by Anya Nowlan
“I had a lovely time,” she said to Gage, making his bear let out a contented growl. “Good night,” she added, glancing over at Reid.
With that, she turned on her heel and bounded up the stairs, leaving the brothers staring at each other in the kitchen.
There goes the secrecy then.
Fifteen
Addison
The days following Addison all but announcing to Reid she was romantically interested in his brother had gone by relatively peacefully. She had spent even more time riding horses with Gage, as that was one of the few activities Reid couldn’t hover over.
Was Addison imagining it, or was her boss suddenly popping up all over the place every time she tried to be alone with Gage? By Gage’s increasingly surly attitude whenever his brother happened to be around, she guessed he didn’t think Reid’s constant presence was merely a coincidence either.
As far as she knew, the brothers had yet to talk about the rift that had been torn between them all those years ago, and Addison hadn’t brought it up again. But the story Gage had told her had not left her unaffected.
It must have taken immense willpower and determination to get where he was now, not to mention how much harder taking on the ranch had to have been right after his parents’ deaths. Gage’s current success was all the more impressive now that she had some idea of what it had taken to get him to where he was.
And their subsequent conversations had only made Addison respect him more and more. Not only was Gage a hard worker, a loyal friend and a blast to be around, they had forged a connection she couldn’t quite describe.
But she still had her wits about her, right? This was a situation that needed to be looked at with clear eyes, without letting emotion take over.
Ah, who am I kidding, Addison sighed to herself. He’s reduced me to a giddy, grinning idiot and I’m loving every minute of it.
In lieu of tossing around in her bed, Addison pushed her covers aside and pulled open the curtains, revealing a pink-orange glow appearing from behind the horizon. Now knowing what else to do, she opened up her laptop and pulled out her chair, her bare feet softly padding on the hardwood floor.
In a rare moment of actually managing to connect to the internet, Addison’s leg jiggled impatiently as the websites of different news outlets loaded on her screen. Stories about Rourke weren’t displayed boldly on the top of the page anymore, at least, she found with some relief.
In fact, most of the news about him had withered down to an update or two about his continuingly busy nightlife, and the comments on those were downright tame compared to the pure vitriol spewed immediately after the trial’s end.
She checked her company e-mail next, pleased to find only a couple of letters calling her a heartless bitch. Who would have thought she would see those as a preferred alternative to death threats?
Yet, while she was glad the outrage was beginning to die down as new scandals were splattered over the front pages, with it came the realization that she and Reid would most likely be returning to Chicago soon.
I’m not ready to leave.
The thought was immediate, a primal reaction to what she knew was bound to happen. She had only just found the man that fascinated her, impressed her, made her feel wanted, safe, beautiful… All she wanted was more of him, and he seemed to feel the same way.
And it wasn’t just Gage that had charmed her – it was the whole town of Black Oak. The peace and quiet she had thought would be stifling was soothing, and from the few trips she had taken into town, she was already picking out familiar faces.
And people were smiling and waving to her on the street, for God’s sakes! Could this place get any more friendly and wholesome? As she let herself think of the differences between Black Oak and Chicago, and her mind wandered to what waited for her back home, one insane thought after another began to pop into her head.
Like what it would be like to stay. Or what it would be like to have her own law office.
She tried swatting those fantasies away, but they became more persistent as time went by. Was she even built for taking such a risk? She wasn’t sure, and in frustration, she slammed her laptop shut, chiding herself for letting her imagination run wild.
The sound of Gage’s bedroom door opening and closing pulled her out of it, and she rushed over to open her own door before even thinking about it. Gage stopped in his tracks as she peeked out, a lazy grin on his face.
“Didn’t think you’d be up so early,” he said, keeping his voice low.
“You’re rubbing off on me,” she replied.
“Come on then,” he waved her over. “Let’s get you some coffee and scrambled eggs.”
Grabbing a cardigan to throw over her pajamas, Addison followed, fully aware a huge smile was taking over her face, as it always tended to do when she was around him.
They fell into a comfortable routine in the kitchen, with her brewing the coffee and him cooking the eggs. When everything was done, their steps and the sound of plates and silverware clinking the only sound in the quiet house, Addison had to take a deep breath and take it all in.
Standing at the counter with two cups of coffee in front of her, she took a moment to appreciate how much Gage’s house had started to feel like home. His arms wrapped around her a moment later, his chest pressing against her back.
“And what’s got you so preoccupied today?” he asked, as she leaned into his embrace.
Nothing slipped past him when it came to her, that was for sure. He had come to read her like a book, which would have annoyed her if it hadn’t flown both ways.
“Just thinking about work,” she said, which wasn’t entirely untrue.
But just as she was contemplating saying more, she could feel him stiffen around her. Craning her neck, she glanced at the door, and sure enough, she could see Reid approaching, rubbing his eyes yet still impeccably dressed in slacks and a button-up.
“Is that coffee I smell?” he asked.
