Page 58 of Love in the Wild

“Maybe we should ask Ms. Vera if she can find some smaller sugar cubes.”

“Or bigger teacups!” Abby suggested.

Hadley’s feet were officially numb where they were tucked beneath her in the crisscross applesauce position, and she was on her fourth cup of “tea.” Since she’d kind of given up on the whole learning to sew thing, she’d been resigned to playing with Abby during Tuesday night quilting gatherings.

“Has anyone heard from Thea?” Ava asked. Her legs were elevated in the recliner with quilt patches draped over them where Abby had arranged them earlier.

“Not me,” Cheyenne said. “I haven’t seen Brett either. He was supposed to help us at the barn today, but he called early and said he had something important to do.”

Hadley gripped the teacup and tried to control the shaking of her hand. Surely, the lovebirds were just hiding away somewhere, but the danger that could be waiting for her friends at any moment was in the forefront of Hadley’s mind.

“Anybody have an update on her family?” Remi asked.

All eyes looked at Hadley, and she squirmed under the attention. “Not really.”

“Has she heard from any of them?” Cheyenne asked.

Hadley swallowed, trying to gather up the courage to tell her friends about the recent happenings involving Thea’s family, namely Gage.

“I’ve been helping her keep in touch with her brother. He’s giving me updates about their mom, and I’m letting him know Thea is okay.”

Cheyenne sat up straight. “You’re talking to her brother? What if he finds out where she is? Hadley, that can’t be safe.”

“He’s not like them. He’s worried about Thea.”

“What if he tells them she’s here?” Remi asked, looking just as concerned as Cheyenne.

“I haven’t told him she’s here. He thinks she went back to Alabama.” The lie sat heavy as always. She hated lying, and she hated lying to Gage even more. She’d sleep better at night after Thea really went back to Alabama so the lie could go away.

“Still, that’s way too close to the action. You saw what happened to Thea,” Cheyenne said.

“I did, but I can’t just turn my back when their whole family needs help.”

“They need Jesus,” Remi said without looking up from her sewing.

“Exactly. Thea has that, but her brother doesn’t, and he’s trying to save the world without a Savior.” Hadley swirled the tea in her cup around. The sugar cube was slowly sinking. “He agreed to meet Mr. Chambers and talk to him.”

“About what?” Cheyenne asked.

“He’s interested in learning more about God. He’s never been to church before.”

“Square one. I remember what that was like,” Remi said.

“I know about God. I can teach him,” Abby said.

Hadley rested the teacup on the silver tray and wrapped Abby up in her arms. “You probably know more than I do. I’m new to Jesus too, remember?”

“We can teach him together!” Abby said with wide eyes.

“Wait, wait, wait. Back up,” Cheyenne said. “I’m still not sure about this.”

“He doesn’t know what we know. He’s never been to church, and trust me, his family didn’t tell him the first thing about God. Thea didn’t know either until she got away from here.”

Cheyenne’s eyes softened, but there was fear in them too. “Hadley–”

“I can’t just sit around and not help them. Thea and Gage are good just like Brett and Jess. They just need help.”

The confidence in Hadley’s voice was a gift from the Lord because there were times when she still worried about what she was doing with Gage. Getting caught could have some dire consequences.

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