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At one point during dinner, he looked over at Sage only to find her staring at his ring finger. He couldn’t really blame her since he had done the same thing to her on the ferry. Nevertheless, Hank felt a sliver of annoyance as it dawned on him why she might be curious. Was Sage one of those people who judged single parents? He had dealt with a few over the past eight months and it made him feel defensive. A sudden noise from Addie caused him to turn in her direction. She was sitting in her high chair with her lip stuck out and a disgruntled expression stamped on her cute little face. It looked as if she was about to wail something fierce. Instinctively, he reached over to try to soothe her.
“Leave her be, Hank,” Trudy said in a scolding tone. “You can’t spoil her at every turn. You can’t let her know she’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”
He let out a sigh, knowing his mother was right.
“I’m a single dad,” he explained, locking gazes with Sage. “Addie’s mom died in an accident about eight months ago. She was three months old at the time and had been living in Kodiak with her mother, Theresa. Sad to say, but I didn’t even know she existed. Then in one fell swoop I found out I was her sole parent.”
Sage let out a gasp. “Finding out about Addie must have turned your world upside down.”
“It did,” Hank acknowledged. “What I knew at the time about babies was next to nothing. But with the help of my mother and sister, I learned the ropes fairly quickly and day by day, things got better. Especially after I let God into my life and became a Christian.” He sighed. “I loved Addie from the first moment I clapped eyes on her, but I think it took her a few weeks to reciprocate those feelings. She missed Theresa something awful. The first time she called me Dada I thought I might fly to the moon out of sheer joy.”
“I can only imagine,” she returned softly.
He met Sage’s gaze head-on. “Sometimes there are things in life you never even knew you desperately needed to make you whole. Addie’s one of those things. God is another.”
Although Hank regretted being intimate with Theresa, his relationship with the Lord had been nonexistent at the time. He hadn’t been a Christian. He had been reeling from the death of his stepfather and questioning everything in his life, which had led him to make poor choices. In the end, Addie had been an absolute blessing.
Trudy reached over and patted Hank’s hand. “Addie couldn’t ask for a finer daddy. Or a better man.”
“Fathers and daughters have a very special bond,” Sage agreed. “There’s nothing quite like it in this world.” She put a piece of chicken in her mouth and delicately chewed it before swallowing.
“It sounds like you’re close to yours,” Hank responded, immediately noticing the way Sage seemed to be fighting back tears. Clearly the subject of fathers and daughters had struck a nerve.
She nodded and looked down at her plate. “I’ve always been a daddy’s girl. When I was growing up I seriously thought he hung the moon and that he was responsible for the stars twinkling up in the heavens.”
Hank let out a low whistle as he laid his fork on his plate. “I can only hope Addie feels that way about me someday. He must be a very loving father.”
“He is,” Sage murmured, toying with her food and not making eye contact.
Hank had the feeling she might be a little homesick. Perhaps she was having regrets about traveling all this way to Owl Creek. He had never been to Florida, but he knew it was a far cry from Alaska both in climate and the way of life.
He had a strange feeling about the mysterious newcomer. Perhaps it was his law enforcement background or maybe it was his desire to keep Sage at arm’s length, but for the life of him, Hank couldn’t rid himself of the notion that something was a bit off with Sage Duncan. Why had this beautiful woman come all the way to Alaska to a small hamlet like Owl Creek? And why did it seem as if she might be hiding something?
* * *
Shortly after dinner, Trudy brought Sage upstairs so she could settle in for the night. Sage let out a contented sigh as she entered the spacious room. It was beautifully decorated. The first thing she noticed was a queen-size mahogany sleigh bed with a pink-and-white-floral coverlet. Next to the bed sat a night table with a big bouquet of flowers. The wallpaper was old-fashioned—white swans against a gray background. It would be a lovely place to call home for the duration of her stay in town.
Trudy bid her good-night and advised her to sleep in tomorrow. Sage felt grateful for the innkeeper’s nurturing manner and her desire to make sure she wasn’t overtaxing herself. Truthfully, she was beyond exhausted, and it was fairly shocking she could still keep her eyes open.
Sage quickly went into the adjoining bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth in record time. Then she pulled on a pair of flannel pajamas and crawled under the covers.
However, as tired as she felt, her mind refused to shut down. There were so many thoughts whizzing through her brain. Hearing about the suffering of the North family hadn’t been pleasant. She felt incredibly guilty that they were still on edge wondering what had happened to their daughter. Time had done nothing to close those wounds, and it angered her that people in search of a juicy story were making their suffering even worse.
Guilt pierced her insides. Could she single-handedly take away their pain? But what if she was wrong? All she had were her mother’s dying words and a few newspaper clippings she’d found hiding in an old trunk. When she’d pressed him, her father had expressed astonishment about the kidnapping. According to him, he’d been completely in the dark. And the fact was, Jane hadn’t been the most stable person. Sage had fuzzy memories of her mother having a breakdown when she was roughly eight years old. Could she have become fixated on the case and created this fantastical story?
Perhaps it was nothing more than a delusion. If she came forward and mistakenly made a claim about being Lily North, she would be no better than all the others who made false claims and subjected the North family to more agony.
No. It was far better for her to investigate the situation a little further and make peace with what had transpired. If that was even possible.
Hank’s face flashed before her eyes. Just seeing him doting on his adorable baby girl had caused a hitch in her heart. Addie was pure sweetness and light; Hank’s adoration for his daughter was unmistakable.
There was something so uplifting about seeing a man single-handedly raising his daughter. It reminded her of her own father and their incredibly close bond. At times during her childhood, Sage had felt as if she only had one parent due to her mother’s illness. Her dad had always been there for her during the rough times, cheering her on and providing her with guidance. Sage had loved her mother dearly, but they hadn’t shared the same powerful connection as she and her father.
Hank had asked her earlier this evening about her father. It had caused an immediate emotional response. For all intents and purposes, Eric Duncan was Sage’s sole familial connection. He was all she had in the world. There had never been uncles or cousins or grandparents. As far back as she could remember, it had just been the three of them, along with Aunt Cathy, her mother’s sister. Although Aunt Cathy hadn’t been a big part of Sage’s life, she’d been very close to her sister.
Sadly, she now knew that she wasn’t the legally adopted child of Jane and Eric Duncan. Her whole life had been a huge lie. Sage didn’t really know who she was. And while she should be mourning her mother’s passing, all she could do was wonder if she had ever truly known the woman who’d raised her. Although her father had always been a man of faith, who regularly quoted scripture to Sage, took her to church services and volunteered for their church’s outreach programs, her mother hadn’t shown herself to be religious in any way, shape or form. Because of her mother’s oddities, Sage hadn’t ever questioned it. Perhaps it had been guilt, she reckoned, for having ripped a baby away from her parents.
Her father had been little or no help when she had questioned him about her mother’s shocking confession. He had claimed Jane had told him she’d rescued her from two underage teens who hadn’t been able or willing to raise her. He’d been convinced she had been an abandoned baby. Eric hadn’t pressed for details since Jane had shown signs of mental instability and he’d never wanted to rock the boat. He had been so overjoyed to have a child in their lives after years of infertility that he had overlooked all the red flags and accepted her story without question.
