“I know. Draven is working on something that will hopefully help us find him. I don’t know how he plans to do it, and quite frankly, I’m not going to ask since I’m sure it’ll be illegal.”
Josh whimpered, and Grady went and picked him up. The baby smiled and rubbed a hand wet with drool over Grady’s face. He didn’t care. During the night when he couldn’t get Josh back to sleep right away, he’d had lots of time with him. He’d grown attached to him, as he had Josh’s aunt.
His mother sighed. “What?” Grady asked.
“Seeing you holding a baby, it makes me want grandchildren.” She then grew serious. “You feel something for Sage, don’t you? For only knowing her a short time, you’ve taken on a role of a mate for her by standing with her during a bad time in her life. And for someone who has never looked after a baby before, that didn’t stop you from taking care of Josh all night. Plus, you brought them both into our home so you can continue to look after them.”
Grady kissed Josh’s cheek. “I’ll admit I’m falling for Sage. And I have no trouble with Josh being a part of her life. I’m just not sure how she feels about me yet.”
Jase chuckled. “Well, from your scent, which smells like sex and Sage, she has to have some feelings for you if she slept with you, especially considering the state of mind she’s in.”
“Jase,” Katarina said as a rebuke.
“It’s okay,” Grady reassured her. “She at first wanted to cancel our date, but she reluctantly invited me into her place. Now, losing her sister who was her only relative, I think she feels as if she’s alone. I’ll do everything I can to show her she isn’t, that I’ll be here for her.”
“Don’t be surprised if she sets off your pendant,” his dad said. “It already sounds as if you’re falling in love with her.”
Grady didn’t dislike the idea of that. The few short hours he’d been with her and then helping her through her loss, he had to agree with his dad that he truly was falling for Sage.
His brother chuckled. “If that happens, Grady will be an instant father and Mom will be a grandmother like she wants.”
“True,” he said. Then softly laughed as he pried his cougar head pendant out of Josh’s grasp before the baby put it in his mouth. “He’s always trying to put drool all over my pendant or tugging on it. Sage is the same, minus the drool. She fell asleep on me before I came downstairs. I had to get it out of her hand. She has a tendency to want to hold it too.”
Katarina smiled. “I have a feeling she’s your mate. Aspen, Harley and me have been talking about what it’s like being human and mated to a cougar shifter. All of us agreed about one thing—we were all drawn to our mate’s pendant, wanting to touch it, claim it, even before we set off the magic inside. We also found it warm, warmer than it should be just from normal body temperature.”
“Interesting,” said his mother. “Cougar shifter females don’t experience anything like that when we first meet our mates. I guess a human mate must affect the magic differently.” She then turned to Grady. “If what Katarina says is what’s happening to Sage, how do you feel about that?”
“I would want her as my mate, and I would accept Josh as mine as well.”
“Then you’ll have to let her know what you are either before she sets off the pendant or after.”
“I know. The only problem is when to do it. Right now she already has too many emotional things to handle. Me telling her I’m a cougar shifter might just push her over the edge. She’s barely hanging on as it is. She’s fighting to stay strong and won’t let herself mourn her sister yet.”
“That will come,” his mother said. “I think you’re right about now not being the time to tell her. I’d wait until after the funeral, which I’m sure will be sometime this week.”
“I would imagine so.”
Grady kept hold of Josh and sat in the armchair kitty-corner to the couch. He could handle being a father. And if what Katarina said was true about Sage possibly being his mate, he was all prepared to settle down with her and the baby. All that remained to see was if she did set off the magic in his pendant.
Sage awoke from a bad dream, calling her sister’s name. She snapped open her eyes and looked around. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She sat up and glanced at the clock on the bedside table next to her. According to it, she’d only been sleeping for an hour, and she seriously doubted she’d be able to go back to sleep.
She rubbed her eyes, remembering what she’d dreamed about. She’d been calling for Macy, searching for her, knowing she had to find her. When she did, her sister lay bloody and broken, her eyes staring sightlessly at Sage. Tears threatened to rise to the surface, but she pushed them back. There was too much to do. She had to call Hank’s parents in an hour to arrange a time with them to go to the funeral home. She dreaded it.
Sage lay back on her side and clutched the other pillow to her chest. It smelled like Grady. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Without him, she didn’t know how she would have been able to keep it together. And making love to him had her not wanting to lose him. For the first time in her life, she wanted to depend on a man.
Even though her emotions were in turmoil, Sage was falling for Grady. After having the kind of father she’d had, she’d never believed she would be able to fall in love with someone so quickly, or even at all. Macy had found it with Hank, but Sage hadn’t thought she’d ever have it for herself. That was part of the reason she’d focused so much on a career that a relationship came last.
Now she didn’t know how she was going to handle being a cop and raising Josh. There was no way she could continue working the night shift. He’d lost his parents, he didn’t need her being absent most of the time. At least she’d be given time off because she’d lost a family member, and more after that since Josh was now hers. She could get maternity leave, she hoped. It wasn’t something she paid too close attention to.
Giving up on sleep, Sage threw back the covers and got out of bed. She’d changed her clothes before leaving with Grady, but she hadn’t had a chance to take a shower. She didn’t think he would mind if she took one. It would help wake her up.
Sage took her first good look around Grady’s room. It was huge. There was a small sitting area complete with a couch, side table and brass floor lamp. She figured there would be an en suite bathroom since this was more like an apartment than a regular bedroom. The first closed door she tried opened up to a large walk-in closet. Grady’s clothes took half the space. The second door ended up being the bathroom.
Like the rest of the room, its proportions were huge. There was a two-person whirlpool tub at one end, two sinks set in a granite countertop and a glassed-in shower stall that had been done in black-veined white marble.
Sage found some fluffy bath towels on a shelf near the shower along with shampoo, conditioner and a bar of soap. Already naked, she stepped into the stall and closed the door behind her. Once she had the water at just the right temperature, she ducked her head under the spray. She didn’t take very long to wash her hair and body. The water did help wake her up. She turned off the faucet, then stepped out and dried herself.
As she walked out into the bedroom Grady came in from the hall. She gave him a small smile. “I hope you don’t mind. I took a shower.”
He closed the distance between them and gave her a kiss. “Of course I don’t. What’s mine is yours while you’re here. I was only coming to check on you. I figured I’d let you sleep for another hour.”
“I couldn’t sleep anymore. Do you have a comb I can borrow?”
He took her hand and led her over to the dresser, then handed her the one that sat on it. “Here.”