Rescued by the Rancher (13 page)

Authors: Victoria James

BOOK: Rescued by the Rancher

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Chapter Fourteen

Meredith clutched her bow-shaped Kate Spade USB flash drive in the palm of her hands, which were currently in her lap. She was seated at her family’s usual table at the country club, waiting for the perfect moment to proclaim her victory. Tonight her nerves weren’t due to fear of being rebellious or confronting her family. Tonight her fear was rejection from Gage when she showed up at Tall Pines later on.

She glanced over at her father and Ron knee-deep in conversation about a business deal her mother couldn’t follow. It was the typical scenario. She and her mother would discuss fashion, the latest gossip, or upcoming events. Everything was the same, except her. She couldn’t pretend anymore, and she was no longer a victim. She was going to confront the people who had given her life, who had given her wealth, and then proceeded to tear her down. They were the people who had cost her the most precious gift, and in a few minutes, she was about to give them what had been coming for years. She would show them what happened when they dared attempt to double-cross the new Meredith. She was finally ready to rescue herself. She was finally strong enough to take control of her own life, her own destiny. Voices and polite conversation floated around the circular dining room of the country club. Tinkling crystal and soft jazz music enveloped the room as the area’s wealthiest families and couples dined amid the backdrop of the spectacular golf course.

Meredith took a deep breath and opened her mouth when a shiver dashed through her, robbing her of speech. Her gaze went to the wide entryway, and her eyes locked onto a man who looked so heartbreakingly familiar that she couldn’t catch the gasp that escaped her lips. Gage. She gulped in the sight of him. Seconds later his gaze locked onto hers, searching rapidly over her until he turned to the man next to him and said something. Meredith knew the other man through social circles, Nathan Hamilton, one of the heirs to the Hamilton fortune. And he looked remarkably like Gage. Strong, square jaw, incredibly blue eyes and dark hair, tall, broad-shouldered…standing there, at the top of the stairs, both dressed impeccably in tailored suits, they emanated power and strength.

What was Gage doing here? Was he mad at her? She had wanted to get him alone, to explain why she’d left with Ron. She needed to tell him it was all a lie, she’d been pretending.

Meredith held her breath as they walked toward her table. When Gage broke her stare to look at her dining companions, her stomach dropped at the undiluted hatred in his eyes. She swallowed hard, realizing her family had no idea who was approaching. Suddenly both men were standing in front of them, her father not clueing in that whatever it was that was about to happen wouldn’t be good, but Ron knew. He squirmed like the weak, pathetic man he was, and didn’t say a word. His face was white and he suddenly wasn’t so chatty.

Her father grinned up at Nathan, still not clueing in. “Hamilton, nice to see you again. How’s your father?”

Nathan adjusted his navy striped tie, staring at her father. “He’s livid at the moment. Seems some jackass has threatened his son.”

Meredith’s breath was coming in rapid succession as Gage stood completely still, his powerful frame rigid with what she recognized was barely controlled rage.

“Someone’s threatened you?” Her father still hadn’t clued in. Ron looked as though he was about to vomit. Her mother had on her plastic-for-the-public face.

Nathan gave a slight shake of his head. “Not me, my brother. I’m pretty sure you know him. He’s the foreman at Tall Pines ranch, Gage Mackenzie,” he said, placing his hand on Gage’s shoulder.

Meredith gasped, all the cryptic references Gage had made about his biological father playing through her mind in rapid succession, but Gage wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were trained on her father and Ron, going back and forth between them as though he didn’t know who he wanted to tear into first.

“Nathan, this isn’t your concern.”

“You cross one of us, you cross all of us.”

Her father leaned forward. “Cole Forrester got what was coming to him. He interfered in family business, broke a deal.”

“You’re a liar.”

Gage’s deep voice, filled with such venom, silenced her father. A trickle of sweat ran down her back when Gage purposely leaned over a few inches from her father’s face and braced his large, tanned hands on the white tablecloth. Her father turned ashen, his jaw going slightly slack.

“You got your pathetic lackey to blackmail Meredith, and then framed Cole by contaminating the feed.”

Meredith shut her eyes for a split second, relief washing over her. He knew. Somehow, Gage had figured it out.

Her father cleared his throat. “I don’t like the way you’re addressing me, young man.”

