Swept Into Love: Gage Ryder (Love in Bloom: The Ryders Book 5)

by Melissa Foster

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “It’s Rusty,” Gage said solemnly, tightening his grip on her shoulder.

  Fear shot through her.

  “He’s been arrested, and we need to go to Harborside.”

  “Arrested?” She tried to wrap her mind around the idea, but Rusty wasn’t a troublemaking teenager anymore. He was responsible and sensible. Her heart hammered against her ribs as questions spilled out. “Why? What did he do? Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine. It sounds like it was a misunderstanding, but we have to leave now and get to Harborside. He’s going in front of a judge at four o’clock and we have to be there to bail him out if they set bail.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes. “Bail?” She clutched his arm to stabilize her buckling knees. “What did he do? Does he need a lawyer? We need a lawyer, right? I don’t know a lawyer in Massachusetts.”

  “I’m calling Treat.” Max pulled out her phone. “I’m sure you can use his plane.”

  Arrested. Oh my God, Rusty.

  Gage kissed her temple and said, “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get there and figure it out.”

  “Treat’s alerting the pilot,” Max informed them. “It’s a three-and-a-half-hour flight to Boston, plus the drive time. He’ll have a driver waiting to take you to Harborside. He said he knows an attorney, but you’ll never make it by four o’clock.”

  Max held out the phone to them.

  “I’ve got it, babe.” Gage took it from Max and spoke to Treat. “Thanks, Treat. I spoke to the clerk on my way over. She said if we’re not there when they set bail he could be sent to prison until we arrive to post it. Think your attorney could show up and arrange for them to hold him locally? I don’t want to deal with a bail bondsman or any of that if we can avoid it.”

  “Prison?” A sob broke from her chest. Max and Kaylie put their arms around her. “Rusty can’t go to prison. Gage…?”

  Gage pulled her from the girls’ arms and into his own as he wrapped up his call with Treat. “Thank you. As much as I appreciate the offer of a driver, I think we need our own rental car. I don’t want to have to rely on anyone else while we’re there. Thanks, Treat. I owe you the world.” He ended the call and handed the phone back to Max. “Thank you.”

  “Where’s your purse and coat?” he asked Sally.

  Kaylie handed Sally’s purse to Gage and held up Sally’s coat, helping her into it. “Go. Explain to her in the car, and call if you need us.”

  Gage was already moving toward the door. Once they were in the car, he headed for the highway. “Apparently Rusty borrowed his buddy’s car to pick up something across town. One of the taillights was broken, and he got pulled over. They spotted a bag of pills on the floor in the backseat and nailed him for possession.”

  “Pills? That makes no sense. What kind of pills?”

  Gage exhaled and squeezed her hand. “A few. OxyContin, Xanax, and ADD meds.”

  “OxyContin?” Her stomach sank. “I’m going to throttle him. He swore he wasn’t into any of that stuff. Remember? I asked him about it last summer when we read that article about how kids were getting into heroin as a drug of choice. How could I have missed this? I know how. He’s never home. This is all my fault.”

  “Baby, baby, baby,” Gage said quickly. “He swears it wasn’t his.”

  She pressed her lips together, fuming, wanting to believe her son and afraid to at the same time.

  “There’s more,” Gage said. “I had to promise him I’d come alone.”

  “What?” Move over drugs, because this new information is front and center. “You promised my son you’d keep this from me?”

  “Damn it, Sally. Does it look like I’m keeping it from you?” He ground his teeth together. “He was freaking out about you having enough to worry about with work and not wanting to bother you with something like this.”

  “Like this? He was arrested! If ever there was a time to tell his mother something, it’s now. Why didn’t you tell him that?”

  “Do you really underestimate me that much?” He put two hands on the wheel, his biceps flexing with his tight grip. “Jesus, Sally. Give me some fucking credit. I tried to convince him, but he was adamant about not making you worry.”

