AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve really been looking forward to it!” Sage exclaimed, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
He had the feeling Gabriel was paving the way for him to be alone with Sage. There was a hint of mischief etched on his face, and he was whispering to Piper. Hank had seen that look dozens of times ever since they were little kids. Gabe had a wide-open heart as big as Kachemak Bay. It touched him to know his friend wanted him to find love even though he was reluctant to pursue it in his own life.
“Why don’t you and Sage set out on the trail? I’ll wait for Mama,” Piper suggested.
Gabriel and Piper exchanged a loaded glance that made Hank even more suspicious. Hmm. Was Piper in on it too? Were these two conspiring to play matchmaker?
“Sure thing. We’ll keep an eye out for you,” Hank said. “Shall we?” he asked, turning toward Sage, who couldn’t contain her excitement. She’d come a long way from the closed-off woman he’d met on the ferry. She was opening up like a chrysalis turning into a butterfly. She’d always struck him as beautiful, but now he was seeing the true essence of Sage Duncan. There was so much more to her than met the eye.
As they walked along the wooded trail illuminated intermittently by path lights, they filled the silence with conversation. It flowed easily between them with no awkward silences or forced chatter. There were plenty of other townsfolk walking in the woods, but it felt as if it was just the two of them. Even if there couldn’t be anything romantic between them, they could still be friends, couldn’t they? He wasn’t certain he could view her solely in that way, but he would try his best.
“Gabriel is so sweet with Addie. He seems to really love kids,” Sage remarked. “You’re blessed to have a friend like that.”
“He’s crazy about little ones. He and Addie are two peas in a pod. He’s her honorary uncle, as well as Connor. In my opinion, a girl can never have too many protectors. Both would take a bullet for her. I don’t say that lightly either.”
“I’m surprised he doesn’t have a house full of his own kids.”
Hank heaved a tremendous sigh. “He intended to, but his fiancée ran out on him a couple days before their wedding.”
Sage let out a shocked sound, then raised her mittened hand to cover her mouth. “That’s awful, Hank. I can’t believe it.”
“I shouldn’t have mentioned it, but it still sticks in my craw that a woman could have treated him so poorly. It was three years ago, but it feels like yesterday.”
She shivered. “That’s not somethi
ng a person would get over very easily.”
“He hasn’t. Not even a little bit. Rachel was a hometown girl, born and bred right here in Owl Creek. It surprised everyone.” Honestly, Hank wasn’t certain Gabriel would ever completely move past Rachel’s desertion. He knew all too well about being blindsided. It tended to make a person bitter and unwilling to put themselves out there to get hurt again.
“I guess we all have our scars, don’t we?” Sage asked, staring directly at him.
Hank narrowed his gaze as he looked at her. “Mama told you what happened between Addie’s mother and I, didn’t she?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Of course not. Trudy would never betray your confidence like that. She’s a grizzly-bear mama. I’m pretty sure she thinks you’re a superhero.”
He chuckled. “That’s what mothers are for, I suppose. They’re fiercely protective of their cubs.” He let out a beleaguered sigh. “The details are widely known here in town so I’ve got nothing to hide. All the townsfolk were front and center watching it unfold. Addie’s mother and I dated for almost four months. Her name was Theresa. She came into Owl Creek like a whirlwind, full of vitality and beauty. Honestly, I’d never met anyone like her in my entire life. I fell completely head over heels in love with her.”
“It sounds very romantic,” Sage said wistfully.
“Until it wasn’t,” he answered. “Theresa came to Owl Creek under false pretenses. She’d cooked up some scheme to extort the North family under the guise of pretending to be Lily North. She was clearly using me to get close to them. I discovered she had a handful of arrests for petty larceny and running scams all over the state. When I confronted her she took off to parts unknown. Then, about a year later, I received a phone call from one of her friends telling me that she’d died in a car accident.” He shuddered as cold swept across the back of his neck. “Finding out about Addie blew me away. I had no idea.”
Sage couldn’t hide her surprise. She sucked in a deep breath and bit her lip. “I can’t imagine how devastated you must have been. And hurt.”
“As a result, I can’t abide lies or liars. What kind of person tries to take advantage of a family like the Norths who’ve lived out their worst nightmare?”
Sage appeared shaken. Her mouth opened, then closed. Perhaps she thought he was being harsh about Theresa, but considering all the pain she’d caused him, he wasn’t about to give her a pass.
Hank had surprised himself by opening up to Sage about his past. Usually, he was more guarded with his private life. However, there was something about being here with her in the woods on the owl walk that made him feel as if he’d known her all his life. She seemed truly interested in his past and the circumstances that led to him raising Addie on his own.
He felt a slight tremor pass through him, remembering all the different emotions he’d gone through. Surprise. Fear. Betrayal. And grief for the woman he’d once loved. At the time he hadn’t been sure if he would make it through all the turmoil in one piece. But once again, God had lifted him up and shown him a light at the end of the tunnel—Addie.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee. Hank had recited that particular verse dozens of times during his most challenging hours. It served as a reminder he wasn’t alone even in the darkest of moments. God always walked beside him.
“I suppose I’ve never felt worthy of my own love story, so I wasn’t surprised when things fell apart with Theresa, but it really stunned me that she didn’t think I deserved to know about my daughter.”
Sage squinted at him. “Come again? Why on earth wouldn’t you be worthy of love?”
He shrugged, feeling a bit on the spot. He’d slipped up by admitting those feelings to Sage. How did he even begin to answer that question? It was an insecurity he’d been struggling with for a long time. Perhaps it went all the way back to when he’d lost his father. He wasn’t good in relationships. They always fell apart for some reason or another.
