Chapter 34
Rhodes
The moment Sage slipped out of my arms, it hit me like a punch, leaving me breathless. Her body stiffened, arms crossing over herself like a shield, and those green eyes that normally shimmered with a mix of sass and warmth were shadowed with doubt and a touch of anger.
Doubt I'd put there by rushing things, and then amplified by Catherine’s visit. I hadn’t handled things well at all. Parrish said he’d only been able to drop her off in Alder Valley at some motel she was staying in. Hopefully, she’d just go back to Seattle and wait for the next month’s check.
“Since you’re here. I’m going to just go get the details from this kid.” Ellis jabbed a thumb at the delivery driver. He shot me a glance. The kind that said, handle your shit, boss. Yeah, I was trying.
"Sage," I said, my voice low, rough with the frustration boiling under my skin. I kept my hands at my sides, fighting the urge to touch her again. "Talk to me. Please."
I wanted to pull her back, crush her against me until she felt how real this was, but I could see that now wasn’t the time for that.
She glanced at the forget-me-nots on the table with its creepy note still lying there. Then she looked back at me, and her lips pressed into a thin line. For a second, I thought she'd bolt.
"It's not just the flowers," she finally said, her voice quieter than I'd ever heard it. "Or yesterday. It's... everything. It’s a lot.”
She pressed her hands to her eyes. She was right. The day had been fuck all, and us sleeping together had complicated it. I waited for her to finish what she had to say.
“Catherine showing up like that, calling you 'husband.' And you... You said her being Opal's mom meant nothing to you. That scares me, Rhodes. What kind of man says that?" She bit her lip, and those hazel green eyes moved over my face carefully, like she was looking for all the answers.
We’d moved deeper into the back of the flower shop, but I would have liked more privacy and time for this conversation.
Her words hit hard, tearing into complicated places.
I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply.
She deserved the truth, all of it, not the sanitized version. "Sit down with me. Let me explain."
She hesitated, arms still crossed, but nodded toward the back of the shop, away from the front where customers might wander in.
The area where her flower presses were was crowded and a bit chaotic, but it had a couple of stools.
It was surrounded by the pressed flower frames she made.
Tons of delicate, beautiful things that screamed ‘Sage’ in every petal.
The issue of the flowers that were delivered weighed on me like needles against my skin, but Sage looked at me with accusation and hurt. She deserved answers to the questions she needed. We had skipped some steps. There was a lot I didn’t know about her, either.
“It was never love," I started, meeting her eyes directly and not looking away. “We met when I was building Redhawk. I’m not proud of the fact that I slept around a lot in those days.” Clearing my throat uncomfortably, I tried not to look away.
“She was charming, played the part perfectly, but it was all fake. She was only interested in the lifestyle I provided — fancy nails and dinners out. To be fair to her, I was only interested in an easy lay.”
Rubbing my palms on my jeans, I tried to breathe as I moved into this next part. “The night she told me she was pregnant, I’d been at a bar with Briggs, you’ve met him.”
“I have. He’s nice.”
Her quiet words drew my eyes to her. She was watching me now with a cautious softness.
“I’d told Briggs that I was breaking it off with her.
She was using me, and I didn’t like it.” I gave my hands another wipe.
“Anyway, she showed up and told me she was pregnant. We’d been more than careful.
I always wrapped up, and she said she was on birth control.
” Sage’s eyebrows drew together. “I wasn’t upset.
In fact, I was ecstatic about having a kid, but she wasn’t. She was super angry about it.”
“I see.” Her hands twined together.
No, I didn’t think she did. “Catherine had never wanted kids because they’d interfere with her life, and she was open about that. It was fine with me at the time because I wasn’t looking for long-term or to marry her.”
“But you did,” Sage interrupted.
“I did it because that was what Catherine demanded in exchange for having the baby. We had an agreement on paper. She wanted a ring, a settlement, and a list of stuff, really.” Massaging the back of my neck, I tried to find words to explain.
“She had what I wanted, and she knew it. So she got her marriage and her penthouse, but she never wanted me as a person. And she certainly never had any interest in being a mother. She didn’t change a diaper or even hold Opal once. ”
“What?”
I leaned forward, my voice dropping. “She didn’t want me.
She just wanted the money. The stuff.” It still hurt.
Catherine had been a boring lay, but I’d returned to her and kept her around because she was convenient.
When I reflected on it years later, I realized how immature it had made me, but there was no way I’d regret it, because that would undo the path I’d taken to create my daughter.
