Rancher Bear (Black Oak Bears Book 2) Read online

  Reid is not going to get in my way. Not if I have anything to say about it.

  Thirteen

  Addison

  Black Oak was still green and lush, fighting off the coming fall as best as it could. People walked around in no real hurry along the narrow sidewalks, with many of them nodding or waving at Gage, while throwing curious looks her way.

  Heels clicking on the pavement, Addison would have felt more out of place if not for Gage by her side, chatting away as he pointed out different businesses along the main street. Their conversation during the ride over had been light, with neither of them mentioning what had happened in his office.

  What were they supposed to say?

  Hey, what about last night, you know, where we fucked each other’s brains out?

  That hardly sounded appropriate, as Addison grimaced at the thought flashing through her mind. And it had been more than just sex. It felt like she had given into something bigger than physical attraction, that what they shared really meant something.

  Did Gage feel the same way, or was she just seeing what she wanted to see?

  With all these questions running through her brain, she had decided to stick to small talk and wait to see if Gage broached the subject of their complicated relationship first. Perhaps he was content to leave it where it was? A one-time thing between consenting adults?

  For whatever reason, that option saddened her, even though she was well aware she would be returning to Chicago as soon as the situation with Rourke died down. She had no belief in long-distance relationships, nor would she ask Gage to put his life on hold for her as they stole moments together on holidays and long weekends.

  That wouldn’t be fair to anyone.

  Okay, slow down, she told herself. He might not even be that into me, and here I am, planning some sort of future with the man.

  Yet, asking her to come along into town was a sign that he wanted to spend more time with her, and not just in the bedroom. And why not live in the moment for once? Soon enough, reality would come crashing down on both of them, and then she would regret not making the best of the time they had together.

  “It’s so… calm,” she said, as they cut through the park to get to a coffee shop Gage had praised.

  He laughed, his shoulder bumping against hers as they took their time walking, breathing in the fresh air.

  “It’s not Chicago, that’s for sure,” he replied. “But it has its own appeal.”

  “Not arguing that,” Addison said. “I don’t even know my neighbors, but you seem to be friends with everyone that walks by. Not to mention this place looks like something out of a story book.”

  The houses were colorful and beautifully maintained, the streets clean, the trees neatly trimmed and the people friendly. Addison had to keep herself from rushing from one place to the next like she was used to, reminding herself she had no reason to hurry or worry.

  “I guess to a city girl like you it might seem that way,” Gage chuckled.

  “You wouldn’t be making fun of me right now, would you?” she arched a brow at him.

  “I wouldn’t dare, counselor,” he replied, casually grabbing her hand in his.

  Addison nearly pulled away, caught off guard, not even really sure what was holding her back. Was it the fact Gage was her boss’ brother, her excessive need for independence, or her continuing confusion over what their relationship actually meant?

  Whatever the case, she ended up squeezing his fingers instead as they strolled along, hand in hand. In that moment, everything felt right, and all her doubts slowly faded away.

  They made it to a small coffee shop, with the sign above the door reading The Roast. It came as no surprise that Gage would know the man whipping up drinks behind the counter, as the two of them greeted each other warmly.

  “James, this is Addison,” Gage introduced her.

  “Nice to meet you, James,” Addison smiled.

  The tall man with short, cropped hair and blue eyes gave both of them a knowing look, no doubt having noticed the way they had walked in, holding hands.

  “You, too,” James replied. “You must be the woman Reid brought along.”

  Addison arched a brow at the man, while Gage looked none too surprised at the comment.

  “Word does spread quickly around here,” she remarked.

  “People around here like to talk,” James shrugged. “And drink coffee. Which puts me in a unique position of knowing things even if I don’t want to know them. How is Reid, anyway?” he asked, turning to Gage.

  “Addison would be better suited to answer that question than me,” Gage replied, his smile falling. “On a personal level, I’d say he hasn’t changed that much.”

  James nodded, his expression making Addison think neither man thought very highly of Reid. She had resisted asking what exactly went down between the brothers that drove them apart, but her curiosity was getting the better of her as she and Gage took their seats at a table near the back.

  Most people at The Roast were getting their coffee to go and rushing back out to enjoy the sunny day, so there weren’t many other customers around. Still, Addison chatted about nothing in particular until James came by with their drinks, waiting for the perfect time to bring up the topic of Reid.

  “I’m glad I’ve gotten to meet you,” she said, watching Gage stretch out opposite her.

  His knees bumped against hers beneath the small table, and she couldn’t help but focus on those sexy lips of his as they formed the words of his reply.

  “I am, too,” he said. “If Reid had come alone, I would have told him to get off my land. But since you were there…”

  “Really?” she arched a brow at him. “I’m the reason you let him stay?”

  “You are,” he admitted.

  For a moment, he looked like he wanted to add something but thought better of it at the last second. Addison would have tried to find out what he was holding back, but now that Gage had brought up the subject of Reid, she decided to pounce on that instead.

