Page 13 of Love in the Wild

Brett’s smirk was wild and unhinged. “Not on my watch.”

“How long can you stay?”

“As long as it takes.”

“You’ll have to leave at some point.”

“Nope. Jess can bring whatever we need, and I have a few friends who can stand watch if I absolutely need help.”

Gage scoffed. “You have friends?”

Brett threw his hands out at his sides. “I’m a very friendly guy! Not that you ever cared about getting on my good side.”

Scanning the halls for anyone who might be watching, Gage asked, “Can you trust them? And they can’t be Pattons.”

“I trust them with my life.”

Gage turned back to Brett, giving him a once-over. “I have to get to work. I’ll be back this evening.”

“Where are you working now?”

“Beau Lawrence’s shop.” That was one of Gage’s jobs and the only one he would be sharing with Brett.

Brett rubbed the back of his head. “The ranch is in the off-season, and there are enough of us who stuck around to handle things that need to be done.”

Gage glanced around again. Someone would be here soon to check on Thea–a Howard–and Gage couldn’t be caught chatting with Brett. “Let me give you my number. Only use it if you have to, but keep me posted about her.”

Brett saved the number, and Gage hesitated. Leaving Thea felt wrong, but if anything Brett said was true, then it was best if he wasn’t around.

Gage stalked down the hospital hallway. Every inch of his skin tingled with the need to act, but his hands were tied. He couldn’t pop off and blow his cover before he found out what his family was planning.

A beautiful young woman rounded the corner and headed straight toward him. Long, straight hair fell behind her shoulders, framing striking green eyes. Her dark brows were pinched together, and her thin lips formed a straight line, but the expression was forced. She carried a small bouquet of flowers close to her chest.

The woman walked right by him without even a glance his way, but he turned to follow her as she passed. She had to be visiting someone. Nothing about life was fair if someone who looked so innocent and sweet had to endure hard times when people like his family got to run around making everyone else’s lives miserable.

Gage stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor. He was a Howard through and through. He’d been riding along on family “errands” since he was four and leading them since he was sixteen. Running moonshine, selling stolen car parts, and dealing black market guns. He’d had his dirty hands in all of it. His family always had his back.

Until now.

The tides were turning. They’d hurt Thea, and that was a mistake that couldn’t be forgiven.

When Gage stepped out of the hospital, he was walking away from Brett and Thea, ready to rearrange the hierarchy. Gage would be on the winning side, and heaven help anyone who stood against him.

5

HADLEY

Hadley’s mom’s eyes began to slowly fall closed before she jerked them back open again. That was usually the sign that Hadley’s ramblings were straying into boring territory.

Reaching for the cup of water on the bedside table, Hadley passed it to her mom. “Have you taken your morning meds?”

“They came by just before you got here,” her mom said slowly.

Hadley’s mom’s recovery had been slow since suffering a massive stroke eight months ago. Marianne Keeton had always been the most beautiful woman in every room. Even after losing most of her muscle function and speech, she still had an alluring presence that few got to witness these days.

Seeing her mom in a dreary hospital room would never get easier, even if it was just for scheduled tests like today.

Being able to spend plenty of time with her mom was a perk of the ranch off-season. During the summer, she’d worked six or seven days a week, and barely had the energy to talk in the late afternoon when she finally made it to the long-term care facility.

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