Page 20 of Schooling Little Sage

“Yup.”

“What did you decide on, Devon?” He had a stuffie in each hand, going back and forth between the polar bear and the shark.

“Mmm, I live too close to the beach so the shark might give me nightmares. I’m going with Slushie.”

“Slushie?”

“Yup, Slushie the polar bear.”

Adorkable. That was the new word for these boys.

“Alright, let’s go pay, then we need to drop off Daddy’s stuff at his place. Do you guys want to watch a movie and play with your new stuffies?” Their heads bobbed up and down. Becky finished ringing us up and handed them back their stuffies and me the other bags, then we trekked across the lot to the apartment building.

“Rawhide Ranch is ginormous,” Devon said as we stepped inside. “There are so many buildings here. I mean, I knew there was a lot to it before I booked the trip, but wowza.”

“I hear ya. I started out as an attendee and fell in love with the place. Went home, got my affairs in order, sold everything and here I am.” Never regretted a single moment of my decision.

Though when my boy just sighed, I kinda regretted this conversation.

“You okay, Sage?” Devon asked him.

“I dunno.” He shrugged. “My parents dropped me off without so much as a goodbye. I knew nothing about this place outside of that I had a job waiting for me. I just don’t understand why they had me if they didn’t want kids in the first place.”

“Sweetheart.” I sat on the couch and tugged him onto my lap. “If they didn’t, then we’d never have met, and I’d miss out on finding the perfect boy for me.”

“You have the bestest Daddy, Sage.” Devon sat beside us and wrapped an arm around him. “You’re lucky.” Sage’s head bobbed against my chest. It was time for this Daddy to turn this day back around.

“What movie do you boys want to watch?”

“Devon, you pick.”

Sweet Sage, ever the pleaser.

“Um”—Devon wiggled and made goofy sounds that had Sage giggling—“how about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The first one.”

“Good choice.” A movie I enjoyed. “Then Sage can see Mikey in action.”

They curled up together on the couch, stuffies included, while I put the movie on, then unpacked the bags while they were entertained.

Sage was an absolute delight to be around and beyond easy to please. The simplest of things delighted him from feeding the animals at the petting zoo to pointing out butterflies and bumble bees along our walks. I was his first thought to share those moments with and felt the same way when it came to him. That’s all he’d ever wanted, someone to love him and be a part of what made him happy.

To be loved.

I fumbled the box of dino nuggets when the realization hit me.

I was falling in love with Sage.

Whoa.

Thankfully, a barstool was nearby to catch me. I didn’t do relationships, let alone love, yet I dove right into one with Sage. I’d come to the Ranch to find myself, to enjoy life and just live in the moment.

Then I found Sage.

Well, then Master Derek found Sage for me.

Was Sage my forever? Is he what I was meant to find here? What my soul had been searching for all this time?

At times such as this one it’s hard not to believe in fate because there’s no way it didn’t have a hand in this. Well, fate and Master Derek.