“I look forward to it most of all because my father-in-law, Jennings, always makes an appearance,” Willa explained. “We call him our resident ornithologist since he knows everything about dozens of bird species, owls in particular.”
There was something comforting about being in Willa’s presence. She’d had a similar experience on her first meeting with Beulah at the teahouse. Never in a million years had Sage imagined she’d be sitting here with her mother and grandmother chatting and enjoying hot chocolate.
All she’d truly hoped for in coming to Owl Creek was to get a few answers to some burning questions about her identity. Although she’d resisted the truth ever since her mother confessed about the kidnapping, a part of Sage had instinctively known it was all true. She hadn’t really needed the baby blanket to prove it. There had always been a little part of her that hadn’t felt as if she fit in as a member of the Duncan family. Although she’d always loved her parents, Sage had always felt as if a piece of her hadn’t belonged. Although she’d attributed it to being adopted, she now knew it had been far more complicated.
In the deepest regions of her heart, Sage wanted to know that the members of her birth family were happy and that they’d thrived despite the tragic events of twenty-five years ago. By finding this information out, she could finally move on with her life and put her mother’s shocking confession in the past. However, all of a sudden the decision to leave Owl Creek without revealing herself as Lily North didn’t seem so simple. Now that she was up close and personal with her family members it seemed like an impossible dilemma. Who knew what the future might hold with her Alaskan family? The possibilities were endless.
Just then Nate North strode into the room, bringing with him a vibrant energy. “There you are, my love. I’ve been looking all over for you.” He strode over to his wife and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. Sage couldn’t look away from the sight of them.
Beulah sent Sage a knowing look. “These two lovebirds have been together since their freshman year in college. Nate, this is Sage Duncan. Sage, this is my son, Nate.”
Nate frowned. “Hello, Sage. Have we met before? Your face looks familiar to me.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Was it at all possible Nate was responding to her on an instinctual level? Her stomach was twisted up in knots. “I—I was at the factory the other day when you had your press conference, but I left due to the crowd. Maybe that’s why I look familiar?”
Nate still looked puzzled. “Sure. Maybe that’s it,” he said, sounding unconvinced.
Without warning, Sage felt her good mood plummet. Things were getting way too intense. Nate and Willa were the epitome of Alaskan sweethearts. She couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away from them as they held hands and looked lovingly into each other’s eyes.
Their child had been ripped away from them and yet they still adored each other. They’d suffered one of the most devastating traumas a couple could withstand and somehow they had emerged on the other side, still in love. Still committed to one another. It left her awestruck. And it spoke to her about the enduring nature of true love.
All of a sudden it all came crashing down around her. She was standing in a room with three people who were related to her by blood, yet they didn’t realize it. It felt so wonderful yet incredibly wrong at the same time. She was so terribly conflicted. What would God think about her actions?
A passage from John 3:18 came to mind. She’d been reading the Bible ever since she was a child and this particular verse had been used by her father to teach her right from wrong. At the moment it resonated with her.
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Truth? It had always been so important to her, yet she’d been dodging it like a minefield ever since her arrival in Owl Creek. And now she had to sit in her own reality. Didn’t her birth parents deserve to know what she’d discovered? Was it fair to make them suffer for a lifetime?
When it was time to leave, Sage reached out to Beulah and Willa with tight hugs. She held on to Willa for an extended period of time, realizing she might never get this opportunity again to embrace her mother. She smelled of roses and chocolate and pure goodness. Sage felt at home in her arms, and when Nate took Sage’s hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles in an old-fashioned gesture, the emotions bubbling beneath the surface could no longer be contained. She blinked away tears, knowing she could never explain them in a million years. It was a lonely feeling being the only one in the room who fully understood the significance of this moment.
Beulah walked Sage to the entrance and gave her one last hug. “Thanks for coming out and spending time with me today. It meant a lot.” Sage nodded and squeezed Beulah’s hand. She didn’t trust herself to utter a single word of goodbye. It was only a matter of time before she broke down completely.
