7. Sage
sage
After five nights of working at the bar, I was exhausted, but once it was all arranged with Lina and Reed, they were officially moving into my apartment.
Cold rain fell as I pulled up to the white farmhouse.
Days were getting shorter and it was already starting to get dark at four thirty in the afternoon.
The house was brightly lit, like a beacon in the chilly November evening.
As soon as I cut the Jeep’s engine, Arlo jumped from the back into the passenger seat, his tail thumping while he let out a couple of excited barks.
“You know where we are, huh, buddy?” I asked, giving him a scratch behind his ear before zipping up my coat.
The front door opened, illuminating the woman who stood just inside the threshold. She gestured for me to hurry inside.
Getting out of the vehicle, I pulled up my hood to jog around to the other side, letting Arlo out, who bounded from the seat and up to the house. I opened the back, pulling out my backpack and suitcase, before getting out of the rain.
“It’s a wet one. I have tea on the stove,” Agatha said as she pulled me in for a hug.
“I’m all wet,” I complained, trying to pull out of her embrace.
“I don’t care in the least. I’m just happy to have you back.” Agatha looked great for being in her mid-fifties, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wearing an apron over her jeans and flannel. Her gray-green eyes twinkled, adding to her jovial face that was always smiling.
“Thank you.”
“You know my door is always open.” She turned toward the kitchen and I followed her.
We had an unspoken agreement. One that was still intact four years from when I showed up on their doorstep. Christian still didn’t know about my close relationship with his parents. No one did.
I took in the familiar surroundings. An apple cider candle was burning in the kitchen, fall decorations lined the stone hearth and gourds and mini pumpkins filled a hand-carved wood bowl in the center of the rough-worn twelve-person table in the dining room.
I followed Agatha into her subway-tile and quartz-countered kitchen. I could smell the roast in the oven and the starchiness of potatoes boiling on the stove.
She poured us both some tea and she handed me a mug.
“Has she called?” I asked, setting my luggage down beside the stools at the island before taking a seat. The woman who’d come into the gallery needing help had simply disappeared, neither showing up here or contacting Agatha.
“No, unfortunately. I really hope she’s okay.” Agatha went right to work filling a bowl of water and setting it down for Arlo who lapped it up as if he hadn’t had a drink in days.
“Me too. I’m worried. I’m hoping if I’m here when she shows up I can help her.”
Agatha came to sit beside me at the island, wrapping her hand around mine that embraced the warmth of the mug. “If anyone can help her, it’ll be you.”
“And you,” I added.
“I just did what anyone with a heart should do in that situation, and fortunately, I also had the room to spare.”
“But I was a complete stranger,” I argued. No matter how many times Agatha and I had this conversation, my mind still couldn’t wrap around the idea that someone could be so kind and generous, and not hesitate to help them.
Agatha gave me a soft smile and tipped her head. “Are we going to do this again?”
I looked into my tea, the bag floating around as the water darkened.
“No, I just can’t comprehend your brand of kindness, you know this.
Not after everything I’ve been through. I may never understand it, but if I could pay it forward in some way, I would.
I missed an opportunity to help before” — Hazel came to mind — “I don’t want to miss one again. ”
She patted my arm. “I know. You’ve done what you can. The ball’s in her court now. All you can do is be here if and when she shows up.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
The front door opened and boots stomped on the mat. “Aggie?” Bill called out. Arlo barked and ran to the door to greet Bill.
I grimaced. “Did you let him know?” I suddenly worried I was going to be intruding on dinner.
She waved me off as she stood from her seat to greet her husband. “You know Bill, he’ll be thrilled to have another set of ears to regale with his stories.”
“Hey, buddy! What are you doing here?” I could hear his deep, friendly voice from the entryway as he greeted Arlo. “The creek is high again,” he called out to Agatha. “We’re going to need to sandbag the bank if we don’t want it flooding the trail to the pole barn.”
“Well, thankfully you have another set of hands,” I called out just as Bill Riggs came around the corner into the kitchen.
His clean-shaven face lit up, the dimples Christian inherited, deepening with his grin.
Taking off his cowboy hat, he ran a hand through his damp gray hair, before sweeping me up in the biggest bear hug.
It surprised me every time that he didn’t crack my back with his embrace.
The Riggses' energy and exuberance ran strong through their genes.
“Hi,” I squeaked through my squeezed lungs.
“Does this mean we get to have you back?” Bill asked, finally allowing me to breathe. “Does Christian know you’re here?”
Agatha swatted him with a dish towel, leveling him with a stern look. “No, and we aren’t going to tell him either.”
I gave Agatha an appreciative glance. Just as it was obvious to everyone, they were well aware of their son’s infatuation with me.
Bill raised his hands in acquiescence. “Fair enough.” He zipped his lips with his fingers and threw away the figurative key.
“She’s going to stay in one of the kid’s old rooms since the cabin is occupied,” Agatha announced.
He nodded. “It’ll have to be Christian’s room since the girl’s rooms have been converted into a workout/craft room and supply closet.
” I grimaced at this new information. I wasn’t prepared to sleep in the room Christian grew up in.
I didn’t know how I felt about that. I was doing this for my friends and the chance to help someone get out of an abusive relationship.
