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What the hell was he supposed to do with a woman like her? She continually looked for the good in people—and had found it in J.D. Despite what he’d done to Sage so many years ago, the old man had done the best he could by all of his children, and maybe Sage was now willing to accept that. If he did, it just made the will that much more perplexing.
As confusing as the woman standing before him. He didn’t want to examine those feelings. Didn’t want to explore the wild explosion of thoughts and sensations churning in his mind. All he wanted was her.
And he couldn’t have her.
A tight fist was squeezing his heart and lungs, making it almost impossible to draw an easy breath. Finally though, he said, “So can’t you see that I made a mistake? About you? Can’t you forgive that and let it go?”
That sad smile curved her mouth again as she murmured, “I can forgive it, but I’m still leaving.”
“Why?” That one word was a demand.
“Because I love you, Sage,” she said simply. “And I deserve better.”
Staggered, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. She loved him? She loved him. And she was leaving anyway? She was opening the front door and the sound and scent of a driving rain sneaked across the threshold. She loved him. Those three words kept echoing in his mind, rattling his soul.
“Before I go, though, there is one thing J.D. told me that you should know.”
His eyes narrowed on her as suspicion leaped up to the base of his throat. “What?”
“God. Even now you’re still wondering if I betrayed you or not.”
“No.” He denied it. He knew she wasn’t capable of betrayal. Knew that she was too intrinsically honest to be a part of any deception. Just as he knew that when she said she loved him, she meant every word.
“J.D. was proud of you. And he regretted that the two of you weren’t close.” She blew out a breath. “He was heartsick that his sons believed he didn’t care.”
He wished he could believe that she was lying about all of this. Because if it was all true, then he and J.D. had both been cheated of the relationship they might have had.
“He also told me,” she said softly, “that he left you the Lassiter Media shares so that you would always remember that you’re family. So you would realize that family is important and that love is all that matters.”
Then she was gone.
And he was alone.
* * *
Two weeks crawled past.
Sage didn’t see her. Didn’t speak to her. Didn’t do much of anything, really. In that first week, he couldn’t give a damn about the ranch that had once been the most important thing in his life. He didn’t care about stock prices or the phone calls and emails he kept getting from the various boards of the companies he sat on.
All he could think about was Colleen and the last words she’d said to him. Words that J.D. had often said when Sage was a kid. Family. Love was everything.
Love.
Sage hadn’t really known what that was until Colleen had loved him and left him. As a younger man, he’d mistaken lust for love and just as Colleen said, he’d allowed that one poor choice to color the rest of his life. He’d cut himself off, in theory to protect himself, but in reality all he’d been doing was hiding.
Well, he was through hiding. That’s why he spent the second week setting wheels in motion. There were things to do. Things to be said. A life to be lived.
When Sage walked through the front door of Big Blue, he looked around and for the first time in years, he didn’t cringe from the memories rushing toward him. His heart was still heavy, but that had nothing to do with J.D. Not anymore. Sage had finally come to accept that his father was just a man, as capable of making mistakes as anyone. God knew Sage had made plenty. Especially lately.
“Sage! What’re you doing here?” Angie came down the stairs, a smile on her face, and rushed toward her oldest brother for a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. And hey, honored that you left your ranch.”
“Yeah, well,” he told her, “a lot of things have changed.” And how was she going to take what he had to say to her? He didn’t want to hurt his sister. Hell, he’d do anything to avoid that. He just didn’t see a way around it.
“No kidding,” she said wryly and he knew that she was still thinking about the will and what J.D. had done to her.
It was the perfect opening for what he’d come to say. They had talked about this before, but at the time, he hadn’t made the final decision that he now had to share with his sister.
