Free Rough Terrain (Vista Falls #1) by Cheryl Douglas Page A

We have to be prepared for that.” The endearment had slipped out before he had a chance to censor it.
    Instead of reprimanding him, she leaned into him, taking the support he offered. “I’m just so glad you’re here to do this with me. I don’t think I could do it alone.”
    He was dying to kiss her, but it wasn’t the right time. She was sad and vulnerable and scared, and he refused to take advantage of that. With any luck, their love for their son would be the bridge that brought them back together, but Wes didn’t want her to think, even for a second, that he was trying to use this horrible situation only to reconnect with her.
    “I’m not sure I could either,” he said honestly, brushing his lips against her temple.
     
    ***
     
    Wes was completely stunned when he got off the phone with the adoption agency the next day. He hadn’t been able to track down the adoptive parents via the records Sage gave him… and with good reason. His adoptive father had died, and the mother remarried and changed her name. Apparently the lady at the adoption agency knew that because the adoptive mother had called the agency to provide her new information… in case Nick’s birth parents ever sought him out.
    After all these years, his son finally had a name. Nicholas.
    He stared at the photo Sage had given him, which was now displayed prominently right beside his phone on his desk. He was still trying to decide whom he should call first: Nick’s adoptive mother or Sage, to fill her in on what he’d learned. He didn’t know if she would want to be a part of the phone conversation or not. They hadn’t discussed that last night.
    “Knock, knock.”
    Wes smiled when he saw his mother outside his door. If anyone could help him make sense of this, she could. He jumped up and walked around his desk before enveloping her in a huge hug. “How is it you always know when I need you?”
    She smiled, patting his cheek. “You know that’s a mother’s job. Besides, I might be here on a bit of a fishing expedition. And I wouldn’t come without the right kind of bait.” She held up a paper bag, shaking it under his nose.
    He didn’t even have to ask what was inside—his favorite homemade chocolate chip pecan cookies. He laughed as he dug into the bag then popped one of the small cookies in his mouth, moaning with appreciation as he closed his eyes. “God, these are good.”
    He offered her one, which she declined, before he set the bag on his desk and headed for the coffeemaker set up in the small kitchenette in the corner of his office.
    “You want one?” he asked, raising a mug.
    “No, thanks, honey.” She watched him carefully. “So I was helping out at the church this morning when Vera Banks told me an interesting bit of news.”
    “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
    “Well, I don’t know if you know this, but she’s Sage’s neighbor now. She lives right across the street. When her husband died, she wanted to downsize. That big old house with all that acreage was just too much for her to handle on her own and—”
    “Mom, I think I know where you’re going with this.” As much as Wes loved his mother, the only thing he didn’t love about being back home was her well-meaning meddling.
    “Vera said she thought it was your truck parked at Sage’s house for hours last night. Is that true?”
    Since Wes knew he would eventually have to tell his mother about their plans and he could have used some advice right about now, he decided to distract her from the matter of him and Sage with the one thing that would set her on a different course—her grandson. “Here,” he said, passing her the frame. “Sage gave this to me last night.”
    Tears filled her blue eyes before she clasped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, this is…?” She sank into one of the guest chairs.
    “Nick.” Wes smiled, his chest swelling with pride, though he knew he had no reason to be proud of the boy. He didn’t even know him. “That’s