  Tears welled in her eyes again. “I’m sorry. I’m just overwhelmed. I’m so confused. What if it was his? What if he’s screwing up his life out there in Massachusetts and I’m letting him? I should have made him come home for the whole break. I never should have agreed to let him work this winter. I should have—” Angry sobs stole her voice.

  Gage reached across the seat and took her hand. “He’s twenty, Sal. He’s a young man, and he makes good decisions. I think we should wait until we talk to him in person to get too upset.”

  “Wait to get upset?” She scoffed. “Like that’s even an option? And why are you so calm? Even if the drugs aren’t his, what kind of friends is he hanging out with? And how long will it take for peer pressure to drag him over to the dark side? His entire life will forever be shadowed by this arrest. Where did I go wrong? Do you think it’s because his father is dead?”

  Gage took the next exit and pulled over to the side of the road, giving Sally his full attention. He leaned across the console and embraced her. She was shaking all over, and even being in his arms didn’t settle the fear running rampant inside her.

  He drew back and wiped her tears. “Sally, he’s your son. You taught him to make all the right choices. Even though I want to believe him—”

  “I do, too! He’s my son, but I’m not stupid enough to be one of those mothers who thinks ‘not my kid.’”

  “I know, Sal. If it’s his, it doesn’t mean he’s throwing his life away. If it’s his, then this arrest will probably shake him up enough to get on the right track.”

  “If the drugs are his, he’s coming back to Colorado, living under my roof, with my rules, and straightening out his life.”

  They drove the rest of the way to the airport in silence. The long plane flight was just as tense. Sally could hardly believe they were flying to Massachusetts to bail her son out of jail. The stress made her feel sick to her stomach, and Gage hardly said two words.

  It wasn’t until they were driving into Harborside that Sally realized her mistake.

  THEY MADE IT into town just in time to post bail before the cashier closed for the day. On the way back to the car, Sally’s eyes were wide and worried, like a deer caught in the headlights.

  “I never thought I’d be bailing out my son,” she said solemnly. She pushed Gage’s coat open and placed her hands on his chest. “I really want to reach for my hair right now.”

  “Always reach for me, bird.” He covered her hands with his own, mentally working through how he’d handle things with Rusty when Rusty realized Gage had brought Sally against his wishes. The attorney told them that Rusty insisted the drugs belonged to his friend, although they’d been unable to reach the other kid. Until they heard the other kid’s side of the story, Rusty was considered guilty. Gage fucking hated that, and he hoped to hell Rusty wasn’t using his friend as a scapegoat, because that would only make things worse.

  “I’m sorry for what I said about ‘my house and my rules,’” Sally said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to exclude you, or make you feel like you weren’t going to be part of our lives. I just…It just came out.”

  Having let go of the sting of her words hours ago, he said, “Don’t think twice about it. You’re under a lot of pressure. Let’s just get through this and make sure Rusty’s okay.”

  She nodded, her eyes as sad as they were scared. “Thank you for being there for him, and for telling me even though he didn’t want you to. I still can’t believe he wanted to keep this from me, but I’ll deal with him on that.”

  “I told you, I’ll always be here for both of you.”

  They drove straight to the police station. Rusty came out of a room in the back, his dark blond hair hanging limply in front of his eyes. His face was wea
ry and drawn. His shoulders were rounded forward. He was probably dead on his feet after a stressful, sleepless night. He lifted his chin with a surly expression and skulked out of the station with his mother on his heels.

  Rusty spun around, his eyes hooking into Gage like fangs. “What the hell, man? I trusted you. I asked you not to tell her.”

  “Don’t yell at him for doing the right thing,” Sally snapped. “You should have told me, Rusty, not Gage. What were you thinking trying to keep this from me?”

  Rusty’s eyes narrowed to angry slits, and his voice escalated. “What was I thinking? How can you even ask me that? I was thinking that I could trust him not to drag you into any of this mess. They weren’t my pills, Mom. I’m not a druggie or a dealer. This was just a messed-up misunderstanding that you don’t need to get all upset about.”

