Page 104 of Love in the Wild

Each kind word hit her in the chest like a freight train, but Gage’s words were empowering, not destructive. She pointed out the next turn as Gage slowly drove down the path. “I’ve never admitted this to anyone, and I know my mom is still here, and I should be grateful, but I… I feel like an orphan sometimes.”

Gage lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to it. “I’m sorry. You do so much for your mom, and everything you’ve told me about her says she’s a great woman.”

“I know. And she’s still the same sometimes. When things go wrong, I just feel like I’m losing her all over again.”

“But you’re not alone,” Gage reminded her. “I’m here if you ever want to talk. I’ll go with you if you need help. I’ll stand beside you if that’s what you need. Anything. You name it.”

Wow. Gage was really crumbling all of her walls tonight. His willingness to support her was more than she needed. “Thank you. I really appreciate that. And I hope you know I’d be happy to do the same for you.”

Gage chuckled. “You already have. You helped Thea and Emerson, not to mention all you do for me. You’re already everything I need and more.”

The faceless words from the past tried to snake their way around her throat, but they didn’t gain purchase this time.

Worthless? That one didn’t cut to the quick anymore.

Shut up? That wasn’t a command she obeyed these days. Not after seeing Gage’s eyes light up every time she encouraged him.

Stupid? No, she wasn’t. She had the Holy Spirit now, and she knew how to take directions with the Lord on her side.

The wounds from those old words might not be completely healed, but at this rate, there was a chance they’d disappear altogether one day.

“Plus, you’re never alone. You have a ton of people here who care about you. I bet you could call anyone on this ranch, and they’d stop what they were doing to help you. And I bet Mr. Chambers is like the dad you never had.”

That man had single-handedly changed Hadley’s life. He’d given her a home, he’d guided her toward the Lord, and now he was taking Gage along that same path. The man never gave up, and he never looked at Gage as if the sins of his past were written on his face.

“How are things going with him?” she asked.

“Great actually. He’s giving me parts of the Bible to read every day, then he lets me ask questions. It’s confusing, but I think I’m getting used to it. No one ever told me the Bible was so…”

“Interesting?” she offered.

“Yeah, and historical. I’ve done some digging on a few of the stories, and there’s some pretty strong evidence to link the events in the Bible to other written history.”

Hadley gaped at Gage until he glanced at her.

“What?” he asked, dividing his attention between her and the path ahead.

Hadley gulped down her shock. “Nothing.”

Nothing at all. Just marveling at the new level of attractiveness that she’d now be referring to as studious Gage.

“I need something to do in all my free time. Turns out, I can actually have a full-time job, manage a part-time job, spend time with you and Mr. Chambers, and still have time leftover, now that I’m not running around doing Bruce and Tommy’s dirty work.”

“That’s awesome. The perks of being a law-abiding citizen.”

Gage chuckled. “I can’t believe we’re joking about this. I can’t believe you gave me two seconds of your time.”

Hadley rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re worth it.”

Gage swallowed hard. “Mr. and Mrs. Benson asked me to help out with a few jobs on the ranch next week. I might not have a lot of free time.”

“That’s okay. I can’t have all of your time.”

Despite her rational response, she wanted to groan. She was getting used to spending so much time with him.

“But I’d rather be with you,” Gage said as he leaned in to rest his cheek on her head.

The darkness hid her smile, and she pointed to the path leading to her cabin. “We need to stop by my place first.”

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