18. Gage

18

GAGE

G age propped his arms on the steering wheel as he idled in the middle of the road. Waiting for Brett was like waiting through a snowstorm. The anxiety built so slowly, yet it compounded with every second.

After a torturous ten minutes, headlights lit up the road in front of him. The truck turned onto the path where Gage's signal pointed, but there were two people in Brett's truck.

Gage knew better than to trust Brett. He'd asked Gage to come alone, but he'd brought his own backup.

Way to get things started, idiot. It was a good thing Gage never went anywhere unarmed. If Brett had backup, Gage did too.

Brett pulled into the clearing and stopped where Hadley had parked just a few nights before. Gage grabbed his pistol from the console and racked one before stepping out, not bothering to hide the weapon.

Brett got out of the driver's side, but that wasn't the reason Gage stopped in his tracks. A woman stepped around the front of the truck and into the glow of the headlights.

Hadley. What was she doing here?

Gage stepped toward Hadley and raised his gun at Brett.

"Gage, no!" Hadley shouted.

In the few seconds since they'd gotten out of the trucks, Gage had already decided he'd do anything necessary to protect Hadley. Darting his gaze back and forth between Brett and Hadley, he kept his gun pointed squarely at Brett. "You better talk fast, Patton."

Brett held up his hands. "I come in peace. Hadley just wanted to be here for this because she has some things to talk to you about too."

The roar of blood in Gage's ears was too loud as his attention flicked back and forth. Gage had never been afraid of anything in his life. Not like this.

"It's true. We just want to talk," Hadley said, lacing every word with panicked assurance.

Gage hadn't been mentally prepared to see Hadley with Brett tonight. He'd trusted her, and now all of the loyalty lines they'd drawn were blurring .

"It'll all make sense in just a little bit. I promise," Hadley said.

Gage kept his gaze locked on Brett as he lowered the gun. "What do you want? Is Thea okay?"

"She's fine, but she'd be a lot better if we could find a way to end the fighting."

"Any ideas?" Gage asked. "I don't see our families getting together to sing ‘Kumbaya' around a campfire." He'd been racking his brain about it for years. The answer wasn't just going to jump out and bite him after all this time.

"I'm glad you asked. I do have a plan." Brett threw his hands out at his sides. "Thea and I got married today."

Gage stared at Brett, trying to make sense of his nonchalance about starting World War III. "Come again?"

"Looks like we're brothers," Brett said. "You can be the ugly one, and I'll be the pretty one."

Choosing his words carefully, Gage tried to push down the fire rising up his throat. "You're joking. You married my sister?"

"Earlier today. Took an oath before God and the judge."

"You're an idiot!" Gage looked at Hadley. "Tell me he's not serious."

Hadley winced. "He's serious."

Gage pushed a hand through his hair. "Why? "

"Well, when a man and a woman love each other–"

"Shut up," Gage spat. This guy was absolutely nuts if he thought marrying Thea was a good idea. The Howards were going to lose their minds for sure now.

"You asked!" Brett said.

"I mean why would you think this was a good idea? They'll go after her for sure now. She won't even be safe in Alabama. You just dug her grave!"

Brett huffed. "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged."

"Stop it, you two," Hadley interjected. "Gage, listen to him. He's really trying to do the right thing. You had to know he and Thea were going to find a way to be together. Keeping them apart was never an option."

Gage stared at Hadley, trying to understand why she couldn't see the harm in what Brett and Thea had done today. It wasn't as if they could keep something like this a secret. "Where is she?"

Gage looked back and forth between Hadley and Brett. When no one answered, he repeated, "Where is she?"

Brett waved his arms as if he were introducing a princess at a ball. "Hadley, you want to take this one?"

Gage's nostrils flared as he drew in as much air as possible. If Hadley had bad news, he didn't want to hear it.

Hadley fidgeted with her fingers. "Thea never left. She's been staying at my place. Brett's been sleeping on the couch to make sure we're protected."

She what? Thea was here the whole time, and Hadley lied to him.

Hadley lied to him. He'd trusted her. She'd fed him the story she wanted him to hear the whole time.

"Gage, say something," Hadley whispered.

"I don't have anything nice to say right now," Gage said in a carefully controlled tone.

Hadley reached for his arm, but he pulled back. "Don't."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Brett and Thea didn't know if they could trust you not to tell the rest of your family, so they asked me to keep it a secret. I wanted to tell you."

"That's true. We asked her to, but she really didn't want to."

"I know you," Hadley said, pointing to her chest. "I wanted you to trust me because I trust you, and I broke that. You have every reason to be mad at me."

She got that right. Gage might have a warped sense of loyalty, but he'd been honest with Hadley.

Brett reached out a hand like a lion tamer approaching a dangerous animal. "Thea isn't going anywhere. This is her home, and she's found a new family here. The people at Wolf Creek have pretty much adopted her just like they did with Hadley last year. There's a lot of bad hanging around here, but there's even more good. She deserves a family who cares about her."

" I care about her," Gage said. "I'm her real family."

"But look what else she has hanging around," Brett said. "A family who tried to hurt her. Now she's my family, and I'll treat her right. I'll give her everything I have and then some."

"I hope you're planning to skip off to the other side of the world to do that. She shouldn't be here. Neither should Hadley," he said, pointing at her. "She probably has a target on her back right now because she's been hanging out with me. People like us don't get to keep the things we want, Brett. The best thing to do is stay away from everything that's good. We're poison."

