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His eyes were wide and serious. “My dad went to heaven, and I can’t see him anymore. I remember him. He used to lift me up high and make me giggle. Now Mom is away, and what will happen if she leaves like my dad did?”

“Oh, Ricky, your mom will be back,” Sage said, wanting desperately to reassure him. “She’ll only be away a few weeks, I promise. She said she’ll call as soon as she can, and then she’ll tell you that herself.” Sage hoped she’d reassured the little boy.

“Okay,” he said, as if that was all he needed to hear.

Once again, she started out of the bedroom.

“Aunt Sage?”

“Yes, Ricky.” Another delay tactic. It appeared he wasn’t as ready for bed as she’d hoped.

“Can we take cookies to Santa?”

Santa. Of course, Saffron had mentioned that Ricky was still young enough to believe in Santa. “Sure we can. What a thoughtful idea.”

A huge smile lit up the boy’s face. “I need to tell him what I want for Christmas.”

“Right.”

—

The following morning, Sage drove Ricky to Lisa’s house. Right away, Sage noticed their Christmas tree was already up, with brightly colored packages underneath. Christmas stockings hung from the fireplace. They looked handknit and had the children’s names on them. She made a mental note to connect with the church group and get on the schedule for a decorated Christmas tree.

The house was full of shouts and laughter as Lisa called for her children to be introduced to Ricky. Breanna, Erica’s daughter, plus Oliver and Amelia, stopped playing and stared at Ricky like he was an alien from outer space.

Breanna spoke first. “Hi.”

Ricky raised his hand. “Hi.”

The stare-down continued.

“I appreciate this,” Sage told Lisa, reluctant to leave. It’d taken longer to get Ricky up, dressed, and fed than she’d anticipated, which made her schedule tight. In all the years she’d worked for Park Marketing, she’d never been late, not even once.

Despite the time crunch, she got down on one knee and hugged Ricky. “Have a good day.”

He looked so small, and his eyes told her he was uncomfortable in this unfamiliar situation. “You can call me at work if you need to, okay?” she offered, hoping that would reassure him.

“Okay,” he said, looking lost and alone.

Impulsively, Sage hugged him a second time, her heart in her throat. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered, hoping that was what he needed to hear.

He offered her a strained smile. Lisa put her arm around Ricky’s shoulders. “Let me show you where to hang your coat.” She steered him into another room.

Sage waited until he was out of sight before she left. She hadn’t expected to feel this emotional or this reluctant to leave him.

By the time she’d parked and made her way into the office, she’d done her best to shrug off her worry over Ricky.

Erica was at her desk. She stood when Sage arrived. “Lisa called and wanted me to tell you Ricky is fitting in just fine. He’s playing with Breanna and Oliver like they were long-lost friends.”

Sage felt slightly better. “It was hard to leave him.”

“Lisa sensed as much. She wanted you to know he’s adjusting well.”

“Great.”

Reassured, Sage tore into her day. She passed Ethan when she collected her lunch from DoorDash. He paused when he saw her and asked, “How’s it going with your nephew?”

“So far, so good,” she said, and would have added more except Troy seemed to be paying particular attention to their exchange. If he suspected that Sage was romantically involved with Ethan, he’d be sure to make a point of it to Stanley Mowrey. It wasn’t beneath him to use any advantage he could find to undermine her.