Sage nodded. “I think you make a good father. I just don’t know what kind of parent I would make. I mean, I’m so crazy weird, I’ll probably scar the poor kid for life.”
“You’ll do just fine. You wait and see.”
Sage closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but okay. We can talk to Mother Estelle about adopting. She’d know more about it than just about anyone and can get us in touch with the right people.”
“Not right away, though. I’d like to have time alone with you first.” Garridan smiled. “It’s a dangerous time right now, anyway.”
“It’ll be dangerous for the child regardless, Garridan. At least this way, he or she will have your protection.”
“Our protection you mean.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“We’ll need to expand the house.”
Sage smiled. “Are you trying to talk yourself out if it now?”
Garridan held out his hand. “I’m just thinking out loud.”
Sage set the blankets he was holding on the couch and went to his mate. “I think waiting is a good idea. It’ll give me time to get better.”
Garridan’s eyebrows drew together, but he didn’t say anything.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, what are you thinking?”
Garridan sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with the way you are now, so just accept yourself.”
Chapter Twenty
Sage darted his gaze at the corner booth and smiled when he saw Garridan. He got a wink and a smile for his efforts.
Garridan’s words played in his mind.Accept yourself. Sage didn’t even know what that meant or how to go about doing it. The whole time he had felt as though he was racing toward a light that was always just out of reach. He was just supposed to accept that he would never reach it. How was he supposed to do that?
Sage laid a ticket on the counter and noticed there were several still up there. He rolled his eyes and walked through the kitchen doors. “Do you need help, Craig?”
As replacements went, Sage was sorry Rory wasn’t working today. He wouldn’t have been working for a while given his new job as the bear shifter whisperer. Sage would be in and out of the kitchen helping Craig get caught up every single day until Rory came back.
Of course, Craig was a turtle shifter. He was slow in every aspect of his life. He had strawberry blond hair that spiked at all angles and blueeyes. He appeared much younger than he was, even for a shifter, which made everyone want to take care of him, that included Sage.
“Nope. I got this.” Craig moved around the kitchen.
“You need to speed it up then. You’re backed up by at least twelve orders and the restaurant is packed,” Sage said.
Craig sighed. “Can you just help me get caught up?”
Sage smiled. “Sure.” Maybe Craig felt he had something to prove. After all, Rory was the one who’d trained him so Andrea could give the poor man a couple of days off a week. Even though that had been three years ago, for someone like Craig, Rory’s harsh words probably still lived in his mind, forever making a home. Sage remembered Rory yelling and cursing, telling Andrea he didn’t need days off. He remembered Craig crying and quitting four times before the dust had settled and he’d learned the ins and outs of diner cooking. Or he’d learned to do things in the exact way Rory had told him to.
He picked up the oldest ticket and got to work. It just so happened to be his table, so he prepared it and took it out himself. He automatically looked toward Garridan’s table and smiled when he saw him.
Sage turned to his customers and put a plate in front each of the men sitting in the booth. “Be careful. It’s very hot. Can I get you anything else?”
“Nope. This should do.” Tim dug into his meal. He was a farmer with land on the north end of town. Sage had graduated with Tim’s oldest son, but he had been out of town for a long time. The older son was some sort of cop on the west side of the country.
The younger son, Josh, who sat opposite Tim, had always seemed a little sad. That morning was no exception. Sage had always wondered about him. Sage knew one thing about Josh though, and that was he had a thing for Kristin Somerset, but she didn’t return his feelings, even to a small degree. Something had been going on with those twofor a few months. In fact, just last week Kristin had come into the restaurant and turned right back around when she’d seen Josh. She had looked as though she swallowed something that used to taste good but had gotten stuck in her throat as soon as she’d spotted him.
