Rescued by the Rancher (12 page)

“I think ‘Mer’ probably realized what a mistake she made when she met Les and your mother. You couldn’t possibly expect a woman like Meredith to partake in visits to your white-trash family. And Meredith is a woman who needs money to support her shopping habits. Sending part of your already pathetic income to your drunk of a mother was her wake-up call. And that’s when I got my phone call. After a little begging, I agreed to come and save her. She still was the nicest piece of ass I’ve ever had.”

He told himself the reason he couldn’t control himself as he reached around Meredith to grab Ron and slam him against the wall was because he was embarrassed, enraged, that Meredith had called him. That she had spoken about his mother to him. That Ron stood here and mocked him. That Cole and Melanie now knew what kind of a home he came from. That he was still giving a woman who didn’t give a shit about him money.

His fist slammed against Ron’s jaw and he told himself it was pride. It had nothing to do with the fact that he hated how Ron talked about Meredith, that he degraded her and treated her like garbage, or that she allowed it. It wasn’t why he was doing this, because that would mean he loved her, despite everything.

He was vaguely aware of Cole’s hands digging into his arms and lifting him off Ron. He tried to regain his composure, to focus on the sounds in the room, other than the rush of blood in his ears. Melanie, crying. Ron, trying not to cry as he slowly stood. He was holding his hand to his bloody nose, leaning on Meredith as they started walking to the door.

Gage sucked in air, feeling something other than hatred for Ron. It was hatred for himself, for allowing himself to be vulnerable again. He stood there, Cole by his side, and watched as Meredith left the house with Ron. He was done. Done with women. Done with protecting them. Putting himself out there for them, when they’d rather be with assholes. He had naively thought he and Meredith meant something to each other, that he’d helped her get over years of abuse.

He meant nothing to her.

…

Gage squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then reopened them. Hell, it was hard to concentrate on the land survey of his ranch, with the amount of alcohol swimming through him.

It was sometime during the middle of the night and almost half a bottle of Cole’s “Merry Christmas” whiskey later. He hadn’t been able to sleep. He’d long since sent Melanie and Cole back home. None of them had been able to form any coherent thoughts anyway, and the stuff he wanted to say, he didn’t feel was appropriate in front of Melanie. But when Melanie had begun apologizing for her sister, Gage couldn’t hear it anymore. He didn’t blame her, and it hurt to see her so distraught.

So he was sitting on the floor of his family room looking over the survey, hoping it would make him feel better. He’d be out of here. After what had happened today, his plan to move away seemed even better. The only problem he was having—in addition to focusing clearly with all the whiskey in his system—was that he kept seeing Meredith, crying in his arms about her baby, telling him that she thought he’d been cheating, telling him she wanted him inside her.

Gage clenched his fists, but that killed. He probably should have iced his knuckles. He shouldn’t have bothered touching Ron. In the end he was defending a woman who didn’t want defending. Meredith had made her choice, and he was going to move on, start a new life.

Gage glanced over at the chocolate cake still sitting on the table, the only time chocolate cake had ever lasted this long in his house. He stopped breathing, and then his heart hammered painfully in his chest. Doubt trickled through. Slowly.

He stared at the cake and rose to his feet. He wanted to be sure about what he was thinking, because hell if he wasn’t going down this road again. He crossed the room to the cake and the closer he got, the closer he came to the truth; Meredith had planned on surprising him with a homemade cake, which meant she’d probably been enlisting the help of Mrs. H, since he knew Meredith didn’t know her way around a kitchen at all. So why all that effort if she was planning on leaving him? Why did she leave?

He finally allowed himself to remember the look on her face today. Now that he was past the initial shock of what happened and his need to murder Ron had been numbed by the alcohol, he allowed himself to do a second-by-second replay. He placed the whiskey on the counter as the image of Meredith standing still, a gleam in her eyes as he attempted to beat the crap out of Ron. She hadn’t hidden behind her fingers; hell, she hadn’t even been the one to tell him to stop, because she knew Ron didn’t stand a chance. A part of her wanted to see it, wanted to see Ron weak and hurt. So if she loved Ron so much, why did she obviously have satisfaction in seeing Gage beat the crap out of him? Until she’d stood in front of him, and that had nearly killed him, to see her defend that asshole. To see her look so defeated, to stand up for Ron and have his hands on her, speak about her as though she were his property.

He did a play-by-play and the other thing that stood out was the file Ron had on the table. Who goes to tell their ex they want them back with a file?

Then the threat against Cole and the ranch.