  “If you don’t mind me asking… what happened between you two?”

  Gage sighed, a far-away look in his eyes. Addison was about to apologize for even asking, when he suddenly spoke.

  “I don’t want you to get the impression I’m trying to make him look bad,” he said. “I can only tell you my version of events, and he’s not here to clarify, or explain his side of things.”

  “I get that,” she replied. “That’s all you can do. And that’s what I want – your side of the story.”

  Addison was well aware the same situation could be described entirely differently by different people. Yet that didn’t necessarily make one version true and another false. She wanted to see Gage’s relationship with his brother from Gage’s viewpoint, and was perfectly capable of making her own assessment based on that.

  From his hesitation alone, she didn’t peg Gage as someone who would embellish things, or try to make himself look better. It didn’t match with who she knew him to be. Which wasn’t all that logical, since what did she really know about the man?

  Yet somewhere deep in her core, she had already come to trust Gage, and there was just nothing she could do about it. Some part of her had already made up its mind about him the moment they had met, and every interaction they had only served to reinforce her faith in him.

  Gage gathered his thoughts for a moment before starting.

  “Reid was a senior and I was a sophomore when we discovered something was wrong with mom. She had been feeling weak for a while, but we never really thought it could be anything that serious. But it was,” he said.

  It was clear the memory of that time was still fresh, evident in the sadness in his eyes. Addison leaned forward, hanging off his every word.

  “Breast cancer,” he stated, fully immersed in the past now. “It crushed my father. The worse she got, the more he wasted away. He only got out of bed to care for her, to sit with her and make sure she ate. I made sure to take care of the ranch
the best I could, so they at least wouldn’t have to worry about that.

  “Reid focused on himself. He had always vowed he would get out of Black Oak as soon as he could, and I understood that. He had his own goals and dreams. But I also thought family might mean something to him, too. Our parents had worked hard to save up money, so we could go to college. But the sicker they both got, the more distant Reid became.”

  Reaching out across the table, Addison put her hand on Gage’s. She knew what it meant to have to act like an adult at a young age. Her family had had nothing, and everything she had achieved now, she had fought tooth and nail for. She grew up fast, working as many jobs as she could to save money and support her parents.

  They were doing all right now, after she helped her dad set up his own business refurbishing furniture. But the years of thrift store shopping and eating ketchup sandwiches for dinner had stuck with Addison.

  “In the end, I was taking care of both mom and dad, and the ranch while he packed up his stuff to leave for college,” Gage said.

  Eyes widening, Addison tried to process exactly what Gage was telling him.

  “So he just… left?” she asked, having trouble even forming the question.

  Gage nodded, turning his gaze back on her.

  “And he never came back,” he said. “Until now.”

  Fourteen

  Gage

  Addison was clearly stunned. Her hand still on his, she looked at him, and he could almost see the gears turning in her head.

  Was she reevaluating everything she knew about her boss? Did the truth about the past align with the man she knew Reid to be? Gage really had no idea what kind of a person his brother had grown into. He only knew the teenager that couldn’t wait to get out of Black Oak.

  “So… when you said that he didn’t even bother to come to the funeral…” she trailed off.

  “Our parents’ funeral,” Gage nodded. “Mom passed first. I think my dad just couldn’t live without her. It was as if he died of a broken heart. They died a week apart, and were buried together. The people here really rallied around me, helping me put together a service and all that. I graduated high school two months after the funeral.”

  “I can’t even imagine going through something like that alone,” Addison shook her head. “And to think Reid didn’t even show up…”

  “I called him several times when things started to deteriorate,” Gage replied. “He said he was busy with his studies, and that was that. I called him again after the will was read. I thought he’d be pissed the ranch was left to me, but he was just happy to get full access to his college fund, and we didn’t really speak after that.”

  The hurt had been overwhelming at first. It was as if he hadn’t just lost both of his parents, but his brother as well. Gage could have forgiven Reid for running off to college and letting him deal with everything, but he couldn’t understand the utter lack of support that followed.

  When it was clear mom only had weeks left, Reid still didn’t come home. The same went for her and dad’s death, and the funeral. Instead of his own flesh and blood, Gage was left to rely on friends and neighbors, while trying to figure out what to do with the huge farm he had just inherited.

  In time, that disappointment and abandonment simmered and stewed, until it became the anger he knew so well now. But it was that anger that had driven him forward, made him work hard to prove himself and stand on his own two feet.

  He hadn’t needed his brother’s support to succeed. Yet he would be lying if he said he still wouldn’t have preferred having Reid there by his side.

  “Well, I can certainly see why you punched him,” Addison said. “I kind of feel like punching him myself, right about now.”

  “He might be a different man than now than he was then,” Gage shrugged, surprised to find himself defending his brother, if only a little bit. “We were both kids back then.”

  “Kids or not, he bailed on your family when you needed him the most,” Addison huffed. “My parents and I might have not had a lot, but at least I knew I could always count on them.”