“I don’t really care, Anderson. You’re going down. We know exactly what you’ve done.”

“He’ll have a hell of a time proving it.”

Not knowing how the heck she was going to get everyone’s attention, since the tension was so thick, she raised her butter knife and tapped it against her water glass. Everyone at the table turned to look at her and she gave Gage a tentative smile, worried when he didn’t smile back.
Stay focused, Meredith.
This was the moment she deserved. She had spoken about the ‘new Meredith’ for months, and it was now time to prove it.

She owed Melanie, Cole, and Gage. She owed herself, her baby.

And she owed these people nothing.

She glanced around the table, taking in her father’s dismissive stare, Ron’s bored one, and her mother’s panicked one. She forced a smile on her face. “Actually, it’s a funny thing. This darling little USB drive came in handy. You see, Ron,” she said, turning to look at the man who could no longer hold her prisoner, “you underestimated me. While you were out banging your latest conquest, I was downloading all the fascinating emails between you and the delinquents you hired to do precisely what Gage has accused you of. Ron, you really should do a better job of not leaving evidence. You always were so lazy. Leaving around a file that says ‘to be deleted’ is just moronic.”

“Meredith,” her father bellowed, reaching out to grab her, but Gage intercepted, twisting her father’s arm into an unnatural position until he winced with pain. Gage leaned forward. “You’re lucky that your son-in-law Cole let you walk off that ranch in one piece, but my manners aren’t as good and I’ve got no problem dealing with you, however is needed, regardless of how old you are or how much money you have. You touch Meredith, you threaten her or anyone else in my family, and you’ll have breathed your last breath.” He released her father’s arm with a violence that had her mother gasping and fawning over her father, and, as usual, her father scowled at her mother and shrugged off her touch violently.

“Mother, Father, Ron, good-bye.”

“Meredith,” her mother gasped.

Meredith shook her head, the guilt ricocheting off her as she stood on legs that were finally capable of holding the weight of her mistakes. “I’m done. I refuse to live the rest of my life with you. Tomorrow morning every single media outlet will be breaking the story of how Anderson Foods tried to bankrupt a family ranch. Tomorrow morning you will no longer be the esteemed Phillip Anderson. You’ll be exposed for the weak, spineless man you truly are.” This time when her father reached for her, he looked over at Gage and sat back in his seat.

“Oh, and another thing. You might want to keep an eye out, because I have a feeling you’ll be getting a visit from the IRS. Never leave a trail, Ron. Don’t they teach that in Tax Evasion 101?”

Her father didn’t move an inch, the poison in his eyes not reaching her anymore. But her mother reached over to hold on to her arm. “You can’t do this, Meredith. I need you.” Her mother’s thin hand squeezed her, but she refused to sit back down.

“No, you don’t. You need someone to make you feel better for staying with a man who has no respect for you. You need to get therapy. I can’t be your therapist anymore. If and when you decide to leave Dad, my door and Melanie’s door will always be open to you.” She tore her gaze from her mother’s shattered expression.

“Last thing, Ron,” she said, moving toward Gage. “I would hand you back the engagement ring you gave to me, but instead I decided to sell it. The proceeds have been donated to the shelter on Seventh Street for women who are victims of domestic abuse. The donation has been made in yours and my father’s names.”

“Bitch.”

This time, Gage’s fist did connect with Ron’s jaw, and the chattering in the circular room stopped, silence falling over the country club. Ron clutched his face. “I’ll sue.”

“Save it. Consider that your warning, your one chance at walking away from us unscathed. Tomorrow you’ll be receiving the lawsuit our father is drafting tonight. Show your face anywhere near any of us again, and you’re done,” Nathan said.

When Gage held his hand out to her, she grasped it, feeling the strength in it, reveling in the love in his eyes. She walked over to him and stood between the brothers for a moment, before Gage hauled her up into his arms and kissed her like a starving man. And then they were gone, walking toward their future, her miserable past sitting like a broken tea set at the table.

Once they were outside, Nathan got into the waiting car and she stood close to Gage. How different things had been only a year ago when she’d stood outside here with Ron.

“Gage.” She whispered his name, raising her hands to his face, tracing the strong line of his jaw. If there had ever been a man to make her believe in heroes, it was him. He pulled her to him, gently, determined. She closed her eyes as his lips hovered over hers, anticipating, wanting, needing to be loved by him.

