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Sage grinned at him and turned to the stove.
* * *
Sage wasin a weird state of emotions, and she didn’t know how to break herself out of it.
On the one hand, being near Brian, touching Brian, kissing Brian, was sending her emotions haywire. She walked out of that kitchen, earlier, more turned on than she could remember being in forever. If Adam had had plans to go somewhere, she probably would have been willing to try to make love. That may not have been fair to Brian, though.
She shook her head at herself. No, they wouldn’t do that until she was healed enough that she could lift her arms, both of them, to hold him against her. No matter how horny he made her.
Then, on the other hand was the stress of thinking that Tim may be coming to Ohio. It just seemed damned suspicious that she was suddenly getting presents. She needed to ask Adam if he’d noticed anything recently. Tim did not have visitation, and she would not break the rules for him.
Hopefully, when they got into the office Monday, her lawyer would call her and they could talk about a few things. She was going to be pissed if Tim thought he could let himself back into their lives. She’d worked too hard to get them balanced to even think of it.
This was going to freak Adam out. And that’s exactly what she didn’t want to do. The kid had enough on his plate already.
So, she did a little investigating of her own. She called her mother.
“Sage, I’m so glad you called! How are you feeling? I was just telling your father about the dream I had about you. I felt so guilty not being there to help you when you were hurt.”
Sage sighed, regretting telling her mother she’d been hurt. And if she didn’t head her off at the pass, they would be lost in her mother’s dream forever. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine. I’m not sure I have enough time to hear about the dream, though, Mom. I do have a question for you, and it’s important.”
“Oh, okay, dear. What’s your question?”
“Have you seen anything on Tim’s family’s socials about him coming back to Wyoming?”
“No, not really,” she said thoughtfully, and Sage could hear tapping in the background. Her mother had picked up her tablet and was paging through her friend’s newsfeed.
Sage didn’t mind social media. It had its purposes and its pitfalls, but her mother took social media to a whole new level. After she’d retired from her job as a teacher, Claire Harrison had wanted to stay in touch with the people she’d worked with and the kids she’d taught. Sage couldn’t even remember all the platforms her mother was on. She had to be very careful to tell her what was for public consumption and what was not.
“I don’t see anything, dear. His mother is as doting as ever, and I’m sure she wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret if he was coming home.”
“I wonder if his mother knows he has a felony warrant out of Florida,” Sage said, very aware she was planting a seed.
Her mother gasped. “No! Does he really?”
Sage grinned, feeling a little guilty. If Tim had hidden that detail from his family, and she had just let it out… There was no way her mother wouldn’t tell somebody, and then it would be all over town. Tim’s mother wouldn’t believe it, though. She thought her son could do no wrong. “Yup. A felony probation warrant for theft.”
She could feel the anticipation building on the other end of the line, and she grinned. Her mother, bless her heart, couldn’t resist a titillating piece of gossip.
“Well, with the way he was raised, I’m not surprised he’s gotten into more trouble. I wonder if Iris knows.”
“I have no idea,” Sage murmured. “Okay, I have to go Mom.”
“Okay, dear. Give that boy a hug for me. I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Sage felt marginally guilty about that call. She had no doubt that Tim’s indiscretions would be all over the county by nightfall. But it was his own fault for getting into trouble in the first place.
14
Brian headed into work the next day dwelling on the kiss.
Had it really been as good as he thought it was? Or was he reaching for something he hoped was there? He tried to think objectively about their situation. Sage was dependent upon him. Was she developing feelings for him because he was taking care of her? Like Stockholm Syndrome.
No, that didn’t seem right. She was too clear-headed for that.
Morgan handed him several messages on the ridiculous Buckeye Brigade stationary. It had a buckeye-headed private eye, sneaking across the top of the page. They had three boxes of notepads, so they had to use it. They just made sure the clients never saw them. He appreciated the internal joke, though.