When Sage turned around to take one last look at the chocolate factory, Beulah was still standing there waving in her direction. She raised a hand in farewell, then turned back around and made her way over to the truck with tears streaming down her face. Thankfully she was facing away from Beulah. After getting in the vehicle she sat for a few minutes as the engine warmed up. She’d made a big mistake in seeking out her birth family. Nothing felt cut-and-dried anymore. The thought of leaving Owl Creek and never seeing them again tore her up inside.
Willa, Nate, Beulah, Trudy, Piper and Hank were living, breathing people who had burrowed their way into her heart. And now that they were there, she had no idea how she was going to erase them from her mind when she returned home.
Chapter Nine
It was shaping up to be a beautiful night for the owl walk in Chinook Woods. The heavily forested area had been a fixture for Hank ever since childhood. It had been a place of exploration and discovery for him. He’d always been fascinated by the wildlife in the woodlands—foxes, deer and on occasion, caribou. The owls had always been the most interesting to Hank, however. They were mysterious creatures who could see in the dark of night, at which time they were most active. It was fitting that the town had created a winter event highlighting the natural beauty of the magnificent birds.
It seemed to Hank as if the whole town had turned out for the event. He had made it a point to keep away from the inn for the last few days. Instead of staying over for dinner, he’d cooked at home for himself and Addie or met up with Gabriel and Connor at Piper’s diner. He’d figured out that the best way to keep Sage at arm’s length was to limit the time he spent in her presence. Seeing her all the time was only serving to imprint her on his mind. Yet, despite his best intentions and the deliberate actions he’d taken to avoid her, thoughts of Sage still lingered. He couldn’t get her out of his mind for the life of him.
When his gaze scanned the crowd, he instantly spotted Sage. She was chatting with Zoey Thomas. With her cream-colored hat and gray scarf, Sage looked warm and stylish. He looked down at her feet. She was wearing a sturdy pair of Lovely Boots. It made him smile that she’d heeded his mother’s suggestion. She really was getting the lay of the land.
Sage had driven herself, Piper and Trudy over to the woods this evening. Piper had told him Sage wanted to be able to navigate at night if she needed to, so this served as a test run. She’d surprised him by displaying such pluck and grit. Driving in Alaska wasn’t for the faint of heart. As a Florida girl Sage clearly didn’t have much experience driving on snow-slickened roads, but she was careful and confident.
It was nice to see her making friends here in town, even though she wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture in Owl Creek. The idea of not seeing her sweet face for much longer caused a pang in the region of his heart. He was being ridiculous, he told himself. He’d only known her for a few weeks and as it was, didn’t fully trust her. Maybe she was in a bad marriage and running away from an abusive situation. The very idea of it caused all of his protective instincts to go on high alert.
Maybe he wa
s completely wrong about Sage. Perhaps he was making her pay the price for Theresa’s lies and deceptions. Mama had told him he was allowing the past to color his future. But what was he supposed to do with all of his festering doubts? He hadn’t told a soul that he’d had a few niggling suspicions about Theresa back in the day, but his feelings for her hadn’t allowed him to listen to his gut instincts.
And he’d paid a hefty price for his lack of awareness.
“She’s some kind of wonderful, isn’t she?” Piper asked, sidling up to him.
“Who?” Hank asked, feigning ignorance.
“The lady you’ve been trying not to stare at ever since she arrived,” she said, chuckling.
Hank reached out and tweaked her nose. He’d been doing it to his little sister since they were kids even though he knew it bugged her.
“Ouch!” she cried out, swatting his hand away. “Stop trying to divert my attention away from the fact that you’re gawking at Sage.”
“Sage is a nice woman.”
“Nice, huh?” Piper let out an indelicate snort. “Is that your way of saying you’re interested in her?”
“You’re getting way ahead of yourself, sis. She’s only here for a few weeks and I’m not looking for anything romantic. I’ve got my—” he began.
