Page 140 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 2

“Nothing is wrong, but things are about to change sweetness.” He was going to break up with her. She knew it but didn’t know why.

“Why, Jacob?”

“I’m worried about you. There are so many things I have to deal with coming up: college, my family, my history, and my future. I wish I could offer you more than a quick, stolen few hours of loving, but I can’t. Not now, and maybe never. I want you to have a life, Sage. Don’t let me stop you from exploring the world and finding what you need. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Hold me back? Jacob, I can do all those things with you. I don’t need to separate from you to get it.”

Jacob let out an almost anguished cry of need and reached to pull her close. Sage relaxed, relieved that it was just some misguided thinking earlier, and when he dropped her off at her house, he kissed her sweetly.

“I won’t be coming around anymore, Sage. I have to let you go so you can fly. I’m a weight you don’t need right now but remember that I love you, so I’m setting you free.”

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of. You’re the more mature one, yet I feel like I’m the one who sees this clearly.”

Stunned, she sat in the front seat of his pickup for a few minutes before looking at him longingly, her anguished tears falling fast. Taking a risky glance into his eyes, she could see his tears were coming almost as quickly as hers.

“Jacob, don’t do this. Neither of us wants this. Please.”

He pulled his tee shirt up to wipe his tears and made to wipe her tears with his thumb, but it was ineffectual against the flow.

“Go inside, baby. I have to do this for both of us.”

Without any reason to stay, Sage slid out of the truck. Jacob reached over to pull the door shut and drove off quickly. She hated Jacob at that moment, and yet she loved him still. Some say hatred and love were kindred emotions, but Sage believed they were both volatile. Her sixteen-year-old pride wouldn’t allow her to text or call him again. She went on to graduate and have superficial boyfriends to pass the time, but she never found anything close to what she’d had with Jacob.

Sage resigned herself to never having that type of relationship again until she met Flynn Walker. Flynn was brawny, protective, and a gentleman until he wasn’t. The first time she came face to face with the reality of his violence was when she stopped to talk to a male friend from church. Days later, that friend was found badly beaten.

A few months later, after an evening out with girlfriends, allowing Carolyn’s boyfriend, Michael, to walk her to the car had proven dangerous and life-changing for everyone. Later that night, she learned someone had shot Michael in the shoulder. Flynn had gone hunting that morning. The memory still gave Sage a fearful feeling.

What she walked into at home was a trashed house and a raging Flynn who slapped her almost before she’d processed. The words he’d called her: cunt, bitch, whore. It was more than enough for her. She’d sent him packing, no matter his apologies for going crazy. Sage called her dad to come and oversee the moving-out process.

She’d gone directly to the Sheriff’s department and spoken to a deputy who took pictures and her statement. She’d pressed charges, and they swore out an arrest warrant and implemented a protection order within two hours.

That, however, was not the end of Flynn. He’d threatened her safety and those around her without actually saying the words. His presence everywhere was intimidating, following her, showing himself in a public forum where anyone could have been. He would make sure she knew he was watching. It was unnerving, and she knew that was the intention. She could handle him. Sage couldn’t stop him from looking, but they were good if that was all he did. She still didn’t think he would really hurt her on purpose. Maybe.

The custom-made cast iron ranch sign over the Red Eagle Ranch entrance loomed ahead, and Sage took the turn. It was another mile before the house came into view, but like when she was a teen, seeing that sign turned off troubles outside the ranch. It allowed her to focus on what dilemma lay within the ranch boundaries, namely Jacob Red Eagle. Time to face your fears, Sage Appleton. Time to embrace your destiny as either a dream or a nightmare.

Sage didn’t even knock on the door before it was opened to her startled face.

“You came! Good, because we have too many guys here right now overrunning the women.”

Renee grabbed Sage’s hand as Stryker rounded the corner with an irritated expression. His frustration was written all over his handsome face.

“Saoirse Renee! You’re asking for a good paddling. I said I would get the door. You don’t know who might be knocking at this time of the evening. It’s dinnertime and—oh, hello. Is this who I think it is? It’s Sweet Sage. It’s dinnertime, sweetheart, and we have plenty. Come in and have a seat.”

“Of course, we have plenty because I invited Sage for dinner. Do you always have to be such a—”

Stryker’s voice lowered considerably. “Bring it down and walk carefully, little sis.”

The warning was clear, and Sage shivered. Jacob could do just that thing. Renee, in response, took a deep breath and relaxed.

“The least you can do is take the lady’s coat.”

“Of course. I haven’t seen you in years, darlin’. Where have you been keeping yourself?”

Sage had always loved the Red Eagle men. The Red Eagles and Carter hung out with each other, often traveling in a small stampede. They had always been inclusive to her, even though Stryker and Carter were two years older, like Jacob. Declan was a year older than she was. Seamus was in her class, followed by Callen and Renee.

Her dad had said they were stairsteps, meaning their age. Not having any siblings of her own, this family had been a comfort, especially since her mother had passed by then. She learned many things at the ranch, but her first lesson was to respect everything and everyone. She carried it into her adulthood. But not the penalty for being less than respectful. Punishment for misdeeds was entirely Jacob’s territory.

There were consequences if she disrespected him or anyone, even down to not calling to cancel something important or mouthing off to her dad. Once, she’d started a fire even though Jacob had explained the lack of rain and the danger, but she did it anyway. She’d been swimming on the ranch, waiting until Jacob was done with his chores, and gotten a chill when the wind picked up.

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