AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, honey, you grew into such a beautiful woman,” my mom said, pulling back slightly to cup Harlow’s face, much like she’d done to me only a couple of nights earlier. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to see you again.”
God, had it only been a few days since she was dropped back into my life?
Harlow leaned back in, hugging my mom again. “I was sorry to hear about Tim,” she said quietly. “He was so kind to me whenever I was at your house. Both of you were.”
Both of their eyes were shining when they broke apart.
“Thank you, dear. House has seemed awfully quiet without him.” A tear slid down my mom’s cheek, and she dashed at it quickly. “No one to argue with me or ask me to make him food ten times a day. Thankfully, I have all these kids to keep me busy.”
Sage watched them with a curious expression on her face. My mom noticed and held out her hand.
“And who are you, young lady?”
Sage straightened, her long legs and lanky build just like her mom’s had been at that age. “Sage Keaton, ma’am. My mom told me on the way here that you guys are the nicest family she’s ever met, and I have to be on my best behavior.”
When my mom laughed with delight, Harlow and I locked eyes, and her impish smile tightened a screw hidden under my ribs.
“Was I included in the nicest you’ve ever met?” I asked Harlow.
Before she could answer, Sage’s gaze moved from my mom to me, and her study was far more in-depth than I expected out of a ten-year-old. “No, she said you’re only nice to people you trust.”
With my eyebrows raised, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Can’t argue with that, I suppose.”
Sage nodded. “We’ll get along just fine. I’m the same way.” She looked into the family room. “Do you mind if I put on SportsCenter?”
“Uh, no. Go ahead. Remote’s on the couch.”
She sprawled out on the couch, making herself at home while she scrolled the channels. When the show came on, she settled back, with a determined look.
Harlow and my mom spoke quietly in the kitchen, and I tossed a couple of pieces of pizza on a plate and walked it toward the couch. When I held it out to Sage, she blinked in surprise.
“For me?”
“Only if you want it. Your mom said you’d eat as much as me, so now I have to see if she’s right.”
Sage sat up, taking the plate with a quiet thank you.
From the corner of my eye, I watched her, a little unsure of what I was supposed to talk about with this kid who might be living with me. I’d never really known how to deal with little kids. What to say. What to ask them. But this wasn’t just any kid. She was half Harlow. Half someone else I’d never met. One of the hundreds of stories I had yet to hear.
“SportsCenter, huh?” Internally, I rolled my eyes because that was the best I could come up with? Might as well ask her if she liked school.
“Yeah,” she said around a mouthful of pepperoni pizza. “I’m a Jets fan, but Portland isn’t all bad. Wanted to catch the pregame for the Thursday night matchup. Their offense is great, but if they don’t fix the defensive line, they’re screwed.” She shook her head. “The blocking against the run is pathetic.”
I smothered a grin. My brother played tight end with the Portland Voyagers, but I didn’t want to seem like I was showing off.
“So you like football,” I said.
She nodded seriously. “I love it. I mean, it’s not the only thing I love. I like makeup and clothes and stuff too. And sports. Women can be complicated like that,” she said. “Or at least that’s what my mom says.”
I smothered my smile under the guise of wiping my napkin over my mouth. “Ain’t that the truth,” I muttered. “You ever been to a game?”
Sage finished chewing a bite of pizza. “Just one. My mom’s agent gave us tickets to a Jets–Patriots game last year for Christmas, and it was the best day of my entire life,” she answered with wide, serious eyes.
My mom came and tapped me on the shoulder. “I’m going to leave you three to your dinner,” she said.
“I told her she was welcome to stay,” Harlow added, curling an arm around my mom’s back.
Mom waved off the suggestion with a friendly smile. “I’ve got Poppy waiting. She was going to cook for me tonight for a change.”
