me, though.”
“Then don’t take him,” Grady said as he came up behind her. “I’ll stay with Josh. You go to the hospital.”
Sage turned and looked at him. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. He’s asleep, and you said he’d more than likely stay sleeping for the rest of the night. I can handle that.”
“Is there anyone you need me to contact?” David asked, drawing Sage’s attention.
She shook her head. “No. I can call Hank’s parents. They live in Fairbanks. As for my family, it’s just Macy and I. We don’t have anyone else. And I’m legally Josh’s guardian. Macy made sure of that right after he was born.” Sage’s voice cracked a little.
Grady put his arm around her shoulders and tucked her under his arm. “Are you going to be okay to drive?”
“Yes,” she said after she cleared her throat. “I’ll get ready and will leave in a minute.”
“I’ll follow behind you,” David said.
Sage stepped away from Grady, feeling about ready to break down, but she wouldn’t. At least not yet. She had to be strong, be there for Macy. She wouldn’t let her sister be alone.
Grady stood in the open door and watched Sage pull away in her SUV. The police cruiser parked at the front of the house fell in behind her. Once they disappeared from sight, he shut the door and let out a deep breath.
The night had gone from being perfect to a disaster. After Sage answered the door, Grady had easily been able to hear the conversation that took place there. He’d wanted to go to her, but he couldn’t since he wasn’t supposed to know what was going on. Once she’d said she didn’t want to take Josh to the hospital with her, there was no way he could remain in the living room. He’d had to tell her he would look after the baby. It would be one fewer thing she had to worry about. She already had enough on her plate with her sister not expected to live.
He returned to the living room and sat on the couch. Grady was prepared to stay with Sage for however long she needed him. Hearing she had no other family besides her sister, he wouldn’t let her go through this alone. Yes, they’d just met, but he liked her a lot. He would be strong for her, help her through this difficult time in her life. He’d be a huge asshole if he left now. Plus, it went against everything he’d been taught. Cougar shifter family groups were tightknit. Each member could be counted on to be there for another when they were in need. Since she didn’t have anyone to fall back on, Grady would step in and fill that role for her.
Right then the baby sighed over the monitor. Grady turned and looked at it. If Sage’s sister didn’t pull through as expected, Sage would become an instant mother. Even though Josh wouldn’t remember his parents, he at least wouldn’t have to suffer through watching them being buried or know what was going on.
Chapter Four
Sage sat in one of the hard plastic chairs in a hospital waiting room. She’d been there for hours. She figured it had to be pushing close to dawn, though she really hadn’t been paying close attention to the time. At least not until after Macy had passed away.
Sage had made it to the hospital to be with her sister before she’d succumbed to her injuries. Macy had had massive internal injuries and head trauma, and there had been nothing the doctors could do to save her. The damage had been too severe. Sage had been able to hold Macy’s hand, kiss her one last time and tell her that she didn’t have to worry about Josh. That she would look after him and would always be there for him. As if her sister had only been waiting to hear those reassurances, her heart had stopped beating and didn’t start again, no matter how hard the doctor and nurses had tried to bring her back.
Now here Sage sat, numb to the world around her, waiting to sign the paperwork to arrange to have her sister’s body moved to the funeral home of her choosing. She also waited to talk to Hank’s parents. They’d only arrived a short while ago, having taken the forty-minute flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage. There was no question of Hank and Macy not being buried side by side.
The older couple stepped into the room. They both seemed to have aged ten years. Hank had been their only child. At least a piece of him would live on in Josh. The baby was the spitting image of his father, but with his mother’s eyes and hair color.
“Sage,” Hank’s mother Kate said as she held open her arms.
Sage hugged Kate and then Hank’s father Max. “How are you both holding up?” she asked.
“About as well as you, I’d imagine,” Kate said as she wiped tears out of her eyes. “I just thank god Josh wasn’t in the car.”
That would have been even more devastating. “So do I. He’s still at my place. My boyfriend Grady is there watching Josh.” Sage figured it would sound better to have Grady as her boyfriend than tell them she’d just met him.
“A boyfriend?” Kate asked with a small smile. “Last time I talked to Macy she said you didn’t have one, and that you were too busy with your police work to date.”
“We haven’t been together that long.”
“I’m glad you have someone you can lean on for support. And just to reassure you, we’ll give you any help you need with Josh. We know he’ll be better off with you. It would just be too much for us.”
Sage had known she wouldn’t have to worry about Hank’s parents trying to take Josh away from her. Max’s health wasn’t great, and he had been in and out of the hospital because of his heart a few times in the past year. Looking after a six-month-old baby would take its toll on both Max and Kate.
“I know,” Sage said. “And thanks for the offer. I’ll be sure to call if I need anything. Once we get finished here, you’re both more than welcome to stay at my place for however long you’re in Anchorage.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Max said. “We already booked a room at a hotel. It’ll be less stressful for you.”
Sage nodded. “Okay, but you’re welcome to change your mind.”
After that, the rest of the time Sage spent at the hospital passed in a blur. She filled out the necessary paperwork, barely paying attention to what she signed. Once she’d done all she could for now, she said goodbye to Hank’s parents with a promise to talk to them in the afternoon to arrange a time to go to the funeral home.
Sage drove home. She was tired but didn’t know if she’d be able to sleep. For one thing, Josh would be awake soon. On the way, she stopped off at a store to buy diapers and all the other things such as food and bottles she’d need for her nephew. She had a key to Macy’s house but she couldn’t bring herself to go there to pick up what she’d need just yet. Though she’d have to do it very soon. Josh would need his crib and clothes. Plus, she also had the decision as to what to do with the home.
She pulled into her two-car driveway and parked beside Grady’s expensive sedan. After getting out of her SUV, Sage headed for the front door. She unlocked it and stepped inside, placing the items she’d bought in the entranceway. The house was completely quiet. It was early enough for Josh to still be asleep. She figured Grady must be sleeping as well since he didn’t come to see her.
After taking off her coat and boots, she went to the living room. The scene that greeted her had her smiling despite what the night had turned into. Grady lay on the couch, his feet dangling over the end. Josh was on his chest, his little head tucked under Grady’s chin. The quilt from the playpen was covering the baby and the sides were tucked under Grady, holding Josh in place. Grady had his arms wrapped around her nephew. The sight of them together pulled at her heartstrings.
Sage leaned against the wall next to the entrance to the room and slowly slid down it until she sat on the floor. She couldn’t tear her gaze from them. Being sleep deprived and an emotional wreck on the inside, she crazily thought Grady would be the perfect replacement father for Josh. It was stupid to be thinking like that when she’d had one date with him that had lasted a few hours at the most, but at the moment, he was the only person in her world who she thought she could lean on.
She then noticed Josh had his little hand wrapped around Grady’s cougar head pendant just as she’d done when she and Grady had been fooling around. It was the second time her nephew had taken hold of it. He obviously liked it, and Grady mustn’t have minded.
