reminisce about the old days or talk about lessons learned. They would have been polite strangers with some history living in the same small town.

“Nick was a blessing for me even if I didn’t get to raise him,” she said. “I just hope I can make him believe that.”

His large hand covered her knee, making her remember a time when that had been the beginning of an exploration that lasted well into the early morning hours. “Anyone can see how sincere you are. He’ll see that too. Just don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, be vulnerable, even if it means you might get hurt.”

She wondered if they were still talking about their relationship with their son… or each other. “Okay, let’s do this,” she said, reaching for the door handle. “While I still have the nerve.”

***

Wes suspected Sage’s throat must have been raw from all the screaming she’d done, cheering the home team and their son—the star quarterback—to victory.

“God, I forgot how much fun this could be,” she said as they made their way to the parking lot.

Wes checked his phone. He’d sent Nick a text to let him know they’d be waiting for him in the parking lot next to a black pickup truck. Nick still hadn’t responded, which made Wes a little nervous, though he wouldn’t let on to Sage.

“I can’t believe you haven’t been to a game since high school,” he said, resting his back against the passenger door of his truck while she stood in front of him. “That’s just about the only thing to do in Vista Falls on a Friday night.”

“Too many memories, I guess,” she said, crossing her arms to close her cropped black jacket. “I remember being so proud of you when you played.” A small smile tipped her lips as she looked at the dusky sky. “I felt the same way watching him play tonight. Is that crazy?”

“Maybe, but I felt it too,” Wes said.

Nick hadn’t been just another guy with a great arm who knew how to read the game. He was Wes’s blood, and Wes had felt that every time he looked at Nick, even if it had been from a hundred feet away. Inside Wes’s coat pocket, his phone buzzed.

“Must be him,” Wes said, pulling out his phone. “He says he’ll be out in ten minutes.”

“Oh God.” Sage took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “I hope I don’t screw this up. I may not get another chance to say everything I want to say to him.”

Wes understood how she felt, but he chose to believe this would be the first of many heart-to-hearts they’d have with the boy. He closed his hands around her upper arms. “Just try not to put too much pressure on him. Though he’ll probably try to play it cool, this has gotta be a lot for him to deal with, meeting us after all these years.”

“You’re right.” She smiled. “Maybe it’d be best if I just followed your lead, huh?”

Wes sure as hell didn’t have all the answers, but he had been a teenage boy himself not so long ago, and at least he and Nick spoke the same language—football.

He pulled Sage closer when a group of rowdy teens almost bumped into her as they piled into a rusty pickup truck next to her, yelling and swearing as they celebrated their team’s victory.

“Remember when that was us?” she asked, bracing her hands on his chest as she looked up at him. “God, where did the time go?”

Looking at her now, it felt as though no time had passed. She still looked like the girl he’d fallen in love with, the one he’d been determined to make a life with. The urge to kiss her was strong, but when he was tempted to move in, he heard someone clear their throat.

“Hey.”

That single word made Wes breathless as he looked into light blue eyes that mirrored his own.

“Hey, Nick.” Wes pushed off the truck, wanting nothing more than to hug him, but he offered his hand instead. “I’m Wes, and this is Sage. It’s great to finally meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.” Nick’s gaze darted to Sage before he shyly offered her his hand. “You too. I mean, uh, it’s nice to meet you too.”

Her smile lit up her pretty face as she accepted his hand, clasping it between both of hers. “You were amazing tonight. Thanks for letting us come and watch you play.”

“No problem.” He cleared his throat as he looked around the near-empty parking lot. “So, uh, you guys still want to grab a burger?”

If Vista Falls was anything like Brock—and Wes suspected it was—there was one popular burger joint where everyone went after a big game. It would be loud and chaotic, with everyone wanting a piece of Nick.

“Is there somewhere a little quieter we could go? You know, have a real meal, get to know each other better?” Wes asked, hoping he wasn’t overstepping by suggesting an alternative plan.

“Uh, yeah, there’s a small steakhouse on the outskirts of town,” Nick said, running a hand through his damp hair. “Jack’s? You might have seen it when you were driving in?”

“Yeah, I think we did.” Wes tried not to be too obvious as he gave Nick a quick once-over. The kid was almost six feet already, with broad shoulders and a trim waist. Wes had been almost the exact same size at his age. “Sound good to you, Sage?”

“Sure, whatever,” she said, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

They piled into his truck before Nick commented, “I’m surprised you drive a truck. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a sweet ride and all, but I pegged you for more of a Ferrari kind of guy.”

Wes was pleased to learn Nick had given him any thought at all. He laughed as he scanned the radio, looking for a Top 40 station that might appeal to a teenager. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those fancy foreign jobs, son.” He bit his tongue when he realized what he’d said. He sure as hell hadn’t earned the right to call Nick his son, but it was too late to take it back, so he ignored it, hoping Nick would do the same.