Chapter 11 #2
Grady wiped his hands on a bandana. “Sounds like my girls have plans. Turns out, so do I. Brad called and said the new chicks are ready.” He lifted Rose and swung her around to sit on his shoulders.
Rose let out a squeal of pure glee. “Sage, what if I drop you off at the elementary school first so you can talk to Mrs. Hargrove about what Rosie needs to test into second grade this fall? Rosie and I will swing by the farm supply and grab those new chicks, then come back and pick you up. We can pick up the birdhouses on the way out of town.” He ran his heated gaze over Sage from head to toe. “You good with that, Wildfire?”
Sage’s chest tightened with something soft and fierce all at once. “More than good, Dad—um… I mean, boss.”
Grady glanced up at Rose who was looking at the birdhouses, but she hadn’t seemed to notice. It was one thing for Sage to call him Daddy when including Rosie. It was another to call him Daddy all on her own.
The drive into town was quiet but comfortable.
Rose sat in the back with her coloring book, humming under her breath.
Grady’s hand rested on Sage’s thigh the whole way, thumb stroking lazy circles that made her skin hum.
Every so often, he’d glance over and give her that slow, knowing smile that promised all kinds of trouble later.
“Who are you texting?” Grady asked.
“Fiera.”
“She still works down at the school, right?”
Sage nodded. “I thought she could introduce me around, you know, grease the skids a little.”
“Good thinking.” Grady was nodding his head in approval.
They arrived at the elementary school and saw Fiera waiting at the front door. Grady parked in the shade.
He leaned across the console and kissed Sage, slow and deep, right there in front of Rose, God, and everybody.
“Go charm that teacher, babygirl. Rose and I’ll be back in a few minutes with a box full of baby chickens.
” After climbing out and opening her door and helping her out of the truck, he spun her to face the school and smacked her bottom to send her on her way.
Grady was growing more and more affectionate in front of Rose. So far, Rose had responded well.
At the front door, Fiera gave Sage a hug, then took her hand and led her into the building. “Someone’s been holding out on me. I detect a change in the employer-employee relationship. You have some ‘splainin’ to do, Lucy.”
Sage did her best to bring her friend up to speed as they walked down the hall. Sage liked what she saw. Large windows let in plenty of light, and bright, cheerful colors decorated the walls of every hallway and common area.
The school was empty now, so the hallways were silent. It was all Sage could do not to skip down the hall as she had in the old elementary school when she was younger. “This is really nice. I can’t wait to meet the first-grade teacher.”
“Her room is right down here. You’ll love Mrs. Hargrove. She’s wonderful with the children,” Fiera assured her. “You can tell she really cares about them.”
That was high praise coming from Fiera. In Sage’s opinion, her friend was the best teacher in the universe. Too bad she taught kindergarten instead of second grade.
As they walked closer to the first-grade classroom, voices echoed down the hall. Sage had scheduled the appointment with Mrs. Hargrove before they left the ranch, so hopefully whoever was meeting with her would be finished soon.
She didn’t recognize either of the voices, but it seemed Fiera did. A worried look darkened her friend’s expression. “Maybe we should hang back, Sage. Eavesdropping is rude, you know,” she said.
“So is not keeping your appointment time,” Sage pointed out. “Anyway, I can’t wait too long. Grady will be back soon, and I have a lot of questions to ask before he gets back. We should at least let her know we’re here. I do have an appointment.”
“I know, but I think—”
“Oh come on,” Sage insisted. “If she’s in another meeting, we’ll wait. But I need to let her know I’m here.”
“Look, I know you’re eager to get this done, but—”
Argh! Fiera had never worried about the rules when they were in school.
She’d always been Sage’s prank partner in crime.
Sage blamed that jerk of a boy-man Fiera had dated.
She’d broken up with him months ago, but the guy wouldn’t leave her alone.
He’d made her friend's life miserable the entire time they’d dated, and the nine months since Fiera had broken it off.
Luckily, Fiera would soon be headed to a place called Rawhide Ranch, a ranch that specialized in DDlg guests. Sage was happy for her, but right now, she needed to talk with Mrs. Hargrove.
“Look, I should at least let her know I’m here. From the tone of voice whoever is meeting with her is using, Mrs. Hargrove will probably thank us.”
Fiera was insistent. “I’m sure Mrs. Hargrove will extend her time with you if the meeting she’s in now goes late. Um… why don’t you come down to my classroom for a minute and let me show you around?”
Whoever was talking to the first-grade teacher, she was getting louder and louder.
