Rough Terrain (Vista Falls #1) (19 page)

Sage sat beside Gabby, propping her head in her hand as she faced her friend. “So why didn’t you? It’s not like you to sleep with someone without thinking it through.”

“I know, right?” She sighed. “I’ve been asking myself that very question all day.”

“And?”

“The only thing I can come up with? It was Colt. How could I not?”

“Oh, sweetie.”

At the sight of Gabby’s watery smile, Sage could have cried herself. She had been there to hold Gabby’s hand through her miscarriage and divorce, when she’d been lost and devastated. She’d even been there for her, as best she could given the challenges she was facing at the time, the last time Colt left her. But this time, Sage didn’t know how to help. She couldn’t tell Gabby what she’d told her back then—that she and Colt were just kids and she had her whole life to find the right guy. Gabby had lived life, thought she’d found the right guy, and ended up circling back to Colt. What did that say about the hold he had on her? That it wasn’t likely to vanish no matter how many thousands of miles separated them.

“Maybe you should call him? Call him out on leaving. I’m sure that’s the last thing he’d expect you to do.”

“Like hell I will. I have my pride.”

Sage reached for a paper napkin to blot her friend’s mascara-streaked eyes. “I had my pride too when Wes left. Maybe if I’d called him back then, I never would have gone through with the adoption. Maybe we could have been the ones to raise our son.” Releasing a shaky breath as she wrestled with her own doubts and regrets, Sage whispered, “Sometimes pride isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes it can ruin our lives.”

“I hear what you’re saying, I do. But he left because he doesn’t want me. How can I call him up and ask him why? It would be humiliating.” She dropped her forehead in her upturned palm. “He wouldn’t want to hurt me, so he’d stutter and stammer and make excuses. It would be awful for both of us.”

“Maybe,” Sage conceded. “Or maybe Colt would realize he finally has someone in his life other than Wes who’s strong enough to stick around even when he makes bonehead mistakes.”

Gabby half laughed, half cried as she bumped shoulders with Sage. “That’s why I love you, you know. ‘Cause even when I feel like crap, you can make me feel better.”

Wes was feeling better than ever about his relationship with Sage. They’d spent every night together, either at her house or his, since their overnight date at the inn, but since they were on their way to pick up their son for his first overnight with Wes, they would be sleeping separately tonight.

“You sure you don’t mind that Nick’s spending the night with me?” Wes kissed Sage’s hand as they sat in the parking lot, waiting for the players to trickle out after their post-game showers. Nick’s team had lost, so Wes knew he may not be in the best mood. He didn’t care. He just couldn’t wait to see Nick again.

“No, I’m fine with it.” She curled her free hand around his knee. “The most important thing is that he wants to spend time with us, right? It doesn’t matter who he’s staying with.”

Though she claimed it didn’t bother her, Wes feared Sage saw him developing a bond with their son and was afraid of being left out. “I’m sure it’s just because I have all the cool toys. Come on, you’ve seen my bunker. With all those fishing rods and lures, any teenage boy would be salivating.”

Sage bit her lip. “Your guns are all locked up, aren’t they? I know you keep them in a cabinet, but it is locked, right?”

Wes dropped his head to keep from laughing. Based on everything Nick had told him, he’d been shooting things up for years. “Careful now, you’re starting to sound just like an overprotective mama.”

She paled. “Oh God, I better not say anything like that in front of Nick. I wouldn’t want him to think that I’m trying to take his mother’s place.”

“Relax,” Wes said, curling his hand around her face. He pulled her in for a kiss. “I was just teasing you. I think it’s sweet that you’re looking out for him. And you can relax. The guns are all locked up, safe and sound. And I’ll make sure he knows how to use ‘em before I take him on any hunting trips.”

Before she could respond, Nick knocked on the window. He hopped in the backseat, tossing his backpack down beside him. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”

They’d had a few phone conversations that week, and Wes felt as though he was getting to know him better every day. They’d even exchanged texts, and Nick had sent him links to a couple of fishing and hunting videos he thought Wes might like.

“Good game, buddy,” Wes said, starting the truck. “Sorry about the loss. I really thought you guys were gonna pull it out of the fire in those last few minutes.”