“Meredith.” His mouth was on hers, his lips stealing every fear, returning every ounce of faith she’d lost. She opened her mouth to receive him fully, to allow him to explore, and the moment she did, Gage moved his mouth over hers.

She pulled back, needing a moment to explain. “It was all a lie. I wanted to die when I told you I wanted to go back to Ron. I thought that was it, that you’d never forgive me.”

“Always. I will always forgive you, but you don’t need my forgiveness. I know why you did it. I know the position Ron put you in, but there was no way I was going to leave you there to fight by yourself. I’ve got your back, darlin’. Always.”

Meredith smiled even though her eyes filled with tears. Gage framed her face with his warm, gentle hands.

“Your family? You have a brother? You went to them, your dad…I had no idea.”

Gage shrugged slightly. “When I first found out about him, I was at a really low point in my life. I didn’t believe him that he didn’t know about me until I was a teenager. That day at my mother’s house, they told me he’d paid off their house and that he’d been sending her money every month. I wasn’t ready to deal with that, what that meant. And then that night”—he paused to stroke her hair, his voice gruff and filled with tenderness—“that you left with Ron, I knew I had to see my father. I knew they were a powerful family, and hell, if there was ever a time to ask for help, that was it. I wasn’t going to lose you. I wasn’t going to let Cole’s ranch go down. He told me that if I ever needed help to go to him.”

“He came through,” she whispered, not wanting to let him go, feeling the strong beating of his heart beneath her ear.

Gage wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah, and it pretty much confirmed I was wrong about him. I don’t know what’ll happen now with them, but I promised I’d give it a chance. Him a chance. The family.”

“Your brother seems a lot like you,” she whispered, glancing at Nathan, who was sitting inside the car, talking on his phone.

Gage grinned. “He’s more of a tough-ass than I would have expected.”

Meredith smiled against his chest. The smooth fabric of his suit beneath her fingers was a reminder of everything he’d done. “This suit thing you’ve got going on is a little bit hot,” she whispered, smiling and clutching the lapels of his jacket as she looked up at him.

A sexy grin spread across his face. “The rest of the night is yours to show me how hot you think it is.”

“What about the ranch? Leaving Tall Pines?”

He shrugged. “You and I can figure it out together. Whatever’s right for both of us.”

“I missed you so much, Gage,” she said against his lips when he leaned down and proceeded to kiss away every horrid memory she owned.

He pulled back for a moment, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. “Me, too. It took all my self-control not to come and get you. Never again, Mer. I’ve had shit days and you’ve had shit days. When I was a kid, I remember thinking there had to be more out there. There had to be a better life. There had to be better days waiting for me. You are all my better days, Meredith. You’re my best days. I love you.”

Epilogue

Meredith smiled down at the precious, sweetest baby girl in her arms.

Her goddaughter, Elizabeth Forrester.

Cole and Melanie’s baby girl had been born two months ago. Baby Elizabeth squeezed Melanie’s index finger, holding on with a ferocity that made Meredith laugh. Holding her niece and goddaughter always filled her with a joy that surprised her. She was able to enjoy and love Elizabeth without pain, with only pure, genuine love. She knew it was because she was a different woman than before. She had made peace with the girl that she had been, she had forgiven herself.

Meredith looked around the candlelit dining room at the Tall Pines ranch, at the guests who were here celebrating her niece’s christening, and the warmth of family, of safety, of love, billowed around her.

Her eyes made contact with her husband’s across the room, the heat of his gaze rushing through her in a way that never failed to astound her. He was standing next to his brother, his sister, and his father, and Meredith smiled at him. Her stomach flipped a thousand somersaults while his heated gaze roamed her body appreciatively. His family was speaking to him, and in typical Gage fashion, the man gave some sort of short, abrupt good-bye and left them, weaving through the crowd, his eyes not leaving hers.

In the last few months, Gage had joined the Tall Pines ranch to become a partner with Cole. She and Gage were having their own house built on the ranch. She was crazy busy, between working with Melanie and with her own accounting classes, and of course, Gage. They married at the Forrester family chapel where her sister and Cole had been married. He had started a relationship with his own family. His father, his brother, and his sister had all attended the wedding. She had been raised in a house with biological parents, yet she’d never known family like this.
This
was family. This ensemble of diverse, stubborn, infuriating, people. They were her true family.