“Does anyone else know you’re here?” he asked, bending over to check the roast in the oven. He took a big whiff.
“No, just you two. I’d like to keep it that way for now. I’m not quite ready to explain everything.”
“Well, kiddo,” Bill said, picking up my luggage, “let’s get you situated.”
“Dinner will be ready in a few. Once you’re settled, come down and we’ll eat. I’ll get Arlo fed too,” Agatha explained.
“Thank you.”
I followed Bill up the stairs connected in the entryway, leading up to the hallway.
There were a number of times I’d been inside the Riggses home, but I’d never gone upstairs.
The farmhouse still had its old bones, the narrow hallway leading to a row of bedrooms and a full bath that Christian must have had to share with his two older sisters.
Peeking inside, I could see one room full of Halloween boxes and decorations ready to be stored away in the attic, another room had a treadmill and rack of weights beside a craft table and sewing machine.
At the very end of the hall was a door that led up to a narrow set of stairs to the attic and a master bedroom.
Directly across from the shared bathroom was a room that was obviously still intact from the days Christian lived there, except for the bedding on the full-size bed that included a floral quilt and throw pillows — details Agatha must have added once he moved out.
Heavy oak furniture furnished the room, and the walls were covered in wallpaper featuring footballs, soccer balls, and baseballs.
The dresser and shelves were home to wrestling trophies and medals, framed photos of Christian and his buddies floating in the river, and a family photo of them dressed to the nines beside a horse and jockey draped with roses.
My heart clenched at the overwhelming feeling of warmth and love this room had felt through the years. Even though I didn’t know the last time Christian slept in this room, I felt his presence like a warm embrace, surprising myself at the comfort it brought.
Bill set my backpack and suitcase on the bed.
“Why don’t you get yourself settled,” he said, leaning in for a side hug before walking to the door.
He tapped a palm on the doorframe. “It’s good to have you back, kid, even if it’s only for a brief time.
It was mighty nice of you to give up your place for Lina and Reed.
They’ve all been through a lot this past year. ”
My back pocket vibrated with an incoming text message. I pinched my lips together with a sad smile. “I know a thing or two about that,” I said, reaching for my cell phone.
Bill’s compassionate gaze warmed. I don’t know how I got so lucky to wind up on Agatha and Bill’s doorstep all those years ago — fate, God, kismet, whatever people called it, it felt like there was some higher power at work that day.
I didn’t think I could ever repay them for their kindness and generosity, but if I could pay it forward in any little way, that was my life’s endeavor.
I looked down at my phone screen.
Tick Tac
I see your Jeep. Why are you at my parents’ house?
Heat washed over me. I gulped. Fuck.
Just as Bill retreated into the hallway, Arlo started barking his head off downstairs, his nails clicking as he ran across the hardwood floor.
Three other dogs, Norwegian elkhounds, came in through the front door and joined in.
Beneath the commotion of the excited woofs, I heard voices.
One was unmistakably Agatha. Welcoming, yet surprised.
The other one was deep and reverberating, demanding and confused.
Bill’s eyes went wide. “Ah, shit.”
How was I going to explain this one?
“No, Christian!” Agatha called after him as hurried footsteps stomped up the stairs, Arlo following right behind.
I retreated deeper into the room to hide.
Bill stepped further into the hall, plastering a smile on his face as he greeted his son. “Hey, buddy! This is a nice surprise.” Bill sounded overly cheery as he placed a solid hand on Christian’s chest to stop him from barreling in.
“Shut it, Dad,” Christian grumbled as he stepped into view. Arlo sensed the excitement and was jumping up on Christian’s legs.
His emerald gaze immediately flicked to me.
The confusion and concern there leveled me, making me want to curl up and pray the earth would open and swallow me whole.
Anything to avoid the questions and the story I wasn’t ready to tell — especially to him.
I wasn’t ready for his reaction. Heat flushed my skin at the thought.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“Uh—” How to explain this?
Agatha hustled up behind him, coming to stand by her husband. “Sweetie, I asked her to stay with us. I thought it would be good to have her help around here while Lina and Reed were using her place.”
His eyes pinned me. I could feel the heat. It was as if I could feel the press of his body weight against me.
“I thought you said you had a place to stay?” His brows raised in question.
“I did. I do.” I corrected myself.
The slowest grin spread across his face, his dimples deepening making my insides melt. “And you thought you could butter up my parents to get with me?”
My jaw dropped.
Bill chuckled while Agatha scolded him.
Christian’s smile grew even bigger — if that was even possible. “I can see right through you, Sage baby. But news flash, you don’t need my parents’ approval for me to date you.”
I scoffed then, crossed my arms and shook my head. “That’s not news, rodeo star. Everyone knows I can easily date you because you’ve been begging me to for years.”
“For the record,” Bill chimed in. “Your mom and I do approve.”
“Not helping, Bill.” Agatha elbowed her husband and he gave an exaggerated grimace as if she had the pointiest elbows in the world.
“Does this mean you’re finally going to say yes to me?” Christian asked. Hope gleamed in his eyes like sea glass on a summer day.
I gave him an emphatic, “No.”