“I don’t mind. I had fun.”

Grabbing some chicken breasts out of the fridge, I set them on the island behind me and closed the door. “I really appreciate you watching her for a few hours, and all that you’re doing to get Pudding to come home.”

He turned off the water, setting the brushes on a paper towel to dry. He dried his hands on the rag hanging from the oven door. “Anytime. I’ll get out of your hair for dinner. I’ll still be seeing you two in a few days for her next lesson, right?”

Anytime? Did he mean that? Surely he was just being nice.

“Avery wouldn’t let me forget if I tried. We’ll be there.” I pulled a cutting board out of one of the cabinets, setting it on the counter. “And thank you for the texts. It helped ease my mind…a lot.”

His brow furrowed. “Of course. I figured if she was my kid, I’d want updates, too.”

God, why did we have to have that in common?

Shut up, Sage, every parent would.

“Is that why you don’t have a babysitter for her?” he asked.

I opened the package of chicken, placing them on the cutting board to slice. “That, and the fact that not many people are up for watching a five-year-old, especially with my constantly changing schedule if I have to stay overtime.”

“Your coworkers not very reliable?”

“Just one of them.” I didn’t want to get into it about Gemma right now.

He seemed deep in thought as he watched my knife slice through the raw meat, then said, “My mom or I can always help watch Avery.”

My slices faltered, and I set the knife down on the board. The last thing I needed was to accidentally cut myself in front of him, again. “You don’t have to—”

“Sage, it’s okay to accept help if people are offering it. But I understand if you truly don’t want us to.”

My teeth gnawed on the inside of my cheek. I hated that he was right. I just felt bad asking people to help watch my daughter. Her father should be around doing that, but instead he was sitting in a prison cell because he was never taught how to respect women.

“Thank you.” I had to be more open to people offering to make my life even a fraction easier.

As much as I wished I could, I couldn’t carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and keep myself afloat, too.

16

Callan

Istomped up the steps to Reed’s back porch, having come around the outside of the house instead of through. Lennon and Bailey were here, most likely a few beers deep already.

I hadn’t planned on coming over tonight, but it beat being stuck in my house alone battling my thoughts, so I’d headed out the door and picked up a six-pack on my way. 

A week had passed since I watched Avery while Sage was at work, and though I saw her at Avery’s lesson a few days ago, I couldn’t stop thinking of Sage every free moment I got. 

Reaching the top step, I found Lennon and Bailey sitting on two sunbleached wooden chairs, their legs stretched out in front of them. The setting sun cast an amber glow over everything, the air still warm from the summer day.

“The life of the party is here!” Lennon announced when he saw me.

I lifted the beers up in display as Bailey sat forward in his chair and whined, “Hey! I’m the life of the party.”

Taking the seat beside Lennon, I set the beers on the ground, grabbing one and popping the top off. “I agree with Bailey here. He knows how to leave a lasting impression. Me, on the other hand, I’m the polar opposite of that.”

Bailey rested back against the hard wood. “Thank you. I like to think I’m pretty unforgettable.”

The sliding door closed behind us as Reed said, “We could never forget Cooper.”

Bailey took a swig, giving a short nod. “That’s my intention.”

“Didn’t work on Lettie, though,” I pointed out. “She seemed to forget you pretty easily.”

Lennon’s beer flew out of his mouth as he choked on the liquid while Reed’s mouth ticked up at the corners. Bailey pressed his lips together, tipping his bottle at me. “That’s fair. But now look at me. Happy as can be with her.”

“Speaking of,” Lennon started, “when’s the wedding?”

“Probably next summer? She and Brandy keep going back and forth on different seasons for the wedding, but I told her the fall time would be best since we want to do it on the ranch. Not too hot, not too cold.” He glanced at me and Lennon before continuing. “I was actually wondering if you two would be my groomsmen?” His focus moved to Reed. “And you’d be my best man?”

Reed had his beer halfway to his lips, his eyes glued to Bailey. “You want me to be your best man?”

Bailey’s brows dropped. “Reed, you’re my best friend. Obviously, I’d want you to be my best man.”

“Ouch,” Lennon hissed, but we all knew he wasn’t actually hurt by that. It was no secret that Bailey and Reed were the closest out of any of us, despite their personalities being complete opposites of each other. 

“I’ll do it,” I piped in, giving Reed a minute to process.

Bailey twisted to look at me. “Thanks, Cal.”

I gave a nod, and Lennon lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m in.”

We all three turned to look back at Reed, who was clearly not accustomed to the limelight being on him.

After a moment of us all simply staring, he raised his eyebrows. “Alright! I’ll do it. Fuck. Don’t any of you guys get a brain aneurysm, staring like that.”

Bailey clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, man.” Reed grumbled something before taking a long pull from his bottle, as Bailey went on, “So obviously, Lennon, you’re with Oakley, and Lettie is already planning for Oakley to be one of her bridesmaids, so you don’t really need a plus one.” He looked at Reed. “Reed, you’re with the maid of honor—”

“Hold on a fucking second—” Reed tried to interrupt, but Bailey continued, facing me.

“So that leaves us with Cal. Who are you planning to bring?” 

“If you think for one fucking second I’m—” Reed kept talking from the other side of Bailey, but no one paid him any mind. Brandy was Lettie’s best friend. There was no doubt in any of our minds that she’d be her maid of honor.

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I’ll probably just go solo.” I hadn’t seen anyone since I’d been with my ex, and I wasn’t in the best spot to date right now. I was so busy with lessons at the ranch, and it wasn’t like I went to town enough to meet anyone.

“Fucking hell.” Reed gave up on the battle, accepting his fate. There was nothing he could do about it. Whatever rivalry they had together could be set aside for one day.

Hell, it wouldn’t even be one day. It’d be a few hours, and then they’d be free of each other.

“Bullshit,” Lennon called out.