  “Easy there, counselor,” Gage had to grin. “This is still your boss we’re talking about here.”

  With a sigh, Addison leaned back in her chair, her hands falling to her lap. She seemed conflicted as her shoulders slumped, a crease forming between her brows.

  “He has always been ruthless in the court room. I even found that something to admire. But I never thought that kind of brutal focus carried over to his personal life as well,” she said.

  “Do you know much about his personal life?” Gage asked.

  He couldn’t help it. Some part of him was still curious, wanted to know about his brother’s life. Reid’s career had flourished, that much Gage was aware of. But he had no idea if his brother was in a relationship, or was planning on starting a family.

  Wasn’t that the kind of stuff siblings knew about each other?

  “No, not really,” Addison replied. “I kind of got the impression his work is his life. He’s always at the office, more than me. I’m used to being the first one in and the last one to leave, but I couldn’t keep up with him. There’s a couch in his office that I’m pretty sure he sleeps on at least a couple of days a week.”

  That sounded like Reid. He had spread himself thin even in high school, taking on one extracurricular activity after the other while also somehow maintaining a perfect GPA. It wasn’t surprising that kind of work ethic had carried on to his adult life.

  “How long have you two worked together?” Gage asked. “You said you’re his second chair, right?”

  “I’ve only been with the company a little under two years,” Addison replied. “I knew I could advance faster somewhere else, but I wanted to learn from the best. But I have to say, I’m getting a little restless,” she admitted.

  “You want to get out of Reid’s shadow,” Gage commented.

  “I know I’m ready to take on my own cases,” she said. “But I think he’s gotten too used to relying on me.”

  “What do you mean?” Gage asked. “Sorry, I’m not all that familiar with what kind of duties being second chair entails.”

  “It’s all right,” she smiled. “It’s my job to know the case forward and backward. If Reid gets carried away in a cross, for example, and forgets to bring up some important detail, I’m the one to remind him. And I’m pretty much his eyes and ears at all times, looking at the reactions of the jury, the opposing counsel, all of that.

  “Then there’s the more boring stuff, like preparing the exhibit checklist or making sure witnesses don’t bump into jurors, but that’s not what Reid keeps me around for.”

  “You’ve earned his trust,” Gage said. “That’s not easy to do. And now he's grown comfortable with you always having his back.”

  Addison nodded enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, I think so,” she replied. “And while I appreciate his confidence in me, I didn’t go to work for him to be stagnant.”

  Addison fell silent for a moment, her gaze falling to her lap.

  “But after what you’ve told me, I’m not sure I respect him enough to work for him at all,” she said.

  Despite his ill feelings toward his brother, it had never been Gage’s intention to drive a wedge between Addison and Reid. By all accounts, Reid was a great lawyer, and his past didn’t negate that.

  And seeing Reid again had made Gage reevaluate some things. He was happy where his life had led him. Deep down, he had always known the ranch would be his home forever. And now it was clearer than ever that Reid was always meant for a different path.

  “What’s done is done,” Gage ended up saying. “I’ve been holding this grudge for years now, and I’m only now realizing how little good it has done me. Reid followed his dreams, and that determination has paid off. Would I rather have had him stay here to help me and be miserable? I don’t know.”

  With that question hanging in the air, they finished their coffees, changing the subject t
o lighter topics. As the they wound down, they finally got to the purported reason they had come into town in the first place – to get supplies.

  With bags of groceries stacked high in the back of the truck, they headed back to the ranch, with a feeling of relief washing over Gage. He had held on to the pain his brother had caused him for so long, had refused to talk about Reid pretty much ever since his parents’ funeral, and yet it was his conversation with Addison that had made him see things in a completely different light.

  The fact talking to her had felt so comfortable shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it had still caught him off guard. He hadn’t thought there was anything left of his instinct to defend his big brother, but on some level, it was still there.

  It didn’t mean there was forgiveness in the cards, but maybe an actual conversation would help both of them move on. The way Reid seemed to be intent on pushing his buttons told him his brother might still be stuck in the past, too.

  Addison regaled him with stories of her most interesting cases as he maneuvered the snaking roads leading to the house. As the trees thinned, he could see the lights were on downstairs, the darkness starting to encroach on all sides.

  After parking the truck, he and Addison carried the bags inside, chatting about nothing in particular on their way to the kitchen. Reid was having a cup of tea behind the oak work table there, his trusty tablet at his side.

  “Hey,” Addison chirped, but her smile stiffened a bit at the sight of him.

  “You two were gone awhile,” Reid commented, steam twisting up from his mug.

  Before Gage could say anything, Addison chimed in, sliding her hand in his as she spoke. He couldn’t help it as his brows shot up at the intimate gesture. Hadn’t she wanted to keep their relationship from Reid?

  “We were,” she said simply.

  Reid’s attention was now focused solely on them, and for once, the man seemed to be at a loss for words. When Addison got on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Gage’s cheek, Reid’s eyes widened ever so slightly.