  Gage stepped between Rusty and Sally, looking Rusty directly in the eyes. “Rusty, take a breath. I get that you’re pissed at me right now, but I’m not about to let you holler at your mother.”

  “Oh, now you’re worried about my mother?” Rusty scoffed. “What the hell, Gage? Look how upset she is. That’s on you, man. She doesn’t need to worry about this shit on top of her job and everything else. You’re supposed to be her friend. I was trying to protect her. Why aren’t you?”

  Gage gritted his teeth to keep from ripping into Rusty about the reason they were there in the first place. “I am protecting her, Rusty. I know you can’t see that right now, but I care about you, and I care about your mother. I would never keep something this important from her. It wouldn’t be good for either of you.”

  “Whatever.” Rusty turned away.

  “Rusty Michael Tuft!” Sally yelled. “Don’t you dare blame Gage for your mistakes. Do you have any idea what it’s like for me to hear secondhand that you were arrested? And do you realize the horrible position you put Gage in?”

  “The position I put him in?” Rusty snapped. “Excuse me for thinking I could trust him.” He scrubbed a hand down his face and paced.

  “You can trust him,” Sally insisted. “But what you asked of him was unfair. Rusty, you have to know that.”

  “How about the position he put you in?” Rusty challenged.

  “Okay. Enough,” Gage demanded. “I’m sure you’re exhausted, Rusty, but that’s no excuse to take it out on your mother. Why don’t we go grab something to eat and talk about this rationally?”

  Rusty stared him down, his jaw clenched tight. He shifted his gaze to his mother and said, “I’m sorry I got into this mess and that you got dragged into it.” Grinding his teeth together, he turned to Gage. “Thanks for coming to bail me out, but I need to clear my head.”

  Sally stepped closer to her son, dwarfed by his size. She reached for him, stopping short, her expression torn. Gage could see her struggling between being the mother she wanted to be and letting her son be the young man he needed to be.

  “You can tell me if they were your drugs,” Sally said softly. “Don’t make this any worse.”

  Rusty rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Mom. They’re not. I promise, okay?”

  She nodded, her eyes damp as she put her arms around Rusty and hugged him. Rusty stood rigid, his long arms hanging by his sides. Sally didn’t move until Rusty reluctantly gave her a quick embrace and stepped back.

  “Come on, we’ll take you home.” Gage unlocked the car.

  “I’m going to walk,” Rusty mumbled, heading for the sidewalk. “It’s not far.”

  “Rusty,” Sally called after him.

  “It’s okay, babe.” Gage put a hand on her back. “Give him time to decompress. He’s been through a hell of a time.”

  “He shouldn’t have treated you that way,” she said.

  “I broke his trust. He has reason to be pissed. We’ll give him some breathing room, and then we can talk to him.”

  “He thought he was protecting me,” Sally said as she settled into the car.

  “It’s ironic, don’t you think? You’re hiding our relationship from him for the same reason.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  SALLY TRIED TO call Rusty twice after he left them to walk home, and when she didn’t get a response, she texted him with the name of the hotel where they were staying, a few blocks from his apartment. She’d stayed up half the night trying to figure out how to handle the situation, and consequently, she’d ended up feeling sick for hours. As the sun peeked through the curtains, she cuddled up to Gage. He’d been her saving grace last night, calming her when she’d wanted to drive over to Rusty’s and demand he talk this out. Gage was right. Rusty had probably gone straight to bed. When he was little he’d sleep so soundly she’d put her fingers under his nose to make sure he was breathing.

  “How’s the mama?” Gage asked in a groggy voice.

  She rested her head on his chest, thinking about their talk, and Rusty, and their secret marriage. “Wishing I hadn’t gotten so upset at him so fast.”

  “He wasn’t exactly in a peaceful mood, babe. It was an emotionally charged day.” He kissed her head. His hand snaked around her back, holding her closer. “How’s your stomach? Feeling any better?”

  “A little. I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

  “About?”

