Page 38 of Wolves' Midlife Reunion
“Daddy?”
“Yes, honey?” He sat on the edge of her bed, glad that they’d managed to have a good afternoon together. She’d told him all about the projects she was working on in school, who was doing what on the playground, and how gross the cafeteria food could be.
Sage’s eyes were especially big when she looked up at him. “I’m sorry I threw my toy yesterday.”
His heart melted, and the tension flooded out of his muscles. “I’m glad to hear that, and I’m sorry I got angry with you.”
“That’s okay. I know what I did was bad, and I won’t do it again,” she promised solemnly.
“Good.”
“When do I get to see Tina next? I wanted to ask her some questions.” She fiddled with her doll’s hair.
He hated to have this conversation right after they’d made up, but it needed to happen. “You actually won’t be seeing her again. I’ve thought about it a lot after last night, and I’ve decided that your magical training needs to wait until you’re older.”
She shot upright in bed. “But I said I was sorry!”
“I know, and I appreciate that. It’s important to make up for the things we’ve done. I also know it’s hard for you to understand why all of this has to stop when you’ve been having fun, but it’s not really about fun. Magic can be dangerous, and it needs to wait until you’re older.”
“That’s not fair!” She fell back on her pillow with a thump and rolled over, her doll tucked firmly under her arm.
“We can talk about this,” Dex said gently as he laid his hand on her arm. Despite what Tina or Debbie said, he really did know it would be difficult for Sage. That didn’t mean it wasn’t right.
Sage squirmed out from under his arm. “No. I don’t want to talk to you. I like Tina, I like my lessons, and I like my magic.”
He understood what was implied there. Right now, Sage didn’t like him. He wasn’t going to convince her otherwise. The best thing he could do was to give her time to cool off. “Goodnight, honey.”
He went out into the living room and turned on the TV, but it couldn’t hold his attention for more than a few seconds. Everyone was angry with him, and it made him feel like he’d lost everything.
14
Tina flippedover the sign and locked the door. She’d worked hard, putting every ounce of her energy into her store and her customers, and now she was paying for it. Her muscles were sore. Her head ached. She wasn’t sure she had the energy even to go home and take a shower.
“Any weekend plans?” she asked Nia.
“Gavin and I are going to a concert.” Nia was behind the counter, balancing the cash register and putting the deposit together.
“One of his concerts, or someone else’s?”
“A friend of his. Gavin played me a sample of their music, and they sound pretty good. They think they’re going to get signed soon, and Gavin is hoping they can put in a good word for him.” Nia smiled as she zipped up the deposit bag. “I think he actually has a chance of making it.”
“What’s the name of his band again?” Tina could never remember, but that was partly because it’d changed several times.
“Echoes of Tomorrow,” Nia replied. “I think it’d look pretty good on an album cover. Anyway, what about you? Doing anything this weekend?”
Tina frowned. “Probably not.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.” Tina had stayed busy enough that even she had managed to forget a few times, though those moments of peace probably only lasted a few seconds each. “I’ll have the store open tomorrow, and Colette will be here.”
“Want me to take this?” Nia held up the deposit bag.
“No, I will.” Tina put it in her bag while Nia shut down the computer. They turned off the lights, set the alarm, and locked the back door behind them.
As Tina got in her car and waved to Nia, she felt the night closing in on her. For years, it’d never been an issue to go home to an empty apartment. It was fine, really, because it meant she could do whatever she wanted. She had true freedom, and she enjoyed it.
Tonight, though, as she parked her car and walked inside, the warm and cozy space she’d curated felt cold and lonely.
