Wiping sweat off his brow, Gage examined his newly mended fence, his tools lying in the grass by his feet.

A job well done, he decided.

Satisfied with his work, he gathered up his things and walked back to the main house, familiar scents filling up his nose.

Wiping his hands on his worn jeans, he went inside for a glass of water just in time to see a truck approach the driveway. He recognized it immediately as Will’s, set down his glass, and went out to meet the man as the truck pulled up.

“Hey,” Will grinned, hopping out of his truck. “I’m not late, am I?”

“Late for what?” Gage asked, walking over for a quick embrace.

Shaking his head at him, Will gave Gage a quick once-over, probably noting his dirty boots and the sawdust clinging to his jeans. Will was a well-built, tall man, imposing by any standard, as an Alpha should be. But Gage still had him beat by at least two inches, something that had caused a bit of competition between the two men when they had been teenagers.

“I still have time to catch up,” Will had said, but that never happened.

The bear inside Gage let out a small growl, just as a token of respect and acknowledgment toward the clan’s new leader. It had only been a couple of weeks since Will’s father had passed on the torch, but Gage knew even if he hadn’t gotten the news, he still would have recognized Will as the new man in charge.

“The clean-up?” Will refreshed his memory. “The last signs of the wedding you so graciously let us have on your property?”

“Oh, that,” Gage shrugged.

It had been no bother to him. Will and his new wife, Joanne, didn’t even have to ask. He had the space, and they were looking for a venue. What had there been to think about? He hardly considered the offer gracious.

What were friends for?

“Yeah, that,” Will chuckled. “Joanne said there should still be some fairy lights stuck in the trees, and maybe some ribbons or something around the trunks? To tell you the truth, she was the one in charge of decorating, so I’m really not sure. My eyes were on her that night, not on ribbons or whatever.”

“You know she’s not here, right?” Gage teased, grinning.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Will waved a hand. “I’m a sappy idiot. But finding your mate will do that to you.”

“Hey, I’m happy that you’re happy, man,” Gage replied. “Let’s go get your lights and ribbons and whatnot, then.”

“All right,” Will agreed, clapping him on the back.

They walked over to the huge backyard, now just lush grass instead of the dance floor and tents that had been set up for the wedding day. Large oaks swayed in the wind, with a backdrop of mountains in the distance.

As they went to work disentangling the lights from the branches, with Gage having to quietly admit that he hadn’t really noticed that they were still there either, he couldn’t help but think of the recent changes in his clan. It had all started with Will finding Joanne. She hadn’t been a native to Black Oak, was only passing through actually, when she and Will met.

Of course, he had known immediately she was his mate. It was just the way things worked for shifters. But things had moved fast from there, even by their standards. They were engaged in a matter of weeks, and planning their wedding shortly thereafter.

And wouldn’t you know it, preparations also mandated that Will and his friends participate in dance lessons led by the new teacher in town. Gage had seen it immediately – the way his friend Pierce had stared at the woman tasked with making a bunch of burly bears look graceful. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what would follow next.

Now the two of them were engaged, and Gage had another wedding to look forward to. At least he was getting his money’s worth with those dance lessons. Who knew how many nuptials he would attend before the year was over if things kept going at this pace?

Joanne kept trying to set him up on dates, and he kept telling her he didn’t have time for dating. The seasonal workers he had hired had all left, and he had a huge property, not to mention the animals to take care of.

But that wasn’t really the reason he never took Joanne up on her offers, was it? Truth was, if his mate was in Black Oak, he would have found her by now. That meant she wasn’t here. And since he wasn’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon…

“So, uh, you’ve been keeping up with the news?” Will asked, pulling Gage out of his thoughts.

He hopped down from the tree he had climbed, a string of fairy lights over his shoulder. It was hard to miss what Will was actually asking. Have you been keeping up with your brother?

“You mean the Rourke trial,” Gage replied.

Will rubbed the back of his neck as they both walked over to the small pile of decorations in the middle of the yard. They both added to it. That was the last of it. Nothing left to distract Gage from the anger starting to bubble up inside him.

“Reid’s not a very popular man right now,” Will grimaced.

Now there was an understatement.

“No, he’s not,” Gage said curtly.

“Have you talked to him at all?” Will asked.

Will wasn’t an especially curious man, nor had he ever been interested in gossip. But Gage knew the man valued family above all else, so that had to be why he was suddenly so keen on discussing Reid. Did he think Gage should be there for his big brother? Why should he, it wasn’t like Reid was ever there for him.

All that man cared about was his career. Now he was finally the most famous attorney in all of Chicago. Wasn’t that what he had wanted all along?

“Don’t have anything to talk about,” Gage shrugged, as he started back toward the house.

“Gage,” Will called out after him. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine,” Gage called back. “Tell Joanne I said hi.”

With that, he strode into the house, leaving his muddy boots at the door, and finding his fists clenched at his sides. After all these years, just the mention of his brother still made him tense up and grit his teeth.

And now he couldn’t even turn on the TV without seeing something to remind him of Reid. It seemed things were getting pretty uncomfortable for him in Chicago, and while Gage didn’t really wish him any harm, he wasn’t overly concerned either.

He made his own bed.