As Dory glued herself to him and he pretended to listen to her chatter, an annoying inner voice sounded off: Where’s the challenge?
“Hads!”
Quinn looked up, and Nelson gave him a wave from across the booth. “We’re heading out. Catch ya later.”
When Nelson turned to leave, Sarah placed her hand on Quinn’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Looks like someone’s getting lucky tonight. Enjoy your lube and tune, Sparky.”
Da fuck? Did she just say what I think she said?
A beat passed before his brain pulled itself together. Unfortunately, the best he could muster was, “Oh, you bet your sweet ass I will.”
She gave him a wink and walked away. He didn’t have time to give it much thought because his phone vibrated. When he glanced down at the screen, panic bloomed in his chest. He mumbled an apology in Dory’s direction and lurched out of the booth.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
Chapter 2
Welcome to My World
Sarah slouched in the backseat beside Daisy and stared through the window at lights streaking against an ultramarine backdrop. Winter in Colorado. Harsh. Was she really doing this? What choice did she have?
Lily sat behind the wheel, Gage next to her in the passenger seat as she drove them home from the bar. He threw Sarah the occasional concerned look over his shoulder.
“I’m okay,” she reassured him. Her brother was ultra-protective, and she didn’t want to worry him. After all, she was the big sister, though she sure didn’t feel like one now.
“Can’t fool me, Sar-bear.”
“I’m just tired, Bro. I drove over mountain passes in lousy weather to get here. I’ll be fine by morning.”
“Yeah, about that.”
“About what?”
“The sleeping arrangements. You okay sleeping in Daisy’s room while she’s on the couch?”
Oh shit. Sarah had been in such a panic to flee Seattle that she hadn’t considered how disruptive her presence in Gage’s and Lily’s lives might be. She’d just blindly run to her safe haven, which was her brother. Of course, she hadn’t realized at the time that he’d just sold his big-ass house and was squeezed in with Lily and her daughter in a two-bedroom, two-bath box.
She straightened in her seat and glanced over at Daisy. “No way. I’m not kicking you out of your room, Crazy Daisy. I’ll take the couch tonight and find an Airbnb tomorrow.”
“But I want to sleep on the couch, Aunt Sarah!” Daisy protested from her booster seat. The grin on her cute six-year-old face telegraphed she wasn’t really upset.
Lily glanced at Sarah in the rearview mirror. “We want you staying with us, Sarah. And Daisy’s been looking forward to her big adventure on the couch.”
Gage turned in his seat, his eyes on Daisy. “We’re turning it into a fort when we get home, aren’t we, kiddo?”
Aw, damn! He’s so good with her. Sarah felt a hot tear prick her eye. There’d been too much of that lately, she admonished herself.
Daisy’s head nodded vigorously. “Yes! My babies are having a sleepover. And Archer’s coming too.”
Gage flicked his eyes to Sarah. “Well, I’m not sure the fort will be big enough for all your babies and a dog. Besides, I think Archer will want to be with Aunt Sarah tonight, especially since he’s in a strange place.”
Archer, Sarah’s lovable lab, had been a big hit with Daisy from the moment Sarah had arrived hours ago. But then, he was a hit with everyone who met him. A service-dog school dropout, he was a well-behaved pup who’d captured her heart when she’d gotten him a year ago. And if she hadn’t had Archer in her life, she would’ve shattered into irretrievable pieces. Eager to please, loyal, dependable. Trustworthy. Too bad those traits were absent in men—besides her brother.
“Lily,” she pleaded, “I never intended to displace anyone. It just didn’t occur to me that Gage would’ve sold his house, and now I’m kicking myself for not asking before I came plowing into your lives.”
“Don’t argue, Sarah,” Lily said. “You’re staying in Daisy’s room. Period.” Lily’s fake sternness warmed Sarah.
An unexpected laugh bubbled up, and it felt good. “Okay. I know when I’m beaten.” She patted Lily’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
Gage dangled his hand over the back of his seat. “We’re moving into the new place in a few weeks, and it has a guesthouse in back. It’s yours if you want it.” His usual calm demeanor was in full sway, and Sarah glommed onto it like a life preserver in a boiling ocean. Where he was all chillax, she was constantly abuzz. They were opposite sides of the same coin. He’d gotten more of their grandmother’s personality, while she’d wound up with their mother’s—and the realization terrified her. Not only was their mother the poster child for “overbearing,” but she was certifiably nuts.
“Any chance I can see the new house?”
“Absolutely,” Lily said. “You remember Paige Miller from last summer’s Stanley Cup party?”
Sarah chuckled. “You mean the one where you and my brother were scouring each other’s throats in front of dozens of people?”
Gage shot her a lowered-brow warning and slid his eyes toward Daisy.
“What? She saw you guys kissing.” She elbowed Daisy. “Didn’t you, Daze?”
Daisy squirmed and crinkled her nose. “Everyone saw them kissing. And they still kiss. All the time.”
Gage’s mouth quirked. In the rearview mirror, Lily’s face had turned crimson. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, Paige is meeting us there tomorrow. Why don’t you come with and check it out?”
“I’m in.”
For the rest of that evening, Sarah sat back and observed the little family in their comfortable cadence. Gage’s “girls” had brought so much richness to his life, and Lily was his perfect match. Sarah had never seen him happier. If it hadn’t been her brother’s life she watched from her front-row seat, the ache inside her might’ve blossomed into unrelenting envy.