Sage could make out words like “brat” and “selfish” and a few other choice words that would get her mouth washed out with soap if she said them.
She still thought rescuing Mrs. Hargrove was a better idea, but she let Fiera drag her away from the classroom and back down the hall.
It might be just her, but it seemed to Sage that Fiera was a little too eager to get her away from Mrs. Hargrove. Sage couldn’t really understand that, since minutes before, Fiera was describing how wonderful the teacher was.
They turned into Fiera’s classroom to find two recent transplants to Wilder and the Wild River Ranch, a large ranch to the west of Wilder, waiting there.
Fiera grinned at the women in her class. “Sorry, that took longer than I thought it would. Sage, you remember Joy and Junie, right?”
Sage nodded. “I do. Hi, it’s great running into you. I didn’t know either of you had school-aged children or maybe school-aged children on the way.”
Joy, a cute photographer with a mane of long blonde hair, grinned. “No kids here.”
Eyes wide, Junie was shaking her head. “When I say I have a bun in the oven, I’m always talking about hamburger or hotdog buns.”
Fiera slapped Sage’s shoulder. “You don’t ask things like that! They’re here to help me with the school’s back-to-school festival this coming August. We were in the middle of our planning when you let me know you were here.”
Sage blushed. She hadn’t meant to be rude, but she was out of sorts. She glanced at her phone. She’d already been here ten minutes. Still, she didn’t want to be rude to her friends. “Hey, Junie. It’s good to see you again. I’ve been meaning to drive to the bakery to pick up some croissants.”
“I have plenty,” Junie said. “I have some of the chocolate ones you like so much, too.”
“Junie is donating the treats for the festival,” Fiera said, “and Joy is volunteering as our photographer. Thanks for waiting. Sage is here to talk to Mrs. Hargrove.”
“Oh, she’s so sweet,” Joy said. “I did some photography for her last year.”
“Really, do you have any shots with you? I’d love to see some of your work.” Sage asked, thinking maybe some pictures of Rose would be nice.
“Oh, um… I’m afraid not,” Joy looked a little embarrassed. “I specialize in boudoir photography, so I can’t show my work without permission. But if you’d like to book a session, I’ll let Chance know when you’re headed to Wild River Ranch. I’m sure he’d love to talk ranch business with Grady.”
“I will definitely want to see your studio sometime,” Junie joked, sparking a round of laughter.
“That’s right, you’re with Chance out at the Wild River Ranch, aren’t you?” Sage asked.
“Yep, and it’s been great. How about you? I know the last time we talked, you were looking for a Daddy. Have you found one yet?”
Fiera gave Sage a friendly shoulder bump. “Go ahead, Sage, tell them.”
Could her face get any more scarlet? Sage fought the urge to cover her cheeks with her hands. “Well, I’m currently in a relationship with Grady.”
“Grady Kane?” Junie’s eyes opened wide. She leaned in conspiratorially, “You go, girl, he is a hunk. Talk about your workplace romance.”
Sage really didn’t want to explain or go into depth about that, right now.
It was only temporary, after all. She nervously looked at her watch.
Fifteen minutes past her appointment time.
She couldn’t wait any longer. “It’s been really nice seeing you all, and Junie, I’ll be coming by for some of those chocolate croissants soon for the ranch, but I really need to get back and talk to Mrs. Hargrove. ”
“Girls, you stay here, I’ll walk Sage back to her classroom,” Fiera said.
Mrs. Hargrove’s door still stood open, and Sage could still hear two voices inside. The woman with Mrs. Hargrove was still talking, though it sounded obvious that Mrs. Hargrove was trying hard to end the conversation. Lucky for her, Sage could help with that.
Stepping just outside the doorway, she found Mrs. Hargrove with an older woman, whom Sage didn’t recognize. They seemed to be chatting. Well, the older woman was chatting. Mrs. Hargrove was mostly grimacing.
Sage was just about to insist on her appointment when the older woman’s words hit her.
“…that poor Grady,” the older woman was saying, voice dripping with fake sympathy.
“His girl hasn’t spoken a word in years, not that she wasn’t odd before that.
And now he’s brought in some specialty nanny to indulge her even more.
The child just needs a good smack and less of this molly-coddling nonsense.
Spare the rod, spoil the child. That’s what I always say. ”
Sage froze in the doorway, her hackles raised. Surely there must be some other Grady with a daughter who didn’t speak because Sage knew that woman wasn’t talking about her Rose.