We drove like that the rest of the way, with Avery in the back humming to the country song on the radio and my hand on Sage’s leg.
And after years of feeling like my mind was stuck in an isolated black hole, life was good.
26
Sage
After Callan dropped me and Avery at home, I drove Avery to school just in time for the first bell to ring. Since it was my day off, I didn’t have to rush to work afterwards, so I went home and deep cleaned the entire house.
It took all I had in me not to go back to the ranch to see Callan while Avery was at school, but she had a lesson today, so I’d see him then anyway. I feared I was getting too attached to the idea of us too soon, like this was too good to be true. But nothing about Callan gave me the impression that he’d be anything like Jason, so I had to stop comparing.
As I sat in the school pickup line with my car idling, all I could think about were those two texts. I hadn’t received any more since, but that made me even more nervous than if he’d kept trying. If he wasn’t texting, that meant he was finding another way.
Though the car wasn’t moving, my hands were still gripped tight to the wheel, like my hold on the leather could keep everything from falling apart.
The back door popped open and I jumped, the fog in my head clearing with Avery’s voice. “Hi, Mama.”
“How was school?” I asked, turning around in my seat to make sure she buckled herself in.
“Good. Lucy and I wanna have a playdate,” she said as she situated her backpack on the middle seat, then worked on her seatbelt.
“Today?”
Her little fingers clicked the buckle in. “She had to go to the dentist, but probably soon.”
Turning back around, I shifted into drive and pulled out of the pickup line, going around the other cars. “Just let me know what day and we’ll figure something out.”
“Okay. Are we going to the horses?”
Flicking on my blinker, I headed onto the main road. “Yep. Why don’t you put your boots on while we’re on the way?”
She was silent for a moment, then said, “Did you bring them?”
“They’re not in here? I thought we left them in here from the last lesson.”
I glanced at her in the rearview mirror as she shook her head. “No. I put them inside, remember?”
I didn’t. “It’s okay. We’ll stop by the house on the way, then.”
It wasn’t too far out of the way, but we’d be late to the lesson regardless.
A few minutes later, I pulled up our driveway and got out at the same time as Avery. I was getting the key ready when she let out a little shriek. I followed her line of sight to the front porch, where Pudding was sitting like she’d been waiting this whole time.
“Pudding!” Avery squealed, running up the steps. The cat unfolded her tail, standing with the anticipation of being pet. She scooped her up, hugging her tight. “Mama, do you see her?”
“I do. She looks so happy.” Really, the cat’s face was squished against Avery’s cheek and she squirmed slightly. “Let’s get her inside before she takes off again.”
I unlocked the door, letting Avery in first, and made sure to shut it fully before Avery set her down. Pudding instantly rolled to her back with her tail swishing.
“I didn’t think she would come back!” Avery exclaimed, bending to pet her belly.
I could hear the cat’s purring from here. “Do you still want to go to your lesson?” She looked too excited to leave the cat so soon.
“Yeah, I wanna go! Pudding will be here when we get back, won’t you?” She looked down at the cat for an answer, giving her a rub on her cheek.
“Alright, then. Get your boots or we’re going to be late.” Even though we already were with our little detour.
Avery bent to kiss Pudding on the top of her head, then jumped up and ran to her bedroom. Seconds later, she reappeared, pink boots in hand.
“Anything else you need to grab?” I asked.
She shook her head. “All good.”
I ushered her out the door, making sure that Pudding stayed put. Locking the door, we hurried back to the car, and I waited to pull out until Avery was buckled in.
She swapped her shoes for the boots on our way there, humming along to the song on the radio. The sky was slightly overcast, but as far as I was aware, the forecast hadn’t called for rain. If it did, I just hoped it held off until Avery’s lesson was over.
As we pulled up, Callan was coming out of the barn with a black box in his hands. He wore a casual smile under his dirt-stained cowboy hat, and in that moment, I wanted to forget about everything else and soak him in. He looked like the sunshine peeking through the clouds that had hovered over me for far too long.
“Sage, Avery,” he greeted as we got out.
“Guess what!” Avery squealed as she approached him.
“What?” he questioned with a small chuckle at her excitement.
“Pudding came home today!”
He seemed a bit shocked at first, but quickly wiped it away with a bigger grin. “I told you our little trick would work. Which flavor food drew her in?”