Brett shook his head. "No can do. I'm not the quitting type. Thea wants to live here, and I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen. Are you with me or against me?"

"What kind of question is that? I think it's a terrible idea, so why would I help you stay here when I know she's in danger?"

"Because we have to be the change," Brett said. "We're the next generation, and we have to do things better than our parents did. It has to start now. "

Gage propped his fists on his hips and paced. This guy had a death wish if he thought they could mend fences. The grudge was too old and too deep. "You're talking about fairy tales. We can't just snap our fingers and change people."

"You changed," Brett said. "You changed a lot since I broke your jaw."

"You didn't break it, nimwit. And so what if I'm better than I was? It doesn't get me out of the hot water."

"But you want out, right?" Brett asked.

"Of course I do. You think I like working my butt off for someone else and having nothing to show for it? You think I like looking at my uncles every day knowing what they did to Thea? You think I don't want a normal life?"

Brett crossed his arms over his chest and straightened. "Good. I guess that means you'll help me."

"I'm not helping you. It's your grave. Not mine."

Brett clicked his tongue behind his teeth. "I'm going to visit your uncle tomorrow. I was hoping you'd have my back in case things go south."

Stupid. Stupid. So stupid. "What? You can't just walk in there."

Hadley raised her hand. "True story. Been there, done that."

Brett turned to her with wide eyes. "You did what? "

"She showed up at Bruce's one day," Gage said.

"Have you lost your mind?" Brett asked.

Gage laughed. "Have you? You're talking about doing the same thing."

"I come in peace."

"Yeah, and you'll leave in pieces," Gage said. "That's a terrible idea."

"How else am I supposed to talk to him? Man-to-man isn't how we do things these days?"

"Bruce won't want to hear anything you have to say. He'll shoot first and ask questions later."

"I've gotta do something. Thea wants to stay here."

"Yeah, pack your bags and live out the rest of your years on the beaches of Mexico."

"No can do, sir. My woman gets what she wants."

"She at least needs to stay away from Hadley. Far away," Gage said.

Hadley crossed her arms, tucking them close to her chest. "I've grown kind of attached to Thea."

Gage turned his irritation on Hadley. "I bet you have. She's really been living with you this whole time?" He pushed his hand through his hair. "I can't believe you."

"I said I was sorry," Hadley said, emphasizing every word. "I wanted to tell you, but Thea was the one whose safety was at risk, and she didn't want me to. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone long before I met you. She's not my flesh and blood, but I'd do anything for her too. You of all people should know the lengths I would go to for the people I love."

Love? How could she possibly love his sister after only a few weeks?

Gage gulped when the answer hit him. Hadley had a heart of gold, and he'd seen her go to great lengths for others in the short time they'd known each other. It wasn't inconceivable that Hadley would open her home to a stranger despite the danger.

He'd been doing a lot of thinking of his own about love lately. The changes in him over the last few weeks were tangible. His life had slowly improved since he met Hadley. It wasn't a stretch to believe equal changes had occurred in Hadley and Thea's lives over the same time period.

Hadley's shoulders sank. "Gage, please forgive me. I'm really sorry. I always knew you wouldn't hurt Thea. She was just scared the word would spread that she was still in town."

Brett shuffled his feet against the dead grass. "I'll let you two talk for a little bit. I need to check on Thea."

Gage waited until Brett closed the truck door before asking, "So they're really married?"

"Yep. One heck of a way to spend your wedding night. But I think that shows the lengths Brett is willing to go to for Thea. I think both of you would do anything for her. "

Gage sighed, deep and heavy, as if an invisible weight hung from his neck. "I'd do anything for her."

"Then do this. She found a home here, and she wants to keep it. You've been trying to find a way to help her. This might be it."

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he set the gun down on the hood of his truck and reached for Hadley. She tentatively placed her hand in his.

"I'm not happy that you lied to me, but I can see why you did it."

"I'm really sorry," she repeated.

"I'm also not happy that she's been staying with you. I can't believe two out of three of the people I care about most were in the same place and in the same danger, and I didn't know a thing about it."

"Brett's been there. I feel much better knowing he's around."

"I'm glad he stayed." Gage squeezed her hand and brushed his thumb over the back of it. "I can't believe I just said that. I still want to throat punch him."

"I'm sorry we didn't trust you. Well, I did, but they didn't. Thea hasn't known you for the last five years, and she was scared you'd turned into someone who was as bad as them while she was gone."

Gage huffed. "I'm not. At least, I hope I'm not."

Hadley took a step toward him and lifted her chin. Every time she looked up at him, he fought the urge to wrap her up and never let go.

Things were about to get serious, and they needed trust if they were going to have a chance at pulling this off. "No more lies," Gage said.

"Never. I hated lying to you. It made me sick."

Gage pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her and snuggling close. Having Hadley in his messed-up world was terrifying. Not only did he have Thea to take care of, but Hadley had clawed her way into his heart and made a home for herself.

The urge to pour his heart out to her was killing him. The tightness in his chest wouldn't go away.

The words were on the tip of his tongue. Three little words that he'd never even come close to saying to anyone. He'd built that devotion for Hadley over the last few weeks. The whole "when you know, you know" thing had always sounded stupid to him.

Now, Hadley had made him a believer.