Chapter 4
Chapter Four
After tucking the kids into bed, Sage checked the locks on the front door before cutting through the kitchen to the back door.
When she’d been a young child, small-town residents never locked their doors, but times had changed, and she felt safer knowing the house was secure, especially since Mark had died.
Even though Evan and Maddie’s cabin was only about a football field to the east of the main house, it was still far enough away that someone could break in and remain unnoticed by the older couple.
Swinging the screen door open, she stepped onto the porch and descended the stairs.
She wanted to walk through the barn and check on the horses before climbing into bed herself.
With the four mares getting closer to their due dates, she’d gotten into the habit of making one last trip to the barn every night.
Evan had already checked them before turning in, but Sage slept better after seeing for herself that everyone was fine.
Losing the mare and her stillborn foal earlier in the year had been an unfortunate part of ranch life, but knowing that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking when it happened.
It had also been a sad lesson in life and death for her children, who loved the horses and eagerly anticipated each new birth.
Hopefully, this time around, there would be nothing but healthy mares and foals to greet them in the barn.
It’d been a long day, and her feet were killing her.
After finishing her errands in town, she returned to the Little League field to wait for the boys’ practice to end.
Unfortunately, that meant dealing with Seth Chapman, a divorced father of three who shared custody with his ex-wife, drank more than he should, and considered himself God’s gift to women everywhere.
His crassness, potbelly, and yellowing teeth from years of chewing tobacco suggested otherwise.
He’d been hitting on Sage since barely a month after Mark died and still couldn’t get it through his thick skull that she had absolutely no interest in him.
When she’d finally driven Toby home, she’d chatted with Ashley for a few minutes while the boys played with the new barn kittens. At first, her friend had been happy Sage found someone to help around the ranch, but as soon as she mentioned Adam’s past, Sage knew she’d made a mistake.
“Are you crazy? A criminal? Sage, how could you hire an ex-con? What was he in for?”
She bit her tongue. Even though she loved her best friend, Ashley could be a bit of a blabbermouth.
She knew Ash didn’t mean to gossip as much as she did, but her brain-to-mouth filter occasionally malfunctioned.
“I’d rather not say. It’s in his past, and he’s paid his debt to society.
Everyone deserves a second chance, right?
Besides, he was upfront about everything and told me to call a few people to make sure he was being honest. I did, and they gave him glowing references.
He even won over Reverend Stevens and Evan. ”
Ash raised her brow. “Really? Evan is more protective of you and the kids than Mark was, and that’s saying a lot.
Okay. I understand you don’t want his background to get out, but please just be careful and sleep with your gun under your pillow.
Second chances or not, I would hate to see anything happen to you or the kids. ”
After ensuring none of the pregnant mares were in labor, Sage scratched a few noses on her way out of the barn.
Shutting the big red door, she glanced over at the little two-room cabin, which sat a few yards away.
The lights were still on inside, and she pivoted in that direction, telling herself she would just check and see if Adam needed anything.
At dinner earlier, he’d said the cabin appeared to have everything, but she wanted to make sure.
As she approached, she noticed that the curtains were open in the front living room.
The bedroom and bath were at the rear of the structure.
Not wanting to disturb him if he’d fallen asleep with the lights on—Evan said the younger man had worked his tail off during the day—she peeked through the window.
Well, he definitely wasn’t asleep. Dressed in black sweatpants and nothing more, Adam knelt in profile on the floor with his hands resting on his muscular thighs and his head tilted down. She guessed he was meditating since his eyes were closed.
Staying in the shadows, she studied his features—dark-blond hair in need of a slight trim, a chiseled jaw covered in coarse stubble, corded neck muscles, broad shoulders and chest, followed by a narrow waist and rock-hard abs.
A deep V of muscles, dusted with fine hair down the middle, disappeared into his sweatpants.
Damn, is it getting hot out here?
She might be a widow still mourning the only man she’d ever loved, but she would have to be six feet under alongside Mark not to appreciate the perfect male form in front of her.
