Her dad had looked at her and grinned. “That’s your mom, Sagie. Wild and free, so in love with life.”
Sage wiped a tear off her face and thought that she might look like her mom but she wasn’t anything like her. She was cautious and closed off and a slave to her fears. Yes, she’d experienced incredible personal loss but she’d survived it and if it happened again, she would survive that too. Hearts might get dinged and broken but they didn’t actually kill you.
She could, Sage realized, spend the rest of her life in a cage where it was safe and, yeah, boring, or she could break out of jail and start to explore her world. She was young, rich and reasonably smart; she could have a wonderful life if she found a little bit of her mom’s courage, her bold spirit.
Someday, not today, she would have to try. She owed that to the memory of her parents, to Connor…
“So, working late, huh?”
Sage let out a low scream as Tyce appeared beside her, a yard from the steps leading up to the front door. Sage slapped her hand against her heart as she caught her breath. “Dammit, Tyce! I hate it when you do that!”
“Yeah?” Tyce’s eyes were as hard and cold as frozen coal. “Coincidentally, I hate it when you lie to me.”
Oh, crap, she was so busted. Sage scratched her forehead, looking for the right words. Tyce didn’t give her a chance. “So, who were you blowing off? Me? Lachlyn? Both of us?”
Sage shoved her shaking hands into the pockets of her coat. Before she could reply, her phone rang and she pulled it out. Blessing Linc for the interruption since it gave her a little time to construct a decent apology, she answered his call. Linc was hoping for a date night with Tate and was wondering if she could babysit Shaw and Ellie.
“Sorry, Linc, not tonight. I’m exhausted and I have a headache and all I want to do is climb into a hot bath and go to bed early.” Sage forced herself to look at Tyce, sighing at his hard expression. This is what she should’ve said to him instead of that stupid lie. “I just need some time alone.”
“No worries, I’ll ask Beck and Cady. Later.”
Sage disconnected the call and before she could speak, Tyce did. “So, you need some space, huh? No problem.” Tyce started to walk away but Sage caught his sleeve and tugged, her actions asking him to stay. Suddenly she didn’t want to be alone. She just wanted to step into his arms, allow his strength and solidity to suck the tension from her. In his arms, she realized, was the place she felt safest.
“Tyce—”
Tyce’s snapped-out swear was the perfect accompaniment to his pissed-off scowl. “I am so mad at you, Sage. You lied to me and that’s a pretty big deal to me. I don’t deal in lies. But worse than that, you hurt my sister. I’m not sure what games you are playing, but she wants to get to know you, to be your friend, that’s all she’s asking.” Tyce pointed to a spot down and across the street. “We saw you walking. Lachlyn called you and you pulled a face when you saw her name on your phone. That was strike one. You let her call ring out and Lachlyn watched you do it. Strike two.”
Sage felt like he’d stabbed her in the heart. Ah, no, damn, no.
“She walked away from me, crying. Then you freaking lied to me? Strike three, Sage.”
“You set me up!” Sage retorted. “You wanted to see what I would do, say.”
“That’s your defense?” Tyce gripped her arms in his big hands, bending down so that his face was level with hers. “Bad move, Ballantyne. Lachlyn and I spent our childhoods with a mother who didn’t love us enough to want to get better, who didn’t want us around and gave us no attention. She certainly had no interest in getting to know us, on any level. It was far more fun being a chronic depressive. My point is, we know when we’re not wanted.”
His voice, so calm and so controlled, cut through her. Sage felt hot tears running down her cheeks. “Tyce, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make either of you feel like that.”
Tyce dropped his hands, held them up and stepped away. “As I said… You want space? Take as much as you need.”
Sage held her fist to her mouth as she watched Tyce stride away. She called out to him in the vain hope that he would turn around and come back. Tyce just broke into a jog, leaving her standing in the icy wind.
Ashamed and annoyed at herself, and so very embarrassed, Sage looked up at her building and considered going up. She could take that bath and try for an early night but she knew that the chances of her sleeping were minimal at best. She was exhausted but sleep would be elusive unless she found Tyce and apologized. Sage thought about using her cell phone to call him but that would be too easy, the cowardly way out. She needed to look him in the eye and take her medicine like the big girl she now was.