Page 28 of Love in the Wild

“I know. It sounded like a stupid idea to me too. Who in their right mind would date you?”

Gage ground his teeth together, stifling the urge to hunt Brett down and dislocate his neck from his body. “Are you saying you’re not in touch with Thea?”

There was a moment of silence on the line before Brett cleared his throat. “That’s up to her. I won’t force her into anything.”

“Good deal. Maybe she’ll be smart this time.”

“I appreciate your concern for my broken heart,” Brett said.

Gage’s phone dinged against his ear, and he pulled it away to see an unknown number. He placed his phone back to his ear. “Thanks for the update. Have a nice life.”

“You too.”

Gage’s attention bounced from the phone in his hand to the road ahead as he opened the message.

Unknown: Hey. This is Hadley. I’m free tomorrow around 11. Can I stop by?

Dang. This woman sounded sweeter than ice cream in the middle of summer. What was Brett thinking letting her walk into Gage’s world?

It didn’t matter. He’d have minimal contact with this woman and pass along info. That was it. He’d keep her far away from the mess in his life.

Gage: Ok.

He tossed his phone into the seat beside him, but it kept drawing his attention. He was used to clipped messages and only speaking when necessary, but others, especially women, usually wanted to chat more than he was able.

Hence the reason he didn’t have girlfriends. Or even casual relationships with women. It was too complicated, and they always wanted more than he was willing to give.

After pacing the small house for a few hours, he fell into bed and tried to turn his running brain off. He’d visit his mom tomorrow morning to get an update on her treatment before seeing Hadley.

10

HADLEY

“Hadley!” Vera shouted from the door leading to the kitchen in the dining hall at Wolf Creek Ranch.

Hadley stood from the small table. “I guess this is it.”

Thea stepped up beside her and wrapped an arm around Hadley’s shoulders. “It’ll be okay. Gage won’t hurt you. I think you can trust him.”

Hadley turned quickly, whipping her hair around. “You think? I need a little more than thinking.”

“I’m pretty sure.”

“How sure?” Hadley asked.

Thea squinted one eye. “Maybe eighty-five percent.”

Hadley’s fingers tingled as she reached for the bag Vera had left on the counter. Workers were starting to file in for lunch, and Vera was running a mile a minute. “That’s not a high number. If your brother murders me, I’ll haunt you forever.”

Thea chuckled and picked up the large takeaway cup beside the bag. “He’s not a murderer.”

“Oh, good. I feel better now.” Hadley playfully shoved Thea’s shoulder.

“If you take him this roast beef sandwich, he’ll probably love you forever.”

“Ah, the murderer who loved me. Sounds like a great rom-com.”

They walked out onto the porch where the blinding midday sun cast shadows from the trees onto the parking lot. “Brett said Beau is a good guy. He’ll be there in case anything happens.”

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