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She pressed call on her phone.
“Yes?” Sage said.
“I just hit the causeway. The rain is terrible. Maybe you should stay the night.”
Silence. “We’ll talk when you get here.”
He hung up.
What was that about? Did he have a headache? Oh no. Had doing her errands and painting Mamá’s house set back his recover?
He had a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Would it be her fault if he wasn’t able to get back to work?
She relied on him. Maybe too much. Somehow he knew when she couldn’t take any more of her mother. He would step in or give her a small shoulder massage or just a hug.
A dark shape blew across the road. She slammed on her brakes. The car fishtailed. Her hear pounded.
It was a soggy mass of paper. She accelerated, exhaling when she finally drove up to the house.
Dim lights shone through the window sheers. Even in the storm, the white paint looked so much brighter.
What would she do without Sage? She didn’t want to imagine.
Work had become a chore. Abby and her sisters avoided her. Even Naomi had asked what she’d done to irritate the boss.
She hadn’t explained. The Fitzgeralds wouldn’t want anyone knowing they were related.
She turned off the car and wished an umbrella would magically appear. Grabbing her tote, she held it over her head and made a dash for the steps. Her heels clacked against the wet wood. She was soaked by the time she opened the porch’s screen door.
She eased open the main door. If her mother was sleeping, she didn’t want to wake her.
Sage’s head jerked up. He flipped off the television and stood, his hands shoved into his shorts’ pockets.
“Hi,” she whispered. “My mother…?”
“Went to sleep about a half hour ago.” He stared out the window.
She dropped her tote and kicked off her wet shoes. Tossing her soaked sweater on the coat tree, she padded over and brushed a kiss on his lips. She avoided getting too close, not wanting to get him wet. “Thank you. For everything.”
He nodded.
“You have a headache, don’t you?” She pushed him back into the chair and moved behind him, massaging his shoulders. “Your muscles are as hard as granite. Why didn’t you let me know you were having trouble?”
He twisted out of her hands. “Stop it. Just stop.”
“What?”
“Stop!” he snapped.
“I’m trying to help.” A chill settled into her bones that went beyond the cold rain.
“I don’t want your help.”
“What’s wrong?” Her breath caught in her chest. “Did…did something happen with Mamá?”
“Yeah.” He let out a mirthless chuckle. “She showed me the light.”
“My mother?” She moved around the chair so she could look him in the eye. And barely recognized his hard face.
“How could you?” he asked.
“How could I what?”
“How could you steal?”
Had Mamá told him about the bird?
He pointed at Poppy’s desk. “Did you think I wouldn’t realize what you’d done?”
She turned and gasped. The globe sat in the middle of the open rolltop desk.
He pointed. “Did Abby give that to you?”
“It was Poppy’s. My grandfather’s,” she whispered.
“You didn’t answer my question. Does Abby know you have the globe?”
“N-no.” Her body shook. “You don’t understand.”
He shook his head. “This belongs to the Fitzgeralds.”
“M-my mother gave it to my f-father.” She couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.
“And you stole it.” The disgust in his voice slapped her hard enough to take a step back.
Her head snapped up. “I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can.” He snorted. Any love that had been in his eyes had vanished. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Sage, please.” Tears filled her eyes.
“This is how you keep your head down and keep your job?” His words were knives shredding her heart. “You could have asked the Fitzgeralds for it.”
“I couldn’t.” She held out her hands, pleading that he would understand. “Mamá didn’t want anyone to know who my father was. You think I could tell Abby why they had my family’s globe?”
“All you needed to do was tell the truth.”
“You don’t have any idea of how many people the truth would hurt.”
His eyebrows arched over his disbelieving eyes. “The truth is out. How many more people can be hurt? Unless there are more lies you’ve been telling them and me?”
“N-none.” Why couldn’t he understand? “My mother’s dying!”
