17. Hadley

17

HADLEY

H adley raised the tiny teacup and clinked it against Abby's. The poor little handle pressed between her fingers was about to snap.

"Thank you, dear. Would you like some sugar?" Abby asked.

Hadley nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am."

Abby carefully dropped a sugar cube into Hadley's teacup. The sugar cube was bigger than the cup, so only half of the sugar was submerged in the liquid.

"Maybe we should ask Ms. Vera if she can find some smaller sugar cubes."

"Or bigger teacups!" Abby suggested.

Hadley's feet were officially numb where they were tucked beneath her in the crisscross applesauce position, and she was on her fourth cup of " tea." Since she'd kind of given up on the whole learning to sew thing, she'd been resigned to playing with Abby during Tuesday night quilting gatherings.

"Has anyone heard from Thea?" Ava asked. Her legs were elevated in the recliner with quilt patches draped over them where Abby had arranged them earlier.

"Not me," Cheyenne said. "I haven't seen Brett either. He was supposed to help us at the barn today, but he called early and said he had something important to do."

Hadley gripped the teacup and tried to control the shaking of her hand. Surely, the lovebirds were just hiding away somewhere, but the danger that could be waiting for her friends at any moment was in the forefront of Hadley's mind.

"Anybody have an update on her family?" Remi asked.

All eyes looked at Hadley, and she squirmed under the attention. "Not really."

"Has she heard from any of them?" Cheyenne asked.

Hadley swallowed, trying to gather up the courage to tell her friends about the recent happenings involving Thea's family, namely Gage.

"I've been helping her keep in touch with her brother. He's giving me updates about their mom, and I'm letting him know Thea is okay."

Cheyenne sat up straight. "You're talking to her brother? What if he finds out where she is? Hadley, that can't be safe."

"He's not like them. He's worried about Thea."

"What if he tells them she's here?" Remi asked, looking just as concerned as Cheyenne.

"I haven't told him she's here. He thinks she went back to Alabama." The lie sat heavy as always. She hated lying, and she hated lying to Gage even more. She'd sleep better at night after Thea really went back to Alabama so the lie could go away.

"Still, that's way too close to the action. You saw what happened to Thea," Cheyenne said.

"I did, but I can't just turn my back when their whole family needs help."

"They need Jesus," Remi said without looking up from her sewing.

"Exactly. Thea has that, but her brother doesn't, and he's trying to save the world without a Savior." Hadley swirled the tea in her cup around. The sugar cube was slowly sinking. "He agreed to meet Mr. Chambers and talk to him."

"About what?" Cheyenne asked.

"He's interested in learning more about God. He's never been to church before."

"Square one. I remember what that was like," Remi said.

"I know about God. I can teach him," Abby said.

Hadley rested the teacup on the silver tray and wrapped Abby up in her arms. "You probably know more than I do. I'm new to Jesus too, remember?"

"We can teach him together!" Abby said with wide eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait. Back up," Cheyenne said. "I'm still not sure about this."

"He doesn't know what we know. He's never been to church, and trust me, his family didn't tell him the first thing about God. Thea didn't know either until she got away from here."

Cheyenne's eyes softened, but there was fear in them too. "Hadley–"

"I can't just sit around and not help them. Thea and Gage are good just like Brett and Jess. They just need help."

The confidence in Hadley's voice was a gift from the Lord because there were times when she still worried about what she was doing with Gage. Getting caught could have some dire consequences.

Cheyenne studied Hadley for a few seconds before tilting her head. "You like him."

No more lies. "Yeah."

"You're invested?" Cheyenne asked.

"Yeah." Hadley couldn't deny there was something growing out of control between her and Gage. Whether she liked it or not, her feelings couldn't be stifled.

Cheyenne picked at a seam on the quilt top in front of her. "How big are these feelings? "

Hadley took a deep breath. "Kinda big."

Cheyenne's shoulders swelled deeper with each breath. "You'll be careful?"

"I will." She hadn't been careful before when she stupidly went to his uncle's place, but she'd learned her lesson now. Sort of. The most careful thing would be to step away from Gage entirely, but the ties were already bound too tight.

Cheyenne rested back on the couch and went back to her sewing. They let the subject die, and Hadley spent the rest of the evening playing with Abby. When it was the little girl's bedtime, Hadley said her goodbyes to everyone and headed back to her cabin. Brett's truck was parked out front just as she'd suspected.

Inside, Brett and Thea sat facing each other on the couch, laughing together. Every bit of the tension from the last week was gone, and the two lovebirds were back in action.

"Looks like you two kissed and made up," Hadley said as she toed off her boots.

Thea cut a knowing glance at Brett. "You could say that."

Brett stood and held out a hand for Thea. "We have some news."

Thea slowly stood, keeping her weight on her uninjured foot. With a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon, she stuck her hand out toward Hadley .

A beautiful solitaire diamond glinted on Thea's finger in the glow from the fireplace.

Hadley gasped and rushed over to take her friend's hand. "You're engaged!"

"Close," Brett said.

