Page 103 of Sunrise & Serenity

I kick a stone toward the drop-off. “With a big family on a busy ranch, it’s hard to get one-on-one time with anyone. I liked that it was our little secret.”

“That’s lovely,” she says quietly. “Do you come out here much these days?”

I shove my hands into my pockets. “Haven’t been back since the last time.”

Sage hesitates, and I know she knows what “the last time” means. But my shoulders don’t tense the way they normally do when I talk about Mom’s death.

“Thank you,” she says, “for bringing me with you.”

There’s no pity in her voice. No careful sympathy. Just… warmth.

“We’re just in time.” I nod toward the horizon, where the first pale streaks of gold bleed into the dark sky.

She exhales, going still the way she does when she sees something that genuinely moves her. Like she forgets herself for a second.

The light spreads gradually across the mountains, soft pink and amber catching against the distant ridgelines while the valley below emerges from the darkness piece by piece.

When she reaches for her camera, I stop her with my hand on her wrist.

“Don’t.”

Her brow furrows. “Don’t do what?”

“Photograph it.”

She blinks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

I step closer, close enough that the sweet scent of her honeysuckle shampoo reaches me even through the cool morning breeze. “Just… be here. With me.”

She searches my face, then slowly lowers the camera. “Okay.”

Something loosens in my chest, something I’m not sure I even realized had been tight until now.

I move behind her, my hands cupping her shoulders. “Close your eyes.”

She angles her head back toward me. “Aren’t we here to watch the sun rise?”

For a moment, I’m that young boy again, standing beside Mom and asking the very same question.

I slide one hand to her slender neck, thumb drifting along her jaw. “Trust me.”

She rolls her lips together, then faces the valley again, her shoulders rising and falling as she takes a deep breath and relaxes.

CHAPTER 27

SAGE

“This is kind of terrifying,” I say quietly.

His deep chuckle rumbles through me. “You’re not still worried I’m going to push you off, are you?”

A smile spreads over my face. “Thanks for the reminder.”

With my eyes closed and a drop-off only a few feet away, the solid bulk of him against my back and the warmth of his hands are the only things anchoring me.

Up here, the breeze carries a chill that slips beneath my jacket, making me shiver.

Holden gently rubs my arms up and down as he murmurs in my ear. “Almost time.”