And ultimately what happened today: Cole not getting his USDA approval because of noncompliance with USDA regulations. He knew that was bullshit. There was no more tightly run, more disciplined organization that he knew of than this place. He had invited Cole and Melanie over to try to figure out what the hell had happened, but then everything got blown to hell because of what was waiting for them here.

A pounding on the front door made him jump and then stand up and run across the room to whip open the door. Disappointment ricocheted through him as he stared at Cole’s miserable face. He was a far cry from Meredith.

Cole shoved his way in the house, paused, spotted the whiskey, and sat down on the couch with a thud.

“You look like hell,” Gage muttered, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard before Cole started drinking from the bottle. The last time Gage had seen Cole near whiskey was when he’d been about to make the biggest mistake of his life and chicken out on Melanie. Since then, the man rarely drank hard liquor. Something about being happy.

Cole plunked his feet up on the coffee table, holding out his hand for the glass. “What the hell just happened here today? The rejection from the USDA inspection? Meredith? Ron?”

Gage sat down on the armchair opposite his friend and took a long drink. “I’ve got no fucking clue. Well, I didn’t until a few minutes ago.”

“Great. You figured this out? Let me know because right now I feel like hell. I’m going to lose it all, Gage. All of it. Everything my grandfather and father built. Gone. And I’ve got a pregnant wife who’s killing herself with the guilt because of her family.”

Gage stared at the man who was like a brother to him. He couldn’t have been more than a brother if they’d shared the same blood. Cole and his family had taken him in when he had nothing. They’d taken a chance on a troubled teen and made something of him. His father had made him a man, and he needed to repay them.

“Melanie? This isn’t her fault.”

“I know that, but she’s blaming herself, saying that if it weren’t for her, none of this would have happened. She’s not listening to me. I’d start all over again if I had to, for Melanie. I don’t give a shit about anything if she’s not in my life, but I don’t like to be taken for a fool. I didn’t want to tell her, but this reeks of us being set up. I have never, ever had a problem getting that seal on my product. This is bullshit and her father is involved. And that asshole, the bullshit he said about your family—”

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t care,” Gage said. He did not want to get into it about his mother; he didn’t want Cole’s sympathy. He was far more comfortable with Cole being the victim than himself.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were still in touch and you were giving her money.”

“Whatever, thanks. Moving on.” Gage refilled both their glasses and leaned forward. “I was replaying the whole thing that went down with that douche bag. None of it makes sense. Meredith…was lying. That son of a bitch has something on her.”

Cole slowly looked over at him. “You think so?”

Gage nodded slowly. It was one thing to think this, but to voice it out loud, to take it to the next level, he was taking a hell of a risk. Just a few hours ago he had sworn off Meredith, and now he was thinking about going back and rescuing a woman who claimed she didn’t want him. But his instincts weren’t wrong. He had to trust his gut. “I know her, really know her. There’s no way she would have walked out of here like that, hurt you and Melanie.”

“So how the hell do we prove this? They’re trying to take us down. Yeah, the ranch is flush, but going up against that family, it’s not going to be easy.”

Gage stared out the window, not really seeing anything, but allowing an idea to trickle through all the barriers he’d ever held around the subject.

There was only one woman he’d ever do this for. For the Forresters he’d do this. For Meredith, he’d do this.

It was time to go see his biological father.

Chapter Thirteen

Gage squeezed his eyes shut for one brief second and then clenched and unclenched his hands, rolled his shoulders, and waited for someone to answer the door. This house didn’t look much different than he remembered.

When he’d seen it as a teenager with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Grand Canyon, it looked like a place he’d never be able to set foot in. He’d stood on the street, watching as his father and a blond woman and two teens stood outside, chatting and laughing as they got into their chauffeured car. Gage had stood, unseen, beyond the gates. He knew this wasn’t for him, that he would never ever be accepted here, so he’d shrunk away, took a bus to nowhere, and ended up in Passion Creek. And the rest was history.

Now he was a man who’d learned not to give a shit what people thought of him. He’d made his own way in the world, could support himself, could achieve something. He had never planned on coming here. Until Meredith.

He was about to ring the doorbell again, fully expecting a housekeeper or butler to answer, but the door swung open and a man who looked a hell of a lot like him opened the door. They were about the same height, same hair color and same eyes. Hell, the only real difference he saw was that this guy was wearing a suit. They stood there, evaluating each other. Gage didn’t know what to expect from him. Maybe the guy was a total douche and resented the fact that Gage was here.

The man stuck out his hand. “Nice to finally meet you. I’m Nathan. Your brother.”

