Page 11 of Schooling Little Sage

“No, Sir.”

For me, they, meaning my parents, didn’t need to spell it out. They’d done their duty raising me to adulthood, and that’s where it ended for them. I often wondered if they knew I heard them when they talked about me. They weren’t quiet about it, but some of the conversations took place when they thought I wasn’t in earshot.

But I always heard them.

They weren’t coming back for me, and my only hope was here, at Rawhide Ranch. If I was lucky, the nice people here would become my new family and one that would want to keep me. Forever.

Otherwise, I have no clue what I’ll do.

“My turn to apologize.”

I glanced up when Warner said that.

“I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

“It’s okay. It’s a reality I avoided but now have to face.”

“Do you have any other family?”

“Not that I’m aware of or that I ever met.” Great questions I had no answers to. Was there a reason my parents kept me a secret or were their families all gone?

“Well, I think you’ll like it here and I hope you’ll stay.”

“Hope I stay? I get to pick?”

“As long as you don’t cause any problems, I think so. I’ve been told it’s rare that Master Derek makes anyone leave unless they’ve done something really bad.”

“I’m a good boy, I promise.”

“I believe you, Sage. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

Thankfully our pizza came and I didn’t have to answer any more questions cause I was awfully tired of not knowing or liking any of my answers. My parents took care of everything and made all my decisions for me, until now. Guess it was time to figure it all out for myself.

Maybe that was my biggest problem, but for now, it was easier to go with the flow than to make waves and wait and see what happened. With a full belly after one long day of walking around, I barely made it through a shower. When I curled up with my new bear, I fell right to sleep.

Chapter Four

“What kind of parents do that, Derek? Did they even leave forwarding information or how to get ahold of them if something happened to Sage?” It’d been a long time since I’d felt this level of anger. One day in and the overprotective Daddy in me came barreling out.

“Nope, not a single number or address. All they told Sage was they were moving to Florida.” He shook his head. “How’d he do this morning?”

I’d just dropped Sage off at class and had gone straight to Derek’s office after. “Well, he tried his best, but it’s obvious he’s never done manual labor, and he’s terrified you’re gonna find him useless and kick him out.”

“What? I’d never do that. We just need to find where he fits. Everyone has their place at Rawhide Ranch.”

“I know, but that boy has been beaten down and ignored his entire life. You should’ve seen how thrilled he was that I got him a present.” Derek cocked a brow. “Don’t give me that look. You knew exactly what you were doing when you put Sage in my path.”

“I did, but the confirmed bachelor in you was hellbent on fighting it.”

Yeah, two hours with Sage and I was a goner, but I wasn’t telling him that nor confirming his assumption. At least not with those exact words.

“We nearly cleared the shop out getting new clothes for him. He has, or had, next to nothing.”

“Becky told me. I’m just glad we were able to help him out. Keep me abreast of how he does and let me know if I need to move him around.”

“Will do.” As far as dismissals went, Derek was a pro at it. Never left feeling unheard, he listened and helped everyone. His time was golden and we, as employees, understood and respected that.

I returned to the stables and finished up just in time to collect Sage. I waited at the edge of the Littles’ Wing hall, just as I’d done this morning for work. Poor guy looked even more lost as he walked toward me than he did working the stalls.