"We're married!" Thea shouted.

Hadley's eyes widened right along with her mouth. "You're married! Today?"

"Today!" Thea confirmed.

Hadley threw her arms around Thea, carefully wrapping her in love without pressing on Thea's injuries. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," Brett said with a smug smile. "I'm fully aware I married up, but don't tell my new wife."

Thea pressed her hands to her cheeks. "I can't believe we did this, but I'm so happy!"

Hadley glanced back and forth between the newlyweds. "Does this mean you're staying here?"

Thea shrugged. "I guess I'm staying."

The magnitude of the ripple effect Brett and Thea had just created was expanding and growing in Hadley's head. "Where are you gonna live? Brett lives with Linc."

"I'm talking to Mr. Chambers tomorrow about getting one of the new cabins. Poor Linc will have to survive on his own."

"We could be neighbors!" The warmth in her chest only grew knowing she wasn't losing her new friend. "Everyone is gonna be so happy. We have to celebrate!"

"I'm hoping to talk to Everly tomorrow about having a little reception for our friends before the season starts. Ava has been trying to get me to stay since I came here, so I think I'll have a job in the barn with Brett and Jess."

"Oh! Does Jess know?"

Thea grimaced. "Not yet. We're not looking forward to telling her."

"Don't let her dampen your happiness. She'll understand eventually."

"I hope so ‘cause this is forever," Brett said as he wrapped an arm around his new wife.

"I still can't believe this. You're married! Oh, I need to get out of here. It's your wedding night!"

"We'd never kick you out of your own house!" Thea said.

"Right. We'll kick Linc out," Brett added.

"No, no. I'll go stay with Blake and Everly. They have plenty of guestrooms."

"Are you sure?" Thea asked.

Hadley pulled out her phone and typed up a text to Everly. "I'm already asking her."

"Is there a chance you could keep this a secret for now?" Brett asked. "We'd like to tell everyone together."

"Sure. I'll just tell her I want to have a girls' night. "

Hadley's phone dinged with a message. "She said come on over. That's my cue to pack up. I can't wait until you tell everyone!"

Brett scratched the back of his head. "I'm planning to tell Gage tonight. He probably won't be happy, but Thea and I need to do whatever we can to put the feud between our families behind us. We want to stay here, and she can't have a life outside the ranch until her family lets go of their grudge."

Hadley's skin turned hot. "So you're telling Gage that Thea is still here?"

"Yeah. I guess that's the first point to cover. Then break the news of our marriage. I want to set up a meeting with Bruce to talk about mending fences in the morning."

Hot. So hot. Her skin was melting off. Gage was going to be so mad at her for lying. Ugh. She wanted to be the one to tell him the news and fess up to her lie, but it wasn't really her news to tell.

"He'll probably be upset at first, but he's actually been hoping to find a way to fix things between the Howards and the Pattons too. He's been sticking around Bruce and Tommy because he wants to know if they're planning to do anything that involves Thea. He thinks they're not finished."

"Well, they can start it, but I'll finish it," Brett said. "I'm tired of playing games. It's time to grow up and put the past behind us. "

"Be patient with him, please. He's trying," Hadley pleaded.

"I want to be able to talk to my mom and brother again. We have to find a way. If Gage is on our side, it'll be even easier."

Brett tilted his head back and forth. "I wouldn't say any of this is gonna be easy."

Hadley gripped Thea's hand. "I'm here for you. Whatever you need."

Brett pulled out his phone. "I guess now is as good a time as any to break the news to your dear old brother."

Hadley sat on the edge of the couch and let out a deep breath. "Oh boy. This is gonna be fun."

"He probably won't talk to me about it over the phone. I'll meet him somewhere to talk about it."

"I'll go with you," Thea said.

Brett shook his head. "He doesn't even know you're here. He'd probably be too focused on that to listen to anything we had to say."

Thea sat beside Hadley. "You're right. I don't like you going alone though."

"If Gage tells me he'll come alone too, I believe him. If we're going to trust any of them, we have to start with him, and he hasn't given us any reason to doubt him yet."

"Gage wouldn't double-cross you. I firmly believe that," Hadley said.

Thea rubbed her temples. "Okay. "

"I'll go with you," Hadley said. She needed a chance to apologize to Gage anyway.

Brett shook his head. "I'm not comfortable putting you in the middle of this either."

"I've been meeting with him almost every day for weeks. Seeing me wouldn't be a shock."

Thea gasped. "Almost every day?"

Hadley shrugged. "We kinda hit it off."

Brett groaned and threw his head back. "You've got to be kidding me."

"‘Fraid not. He's actually really sweet," Hadley said, praying the heat in her cheeks was from the fireplace and not embarrassment.

Brett threw his hands in the air. "Whatever. I'll drop you off at Everly's after we meet. I'll call Gage while you pack a bag."

Hadley squeezed Thea's shoulder as she stood. "We'll get this figured out. Getting things out in the open with Gage is the first step."

"I know. I hope he's really on our side."

"I don't have any doubt," Hadley said as she went to pack her bag.