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“That’ll be good.”

“Ricky’s excited to fly,” Saffron continued, oblivious to what she was asking of her sister. But then Saffron rarely was. She took Sage’s help for granted the way she always had.

“I’ll be sure to be ready for him when he arrives,” Sage said, and then wondered what all that would entail.

“Ricky won’t be any trouble,” her sister assured her. “Think of this time with him like when we went to summer camp.”

“Summer camp,” Sage repeated weakly. Her memories of camp included swimming out to the middle of the lake after Saffron lost the oar to her kayak and screamed for help. She’d taken the kayak without permission. Or the year Saffron had gotten lost in the woods after leaving the group when she followed a fawn and his mother to take photos. It seemed every year Sage had been called upon to rescue her sister for one reason or another. “Let us hope Ricky’s time here isn’t anything like our camping experience.”

“Why not?” Saffron asked. “We had a lot of fun at summer camp.”

Maybe Saffron had, but not so much for Sage. “Never mind,” she mumbled. No need to drag up old memories.

“You and Ricky will do great,” her sister said with all the confidence in the world.

Sage wasn’t nearly as convinced. Her mind flooded with questions about how she was possibly going to entertain her nephew and be the stable, loving aunt he needed. And at the same time work toward putting together a huge media campaign.

The current manager of Park Marketing, Stanley Mowrey, had pitted Troy Whitehall and Sage against each other. They were each to present a marketing campaign for a new soft drink called Buzz to the client. The person who created the campaign the Hudson Group chose would be awarded the position as the Seattle branch manager.

“Sage, are you there?” her mother asked, taking the phone back from Saffron.

“I’m here.”

“It will all work out,” her mother said.

Sage had to believe it would.

Okay, she said talking to herself. It’s you and me, Ricky, and whatever the future holds.

Chapter Two

As was her habit, Sage arrived early at the office. She was sipping her second cup of coffee by the time Erica Leeman, her assistant and friend, arrived. Sleep had eluded her all night as she fretted and worried about what having Ricky with her would mean to her work schedule, and her life.

“How’s it going?” Erica asked. She brought in a miniature snow globe and placed it on her desk. Erica loved Christmas and did her best to make the office as festive as possible.

“My five-year-old nephew is coming to live with me for December. It all depends on my sister’s deployment,” Sage blurted out, desperately needing help and advice. “Honestly, I don’t know how this is going to work with me at the office all day.”

“Ricky is coming?” Erica sounded downright excited. Leave it to her assistant to view this as a positive development.

“You’ll do great.” Ever the optimist, Erica didn’t show the least bit of doubt.

“I wish I shared your enthusiasm.” Not only did she feel utterly inept when it came to dealing with kids, but her entire future with Park Marketing was also at stake. “I don’t know how I’m going to manage being there for Ricky and keeping up my work schedule.” Erica was keenly aware of how important the next month was as Sage worked on the media blitz for this new soda concept.

“You don’t need to know a lot when it comes to kids,” Erica reassured her. “Do you think I was an expert on motherhood when I brought Breanna home from the hospital? Both Leo and I learned as we went along. You will, too. Kids are easy.”

“So you say.” Sage didn’t believe that for a minute.

“It’s true. And really, the timing is perfect. It’s the holidays, which will distract Ricky from missing his mother.”

“What am I supposed to do with Ricky while I’m at the office?” Sage asked. She’d lain awake most of the night, wondering how she would need to adjust her life while Ricky was with her.

“That’s no problem,” Erica said, as if this should be the least of Sage’s concerns. “My sister runs a daycare. She recently had an opening, and I know she’d be happy to look after Ricky for you while you’re at work. She watches Breanna for me and is wonderful with the kids.”

“Lisa would do that?” The sense of relief Sage felt was immediate. She’d met Lisa before and had watched her with her own two children. From even this limited exposure, Sage knew Lisa was a loving, caring mom. If Erica’s sister was willing to look after Ricky while Sage was at the office, that would solve a major concern.

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem, but let me ask first.”

Sage didn’t know how she was going to manage if she had to bring her nephew to the office with her. Nor did she think Mr. Mowrey would approve of a five-year-old hanging around the building.