Page 115 of Love in the Wild

“Yeah,” Dawson added. “I know I wasn’t always nice to you, and I’m sorry for that. But I’m here if you need anything.”

Gage smirked. “This doesn’t mean we’re friends.”

Dawson chuckled. “It doesn’t mean we’re not either.”

Ridge sat forward. “You know, I had my own run-in with the law, and I can say I wouldn’t be here today without the people who stood by me.”

“I remember hearing a little about that on the news a while back,” Gage said.

Ridge had gotten into a fight with a man while defending Everly, and the man suffered some serious injuries after falling. Ridge had only meant to protect his sister, but the fallout was pretty severe. He’d left the NFL after and never looked back.

Lyric sat up beside Asa. “I know how hard it is to get out of that hole. I did a lot of things I shouldn’t have.” She looked at her husband with a bright smile. “But it helps when you have people beside you who believe in you. Asa arrested me once, and look at us now.”

Gage laughed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Everyone joined in on the laughter, and Lyric’s cheeks bloomed pink. “I wish I was. I did a lot in those years I’d happily take back, but I’m glad the Lord was leading me here. I don’t know how I survived, but now I know that whatever happens, I have friends who really care about me.”

Everly wrapped her arms around Lyric’s neck. “You bet you do.”

Gage cleared his throat. “Thanks. I appreciate your support. It’s good to know you’re not all as perfect as you seem.”

“Ha! He thinks we’re perfect,” Brett said.

“Not you,” Gage corrected.

Hadley rested a hand on Gage’s knee. “No one is perfect, but knowing Jesus changes you for the better.”

“Yeah. After a while, you don’t recognize the person in old pictures,” Lyric said.

Gage nodded. “I get it now.”

Hadley rested her cheek on his shoulder. He stayed quiet through the prayers, and Hadley added her own prayers. Gage was restless, and she could practically feel the anticipation radiating from him all evening.

When everyone started slowly saying their goodbyes, Gage was wrapped up in conversations. Hadley waited patiently and watched him open up to the people who had helped save her less than a year ago.

Brett walked up beside her and propped his elbows on the bar. He bumped her shoulder and jerked his chin toward Gage. “He’ll be okay.”

“I know. He needed this.”

“Everyone needs someone to believe in them. I know I was skeptical about you hanging out with him, but I think it’s safe to say you saved him.”

Hadley shook her head. “He’s not safe yet, but I can’t do the saving. Only Jesus can do that.”

“But you’re leading him there. Keep it up.”

Gage found her across the room and winked as Dawson kept talking to him. He was happier with the chains of his family off his shoulders.

“Thanks for including him.”

Brett slapped a hand on her back. “Anytime. I gotta go round up my wife. It’s past my bedtime.”

“See you tomorrow,” Hadley said over her shoulder as Brett walked off. She took her time wiping down the kitchen counters with Everly, while Gage finished up his conversation with Dawson. Olivia played with Blake and Everly’s dog in the living room, and the comforts of home wrapped around Hadley’s shoulders, despite the enormous size of the place.

Gage and Dawson said their goodbyes, and Hadley picked up her Bible. They made a plan for their next meeting, and Hadley walked to the truck with her arm threaded around Gage’s.

“Did you have fun tonight?”

Gage opened her door and offered a hand to help her step in. “I did. I don’t think I’ve ever hung out with people like that.”

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