A minute later, Gage was standing in front of her, the baby cocooned between them. “I hope you weren’t rude to your family,” she said, poking him in the shoulder.

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I found out they’re all rude, too. It’s in the bloodlines.”

She laughed, happy for him and the peace he’d found, finally with his family. They were alike. He and his brother Nathan were both smart-talking, charmers, and their sister, Madison doted on Gage. But their father had captured Meredith’s heart and had won her over immediately when she saw the love in his eyes when he looked at Gage.

“Want to hold her?” she asked when Gage held out his arms, and seconds later, baby Lizzy was nestled in his arms. The sight of Gage, strong and hard, completely softening with the baby girl made her insides melt. He looked up from Lizzy’s sleepy face to meet Meredith’s gaze, and his eyes glistened with an emotion she didn’t understand, but one that held her motionless with its impact.

“I’ve been thinking about something and I would have told you earlier, but I wanted to wait for the right time.” He cleared his throat.

Meredith’s heart rate picked up, sensing that whatever he was going to say was huge. “I know you didn’t have an easy childhood, and hell, I didn’t either. I don’t know anything about kids. And before you I didn’t know anything about love, but I learned. I’m pretty sure I can learn how to be a father. Hell, if Cole learned, I think I can, too.”

Meredith blinked back tears even though her chin was wobbling and she was shaking. She shook her head, hoping he’d get that she couldn’t speak at the moment, but wanted him to continue.

Gage reached out to caress the side of her face, his thumb grazing over her cheekbone. “The people I loved like family for so many years share no blood with me, but they have been true family to me. Mrs. H, the Forresters, and you. God, Meredith, I love you more than anyone, anything. I want to have a family with you. I know we’ll be able to love a baby or a child that isn’t our biological one. I want you to be a mom. You were meant to be a mother,” he said, his voice rough with emotion as he leaned down and kissed the tears on her face.

She felt as though her heart would burst as she looked up at him. How far she’d come. How much had changed in her life since that first night she’d arrived at the ranch. She was ready now to become a parent, to let go of everything that had happened to her, to forgive herself. She was ready to remember the baby girl she’d lost and cherish that memory forever. “Gage, I want that, too. I love you so much.”

“All right, you two, hand my baby girl over before she suffocates,” Cole said, shoving himself between them to pick up his baby.

Gage slipped his arm around Meredith and she curled into her husband, letting the reality of what Gage had said, sink in. A baby. The night she’d told him about her baby, he’d rescued her; he hadn’t let her rot in her own hell. He’d pulled her out and now he was offering another road to a life that she yearned for, deep inside her soul.

She held onto him, knowing she would never let go. She gazed out on the crowd. Gage’s father and siblings came over to stand with them. Meredith glanced over at her sister, feeling more than complete, knowing none of this could have happened if she hadn’t broken away first. Then she looked up at Gage, knowing none of this could have happened without him, and she was so happy to see the man who at one time seemed so alone, so without any family at all, surrounded by so many people who loved him.

He leaned down, and she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he whispered in her ear. “I say we ditch this christening in twenty minutes and start christening some of the rooms in our new house.”

A dish towel appeared out of nowhere, swatting her husband on his shoulder.

Meredith laughed, turning to find Mrs. H, dressed up for the occasion and trying to maintain a frown. “Only you would take a religious event, young man, and try and turn it into some lewd—”

“Mrs. Harris, care to dance?”

The laughter faded and they all turned to look at Gage’s father, holding out his arm. Mrs. Harris, usually unflappable and ready with a remark, blushed, silent. Meredith nudged Mrs. H and suddenly she sputtered out a “yes.” She shoved her dish towel at Gage and took off.

They all watched as the older couple made their way to the dance floor.

“Oh my God, that’s trouble,” Gage whispered.

Everyone laughed.

“This is the best day,” Meredith said, smiling up at Gage.

He leaned down and kissed her. Meredith leaned into him, feeling his strength, loving it. Loving that Gage was the bravest man she knew, loving that his strength made her feel safe, and made her strong. He’d given her everything. He’d brought back dreams she’d abandoned, he’d given her love, a family, faith.

His hands wrapped around the nape of her neck, his lips leaving hers to whisper in her ear. “Today is a great day, but I think our best days are yet to come, Meredith.”