Page 31 of Love in the Wild

“Was she going back to the same place?” Gage asked.

“I think so. Do you know where she was before?”

Gage finished chewing a bite. “Yeah.”

Was that good news? He’d known where his sister was, and he hadn’t told anyone. Gage should get a few trust points for keeping Thea’s secret.

“Why didn’t you tell her about your mom?”

Gage eyed her as he finished chewing the bite in his mouth. “Because she would have come back. Just like she did.”

“But Thea cares about your mom.”

“And I care about Thea.”

Hadley watched him as he balled up the sandwich wrapper and pulled out the fries. What would it be like to be stuck between a rock and a hard place like Gage? “Are you involved in the things the others do?”

Gage kept his attention on the food. “I’m gonna stop you right there. This isn’t about me.”

Hadley let out a huff. “Excuse me for asking,” she whispered. “Tell me about your mom then. Thea wants to know.”

“She’s got a meeting with the oncologist this week, but they’re running out of options. She doesn’t tell me everything they say, probably because it isn’t good news. She might be a candidate for an experimental treatment, and in that case, it would be covered. But there would also be the possibility she was in the control group and not getting any treatment.”

The uncertainty brought back memories of her own mom’s treatment after the stroke. The doctors kept giving updates, but Hadley couldn’t keep up with the influx of information. They’d try one thing, then another, and before she knew it, she wasn’t sure what was working and what wasn’t.

“How are you taking it?” Hadley asked.

“Taking what?”

“The news about your mom.”

Gage popped another fry into his mouth and stared toward the garage. “I’m not the one with cancer.”

“Yeah, but it affects the whole family when someone is sick or hurt. I mean, she’s your mom.”

“I’m busy. I don’t have a lot of time to sit around with my feelings.”

“You work full time for Beau?”

“Part time.”

“And what else do you do?” she ventured to ask.

Gage pointed a fry at her. “Can’t tell you that.”

“Thea assumed you work for your uncle at his garage,” Hadley said.

When Gage didn’t respond, she knew she had her answer.

“Why don’t you just leave your uncle and work for Beau?”

Gage let out a single chuckle. “You don’t just leave the family business.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for you though?”

Gage shrugged. “Probably.”

“Then do it.”

---