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THE SOFT WHISPERS of voices woke Sage from a deep sleep. Her body felt like a ton of bricks had been piled on top of her. A pounding headache behind her eyes prevented her from moving her head, and her eyes felt too heavy to open. She laid still, listening to the low tones.
Had she left her television on? Was her mom here with breakfast? Ally? Linda?
Then Duke’s low tone registered somewhere in the jumble of her brain and the events of the day before came rushing back. The shooting, the drive, seeing Duke again, her failed escape plans, and her agreement to obey Duke in order to receive updates on her mother.
With her face looking at the back of the couch, she stayed still, not ready to start today. What time was it? Did it matter when she was stuck here waiting for the police to find the person who wanted her and her mother dead? Would it be days, weeks, months? Would Duke stay on the job that long? Or would he walk away?
“Duke, you have lots of time. The nurse doesn’t come until after lunch,” Susan whispered. The small size of the house made their words crystal clear to Sage’s ear.
“I’ve arranged a meeting with one of the detectives on Dean and Celeste’s case. They want a witness statement from Sage, and I’ll be taking her into the city this morning before your nurse arrives.”
“Do you think it’s safe to take her back into the city?”
“I chose a reclusive spot that Bowie used to go to when she needed to get away. I know the owner, and there’s a back door if we need a quick escape. I won’t leave her side. She’ll be safe with me. She needs to give them her statement in case she knows something she doesn’t realize.”
“Have you gotten an update on Celeste’s condition?”
“Not yet. I’ll call them in a bit. Stop worrying about us and focus on yourself. It’s your first chemo treatment and you’ll need all your energy.”
Sage’s eyes flew open and the brown corduroy couch stared back at her. Susan had cancer? Guilt flashed through her at the way she’d treated her the night before.
“Now you stop worrying. Sage is your priority.”
“You’re right there beside her on my priority list. I’m going to have a shower. Can you watch her?” Duke asked.
“Of course.”
Unmoving, Sage listened to Duke’s heavy footsteps fade down the hallway. When the door closed, Susan asked, “Would you like fresh bread and homemade jam?”
Sage considered lying there, pretending to be asleep, but there was no point after finding out Duke’s plans. Plus, she wanted a police update more than he did.
“Coffee?” Sage asked.
“Roasted with fresh, local beans.”
Sage propped her hands under her and pushed herself into a sitting position, surprised at the comfort of the older sofa. She stretched her arms above her head and took a deep breath before rising to her feet.
Susan poured her a coffee as she crossed the room. “Cream? Sugar?”
“Black, please.”
Susan grinned at Sage over her shoulder. “I get a please today.”
She carried the mug to the wooden table and set it on a knitted coaster.
“Thank you.” Sage wrapped her fingers around the warm mug.
“And a thank you. I think we’re on a roll.” Susan took a seat across from her, sliding a coaster under her mug. “Did you sleep all right?”
“Yes.”
“Is the couch more comfortable than the bunk bed?”
Sage brought the hot liquid to her lips and took a small sip before answering. “I don’t remember what the bunk bed mattress feels like.”
“How’s your foot? Duke told me you scraped it. I’ll have to have the porch checked over. This place needs a lot of fixing, but when I’m done renovating the whole place will look amazing.”
Sage couldn’t share small talk with Susan without addressing the previous night’s ignorance. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you yesterday.”
Susan’s smile didn’t falter. “Don’t be sorry because I have cancer. Be sorry because you were acting like a brat.”
The edges of Sage’s lips lifted. “A lot happened yesterday and I would’ve never spoken to you the way I did under any other circumstances. Not anymore. That’s not who I am. It’s just my mom...”
“I understand. I meant it when I said you had a pass. We’re okay, Sage.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, tell me, how are you feeling?”
Sage shrugged. “I don’t know. None of this feels real and then I close my eyes and see my mom bleeding on the floor and I remember and”— she shook her head—“I want to be with her, at her side when she wakes up.”
“As a mother, trust me when I say that Celeste would want you safe. Your safety is more important to her than waking up with you.”
Sage glanced at the edge of the hallway where Duke had disappeared and the hum of running water sounded.
“He’s good at his job,” Susan said.
Sage rested her chin in one palm and traced the rim of her mug with her other. “I never doubted his ability to protect. It’s complicated.”
“Sometimes it’s less complicated than you first think. It just takes a little digging to see the whole story.” Susan stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get changed out of my nightgown.” She pulled the edged of a plaid cotton gown.
As she headed to the hallway, Sage asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be supervising me?”
She didn’t stop her pace. “I know when to stay and when to go.” She disappeared around the corner, and the sound of her door shutting echoed into the kitchen.
Sage sat back in her chair and rubbed her hands over her face with a yawn. She needed to shower and change too, but not until she’d had at least one cup of coffee. Maybe two. Maybe she’d down the entire pot.
She finished the first mug at the table, before pouring a second. The sunny day drew her to the back door and she took in the view of the backyard. Trees lined the property. Beyond the tree tops she could see water. Some of the flower beds had been weeded, but most were overgrown with weeds matching the ones in the front of the house and all the flower beds needed to be filled with additional dirt. Among the dire need of repair, Sage could see Susan’s finished vision. If Sage’s mother had been here, she would’ve been outside before the sun rose, weeding and sowing the garden, scraping and sanding the chipped wood on the porch for a fresh coat of sealer and cleaning up. Celeste loved Mother Nature.
“We’re leaving in an hour.” Duke’s thunderous voice made her jump. “Shower or don’t. Change or not. It doesn’t matter either way, but in an hour we’re walking out the front door.”
Her instinct was to fight him, but her promise held her tongue in place.
“Okay.” She turned to find Duke leaning against the counter watching her. Sage ignored the ping of desire. She’d always been attracted to his quiet, serious, and at times, ignorant looking mannerism that came with his job. But behind closed doors, when his guard was down, she remembered the way his lips curled into a handsome, carefree smile she hadn’t been able to keep her lips off. His laughter had a way of rumbling up his chest and she’d never tire of hearing it. She’d also found those small things, parts of him he didn’t reveal, truly attractive.
“Celeste is still not awake. I’ll contact the hospital for another update when we’re in the city.” She also remembered the way he read people, just like he was doing with her now.
Sage turned her back to his watchful eyes and stared out the window. “I want to help catch the person who shot her.”
“I’ve already set up a time and place.”
The place he’d frequented with Bowie.
“Then I’ll get ready.”
“Dress down. We don’t want you recognized in the city.”
She finished the mouthful of coffee in her mug and then she walked to the sink and rinsed it. Duke caught her wrist as she passed him. “How’s your foot?”
“It feels like the aftermath of scraping it on a wood plank.” She glanced at his hand wrapped around her wrist. “How are your hands?”
He let go, cutting off their personal conversation. “You have forty-five minutes.”
She silently saluted him before leaving him alone. When she stepped into the bathroom, the warm steam of shower touched her skin. If that wasn’t bad enough, his woodsy smell overpowered the small space. She dropped her towel on the closed toilet seat and grumbled to herself as she stripped off her dirty clothes and tried not to let flashes of his naked body into her head.