ran across my foot. It scared me. I’m sorry for the commotion.”
He continued to look suspiciously at Colt, who hadn’t moved. Sage moved forward and slipped her arm through his, adding, “I’ve always been deathly afraid of rodents.”
After a long moment, the cop nodded. “All right, then. We haven’t had a rodent problem here, but I’ll be sure the right people hear about this. You two enjoy your night.”
“Thank you, we will,” Sage said. Turning to Colt, she asked, “Ready to go?”
“Absolutely,” he replied, his voice grim.
They headed for the nearest exit, a staircase across the pool from the one they’d descended, and they didn’t speak again until they’d exited the Water Gardens and were back on the city street. There, Colt shoved his hands in his pockets and asked, “Do you want to explain what just happened?”
Sage opened her mouth to speak, but then exhaustion overcame her. Muscle-draining, bone deep, debilitating. She didn’t think she could move another step. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Talk to me, Sage.”
“I can’t. I’m so tired. I need to go to bed. Could you help me get a cab?”
“Your hotel is two blocks away.”
“I can’t make it, Colt. Please? Just … forget it. Forget me. I can’t deal and I need to go to sleep.”
Sage knew that cabs weren’t all that easy to find in Fort Worth, but luckily, they were across from a high-rise hotel, complete with a cab queue. Colt set his jaw even harder, then nodded curtly. He whistled and waved over a cab, and when it arrived, he opened the door for her, then shut it behind her, not quite a slam, but close.
He gave the driver a twenty and her hotel’s name, saying, “Keep the change but watch and make sure she gets inside, okay?”
“Sure, man. Thanks.”
To Sage, he said, “This is my hotel, so I’ll tell you good-bye here.”
“Colt, I’m sorry, I’m just so tired.”
“Doesn’t matter. Goodnight.”
Then he was gone.
SIX
February
Shortly before seven following yet another bad night, Sage washed red and black paint from her brushes and sighed. Maybe she should throw in the towel and go back on sleep meds. Maybe they wouldn’t affect her so badly this time.
She tidied her studio, then dragged herself to the kitchen to put the kettle on. She’d make chamomile tea. Maybe break her rule about no daytime naps. Why the heck not? Staying awake wasn’t helping at all.
She’d just flipped on the gas burner beneath her teakettle when her phone rang. Her stomach sank. Nobody called this early—except for Rose. Her sister had called three more times since reaching out that first time when Sage had been in Texas. The calls all had been awkward, strained, and strange. Sage simply wasn’t ready to tackle that relationship tiger, though she had made an effort herself by calling on Christmas.
Checking caller ID, she saw Celeste Blessing’s name and number. Relieved, she lifted the receiver to her ear and forced a brisk, energetic tone. “Good morning, Celeste.”
“Is it?” her friend answered. The comment caught Sage off guard, but before she could frame a response, Celeste continued, “We are on our way with yogurt, granola, fruit, and fresh bread still warm from the oven. Put on a pot of coffee, would you, please? We’ll be at the door in ten minutes.”
The phone clicked and the dial tone sounded in Sage’s ear. Lowering the receiver, she scowled at it. What in the world was this all about? She hadn’t forgotten a meeting, had she?
Ten minutes gave her just enough to time to take a speed shower, pull on jeans and a sweatshirt, get the coffee brewing, and fortify herself with half a cup of tea. She heard a car pull into the drive as she stored her latest painting out of sight. Sage grabbed a hairbrush and tried to tame the tangles in her hair as she headed to the front of the cottage, where through the plate glass window she spied not only Celeste Blessing but Nic Callahan, Sarah Reese, and Ali Timberlake, too.
Her core group of friends presenting themselves at her doorstep uninvited? And why was Ali in Eternity Springs on a snowy Tuesday morning? This couldn’t be good.
Sage pasted on a smile as she flipped the lock and opened the door. Frigid air rushed in. “Isn’t this a nice surprise?”
Sarah Reese took one look at Sage, then spoke to Celeste. “You were right. She looks terrible.”
“Well,” Sage said as the women filed through the door into the gallery. “Aren’t you just full