AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Two
Seeing Sage standing in his mother’s house cradling his baby girl in her arms was a disorienting experience for Hank. On one hand it was incredibly heartwarming, but hearing Addie’s earsplitting cries was also an agonizing sensation. He still hadn’t gotten used to those wailing noises. It always made him feel as if he needed to protect his daughter against anything and everything that might harm her. As her sole living parent, Hank was all she had in this world, along with her grandmother and Piper.
“Hank!” Sage’s eyes went wide. She looked at him then down at Addie then back at him again. “She’s yours?” she asked.
“Dada!” Addie squealed, squirming in Sage’s arms to get to him.
Hank moved toward his daughter with outstretched arms. He plucked Addie from Sage’s grasp and began to rub her back and speak soothingly to her. It had taken him a while to get the hang of it, but now he knew how to placate his daughter. It was all in the tone and touch. Addie immediately began to calm down. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and began to vigorously suck it. Sage was still staring at him with her mouth hanging wide-open.
“She’s mine all right. Every precious inch of her.” He pressed a kiss against Addie’s temple. “I assume you’re staying here at the inn.”
“Yes,” she said with a nod. Her expression radiated confusion. “Trudy’s your mother?”
He grinned at her. “So they tell me.”
Sage didn’t crack a smile. She still looked a bit shell-shocked.
Trudy came rushing back into the room. “Sorry to leave you hanging, Sage. False alarm.” As soon as she spotted her son, the older woman’s face lit up. “Hank! You’re home. How was your trip?” She leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “We missed you.”
“It was time well spent,” the sheriff said, putting his free arm around his mother. “But I’m happy to be back in Owl Creek. I missed my best girls something fierce.”
“So you met Sage?” Trudy asked. “She’s going to be staying here while she’s visiting Owl Creek.”
“We met,” Hank said. “She was bonding with Addie when I got here.”
Sage shot him a look of surprise. He wanted to laugh out loud. She probably thought holding a squalling baby was the furthest thing from bonding. It was fun to ruffle her feathers a tad. She seemed as if she had a tight rein on her emotions, and it would be nice to see her unwind a bit and let loose.
“How about sticking around for dinner?” Trudy asked. “I’m making chicken piccata, one of your favorites.”
Hank had smelled the meal cooking from the moment he’d walked into the house. Between the delectable aroma of the food and Sage’s presence, he really wanted to stay for dinner. Originally he had planned to head back to his house so he could give Addie a bath and spend some quality time with her before supper, but all that flew out the window with his mother’s invitation.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he said, making a funny face so Addie would giggle. He loved the sound of her tinkling laughter. It made him feel as if all was right with the world, even when it wasn’t.
Sage smiled as she watched his interaction with Addie. It made her look even prettier, which didn’t seem humanly possible. He didn’t want to feel anything romantic for Sage, but there was something hovering in the air between them. A type of chemistry he couldn’t ignore. And even though he was loath to pursue anything with her, it didn’t mean he couldn’t sit down for a meal at his mother’s table and enjoy her company.
“How can I say no to my favorite dish?” he asked. “Why don’t you let me set the table for you? How many of us are there this evening?”
“Just the three of us. Piper’s at the diner. And those two journalists went in to town to eat,” Trudy explained with a roll of her eyes. She heaved a little sigh. “Things have been so slow lately with reservations that I was hardly in a position to turn away those muckrakers. But I wish I could have. I just feel so guilty about giving them room and board when they’re working overtime to stir up painful memories here in Owl Creek.”
He reached out and patted his mother on the back. “You’re just giving them a place to lay their heads, Mama. You’re not responsible for what they write or the wounds they might be reopening.”
“Muckrakers?” Sage asked with a frown.
Hank turned toward her. “Hordes of so-called journalists have descended upon us due to the anniversary of the kidnapping. They’ve been a bit intrusive. They’re not all reputable outlets either. It’s put a big strain on the town, mostly on the North family.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Sage said, her features creasing with concern. “I can’t imagine how painful it must be to have it all stirred up again.”
Trudy made a tutting sound. “It was such an awful time. All of the memories of it have come crashing back even though most of us have tried to forget. It cast a pall over the whole town. There was a lot of suspicion and finger-pointing.” She shivered. “No one wants to relive it.”
“Willa and Nate pray every day to be reunited with Lily,” Hank added gruffly. “Lord willing, it’ll happen.”
“They’re always in my prayers,” Trudy said. “I truly believe the Lord will show Lily the way back home.?
?
Hank deposited Addie in her high chair and made quick work of setting the kitchen table. Trudy brought food over from the stove and began placing it on the plates. A nice salad and sourdough bread complemented the meal.
When they sat down to eat, they held hands while his mom prayed over the food. Hank couldn’t deny how nice it felt to feel the warmth of Sage’s hand in his. It had been a long time since he’d held a woman’s hand in his own.