“Yeah yeah yeah. You’ve got your hands full with Addie. You’re beginning to sound like a broken record.” Piper rolled her eyes. “Go on and talk to her,” she said, nudging Hank in the side. “You know that you want to.”
Hank scowled at his sister. “If you don’t stop being so pushy you might end up in a snowbank.”
Piper let out an outraged squeal. “Those are fighting words, Sheriff!”
She picked up a handful of snow and began making a perfectly rounded snowball.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Hank said in his most forbidding voice. “It will not end well for you if you go down that path. That’s a solemn promise.”
Before Piper could respond, Hank felt a hard object smack against his chest. When he looked up, Sage was standing a few feet away from him, with a grin stretching from ear to ear on her face.
Hank sputtered. “Oh, I get it! Girls against boys, huh?” he asked, advancing toward Sage with a throaty laugh.
“I’ve got your back, Sage,” Piper cried out as she raced toward Hank and began pummeling him with snowballs. He held up his hands in surrender. “Let’s call a truce.”
Sage placed her hands on her hips. “What do you say, Piper? Can we cut him a break?” she asked.
His sister put a finger on her chin. “Hmm. Perhaps we can strike a deal with him. If he promises to go get us some hot cocoa, we’ll grant him a reprieve.”
“That sounds very fair to me,” Sage responded, giving Piper a thumbs-up sign.
“I promise! I promise! That’s an easy compromise,” he said, wiping snow off his parka.
Sage walked over and flashed him a playful grin. “No hard feelings, right?”
“Of course not! All things considered, I got off pretty easy. Two hot cocoas coming up,” he said, walking over toward the concession stand. All proceeds from tonight’s event went toward wildlife conservation efforts in Alaska. It was an endeavor near and dear to his heart.
He loved animals of all kinds. At one point as a kid he’d aspired to be a large-animal veterinarian, although those dreams had taken a backseat to his desire to pursue a career in law enforcement. Nevertheless, he always made it a point to volunteer and contribute to animal-protection efforts. He couldn’t imagine Alaska without caribou, moose or threatened species such as polar bears.
Hank found himself whistling a cheerful tune as he stood in line. A festive mood hung in the air and everyone seemed to be in a joyful frame of mind. Including him. He was truly happy...and had so much to be thankful for. His daughter was content and healthy. He’d found his groove as a single parent. Piper was living out her dream of running Jack’s diner. Trudy was moving past her losses and thriving. And despite his reservations, spending time with Sage made him feel good. Getting pelted with snowballs had never been so fun. He almost felt like a teenager with his first crush, and he wondered if Sage had picked up on it despite his efforts to play it cool.
Once he’d purchased the drinks, Hank headed back to the area where he’d left Sage and Piper. As he got closer he spotted Gabriel standing with them.
“Look who I have here. The prettiest girl in Owl Creek,” Gabriel said, holding Addie in his arms with the utmost care. She was reaching up and grabbing his chin, which was a surefire sign she was crazy about him. Her diaper bag was slung over his shoulder. “Trudy asked me to watch her while she helped out with the arts-and-crafts table. Her expertise was needed over there.” There was so much going on around them—music, arts, education, food, entertainment. It was a fun-filled Owl Creek evening that made him feel proud of his hometown.
Hank grinned at the sight of Gabriel and Addie. “I can take her if you want to grab some refreshments,” he offered.
“Are you kidding me? Uncle Gabe hasn’t been able to spend time with Addie in quite some time. It would be my pleasure to watch her while you check out the owls.” He smiled at Sage. “Prepare yourself to be blown away. You’ll never view owls in quite the same way again.”
Hank held out the cups of hot chocolate for Piper and Sage, who quickly took them off his hands.
“I’ve really been looking forward to it!” Sage exclaimed, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
He had the feeling Gabriel was paving the way for him to be alone with Sage. There was a hint of mischief etched on his face, and he was whispering to Piper. Hank had seen that look dozens of times ever since they were little kids. Gabe had a wide-open heart as big as Kachemak Bay. It touched him to know his friend wanted him to find love even though he was reluctant to pursue it in his own life.
