A rustic cabin finally peeked out from behind the pines. A dilapidated porch was attached to the front, and the railing on one side leaned out, barely holding on by rusty nails.
Matt had called it a “project,” but it looked more like a punishment. He really thought this cabin could be saved? It would be much easier to tear it down and start over.
As he neared the cabin, another vehicle came into view.
Great. It seemed today was the day to face olddemons. Gage Howard’s truck was parked in front of the building with a bundle of two-by-fours sticking out the bed.
Zach shifted into park and got out. There wasn’t any use delaying. He’d worked with Gage years ago, but nothing about working at Silver Falls Ranch was like running guns and shine.
The boards creaked beneath his weight as he stepped onto the porch. The wooden door was cracked, and he gave a quick rap before stepping inside. Gage ripped a warped door off of a lower cabinet in the small kitchen.
Gage didn’t turn from his work. “Hey. Grab a crowbar.”
Finding one on the table, Zach squatted by the cabinets and started ripping them out. They worked in silence until they’d filled the wheelbarrow with scraps of the broken-down cabinets.
“You can dump it in the bin outside,” Gage said.
Working with Gage could be a piece of cake if they could both avoid the past looming over them. As much as Lauren liked to preach that the past was the past, it wasn’t.
When Zach returned from dumping the wheelbarrow, Gage was leaning against what was left of the kitchen counters. He set his water bottle on the table and crossed his arms. “I didn’t mean to do it.”
Zach crouched next to the cabinets and resumed ripping them apart. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. I didn’t like Rome, but I never wanted to kill him. Or anyone.”
Zach grabbed a board that was barely hanging on and pried the nail out of it with the split forks of a hammer. “What happened?”
Gage listed off the events as if they were items on a to-do list. “He wanted me to work with him. I didn’t want to do that anymore. He didn’t like my answer. He tried to hurt someone I love.”
“Sounds like Rome. He always thought people should do whatever he told them to do. Was it Hadley?”
Lauren had mentioned Gage and Hadley a few times, but it was hard to picture Gage Howard settling down with a woman. At least, not a self-respecting woman.
Gage rubbed a hand down his face. “Yeah. She didn’t deserve to get caught up in my mistakes.”
Didn’t that sound like the voices in Zach’s head? He thought the same thing about Lauren all the time.
“It wasn’t your mistakes. Rome didn’t like to be told no, and he had zero respect for women.”
Gage hung his head until his chin rested on his chest. “Tell me about it. I still think about the things he could have done if I hadn’t gotten to her when I did. Actually, I wasn’t even the one who saved her. Rome pushed her off a cliff, and Travis got to her first. I thank God every day for that.”
Travis? The guy Zach had been grumbling at sincehis first day on the job? Travis looked like he wanted to set Zach on fire just to watch him burn most days. He was too high and mighty to waste time on the scum of the earth, but he’d been there when Gage needed help.
“I’m glad he was there. Innocent people shouldn’t die because Rome was a narcissistic idiot.”
“But I don’t think he should have died either. You and I grew up in a world where death was normal, but being around Hadley changed me. I took a life, and I hate it.”
Zach gripped the edge of the counter and stood. Watching Gage squirm over something he’d done wrong didn’t give Zach the satisfaction it might have a year ago. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Lauren had changed him too. He’d been raised to think of people as disposable, but it was her life’s mission to take care of everyone exactly the same.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Rome liked to punish women because of what our mom did. That wasn’t Hadley’s fault.”
Gage pushed off the counter in a rush. “That’s not it. Don’t you get it? We were lied to our whole lives. Our parents conditioned us to have zero emotion. They dehumanized us.” He stopped his pacing and propped his hands on his hips. “We’ve got a second chance. A chance to do things right.”
“Oh, this is a motivational speech. You can save your breath. I’ve heard plenty since I got out.”
“I don’t think you’ve heard enough.” Gage huffed a laugh. “Lauren is a good woman. Whatever she says,you should do it. If she says jump, your response should be ‘how high?’”
“And where do you get off thinking you can tell me what to do?”
