Page 56 of Love in the Wild

She stepped up to the bags on the tailgate and started pulling out food. “I always have good days.”

What would that be like? Maybe he’d get some insight about that when he talked to Hadley’s boss.

He took the roast beef sandwich she handed him and unwrapped it. “So, who is your boss?”

She held up a finger and bowed her head. With her eyes closed, she didn’t move for a good ten seconds. He hadn’t forgotten that she prayed before her meals. He’d been watching her since they met. What was she saying when she talked to God?

When she raised her head, she looked up at him. “My boss is Mr. Chambers.”

Well, he’d guessed one thing right about Hadley. She worked at Wolf Creek Ranch with Brett. The Howards had been keeping a close eye on all of the Pattons, and while Gage had suspected Brett and Hadley’s connection, he hadn’t been one hundred percent sure.

“When does he want to meet?”

“He’s pretty much free all the time, as long as he doesn’t have doctor’s appointments. He’s a smart man, and he’s kinda been like a father to me since I came here.”

“What about your real dad?”

Hadley shook her head. “He’d probably give your uncles a run for their money.”

The bite Gage had been chewing turned to lead in his mouth. Comparing anyone to Bruce or Tommy was never a good sign. “How so?”

She waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Mean, controlling, abusive. You know, the deadly trifecta.”

Gage put the sandwich down on the wrapper. His appetite fled the state after Hadley’s confession. “Where is he?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. He’s been gone since I was about five or so.”

Gage stared at Hadley as she kept eating her lunch like she hadn’t just slapped him in the face. “Did he hurt you?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He wasn’t the last, but he was probably the worst.”

Throat closing, Gage continued to watch Hadley. He joked that she was like sweet tea and sunshine, but she actually reminded him of those things. How could anyone harm her, especially a five-year-old version of this amazing woman?

Gage knew what it was like to be a kid and feel the sting of a grown man’s fist against his jaw. He knew what it was like to see stars and lose consciousness. Those parts of his childhood had made a deep chasm of hate inside him.

If they’d both suffered the same way as kids, how had Gage and Hadley grown up to be so different? How could she still look at the world with hope?

Gage reached for Hadley, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to his chest. Even having her this close and knowing she was okay didn’t ease the fire burning in his gut.

“Are you okay?” Hadley asked.

“No. Are you?” Gage answered honestly.

“Yeah. I’m over it. You don’t have to worry about me.”

No chance of that. Gage’s main mindset these days was worrying about Hadley.

“How?” His question was soft but loud enough for her to hear as he pressed his cheek against her hair.

“I know who I want to be and who I don’t want to be. I don’t really remember the times he hit me. I was so little. Unfortunately, I remember the things he said–the names he called me. That was the hardest to get over.”

Her breaths shook slightly as he held her, and he rubbed his hand up and down her back in slow circles. “Whatever he said, it’s not true.”

“I know that now. Kinda. It was hard to look at myself and see anything except what he saw for a while. It took a long time to realize I’m not a waste of space.”

Gage tightened his hold and pressed a kiss to her hair. “You’re special, Hadley. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

He didn’t care what anyone else thought of Hadley. To him, she was the sun his world revolved around. How had she bound him to her so completely and irrevocably in just a few weeks?

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