“Why don’t you and Sage set out on the trail? I’ll wait for Mama,” Piper suggested.
Gabriel and Piper exchanged a loaded glance that made Hank even more suspicious. Hmm. Was Piper in on it too? Were these two conspiring to play matchmaker?
“Sure thing. We’ll keep an eye out for you,” Hank said. “Shall we?” he asked, turning toward Sage, who couldn’t contain her excitement. She’d come a long way from the closed-off woman he’d met on the ferry. She was opening up like a chrysalis turning into a butterfly. She’d always struck him as beautiful, but now he was seeing the true essence of Sage Duncan. There was so much more to her than met the eye.
As they walked along the wooded trail illuminated intermittently by path lights, they filled the silence with conversation. It flowed easily between them with no awkward silences or forced chatter. There were plenty of other townsfolk walking in the woods, but it felt as if it was just the two of them. Even if there couldn’t be anything romantic between them, they could still be friends, couldn’t they? He wasn’t certain he could view her solely in that way, but he would try his best.
“Gabriel is so sweet with Addie. He seems to really love kids,” Sage remarked. “You’re blessed to have a friend like that.”
“He’s crazy about little ones. He and Addie are two peas in a pod. He’s her honorary uncle, as well as Connor. In my opinion, a girl can never have too many protectors. Both would take a bullet for her. I don’t say that lightly either.”
“I’m surprised he doesn’t have a house full of his own kids.”
Hank heaved a tremendous sigh. “He intended to, but his fiancée ran out on him a couple days before their wedding.”
Sage let out a shocked sound, then raised her mittened hand to cover her mouth. “That’s awful, Hank. I can’t believe it.”
“I shouldn’t have mentioned it, but it still sticks in my craw that a woman could have treated him so poorly. It was three years ago, but it feels like yesterday.”
She shivered. “That’s not something a person would ge
t over very easily.”
“He hasn’t. Not even a little bit. Rachel was a hometown girl, born and bred right here in Owl Creek. It surprised everyone.” Honestly, Hank wasn’t certain Gabriel would ever completely move past Rachel’s desertion. He knew all too well about being blindsided. It tended to make a person bitter and unwilling to put themselves out there to get hurt again.
“I guess we all have our scars, don’t we?” Sage asked, staring directly at him.
Hank narrowed his gaze as he looked at her. “Mama told you what happened between Addie’s mother and I, didn’t she?”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Of course not. Trudy would never betray your confidence like that. She’s a grizzly-bear mama. I’m pretty sure she thinks you’re a superhero.”
He chuckled. “That’s what mothers are for, I suppose. They’re fiercely protective of their cubs.” He let out a beleaguered sigh. “The details are widely known here in town so I’ve got nothing to hide. All the townsfolk were front and center watching it unfold. Addie’s mother and I dated for almost four months. Her name was Theresa. She came into Owl Creek like a whirlwind, full of vitality and beauty. Honestly, I’d never met anyone like her in my entire life. I fell completely head over heels in love with her.”
“It sounds very romantic,” Sage said wistfully.
“Until it wasn’t,” he answered. “Theresa came to Owl Creek under false pretenses. She’d cooked up some scheme to extort the North family under the guise of pretending to be Lily North. She was clearly using me to get close to them. I discovered she had a handful of arrests for petty larceny and running scams all over the state. When I confronted her she took off to parts unknown. Then, about a year later, I received a phone call from one of her friends telling me that she’d died in a car accident.” He shuddered as cold swept across the back of his neck. “Finding out about Addie blew me away. I had no idea.”
Sage couldn’t hide her surprise. She sucked in a deep breath and bit her lip. “I can’t imagine how devastated you must have been. And hurt.”
Her Secret Alaskan Family Page 11