Wordlessly, Gage let her go and got another cup for Reid. The moment where she could have had a real conversation about their future had passed, and tension settled in the air as all three of them sat down for breakfast.
As soon as they were done, Reid turned his gaze to Addison.
“Could I have a word with you?” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied.
“Alone,” Reid added, making Gage grumble under his breath.
“I’ll be in the stables,” he said, before getting up and leaving.
Once Gage was gone, Reid fixed her with his gaze, folding his hands in his lap. He gave her a small smile that she found somewhat insincere, but she sat still, patiently waiting to see what it was he wanted to speak to her about.
Even though she already had a strong suspicion about what he wanted to discuss.
“I think it’s time we go home,” he said, which didn’t take Addison by surprise.
But the visceral reaction of everything inside her screaming no sure did. Outwardly, though, she only nodded, more confused than ever over what she should do next. She had thought she still had more time to think things through, to discuss the future with Gage…
But it looked like her timetable had just been accelerated.
Sixteen
Gage
Gage smelled his brother approaching a mile away, and stepped outside to meet him. With the early morning chill in the air and summer losing out to fall, Reid was underdressed in his white collared shirt, his movements stiff and his breath visible in front of him.
All Gage wanted to know was what Reid and Addison had discussed, but he was fairly certain Reid wasn’t going to tell him even if he asked. Still, since this was the first time Reid had sought him out in private, Gage’s curiosity was piqued.
“I wanted to let you know we’ll be leaving soon,” Reid said. “We’ve overstayed our welcome by now anyway.”
Gage raised a brow at the way Reid spoke for both himself and Addison. He also knew better than to take his brother'
s words for gospel.
“Is that what you and Addison were talking about?” he asked.
“There was nothing to talk about really,” Reid shrugged. “The heat seems to have died down so we’re going home.”
It wasn’t as if Gage hadn’t seen this day coming. But he had thought he would be talking about it directly with Addison. Not that he had any idea what the hell he would even say to her. This ranch was his life, Black Oak was his home, and Addison also had a life and home back in Chicago.
What was he going to do, ask her to abandon all that and move here? That hardly seemed fair. Yet he also knew he couldn’t let her go. She was his soul mate, and now that he had had a chance to have her in his life, he couldn’t settle for anything less.
“Okay,” Gage said simply. “You do what you gotta do.”
Reid studied him for a moment, crossing his arms in front of him.
“Don’t you think you’ve taken this far enough?” he asked. “Clearly she cares about you. Now let her get back to her real life.”
Bristling, Gage stared his brother down, holding back the growl building in his throat. What exactly was Reid implying? Did he really think this was some sort of game to Gage?
“You might treat life like a competition, but I don’t,” Gage replied. “I care about Addison.”
Care was a weak word for the feeling that had been exploding inside him from the first moment he laid eyes on Addison, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Reid. Who knew how his brother would take advantage of that knowledge?
“Please,” Reid scoffed. “And the fact she’s my most trusted colleague has nothing to do with it? If this is about mom and dad…” he started, but Gage cut him off.
“Oh, so now you bring them up,” he said, letting out a harsh laugh.
Gage had meant to bring up that particular topic ever since he had told Addison the reason he and Reid weren’t exactly on brotherly terms, but no moment had seemed right. How did one casually bring up their parents’ deaths and subsequent abandonment by his older brother? Over a cup of coffee? While pummeling him into the ground?
Reid tensed, his features tight. Gage could sense his brother’s bear floating closer to the surface. He could see Reid choosing his words while he grew more impatient by the second. But he wanted to hear what the man had to say, so he waited, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“I know you think I failed you,” Reid said. “But I would have been no good to you. You know I’m bad at those types of situations.”
“And what kind of situations are those?” Gage asked, an edge to his tone.
Shuffling on his feet, Reid puffed out a breath as he avoided looking at Gage.
“I wouldn’t have known how to support you. Emotionally,” he admitted.
“Just being there would have been enough,” Gage replied.
Something inside him was winding up tight as they were finally talking about the thing he had wanted answers to for years. Finally having Reid in front of him, having a candid conversation was a culmination of everything he had bottled up inside.
“You know all I ever wanted was to succeed,” Reid said, finally meeting his gaze. “Coming back… It felt like I would be backsliding. It felt like Black Oak would sink its claws into me again and this time, it wouldn’t let go.”
There was something honest and vulnerable to the way Reid spoke, but his excuses were doing little to actually give Gage closure. Did Reid still think he was in the right? Gage tried to see it from his brother’s perspective, but it was proving difficult.
“You could have at least come for the funeral,” he said. “If not to say goodbye to them, then at least for me. We grew up together, in this very house. I thought we were close. And then you left me to fend for myself without so much as a phone call to see how I was doing. You can’t expect me to just forget that.”
Reid shook his head, his eyes fixing on something in the distance. For a moment, his eyes looked shiny, but he pulled on his mask of not caring about anything before Gage could really read his expression.