  “About Rusty being practically a man. I keep seeing myself as his protector, and I know he needs me to be on some level, but things have changed. I didn’t understand why he was trying to protect me yesterday, but now I get it. After Dave died he began seeing me as his overwhelmed mother, and maybe I was back then. But I’m not now, and he needs to know that. He needs to understand that I’m strong and capable and that I can handle anything. Even him being arrested.”

  She lifted her face and looked at Gage. He’d been so patient with her, so willing to step back and do right by Rusty. Now she realized she was the one who needed to step back. “I need to stop thinking of him as a fragile fifteen-year-old who can’t handle growing up. We need to tell him about us. All of it. Our marriage, moving in together. The whole shebang, for better or for worse. He deserves to know.”

  Relief washed over Gage’s features. “We’ll drive over and talk to him this morning. But he’s probably still pretty pissed at me. You may need to give me and him some time to clear the air first.”

  “Of course.” She rested her cheek on his chest again, absently drawing circles on his stomach. “I have to tell you something that isn’t easy to admit.”

  “Bird, you can tell me anything.”

  “It hurt knowing Rusty called you instead of me. I was a little jealous, and that was a weird feeling to have as his mother. I hate thinking that when he finds out we waited almost three weeks to tell him about us, he could be even more hurt. I think it was a mistake to wait.”

  Gage pulled her up beside him on the pillow and turned, giving her his full attention. “It wasn’t a mistake, babe. You were being careful, and that’s never a mistake.”

  “I’m not so sure.” She rolled over, untangling Gage’s shirt from around her waist. They’d left town so fast they hadn’t stopped to pack a bag. She’d slept in the shirt Gage had worn yesterday. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked her messages.

  “Three texts from Danica, Kaylie, and Max, and none from Rusty.”

  “He’s probably still sleeping. We’ll pick up breakfast and head over after we shower.”

  She sent a quick text to the girls and set her phone on the table again. Feeling queasy, she scooted to the edge of the bed and sat up. “I’m going to use the bathroom. Would you mind calling the front desk to see if they have toothbrushes and toothpaste? A comb or a brush would be great, too.” She pushed to her feet, and Gage’s shirt tumbled down her thighs.

  Sally leaned against the bathroom sink, waiting for her nervous stomach to settle, and studied her face in the mirror, feeling ten years older than she had yesterday. How did parents get through these types of situations? What if Rusty was lying? She hated to think that way, but how could she be sur
e until she sat down and looked into her boy’s eyes when he wasn’t flaming mad at Gage?

  Should he be punished for putting Gage in that position in the first place? Punish a twenty-year-old? Was he well within his rights as a young man to ask his confidant to keep his secret in order to protect his mother? She closed her eyes against hot tears, feeling completely overwhelmed.

  She leaned forward and stared at her face in the mirror. “Stop crying, or your boy is never going to see you as strong and capable.”

  She straightened her spine, drew her shoulders back, and yanked a towel from the rack. Wiping her tears, frustrated that keeping secrets had made her emotionally edgy, she told herself they’d get through this.

  After using the bathroom and washing her face, she drew in a few deep breaths, readying herself to face the day, no matter what it brought.

  “Gage?” she said as she left the bathroom. He was answering the door, shirtless and sexy in a pair of low-slung jeans. She touched the edge of her—his—shirt where it hit her thighs, smiling to herself. She loved wearing his shirts. “Hopefully that’s toothbrushes.”

  “Rusty,” Gage said in a tight voice.

  “Hey, I was looking for my mom’s room, but they didn’t have her listed at the desk.”

  Sally’s stomach lurched, sending bile into her throat. “Rusty—”

  Rusty peered over Gage’s shoulder. “Mom?”

  She grabbed her jeans and scrambled to put them on.

  “What the fu—” Rusty shouldered past Gage. If looks could kill, she’d be dead and buried. “I’m out of here.”

  He stormed out the door, and Gage grabbed his arm. “Rusty, wait.”

  “Fuck you.” He twisted out of Gage’s grip and disappeared from view.