43
Caden
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AFTER CARRYING PHALEN to bed and tucking her in, I grabbed my phone and headed into the bedroom. I kicked off my boots, flopped down onto the bed, and called Sage. It rang and then kicked into her voicemail.
“Hey, it’s just me. Give me a call as soon as you can.” Staring over at a sweater she’d left behind the other day, I smiled. “I miss you already. I should have just taken tomorrow off from work and had you stay overnight. Anyway, talk to you soon.”
I hung up and went into the kitchen to make myself a frozen pizza. Thirty minutes later, I sent Sage a text, wondering why she hadn’t yet responded to my voicemail. It wasn’t like her. Hell, I could text her in the middle of the night and she’d get back to me.
“Uncle Caden?”
I turned to find Phalen standing in the ki
