by Sarah Hegger
“Coffee?” He’d had enough beer for one night.
“I’ll make you hot chocolate.” Kelly’s look dared him to object. Damn she was adorable. She looked no older than eighteen.
Which was still too young for his horny thoughts.
“If you have coffee you’ll never sleep.”
He grabbed a seat at the counter. Her condo reflected the voluptuous way Kelly embraced life. Couches that looked like they would envelop you. Lighting that provided more mood than practicality. And color. Everywhere. Somehow it all worked to frame the vibrant woman making him hot chocolate.
He hated hot chocolate, but he’d choke that crap down. He’d bet his arm she made it extra sweet with stuff floating on the top “How did your date go?”
“Good.” She kept her gaze on the pot she was stirring, but that small crinkle started up between her eyes. “It was really nice.”
“But?”
She glared at him. “Why would you assume there was a but?”
Gabe leaned over the counter and stroked the wrinkle between her eyes. “Because that tells me you’re overthinking something.”
“Right.” She huffed a laugh. “You’re the second man tonight to tell me I overthink shit.”
He couldn’t say, for sure, that he’d never been the second man before, but he definitely didn’t like it. “Give it time, babe. As much as you want it, you and Vince aren’t going to erase fifteen years in one night.”
“Did you call me babe?” Kelly pinned him with a hard stare. “Again. Don’t think I didn’t notice the others you’ve been slipping in here and there.”
“You don’t like?”
Kelly was nobody’s babe but her own. “You bet your sweet ass I don’t.”
“Sweetie?”
She shook her head.
“Angel?”
She glared.
“Muffin?”
Slapping her hands on the counter, she got nose to nose with him, so close he could easily tilt his head and take that sassy, full mouth. “Try again.”
“Kelly.”
“Good boy.” Unfortunately, she retreated and got busy filling mugs with hot chocolate. And, topping them with whipped cream, and sprinkles. She handed one to him. “How was your night?”
He wrapped his hands around his mug. “Actually, I got a call tonight.”
She sipped her drink and left a ring of cream on her top lip. His gaze snapped to her mouth, and he wanted to be the one to lick it off. Her tongue doing his job gave him all sorts of unfortunate ideas.
What the hell was wrong with him? He and Kelly had scratched their itch, and it was time to move on.
In the meantime, she was patiently waiting for him to tell her more. He told her about his call with Darren.
“Gabe,” she gasped, almost like she did when he was buried deep inside her. “That’s wonderful. That’s what you really want.”
She walked around the island, slid between his spread thighs and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks.” His cock was equally happy she was right where she was, and he pulled her tighter into the hug.
She smelled like vanilla and flowers, and he buried his face in her neck before he did something stupid like taste her.
Her voice sounded raspy as she said, “Are you going to take it?”
“I’m not sure.” He splayed his hands over her back, covering as much of her warm, pliant flesh as he could. “I’m certainly going to look at what Darren sends me.”
“Okay.”
Their chests rose and fell in a matching rhythm. Her breath huffed in his ear, coming harder and faster like his. Heat rose from the light connection of her breasts to his chest.
He could slide his hands down and cup her incredible ass and drag her over his throbbing cock.
Her voice grew huskier. “Gabe?”
“Uh-huh.” He had to put some space between them, but it was killing him.
Kelly’s hand slid into his hair. “This is only going to complicate both our lives.”
“I’m not going to do anything,” he said. “And any second I’m going to take my hands off you.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sunday, Gabe woke with the wrong Ashford sister in his bedroom. Despite wanting to stay with every moving part of him, he had left Kelly’s and come home alone.
Face twisted, India stood by his bed ringing her hands. “I need your help.”
“Huh?” He tried to get his head working. After he’d left Kelly, he’d not gotten a lot of sleep. Next thing, he’d be humping her leg.
“Gabe?”
And India stood by his bed while a stream of lustful thoughts ran through his brain, and that was plain wrong. He struggled into a sitting position. “What’s up?”
Unfortunate choice of words.
But not a problem, given that India’s gaze hadn’t gotten further than his bare shoulders before she blushed and turned around. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think…I’ll leave.”
“What is it, India?”
Back still to him, she spoke at his door. “It’s that dog.”
“Ma’s puppy?”
India nodded and twisted her fingers. “I know it’s silly of me, but I’m…scared of dogs. And I need to get into the kitchen and feed Jacob.”
The dog was more of a big dope than a threat, and Ma really needed to give the poor guy a name. “Is Ma out?”
“Yes.” India nodded. “She had a breakfast with Doc Cooper.”
“Doc?” Ben had mentioned something about the old guy hanging around Ma. Right then, though, he had to rescue a lady from a dog. Not quite a dragon, but you used what you had. “Let me get some pants on, and I’ll sort it out.”
