Page 95 of Love in the Wild

Gage scoffed. “I’ve done a lot of bad things.”

“Haven’t we all? Let me make one thing clear. You don’t get in the Lord’s good graces by being a good person.”

Mr. Chambers pointed to a side road, and Gage took the direction. “What?”

“It takes believing. And not just saying you believe, but truly believing, no matter the situation. That takes a long time to master. Some of us never do.”

“What exactly am I supposed to believe?” Gage asked.

Mr. Chambers waved a hand in the air. “We’ll get to that. We’re still talking about you.”

Gage flipped through his life and memories. What would this man want to know about him? “I was born here, and I’ve always lived in Blackwater. My family is pretty–”

Good grief. Don’t cuss in front of him.

“They’re not good people.”

“I know of them, but I’d much rather hear the truth from you. Words get twisted as they wind around the grape vine.”

“They’re probably as bad as you’ve heard.” Gage had told the prosecutor last week that Bruce was the one who killed Brett and Jess’s dad, and since there wasn’t a statute of limitations on murder, those charges were being brought up in Bruce’s trial.

“You know Thea is my sister. My mom’s a good woman, but my dad was about as bad as they come. My uncles are cut from the same cloth. I’ve been running moonshine since I was about seven, and I started dealing stolen car parts at twelve. My uncles have used me for tax fraud since I was born, and I’ve been arrested somewhere north of half a dozen times since I was eighteen. Those charges range from petty theft to minor in possession. Nothing terrible, but worth spending a night in the brig over.”

“Anything good you could throw in there?” Mr. Chambers asked.

“You said being a good person doesn’t win me points with God.”

“It doesn’t, but I’m trying to get to know you. The only good thing I heard was that you’re related to Thea and your mom. By the way, I met your mom a few days ago, and she seemed as kind as you said.”

“She is. You heard she has cancer?”

“I did. Thea’s been keeping me in the loop about that. We’ll be working things out so that your mom always has someone available to take her to appointments.”

“Thanks for that,” Gage said.

Mr. Chambers had the same inherent kindness as Hadley. No wonder she talked about the man like he was her hero.

“No problem. I’ll help however I can. So, I’ve heard about your sordid past. What are you doing to change this trajectory?” Mr. Chambers asked as he pointed to a barn-like structure with a few trucks parked on the side.

“Well, Hadley’s doing a good job leading me in the right direction. People like me don’t get a safety net to help them bounce back.”

“Keep thinkin’ like that, and you’ll never change.”

Gage parked beside one of the trucks and shut off the engine. “I wasn’t–”

“You were. Now grab that and let’s go.” Mr. Chambers pointed to the Bible on the console between them as he got out.

Guess we’re moving.

Gage met Mr. Chambers in front of the truck and fell into step beside him as they walked into the barn.

“You don’t get out of hot water because you think you should. It takes determination and action. We all come to the Lord broken and messed up. Not a single one of us is good. The hardest thing to do is get on your knees and lay it all out there, but the healing and trust can’t happen until you toss out your pride.”

Gage opened his mouth to defend himself, but the words clogged in his throat. Maybe he was carrying around some pride, but he didn’t mean to. He’d always been satisfied with his own abilities until recently. Apparently, he knew how to be a Howard, but being a respectable member of society was a new ballgame.

Inside the barn, the middle was open from one end to the other with stalls and rooms on both sides. Hay bales were stacked by one side and two open areas had faucets and hoses and sloping floors leading to drains.

“Welcome to the stables. Well, this is one of the stables on the ranch. We keep most of our working horses here, and Brett and Jess manage things. Thea just started working here too, and Hadley fills in sometimes during the off-season if they need extra hands.”

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