He’d known. The moment he’d opened the door, except Gage hadn’t known what to do with that knowledge. Gage didn’t smile, but he shook the man’s…or his brother’s hand and gave him a nod. “Gage.”

Nathan opened the door wider and Gage’s gaze went from him to the inside of the massive, two-story marble-tiled entry. He had braced himself for the staggering wealth and it didn’t faze him. He wasn’t here to prove anything. He wasn’t the teenager that stood on the other side of the gate, hiding in shame.

“Dad’s been expecting you,” Nathan said, motioning with his chin down the hall. Gage followed him, walked through the large corridors, turning a corner, not saying anything.
Dad.
He’d said it so casually, as though they shared this man as their father.

“He, uh, didn’t sleep at all last night after your call.” They stopped outside a room with a closed dark oak door.

Nathan turned to look him squarely in the eyes. Gage held his own. Maybe now it was coming, the speech about Gage not belonging here, being the trash of the family. Well, if that was the case he’d take it, then he’d still insist on speaking to his father. He was here with one goal. He didn’t care what this Nathan thought of him. He wasn’t leaving here until he got what he came for. He crossed his arms and waited for him to speak.

“Dad has waited for this day for a long time. We’ve had a rough year. My mother died last year and he hasn’t been the same since. He had a small stroke and is recovering, but if you’re here to piss him off or yell at him—”

“I’m not.”

Nathan gave him a long stare. It reminded Gage of his own mean, son of a bitch stare.

“And our sister is in there, she’s so damn happy that you’re here, so don’t break her heart by being an ass.”

Hell. He was up to his damn neck in family. A sister? He rubbed the back of his neck, and looked down at the marble floor. It gleamed. His boots were clean, but worn and battered and such a contrast to this entire place. If he was going to back out it would be now. This would be the time, before he saw his father, his sister. Sweat slowly seeped through his pores and he clenched his hands into fists, trying to stay calm and controlled. He cleared his throat, looked up at Nathan. “I’m not here to be an ass.”

His brother held his stare for a long minute and after he appeared to believe him, opened the door to a home office. Wood paneling, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves…but he didn’t really give a damn about the office, because his eyes were focused on the man behind the desk. His hair was gray, but his eyes were his own. He wasn’t like the man he remembered. He had aged, the aura of power that had clung to him that day, nowhere to be seen. A pretty blond woman stood beside him, her hand over her mouth, the tears in her eyes making him uncomfortable. Gage swallowed hard. He hadn’t been prepared for the emotional punch to the gut at the sight of his father, or his sister.

The man behind the desk rose, his imposing stature seeming slightly shaky as he braced his hands in front of him. “Gage,” he whispered in a voice filled with such reverence that the lump in Gage’s throat grew until he had to clear his throat.

Nathan touched his shoulder, ushering him inside. The door shut behind him with a soft
click
. He walked across the room to stand in front of the man he’d ignored for eighteen years. Gage looked from his brother and sister to the older man behind the desk. Family. They were his family.

“Hello,” Gage managed to say. He stood there, not moving an inch until the man slowly walked from around the desk to stand in front of Gage. Sympathy for the apparent weakness ripped through Gage as he watched him hold on to the desk while he walked. He had made assumptions over the years about the kind of man his father was. He had imagined him many times, as much as he’d hated himself for thinking of him. But some nights, alone, cold, and scared, weakness would work its way inside him. He would picture his father swooping in and taking him home, making him a part of his family. He’d picture his father proudly introducing him as his own. But then reality would kill those thoughts. He knew people like his father didn’t go around parading their bastard kids at the country club. He would hardly have been welcome by his father’s wife, a reminder of her husband’s stupid choice one night at a bar.

In all the mental pictures of his father, even in the best ones, none of them were like this. He had never—could never—have imagined a parent staring at him like this. Nothing prepared him for the emotion that pummeled and racked his body when his father wrapped his arms around him. Gage didn’t move for a moment. He tried to push the reality of this embrace aside. He tried not to feel. He tried not to acknowledge this was the first hug he’d received from a blood relative. This man, a stranger, a man he’d shunned, was holding on to him as though he were gold, as though he were precious, like how a father would hold a beloved child.

“I’m so happy you called me,” his father whispered, his voice ragged. “My son.”

Jesus.
Gage blinked away the moisture that managed to sneak its way into his eyes and returned the hug briefly before stepping away. He hadn’t prepared himself for this. He had come here for Meredith. For Cole.

