Page 46 of Schooling Little Sage

“Sage?” Dempsey hollered. “Hurry up, the game is ready.” With a quick wave, my boy rejoined his friends.

“They’re really coming into their own, aren’t they?” Burke said, taking the seat beside me. “I’m so happy that Dempsey has settled in at the Ranch as well as he has.”

“Same. It’s a joy to watch them.” I was near tears, as filled with happiness as I was. All smiles, Sage hadn’t frowned in forever.

Forever.

Whenever I saw Sage, I saw my forever.

What a fool I’d been to think for even a second I could’ve fought the attraction. And if I was being honest, that fight lasted a fraction of that.

“Daddy, look at the mummy stuffie I won. I got the apple on the first try.”

“That explains the area of your face that’s no longer green.” His eyes widened and I hoped like hell that didn’t trigger tears.

He hummed and shrugged. “Oh well, I’m gonna try and win a scary vampire. Ooooooo!”

I think that was meant to sound like a ghost, not quite sure, but either way it was cute. Spirit fingers wiggled in the air as he danced away.

A quick glance down the line of Bigs verified we were all in the same predicament—arms laden with prizes and candy-filled buckets. Had a feeling that the infirmary was gonna be a busy place tomorrow. Thankfully, we had the day off with no plans. Soup and grilled cheese followed by a midday nap would be about it for us.

Yup, lazy pajama day for this Daddy and his boy.

Finally, the planners called it a night. The Littles were barely hanging on, half asleep as they said goodbye and thanked the team for a wonderful night. It was a challenge keeping Sage awake enough to shower and get all the green off him.

“I love you, sweet boy,” I whispered.

“Love, Daddy,” my half-asleep boy mumbled.

Chapter Thirteen

“Daddy, I might throw up.” We were on our way to meet Daddy’s family, face to face for the first time. My tummy was all balled up. “I don’t feel good at all.”

“What?” He pulled over, gravel flew as the truck skidded to a stop. “If that is how you really feel we’ll turn around and go home. I don’t want anything making you sick.” Daddy felt my head for a fever. “Do you want to go home?”

I was ruining Thanksgiving and it hadn’t even started.

Get it together, Sage. You’ve already talked to them, and you’ve been really excited about this.

“No, I’m being dumb. Sorry for scaring you, Daddy.”

“First off, don’t ever call yourself dumb again. But, sweetheart, why are you so nervous? You talk to Mom more than I do.”

Which was true. So, what exactly was my problem.

“Last chance, go home or keep driving?”

“Keep driving, please.”

“I have an idea.” Daddy turned off at the next street and pulled up in front of another gate that looked like the ones at home. He entered a code and they opened.

“Where are we, Daddy? Is this part of the Ranch I didn’t know about?”

“Kind of. This is Rawhide Ridge. Master Derek built this place as kind of an overflow, and where couples who didn’t want to live in the apartments could have bigger houses. He’s also moved the horses that were a bit too rough for our visitors to the Double L Ranch just a few more miles from here. Master Jagger used to be the stablemaster for Master Derek. Master Jagger not only takes care of the wilder horses, he also breeds and raises horses.”

“That’s so cool. I think it’s great those horses have a special place of their own.”

He parked in front of a row of stores.