“Ah, you win some, you lose some, right?” Nick buckled his seat belt. “I’m kinda hungry. You mind if we pass by a drive-thru on our way out of town?”

Wes didn’t think there was a single chain restaurant in the county, so Nick must have known something he didn’t. “Sure, just tell me where to go.”

“Head back toward Vista Falls,” Nick said. “You’ll see a sign for Hedley’s on the right. They have a drive-thru window.”

“Cool,” Wes said, putting the truck into gear.

“Did you have a good week at school?” Sage asked, shifting in her seat so she was partially facing Nick.

“It was okay, I guess,” he said, shrugging. Nick looked out the window instead of facing Sage.

Wes frowned at him in the rearview mirror, though he suspected the boy was paying him little mind.

Looking slightly uneasy, Sage said, “So, um, your parents weren’t able to make it to tonight’s game?”

“No, why would they come?” he asked. “They knew you guys were gonna be here to pick me up.”

“We’d like to meet them,” Sage said. “Wouldn’t we, Wes?”

“Yeah.” Wes looked in the rearview again, this time catching Nick’s eye. “Maybe we can come to Brock and we can all go out for dinner.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

Wes sensed Nick was a little uneasy, and he wanted to ask why but not in front of Sage. He didn’t want to give her reason to worry or make the kid uncomfortable.

“My brother owns the inn in town,” Wes said. “He invited us for brunch tomorrow with my mother. I hope that’s okay?”

“Sure, why not?” Nick looked at Sage. “Your parents aren’t going to be there?”

“I don’t think so.”

“They can’t be too happy about you spending all this time with me.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I read your book. I know they pressured you into putting me up for adoption.”

Sage and Wes exchanged a look, wondering how they should respond. They didn’t want to lie to him, but they did want to protect him if they could.

“I don’t need my parents’ approval anymore, Nick,” Sage said finally. “So how they feel about us spending time together is irrelevant.”

“Then you admit they’re not happy about it?” he asked, narrowing his blue eyes. “They still don’t want an illegitimate bastard for a grandson, huh?”

Sage gasped as Wes glared at Nick in the mirror as he pulled up to a stop sign.

“Watch your mouth.” Wes knew warning him about bad language at his age was lame, but it was not okay for him to disrespect Sage.

“Sorry, but it’s the truth and we all know it.” Nick crossed his arms and sank further down in his seat, closing his eyes.

Wes gripped Sage’s hand when tears sprang to her eyes as she faced forward.

“Ignore him,” Wes mouthed. “Teenagers are moody.”

After a brisk nod, she bit her lip and looked out the window. Rain started to fall, pelting their windshield.

“Hey,” Wes said to Nick as he pulled into the parking lot of the greasy spoon. “We’re here. What do you want to eat?”

“I’m not that hungry anymore. I think I’ll pass.”

Wes clenched his teeth as he pulled back onto the main road. If they’d been alone, he’d have had plenty to say to the boy, but he didn’t want to argue in front of Sage. She had high expectations for this weekend, and Wes didn’t want to disappoint her. They drove the rest of the way to Sage’s house, a little over half an hour, in silence.

“Let me walk you to the door,” Wes said, hopping out to get her door before she could argue.

Wes heard Sage say good-bye to Nick before she got out of the truck, but Nick merely grunted, his eyes still closed. Wes and Sage sprinted to her front door.

“You didn’t have to walk with me,” she said. “You’ll get soaked.”

Wes gripped her shoulders. “You okay?”

She tried to smile, but it fell flat. “That didn’t go too well, did it? I shouldn’t be surprised. He has every right to be bitter and resentful, especially toward my parents. I just thought after how well things went last weekend…” She shrugged before Wes pulled her into his arms. “I guess I was expecting too much.”

“We just have to let him get it all out. Let him yell and scream at us. Take his rage if we have to. Then slowly try to build his trust.”

“You’re right.” She sighed against his chest. “Building a solid relationship with him won’t happen overnight, and we can’t expect it to. We just have to take it one day at a time.”

“Right.”

He framed her face with his hands before kissing her forehead. He wanted to kiss her on the lips, but Nick was probably watching them. Wes didn’t want to get into a discussion about his relationship with Sage tonight. That could wait for another day, after they’d hashed out everything else.