With a squeak, India scuttled out of his room and shut the door firmly behind her
The Ashford sisters couldn’t be more different. India was younger than Kelly, and that might account for some of it. He found jeans on his floor and pulled them on. If it were Kelly, he would have skipped the shirt. Kelly liked his chest, a lot, and it might be interesting to see where the situation led. As India would probably die of embarrassment, he hauled on a T-shirt and jogged down the passage to the kitchen.
Jacob in her arms, India stood by the door frowning and gnawing her bottom lip.
She really was scared of the furry goofball in the kitchen. “Hey!” He softened his tone. “It’s okay. He really is friendly and just a puppy.”
“I’m not a dog person.” India swallowed.
Gabe didn’t get how anyone could not be a dog person. Dogs were awesome. How could you not like a creature that lavished unconditional love on you? He opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. He left the door open so India could see she had nothing to fear.
The puppy bounded toward him, writhing and squiggling in his delight at finding a friend. He reared up and tried to put his paws on Gabe’s chest.
“Down!” Gabe got hold of his front paws and dropped him to the floor. He turned to India. “You have to be firm with him. He needs some training, but there isn’t an aggressive bone in his body.
The dog tried to jump up again and Gabe pushed him away. “Uh-uh! Down!”
Jacob whined, and India slid past him and the dog to get to the fridge. Her huge gaze didn’t leave the dog.
Once again, he tried to jump on Gabe, but less certainly this time.
“Uh-uh, down!” Gabe smiled his encouragement at India. “You see, he’s learning already.”
But India was still looking at the dog as if he was Cujo. She kept glancing at the dog as she prepared Jacob one of his mushed meals. “He’s very big.”
“Yeah, but generally big dogs are chill,” Gabe said. If India and Jacob were going to stay there, they were going to have to get along with the dog. “I can introduce him to you and s
how you how to manage him.”
“No, thanks.” India put Jacob’s mush in the microwave for a few seconds. “I won’t be staying that long, and it’s not like we’ll ever be getting our own dog, so Jacob will be fine.”
Gabe bit his tongue. A boy and his dog could be the best of friends. Dogs taught children a lot about taking care of another creature, responsibility and affection. A lot of the bad interactions between dogs and kids happened because the kid had never been taught how to approach a dog. Or even when to be wary of a dog. But this was not his business.
“Sit,” he said to the dog.
Ma must have been doing something with him, because the dog tucked in his butt and gazed up at Gabe.
His phone rang, and he took the dog with him to answer it.
The big dope leaped onto his bed and made himself comfortable. Of course, he did. He probably slept on Ma’s bed at night. He gave the dog a hard stare. “You’re about to get a lesson in manners, buddy.”
The dog thumped his tail and lolled his tongue at Gabe.
Gabe answered his phone without checking the display. “Yup.”
“Gabe?” A laugh he knew well drifted down the line. “What kind of way is that to answer the phone?”
His gut tightened and he had to force himself to keep it light. “Hey, Belinda. How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
“Same.” And he ran out of things to say.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m calling you.”
Yup, he totally was. When he’d left Australia Belinda had been fuming. She’d told him never to call her and never to try to contact her again. And he’d honored that. He couldn’t give her what she wanted, and he needed to step aside and not leave her with the hope that he would change his mind. “What’s going on?”
“Listen, Gabe, this is not the sort of conversation I want to have over the phone, but I don’t really have a choice. With you being all the way over there.” She took a deep breath. “I feel bad about the way things ended. I was gutted when you told me…”
She didn’t need to fill those words in. He remembered them well, because even as he had said them, he had known they meant the death knell to not only their relationship, but his work in Australia. “I know you were, Bell, but I’m not in the same place as you.”
And he never would be with her, but he couldn’t hurt her that much by saying so. He had meant what he said to Kelly. He did believe in the one.
“I know that.” Her sigh hitched. “And I understand. As much as it hurts, I do understand.”
What he said next came straight from his heart, “I wish I was.”
“Ah, Gabe,” she whispered. “Why can’t you be an asshole, and then I could hate you?”
Tension fisted his gut. He hated making her cry. Even if she hadn’t been his one, he had loved her and cared for her. “Please don’t cry, Bell.”
“I’m sorry.” She sucked in a tremulous breath. “I really am sorry. I didn’t think I was going to do this, but then I heard your voice…and it all came back to me.”
It came back to him as well. They’d had a good life together, him and Belinda. They had so many of the same interests and loved doing things together. Why couldn’t he have felt the same? To be honest, until the moment she’d delivered her ultimatum, he hadn’t known he didn’t consider them getting married as a possibility.
The dog snuck closer to him and pressed against his side, his big head on Gabe’s thigh.
“I remember it too.” He stroked the dog’s neck. “And I wish I could be that man for you, really I do. But I can’t, and it’s not the way to start a marriage.”
“You’re right.” She sniffed. “I hate it, but you’re right. And I honestly didn’t call to talk about this.” She blew a long breath. “I really called to say that what happened between us shouldn’t have affected your position on the project. That wasn’t right, and Dad wanted me to see if you would consider coming back.”
That made him sit up and blink. “Your dad asked if I wanted to come back?”