“I have full custody of Opal. She only fought me on it because she knew I’d agree to alimony on top of the payoff she got in the original agreement.
I’m guessing she’s looking for more. Too bad that was an ironclad deal.
” She’d asked me in a text about the possibility of Catherine suddenly changing her mind about wanting to be a mother.
Nothing would have made me happier once upon a time, but that ship had sailed.
“I would never trust her with my daughter. She’s mean, manipulative, and a liar. ”
She bit her lip, eyes shining, and for a moment, I thought I had broken through.
But then she shook her head and stood up suddenly.
“I believe you, Rhodes. I do. Thank you for sharing. Yesterday was intense—the attack, us… and now this note. It feels like a sign to slow down. I’m not saying I’m done, but I need things to go back to a regular pace. ”
I leaned forward, voice lowering. “I’ve never gone back to her.
Not once. She’s poison, and last night? That was her trying to worm her way in again because she’s broke and desperate.
But you… You’re everything she’s not. Real, kind, the way you light up with Opal, with your family.
It’s not unfinished business with her—it’s over.
You're the one I want, Sage. The one who makes me feel like I can build something real again. "
“I’m glad you feel like that.” Her words were quiet, her hands still knotted together.
Frustration clawed at me, but I swallowed it.
Pushing her now would make her disappear for good.
“Take the time, but I’m not going anywhere.
And I’m not giving up.” Everything that was going on right now was a lot.
The one thing I was good at was protecting people.
I could give that to her until she was ready.
“You’re not giving up on me, are you, sweetheart? ” I had to ask.
“The opposite.” She shook her head and got up, moving toward me into my arms. “I like you a lot. Too much to be sane about, and I need to make sure we aren’t moving too fast. Everything has been happening all at once, and that’s not my normal speed.
I’m life in the slow lane.” Her face was tucked against my chest as she spoke, but I understood what she was looking for.
“I can do slow lane. I’m glad you aren’t giving up on us.
” Clearing my throat, I gestured to the flowers.
“Let’s talk about this for a minute. We’re digging deeper.
Parrish traced the delivery service used before, but the locations are all different, and the deliveries were sent by a proxy.
We’re pulling the footage to see if we can find anything useful.
Now that they’ve sent multiple items, we might be able to cross-reference and find something.
Ryatt's running backgrounds on your exes. "
“Okay.”
“We ran a more comprehensive check on Alan, and I have Parrish going to pick him up.” Her whole body jerked in my arms as she stood up and paced.
“It was him?”
“Potentially.” The vehicle was blocked in the gas station lot. I hesitated because this was a conversation I’d rather have somewhere else. “What do you remember before the Holts?” I finally asked.
She reeled back. “What? What does that have to do with anything?” Her lip trembled.
Sage’s father and mother had died in a home invasion robbery in Idaho. She’d gone immediately into protective custody until the killer had been prosecuted. She eventually ended up with the Holt family, and the name Sage was given to her somewhere along the way, but it wasn’t her original name.
“Anything?” Taking her hand in mine, I phrased the question gently.
I hadn’t pried into her records here in Wildwood Meadows, but I knew she had been put in therapy immediately.
Everything I read indicated that the child found at the scene had been in severe shock.
Words like trauma-induced amnesia had been thrown around.
She shook her head, and her eyes shuttered. “No. I don’t really remember anything. Sometimes I have nightmares, but I don’t have any memories of anything before coming here. Not really.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why. What does this have to do with Alan? God, he’s not my relative or something, is he?”
“No. But there is an indication that he was in a foster placement with you for a few months in another state. We’re going to question him about that and see if it was him at the gas station, but whatever it is. I’ll take care of it.”
She nodded, but her gaze drifted to the note again, a shiver running through her. "It creeps me out. Like they know something personal."
"We'll figure it out," I promised, standing too. I wanted to hold her, kiss away the worry, but I held back. "Opal's asking about you already. She wants to build more fairy houses."
A small smile tugged at her lips, the first real one since I walked in. “We’ll build more fairy houses. Tell her I'll bring those mini plants tomorrow."
“Ellis will keep you safe, but call if you need anything.” She gave me a nod, and this time she let me fold her into a hug.
Slow lane. I could do it.
If Sage needed space, fine. But I'd be damned if I let this stalker or my past rip us apart. She was it for me—the deeper connection I'd craved, the one that made every protective instinct roar to life. I'd give her time, but I'd fight for her. For us.
I turned to leave, coordinating with Ellis outside, just as a call from Parrish rang through.