“So you sure you’re okay?”

She offered him a shaky smile. “I will be. I think I’m just going to have a glass of wine and a bubble bath then head off to bed with a good book.”

“You know how much I’m going to miss holding you tonight?”

“I’m going to miss you too.” She sighed. “But it’s only two nights. I think we’ll survive.”

Wes was relieved she saw things reverting back to their “new normal” when Nick returned home. He didn’t want to spend another night without her if he could help it.

“So we’ll meet you at the inn for breakfast?” Wes asked.

“I’ll be there.”

“I’ll text you good night in a little while.” He jerked his head toward the truck. “Let you know how it went with the kid.”

Before he could step off the porch, Sage grabbed his arm. “Go easy on him, okay? Try to put yourself in his position. He has every right to feel the way he does.”

“I know. I’ll be patient and understanding, I promise.” Wes was clueless when it came to being a good parent, but thankfully he’d had the best example. So he just imagined what his old man might have said and done in this situation and planned to do the same.

“Wes?”

He turned to face her, heedless of the rain showering him. “Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Wes grinned. “Love you too, baby.”

***

Nick had already jumped in the front seat by the time Wes returned to the truck. “So you two are a couple. Why’d you lie to me?”

Wes gave him a long hard look before fastening his seat belt. “I didn’t lie to you. It’s a recent development, and I don’t really want to talk about that until we’ve had a chance to talk about your attitude tonight. What’s that all about?”

Nick wasn’t surprised Wes was calling him out. He could already tell Wes was a no-BS kind of guy. “So I’m supposed to just keep my mouth shut when something’s bothering me? Is that how y’all do things around here?”

“No, not at all. I want you to talk to me when you have a problem with something, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. I don’t think I have to tell you that what you said tonight really hurt Sage.”

Nick stared out the window. He’d gotten a bad grade on an English test he’d thought he’d aced, gotten into a fight with his so-called girlfriend when she’d asked him to hit Wes up for some cash, then he’d lost the game ‘cause his head wasn’t in it. After all that, Wes only cared about Sage’s feelings? “So you only care about protecting her? You don’t give a shit about me? Good to know.”

“I think you know that’s not true.” Wes curled his hand around the steering wheel. “What’s got you in such a pissy mood? Losing the game?”

“That’s part of it.” Nick slouched, wondering if he could trust Wes with the rest of it.

“What’s the other part?” Wes asked, giving him a sidelong look.

“You know how I told you I didn’t have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s not completely true. There kind of is this girl that I’ve been seeing for a while.”

“Why didn’t you feel you could tell us that?”

Nick sighed. “You and Sage were young when you got together and she got pregnant. I guess I didn’t want you two to embarrass me with a lecture about safe sex in the middle of a restaurant.”

“Fair enough, so long as I can count on you to tell me the truth from now on.”

Nick nodded, knowing Wes would probably be able to see right through him if he tried to lie.

“Okay, so what’s she like, this girlfriend of yours?”

If he’d asked that question a few weeks ago, Nick would have told him she was awesome, but now he wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know. She’s okay, I guess.”

Wes chuckled. “Not exactly a ringing endorsement. You two having problems?” Nick’s stomach growled, and Wes’s lips twisted as he tried to keep a straight face. “Guess you were hungrier than you thought, huh?”

“Guess so.” Nick was always hungry. His mother claimed all boys his age were.

“I have some leftover steak at home,” Wes said. “I’ll make you a sandwich when we get to my place.”

“Cool.” Nick hoped Wes had picked up some food for him since Wes had asked him what his favorite foods were a few days ago.

“You were telling me about this girlfriend of yours.”

“We kind of got into it today.”

“Ah, I see,” Wes said, nodding. “That explains the bad mood. You want to talk about it?”

Nick wasn’t sure he had the guts to tell Wes that Maggie thought he should get in good with Wes because she wanted a handout. “She and I just don’t always see eye to eye on things. She, uh, kind of thinks it’s okay to take advantage of people, and I don’t.”

“I see.”

“My dad worked real hard. He was an electrician. And he always tried to teach me that there was no shame in an honest day’s work, even if it didn’t make you rich.”