“Yeah.”
Then why hadn’t Steve called and asked himself? Blurred boundaries had sent Gabe back to Twin Elks in the first place. Also, he didn’t believe it coincidental that her call came right on the heels of the one from Darren the night before.
“I gotta be straight with you, Bell. I’m considering other offers.” Well, one.
She hummed. “Understandable. I’ll give you some time to think things over. In the meantime, I’ll email you your new offer from Dad. I think you’ll like what you see.”
“Sure.” He’d loved his work in Australia, liked the team he was a part of. And they’d been making a difference. Slowly but surely, they were making inroads for the sake of the great whites.
“And Gabe?” Her voice strengthened. “Do you think you could promise to call us before you make another choice?”
All his years with that team deserved at least that much. “I will do.”
They hung up shortly after.
Gabe petted the dog and tried to shrug off the cloud that hovered above him.
The dog thumped his tail, and Gabe looked up to see his mom in the doorway. “Hey, darling.”
“Ma.” Dot had that radar that knew when her boys wanted to talk and when to let them sort it out.
Like now, she walked in and sat on the bed beside him. “Was that Belinda?”
“Yeah.” He kept his gaze on the dog’s fur. “They’re offering me my old job back.”
“But?”
“I got another call last night from a team in South Africa. They are starting something up and want me to be part of it.”
Ma took a careful breath. She didn’t want him to leave, he knew that, but he also knew it was not her way to hold any of them back if what they wanted differed from what she wanted. “At least now you have options.”
“Yup.” But that didn’t help him make a decision.
Ma patted his knee. “You’ll work it out, Gabriel. You’ll look at both offers, weigh the pros and cons, and make a decision.”
“Thanks, Ma.” Another thing he loved about talking to Ma. She got that he didn’t want to pick through it like a crappy salad. “Can I ask you something else?”
“Anything.” Ma took his hand in hers. “Shoot.”
“Was I an asshole to Belinda? I hurt her, Ma. I really hurt her.”
Ma thought that over for a long time. “Do you think you were an asshole?”
“I’m not sure. That’s why I’m asking you.” He got testy at her answering a question with a question.
Laughing, Ma squeezed his hand. “This is what I think, honestly. It’s not our fault when we don’t love someone as much as they love us. But…”
There was often a but with Ma.
“But, you and Belinda were together a long time, and you had to know she was harboring hopes in the marriage direction.” She stopped his protest with a raised finger. “Even if you ignored the signs, they were there for you to see.”
Yeah. She had him there. “I should have got out earlier.”
“Maybe.” Ma shrugged. “Maybe, like her, some part of you hoped that would change. Or maybe you were avoiding hurting her. And your relationship was tied into your job, and that always makes things tricky.”
“By that reasoning, I shouldn’t accept the offer to go back there.”
“That’s your decision.” She patted his hand. “But don’t be naive about what going back will mean. There’s a possibility Belinda is still hoping you’ll change your mind, and when she finally realizes that’s not going to happen, she can make life uncomfortable.”
“I really did love her, Ma.”
“I know you did.” Ma patted his hand. “Just not enough.” She stood and clicked her fingers for the dog. “Also, sitting around here and moping isn’
t going to do you much good. You think better when you’re active.”
“What did you have in mind?” Because he knew for damn sure Ma had a plan.
She glanced at him and then away again. “I got a call from Robin—you remember her from school?”
He nodded. Please let this not be another woman tossed at him in the hopes she’d stick.
“She’s at the new vet, and she says it’s crazy busy.” Ma gave him a mischievous look. “She said Cara could use a hand.”
Yep, she was matchmaking but in a direction he could handle. He and Cara were friends, but that spark wasn’t there. And he could go over and see if he could do something, even if it was hold heads and give injections. “I’ll give Cara a call.”
“I already did that.” Ma grinned at him. “I told her you would be there in twenty minutes.” She checked her watch. “And that was ten minutes ago.”
“You.” Gabe jabbed a finger at her. But he couldn’t find the words of resentment over her interfering. Ma was Ma, and you had to love her. And he did. “I love you, Ma, and thanks.”
Chapter Fourteen
Gabe walked into a heaving waiting room. People were milling about. Dogs circled each other, and cats bitched from their carriers. A boy clutching a hamster cage was sobbing into his mother’s shoulder in a corner.
It looked like Noah’s ark on crack. The first thing Cara needed was a receptionist and some sort of booking system.
A man he didn’t know nodded to the empty reception desk. “You have to put your name on the list and the time you arrived.”
“I’m the other veterinarian.” The words got away from him before he could stop them.
Cara bustled through and stopped and stared at him. “Thank you, Jesus!”
For a horrible moment, he thought she might burst into tears. “I’m licensed for Colorado if you want to point me in the right direction.”
“I might take you if you weren’t.” She picked the list up. “Karen and Trooper?”
A woman with a border collie fought her way past a snarling shih tzu. “That’s us.”
