Page 29 of Love in the Wild

“But I’ve never met Beau. How do I even know who he is?”

“He’ll be the one keeping a close eye on Gage. Trust me, if he’s running a business and hiring Gage, he’s watching him.”

“You really know how to calm my nerves. I’m not getting bad guy vibes from Gage at all.” Hadley threw her head back and groaned.

Thea grabbed Hadley’s free hand and squeezed. “Brett’s on alert, and I’ll be praying for you the whole time.”

“While you’re at it, can you pray that my eyebrows grow back?” Hadley swiped her fingers over the area in question. “Mrs. Edward Scissorhands at the salon in town said she was going to trim them, and now my brow hairs are like a millimeter long.”

Thea gritted her teeth. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but they are super short.”

Hadley groaned. “I’m meeting your brother for the first time like this. It’s embarrassing.” The rant about her eyebrows was meant to distract her from the unease, and it was working… a little.

“You know, Gage is good-looking,” Thea said low.

Hadley whipped her attention to Thea. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because if he’s as good to you as I think he’ll be, you should know he’s not like the others. I have hope for Gage.”

Hadley looked down at her hand that was linked with Thea’s. The fear of Thea’s situation had dissipated a little, and their friendship had grown. Hadley’s nights weren’t as lonely anymore.

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Thea released Hadley’s hand and wrapped her up in a hug. “Call me when it’s over.”

“I will.”

Thea handed over the drink and turned to head back inside the dining hall.

Hadley lifted her chin and stalked toward her purple car. “You are brave, you are strong, and you are not gonna cower to a possible murdery man.”

Beau’s garage wasn’t far from the ranch. Brett gave excellent directions, and Hadley only slowed when she pulled into the lot. There weren’t any other houses or businesses around, so no one would be rescuing her if she called for help.

“So, this is happening. I’m doing this, and it’s gonna be just fine. Peachy.”

A tall man rested his back against a truck in the parking lot. His dark hair was cut short under a worn baseball cap, and the white T-shirt with the sleeves cut out was a stark contrast to his tan skin.

Well, the shirt wasn’t exactly white. It had once been white, but grease stains were splattered on it, and the overall color was more of a bone white.

Hadley’s foot slipped off the accelerator, jerking the vehicle until she caught the brake. Were those tattoos all over his arms? Good grief, he was a human canvas.

He lifted his other arm to adjust the hat on his head as he raised his chin. That arm only had a few markings on it.

But he had a beard! An actual, full beard. It was cut short, but it was thick. Guys her age were basically still babies and had some peach fuzz on their cheeks. This guy was way too old for her.

Hadley’s grip on the steering wheel had her fingers aching. Thea said her brother was good-looking. She did not warn Hadley about the sexy bad boy casually waiting for her ten feet away.

Her mom would have a come-apart if she knew Hadley was drooling over a man and having thoughts about his sexiness. She’d been raised better than this!

Hadley slowly parked the car beside the truck with the decidedly not sexy man hanging around and turned off the engine.

So what? He’s ridiculously handsome, and you have miniscule eyebrows. It wouldn’t work out anyway.

A knock at the window startled her, and she let out a shriek. Her heart pounded a hundred miles a minute as she stared up at the sexy man looming outside her window.

Not sexy! Probably a murderer. Definitely a criminal.

Gage lifted a completely normal eyebrow at her as if to ask if she was going to come out and join the party or sit in her car all day.

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