His father clutched his arm. “Is it about the ranch you’re buying? Do you need help? It’s a fine piece of land, very far from here.”

Gage didn’t blink for a moment. “How did you know about that?”

His father’s cheeks turned ruddy.

The blond woman rounded the desk and stood in front of him. Her blue eyes still had that sheen in them, and she gave him a hesitant smile. “Dad knows a lot about you. He’s really proud of you.” She didn’t move for a second, then threw herself into his arms. He hugged her slender frame and she pulled away after a moment.

“Sorry. I’m just so happy you’re here. I guess you probably don’t know anything about us, or I don’t even know if you know we existed. I’m Madison. I feel like I know you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

That admission hung in the room as awkwardly as Gage felt it. What the hell did that mean? He wasn’t here to become a real family…or whatever it was they were doing. She was staring at him with an earnestness that killed him.
She’d heard so much about him.
His father talked about him?

“I came here because a friend of mine, people who”—he coughed—“took me in, are in trouble. Their ranch is being threatened.”

His father’s brows snapped together and Gage caught a glimpse of the formidable opponent he must have been in his younger days. “Someone’s threatening Forrester?”

How did his father know this? How much did they know about his life? He should ask. He should ask why. But that would mean opening himself up to them, it would make him vulnerable. He didn’t know what they were doing, but he wasn’t prepared to deal with it. “A woman who’s very important to me is mixed up in all of this and I need to end whatever it is they’re doing and get her back.”

“Tell me who. We’ll help you. Whatever you need. I owe the late Forrester everything. And I owe you more than I’ll ever be able to repay.”

Gage glanced from his father to his siblings. They were all staring at him worriedly. “You don’t owe me.”

His father shook his head, clutching Gage’s arm again. “I do. I owe you a lifetime. I’ll help you, but I ask for one thing in return.”

Gage ran his hands over his jaw. He hadn’t expected that, but then again maybe he interpreted all of them wrong.

“When this is all over, you come here and let me talk to you. I want to sit down and try to explain. I want a chance, Gage,” he said, his voice cracking. His white eyebrows furrowed low over his eyes, deep lines engraved beside his mouth.

Gage stared into eyes that were so much like his and he knew the vulnerability that was shining in his father’s eyes must have been mirrored in his own. Gage gave him a nod. “Yes.”

…

One hour later, Gage walked down the front steps of the massive estate feeling the anticipation of impending victory and the weight of his past lifting from his shoulders. He was almost at his truck when Nathan called out.

His brother handed him a thick file. His eyes had a slight sheen to them. Gage eyed the folder and then took it in his hands. “What is this?”

“I know nothing I can say will change your mind or erase everything that happened to you, but I, uh, I just thought you should know.” His brother cleared his throat. “I only saw my—
our
—father cry once in his life. I was thirteen. I walked into his office at home, wanting to ask for help on a homework assignment. Dad was sitting in his chair, behind his desk, and his head was in his hands. I stood in the doorway, not knowing what to do. I watched my mother walk over to him and put her arms around him. He turned and wept in her arms, and I stood there, silent. I was scared shitless. Our father is not a man who cries. He’s a man who holds his head up high, filled with dignity and principles. I moved to the side so they wouldn’t see me, and then I heard him in this voice that I will never forget say, ‘I have a son. God, Mandy, I have a son. I’ve failed him so badly, and he wants nothing to do with me.’”

Gage cleared his throat. Once. Twice. But the damn lump didn’t move down his throat. He stared into Nathan’s face, the reality that his father wasn’t a heartless asshole slowly trudging through his system. He let his gaze wander to the immaculate lawn, the landscaping. He squinted against the bright sun. He breathed in the fresh air, finally allowing it all to be real, finally accepting the truth. “What’s in the folder?”

“He kept tabs on you. He wanted to know you were okay. Your first job, everything. When you were promoted to foreman at Tall Pines, he came home and told us. He was so damn proud of you. I know you have your reasons for staying away, and I, uh, can’t even imagine what your life was like, but I thought you should know that he loves you, and it almost killed him to have to walk away from you. You probably don’t want to have anything to do with us, but if you ever change your mind…you’ve got family here. And, uh, you’re always welcome.”

Gage stared at Nathan, his younger brother, and the instincts that had served him so well in life told him that these people were genuine, and they were his family.

“I’d like that.”

Nathan smiled and held out his hand, and damn if they didn’t have the same smile. He gripped his brother’s hand and shook it. “So, I’ll meet you back here tomorrow night?”

Nathan slapped him on the back. “Looking forward to it. Best plans I’ve had in a long time.”