Page 21 of Under an Oklahoma Sky

When she pulled back, he saw desire mixed with a bit of disappointment written all over her face. And that wouldn’t do. “Trust me when I say letting you go to bed alone is the last thing I want to do, but we agreed to take this slow. This is all new for me, Sage. I don’t want to mess it up…” He cupped her jaw and looked her straight in the eye. “Not with you.”

She bit her lower lip and nodded with obvious reluctance. “You’re right… We did say we’d take this slow. You’re also right that we need to get some sleep, but I just want to go on the record as saying letting you go to bed alone is the last thing I want to do, too.”

She placed a kiss on his lips… a very chaste kiss. “I’m sorry I asked about⁠—”

He gave her waist a gentle squeeze and cut her off with a shake of his head. “I’m not. That was something I needed to get off my chest for a very long time. I should thank you. That’s the first time I’ve told anyone everything–how I felt at the time and how I’ve felt ever since. And that includes Shane. So, please don’t say you’re sorry because I’m not.”

“Well, then, instead of being sorry…” A teasing grin spread across her face. “…I’ll be grateful. For someone who hasn’t kissed a woman in almost twenty years, you’re not half bad.”

He let out a hearty laugh and put a Southern twang into his voice. “Why, thank you, ma’am… I think. I look forward to practicing some more.” He took a step back because if he didn’t, neither of them would get the sleep they needed tonight. Tilting his head toward the front door, he said, “Go on to bed. I’ll do a quick check on the horses before turning in. I’ll see you in the morning.”

As she walked toward the house, she threw him a sassy look over her shoulder that made him groan. After she disappeared inside, his gaze shifted to the star-filled heavens. “You know that woman could tempt the saints, don’t you?”

God didn’t answer him… but someday, in His own way, He would.

Carrying two large bowls filled with macaroni and potato salad, Sage followed Ashley out to the back porch, where they were once again setting up to feed the troops. The new barn was almost complete, thanks to the two dozen people who’d worked hard on it for the past two days. Hammers pounded and nail guns banged as two-by-fours, sheets of plywood, and roof shingles were secured into place. She noticed several men cleaning up their work areas and realized the barn would be finished by day's end.

Without conscious effort, her gaze found Adam among the men. In a snug white T-shirt, faded jeans, and work boots, he was easy on the eyes, more so than any man she’d seen since Mark. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before and how it had felt to be in his arms, comforting him… kissing him. A brief flutter went through her at the memory.

“Are you going to put down the salads or stand there drooling over him all day?”

There was no mistaking the disapproval in Ashley’s voice. After placing the bowls on the table, she faced her best friend and tried to feign indifference. “I’m not drooling over anyone. I was just… just looking to see how much more work needed to be done. I can’t believe they got the barn back up that fast.”

“Uh-huh.” Ashley crossed her arms and leaned a hip against the food-laden table, concern written on her face. “Look, I know it’s none of my business, but I’m worried about you, Sage. I mean, what do you really know about Adam? Okay, so he’s a hard worker, and he bought the lumber for you. I’m not saying that wasn’t really nice of him, but I can’t help thinking he’s trying to buy his way into your bed. Everyone can see you’re falling for him. What are you going to do when he decides to move on again? He told you he’s been going from town to town, doing odd jobs since he got out of prison. What makes you think he’s going to stay here? And don’t get me started on the prison thing.”

Apparently not heeding her own advice, Ashley started in on it, anyway. “Think about Matthew and Jenna. If he does stick around, do you really want an ex-con influencing your children? And what if he doesn’t stay? It’ll break their hearts if you let them get close to him. They already lost Mark. Do you want them getting attached to Adam and then losing him, too?”

Several times during her friend’s speech, Sage had opened her mouth to respond, but Ashley hadn’t let her get a word in. Now, though, she couldn’t help thinking about what her best friend had said. Not the part about Adam trying to buy his way into her bed. Sage knew far more about him than Ashley did, and it wasn’t her place to share everything he’d told her. But what if Jenna and Matthew did get too attached to Adam, and then he packed up and left?

What if I get too attached and he leaves?

He hadn’t mentioned anything about staying long term. And Ashley was right–he had told her he’d wandered around the States, taking odd jobs when he needed to.

But what about the savings he used to purchase the lumber supplies? That wasn’t cheap. So why does he even need to find work wherever he goes?

Sage’s thoughts were suddenly a jumble. She’d let her attraction to Adam overshadow the questions she should have been asking. Maybe it was time to listen to her head instead of her heart. Ashley was right about one thing—she needed to do what was best for her and the children. There were other men—stable men with ties to the community—who’d asked her out over the past year, and she’d politely turned them all down. Maybe the next time one of them asked, she should say yes.

The sound of cheering pulled her out of her thoughts. Ashley was smiling at her again. “They’re all done. Let’s go check out your new barn.”

By the time darkness fell and everyone had left, Sage had nearly convinced herself her best friend was right. She needed to keep Adam at a distance and protect not only her heart but her children’s as well. Ashley had even mentioned that Frank Browning had been asking about her lately and offered to set them up on a date if Sage was interested. The local high school history teacher was a widower with two kids of his own. Ashley had chuckled and said they could be the Brady Bunch minus two.

After locking the front and rear doors, Sage turned off the kitchen light and quietly walked down the hall toward her bedroom. As she neared Jenna’s closed door, she stopped short. Her little girl was crying.

Opening the door, Sage’s eyes widened with alarm. Jenna was lying in bed, hugging the stuffing out of her teddy bear as tears rolled down her face.

She hurried over and placed a hand on Jenna’s forehead, relieved to find she didn’t have a fever. Sitting on the bed, she pulled her sobbing daughter into her lap, wrapped her arms around her, and rocked her back and forth. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Shh. It’s okay. Tell Mommy what’s wrong.”

That only made Jenna cry harder.

“Are you hurt or sick?”

Her daughter shook her head, her small body racked with shuddering sobs and hiccups.

“Then what is it, sweetie?”

“Th-the… the d-d… dancth.”

Suddenly, she understood, and her heart sank. With the barn fire and everything that had happened over the past two days, she’d completely forgotten about the father-daughter dance this Saturday at the church hall. The annual event was for the local Brownies and Girl Scouts, and it would be the first time since Mark’s death that Jenna had faced something like this. She’d joined the Brownies a month after last year’s dance, so it hadn’t been an issue then.