A flutter awakened somewhere deep inside her, followed by an awareness she hadn’t experienced since Mark’s death. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked at a man and felt genuine attraction.
Damn.
Why did it have to be this man who stirred feelings she’d buried for the past thirty months?
She’d felt the first spark earlier when he’d gotten Jenna talking at dinner.
His eyes had danced with amusement, his deep, rumbling laughter had filled the air, and, jeez, those dimples were just too adorable.
Stop it. Stop thinking of him as a man. He’s your employee and nothing more.
He probably wouldn’t be there long, and one-night stands weren’t her thing. And no way would she have a meaningless fling one hundred and fifty feet from where her children slept soundly.
She was lonely, though. It wasn’t a new feeling or one she’d been denying to herself, but it also wasn’t something she’d acted on.
She missed being held, caressed, and loved.
Maybe Ashley was right—her friend had spent the past six months trying to convince Sage it was okay to start dating again.
Maybe it was time to rejoin the living in every way.
Adam’s chin dipped, and it wasn’t until he made the sign of the cross that she realized he’d been praying.
He’d mentioned he wanted to attend church—she was a member of Reverend Stevens’ congregation as well—but she wasn’t used to seeing anyone pray like that outside of Sunday service or the dinner table.
Suddenly embarrassed she’d been ogling him, she stepped further into the shadows as Adam stood and stretched. With one last admiring glance at the man, she spun on her heel and hurried back to the house, completely forgetting what she’d been doing outside the cottage in the first place.
Closing and locking the kitchen door behind her, she leaned against it with a sigh and absently fingered the gold wedding ring that still adorned her left hand.
She had to be out of her mind. Adam was an employee…
an ex-con employee… a drifting ex-con employee she'd met that morning. There. Now that she had that straight in her mind, she could forget about his amazing physique and the unexpected feelings he’d stirred in her.
Damn.
After making the sign of the cross at the end of his meditation and prayers, Adam pushed himself to his feet and winced as his knees cracked.
Recently, he’d noticed his body showing signs of aging.
Forty was rapidly approaching, and every one of those years seemed to make themselves known of late—the cracking of his joints, a dull ache in his lower back, some gray hairs at his temples, and a few wrinkles on his face which hadn’t been there before.
Movement outside of the cabin’s front window caught his eye, and he watched Sage climb the steps to the back porch, enter her home, and turn off the exterior light. A few seconds passed, and then the kitchen went dark as well.
He stepped to the window and stared into the darkness, lit only by the sliver of moon overhead.
He crossed his arms over his bare chest and leaned against the frame.
The day had been hot, but the temperature dropped quickly after sunset.
Rather than turn on either of the cottage’s two air conditioners, he’d opened the windows earlier and let the fresh air circulate through the rooms. Before starting his meditation, though, the growing chill had prompted him to close them again.
What am I doing here, Lord? Is this just another temporary stop on my journey, or did you lead me here for a reason?
Something had made him take a left at a fork in the road instead of a right.
Something had told him to head south instead of in any other direction.
Something had made all those cars and trucks pass by the lone hitchhiker instead of stopping for him.
Something had told a retired couple it was safe to offer him a ride while they were traveling through Oklahoma on their way to Texas to meet their new grandson.
And something had made him thank them several hours later and sling his duffel bag over his shoulder when they stopped for gas.
That stop had left him on County Road 81, five miles east of Rosewood. A trucker had picked him up about halfway to town and dropped him off in front of Reverend Stevens’s church, where something had made the good reverend think Adam might be the answer to a widow’s need for help.
He wasn’t sure what all those somethings were, but he already felt an inexplicable sense of belonging at Heaven’s Pastures.
So many twists of fate had brought him to this point.
If he—or anyone else along the way—had made just one different choice, he wouldn’t be standing there contemplating his pretty new boss and her two adorable children.
Am I here to help Sage save her ranch? Or is there more to it?