Didn’t matter what she’d thought. She’d failed to watch her child.
“She said she snuck away on purpose,” Gray told her. “She thought I was mad at her because I wasn’t on the beach anymore. Apparently, one of her little friends at school got mad at her today and stayed on the other side of the room and wouldn’t play with her.”
“Sarah, right. I heard about that.”
“She told you?”
“No, her teacher did. Sarah apparently told Leigh that since she only has a mommy she comes from a broken home. Leigh was adamant that her house wasn’t broken and stomped her foot, insisting that Sarah take it back. Sarah didn’t. And Leigh told her she didn’t like her anymore. From what I heard, Leigh later apologized, but Sarah didn’t respond and wouldn’t talk to her.”
Basic kid stuff. All except for the broken home part.
“I once had a kid tell me that the police were going to come and take me away,” Gray told her. “We were about Leigh’s age. He’d heard his mother call Child Services on my behalf. Kids repeat what they hear.” He shrugged, meeting her gaze as he dropped yet another bombshell glimpse into the young life that had shaped the man he’d become. “I heard my grandmother give that woman some words that I’ve never forgotten,” he added with a grin. “Right after Child Services had done their thing and cleared my home and upbringing as clean and loving.”
Watching him, Sage asked softly, “What did she say?” So not the most important topic at hand. But he’d said he’d never forgotten.
“Love matters,” he said back, holding her gaze. And then with one of his nods, grinned again. “Right after she told her that it might behoove her to mind her own business a little more and ours a little less. Her son had just been caught stealing grapes off what he thought was a neighbor’s fenced-in vine. Turned out the neighbor caught him and stopped him from eating them as they were common moonseed, not grapes, and poisonous.”
Love did matter. And sometimes you loved someone enough to know that you weren’t good for them. You took responsibility and walked away.
Sage got his message loud and clear.
Gray’s instincts were pinching him uncomfortably, strongly urging him to retreat back to Scott’s cottage and nurse his beer.
The man his grandmother had raised stood on the beach with a question hanging there, waiting to be asked.
Was she still on birth control?
“I’m sorry Leigh bothered you,” Sage offered before he could force the words past the constrictions in his chest and throat. “As you’ve probably noticed, she pretty much has the run of the beach down here, in terms of neighbors. She thinks everyone is family and therefore fair game. I’ll be giving her a lesson on that one as soon as I get home.”
Gray’s spine straightened. “You don’t trust me with her?”
Maybe he couldn’t blame her, considering his resistance to having a family, but he’d made it quite clear that he was good with kids. Enjoyed them. Just... “Because I didn’t think to make sure someone knew she was with me,” he finished before she had a chance to respond.
“No!” Her response, the irritated drawing together of her brows, spoke more strongly than the one word. “In the first place, I think I just overheard you telling Scott that you thought he or I were just outside...”
He had. And nodded.
“And in the second, my God, Gray! You’re a renowned veterinarian. So much so that even when social media is trying to cancel you, you’ve got investors lining up to support your new start. You can’t be that good with animals and not be good with kids. Beyond that, Leigh likes you, and she might be only four, but she’s a pretty good judge of character.”
He looked at her then. Waited.
“And my brother and I are good judges of character, too,” she added, somewhat sheepishly, while Gray’s mood took an upward soar.
“Then, please, let Leigh know that she is welcome to visit me anytime, with your knowledge and permission, of course, and I will be delighted to be counted as one of her friends.”
A friend. Not a parent.
Thathe could handle.
With honest anticipation. Sage’s little girl was a hoot. “She’s a captivating conversationalist,” he said, because thinking of Leigh’s way of looking at the world made him smile.
And he needed all the smiles he could get.
Sage nodded, thanked him profusely for keeping Leigh safe and turned, as though to go. Gray called her back. “Hey, hold on a sec.”
Turning, she raised her brow, but wasn’t going anywhere.
“I just want to make sure we’re ready for the morning,” he told her. “You’ve got all the paperwork ready?” The excuse was cheap. See-through. The group was meeting at her back porch, where they’d sign necessary forms, and then the rest of the morning was all on him. Sage wouldn’t even be there.