“I don’t expect that,” Reid replied. “But what’s going on now isn’t fair to Addison. She’s already packing up her things so we can leave in the morning. Don’t be so cruel as to try and stop her.”
Stunned by the sudden change of subject, and the fact Addison was getting ready to leave as they spoke, Gage just stared at his brother, more confused than ever. The apology he had wanted to hear hadn’t come, and would probably never come. And the fact that Reid had somehow convinced himself that Gage’s relationship with Addison revolved around him was almost too egocentric to comprehend.
Yet as Reid turned and left, what he had said got in Gage’s head.
Maybe asking Addison to stay really is cruel.
Seventeen
Addison
Her suitcase half-empty, clothes spilling out of drawers, Addison sat on her bedroom floor, conflicted. It was time to go home, as Reid had said. But what did home mean to her now?
It was totally insane to think she could just pick up and restart her life alongside a man she hadn’t even known existed a week ago. Just the thought terrified her, but it also excited her like little else had lately.
There was one problem, though – Gage hadn’t asked her to stay.
She had wanted to be the one to tell Gage that Reid thought things had calmed down enough for them to return to Chicago, but Reid insisted he should be the one to talk to his brother about it, and really, who was she to argue? They were family, estranged or not, and she didn’t want to get in the middle of that.
But she couldn’t help but wonder – what was she to Gage?
Girlfriend? Fling? Neither of them had made any attempt to define their relationship, choosing to just enjoy their time together. Now their hand had been forced, and Addison wasn’t sure she had what it took to make the first move.
What if she started talking about a possible future together when to him, this whole thing boiled down to making the best of an unexpected situation? She didn’t think she could survive the embarrassment, or the heartache. Yet it couldn’t be better to say nothing at all, could it?
Gage had certainly acted like she was important to him, but then again, her staying under his roof made things complicated. Perhaps he was just being nice, not wanting to rock the boat while he quietly waited for her to eventually leave?
No, Addison shook her head, brow furrowing. I know there’s more to it than that. I can feel it.
What she really needed was more time to figure this all out. She had plenty of vacation days stacked up, and she and Reid had no cases pending, for obvious reasons. If she could just spend some more time with Gage, without Reid around, things would become clearer, right?
As if on cue, a knock on the door jerked her out of her frantic thoughts. She leapt to her feet, unsure of which brother she would find at the door. When she opened it, it was Reid who was staring back at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Hey,” he said. “Just wanted to let you know I just got off the phone with the office and we’re on the first flight out tomorrow. I’ve arranged for a car to come pick us up at half past six.”
Anxiety and indecision bloomed in her gut, but Addison knew she couldn’t just leave things as they were. In that moment, she made up her mind – she wanted to stay, if just for a while. Of course she’d talk to Gage, make sure he even wanted her to, but either way, she would have to clear things with Reid first.
“About that…” she started, not really sure how to continue.
Reid had already picked up on her unease, his jaw tight as he studied her.
“Do you mind if I come in?” he asked.
“Sure…” Addison trailed off, glancing back at the mess of garments on the floor.
“There’s something I feel I should tell you, before you say whatever it is you were going to say,” Reid announced as he brushed past her.
Closing the door behind him, Addison watched him pace around
his room, looking like he was about to deliver one of his closing speeches. An uneasiness swirled in her chest when he turned to her, something akin to pity in his eyes.
“What is it?” she asked, folding her arms in front of her.
“I know you’ve formed a… close, personal relationship with my brother while we’ve been here,” he started.
Addison stilled, remaining silent.
That’s one way to put it, I suppose.
She fought the blush rising up her cheeks as she thought of the all too easily forgotten fact that no matter how quiet or sneaky she had thought she was being sneaking into Gage’s bedroom, Reid was still a shifter, with sharper senses than a mere human like her could possibly fathom.
“I don’t know what he’s been telling you, but I thought you should have all the facts,” Reid continued. “The truth of the matter is, there has always been a power struggle between me and Gage. Sibling rivalry I guess you would call it, intensified by the fact we’re shifters. And I’m afraid this time you’re caught in the middle.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Addison said.
In truth, she had a good feeling as to where Reid was headed, but she wanted him to spit it out, in his own words. He took a breath, meeting her gaze head on.
“He caught on to the fact that you’re important to me, and so he decided to show me up. I didn’t think he would take it past flirting, but clearly he feels like he has something to prove. The animosity you’ve seen between us runs deep, and I don’t blame Gage for his anger, but using you to get at me… That’s low,” Reid replied.
Addison froze, every muscle in her body tensing as Reid’s words slowly sunk in.
“Wait, what?” she blurted out.
It wasn’t one of her more eloquent or thought-out responses, but it was a genuine reaction. Was Reid really telling her what she thought he was telling her? That her entire relationship with Gage was just a ploy on Gage’s part, some sort of attempt at revenge?