Simply Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  Her mother and sister would be here any minute. If that wasn’t bad enough, she didn’t even tell Blake they were coming.

  Nor had she told anyone she had a boyfriend.

  She’d have to figure this out as it came, but for the moment she was just praying she didn’t revert back into that shy timid girl that wanted to reach for the Ben and Jerry’s.

  That was one of the reasons she’d limited her communication with her family in the last year. She’d realized they were the cause of her overeating.

  No, that was wrong. She was the cause. They were the catalyst, but she made her own decisions to reach for comfort in food rather than stand up for herself.

  They made her feel bad whenever they talked to her. Feel bad about herself. And if she was going to make a change for the better, she had to get rid of the toxic people that drove her to food for comfort until she could figure out how to control it better.

  But there was no way she could eliminate them from her life completely. Moving here was a step in the right direction.

  This was the best she’d felt about herself in her entire life.

  She was cleaning the cabin up, looking for anything that her sister or her mother could comment on and then realized it wouldn’t matter. They’d find something to be negative about.

  Rather than being late like her sister always was, they actually showed up forty minutes early. She didn’t even have enough time to prepare herself.

  They didn’t knock at the door at all; they just walked in like it was their home.

  It wasn’t their home. It was hers for the short term and they should respect that, but they never would. She’d always be the carpet they wiped their dirty feet on.

  “Mom,” she said, stopping her fingers from checking for dust on a shelf. “You’re early.”

  “You aren’t excited to see us after we made this horrible ride here?”

  Gemma sighed, knowing it was going to start but still walked forward to give them both a hug. She hadn’t seen them in months and it was still her mother and sister. “It’s not that bad.”

  “Bad enough. There wasn’t anywhere to stop and go to the bathroom let alone get an iced coffee,” Amelia said.

  “Sorry there aren’t any Starbucks on the way,” she said, fighting the roll of her eyes.

  “I don’t suppose Aunt Julie has any type of cappuccino machine here or something I can get an iced coffee from?” Amelia asked.

  “I don’t drink coffee, but she has one of those Keurigs. I bought a few flavored ones that I know you like. I can brew it and stick some ice in it if you want.”

  Her mother started to laugh. “Ignore Gemma, Amelia. She doesn’t drink that stuff anymore and doesn’t understand it’s not the same thing.”

  She never drank that stuff. She wasn’t a fan of coffee at all. Milkshakes and those smoothies that had more whipped cream than fruit, sure, those had been her go-to, but not coffee, hot or iced.

  “You’ll just have to go into town if you want Starbucks. There is one on Main Street. It’s not completely backwoods here and you know it. There are a lot of tourists and a lot of wealthy people.”

  “Just like your Aunt Julie,” her mother said. “I don’t know why she bought this place when she is only here a few times a year.”

  She wanted to remind her mother it was none of her business. Instead she just kept her mouth shut.

  “How long are you two staying?” she asked. Her mother hadn’t been specific.

  “Just a few days,” Amelia said. “I need to be back to town by Saturday morning.”

  Since it was Wednesday afternoon that wasn’t too horrible. She was actually surprised her sister took the time off of work or even went anywhere without her hotshot lawyer husband.

  “Amelia needs to pick Greg up at the airport Saturday morning by eleven. So we have to either leave early or on Friday night.”

  That explained it. Greg was out of town. She should have known it was more about that than wanting to visit her sister.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she said, trying to offer an olive branch.

  “No, you aren’t,” Amelia said. “We’re interrupting your quiet time. Still spending all your time reading books and putting puzzles together, I see.”

  Gemma wanted to take that olive branch and crack it over her sister’s head. “Leave Gemma alone,” her mother said. Wow, it wasn’t like her mother to come to her defense.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “No thanks. Amelia should know you are who you are. If you enjoy being lonely and sitting in the house rather than experiencing life, that is your choice.”

  She could feel her head starting to ache. At least she didn’t have the need to reach for chocolate. Then again, she made sure there wasn’t anything tempting like that in the house.

  “I don’t sit in the house reading and putting puzzles together all day long.”

  “What do you do then?” Amelia asked, looking around, her eyes landing on the puzzles on the shelf. Caught.

  “I go to the gym. I go hiking. I’ve been to the school a few times to check things out and I’m getting lesson plans worked out.”

  “See, Mom,” her sister said. “Nothing has changed even though Gemma looks different. I told you that.”

  “So that is why you’re here?” she asked her mother. “To see if I’ve changed by the things I do? I don’t get it. Why do you care so much now when you never did before?”

  “Now don’t get your nose out of joint, Gemma,” her mother said. “It’s just you’ve made so many changes physically that we kind of hoped that you’d change in other ways.”

  “What ways are those?” she asked, crossing her arms. She was so sick of being judged and measured. She’d never be enough for her family no matter what she did and she wondered why she even tried.

  Wrong. She wasn’t trying anymore. But she wondered why she cared or why she let it bother her.

  “I just thought now that you look so pretty that you’d have some friends. That maybe you’d get a boyfriend or something. But I suppose that will take more time for you to find the courage to talk to people.”

  “It’s not courage,” she said. “I talk to people. I always did. It’s not my problem that I don’t have the same interests as you and Amelia do. Or that so many people did back home. Why can’t I be happy not going out and partying and having a ton of friends?”

  “No one is happy being alone,” Amelia said, waving her away like some pesky fly was in her face. “That’s just what people say when they can’t find another excuse for being a loser.”

  Tears started filling her eyes. She blinked them back. Amelia had always been petty and mean as a kid, but never as an adult. Of course, she’d kept her distance from her sister now that Amelia was so successful.

  “Let me show you to your room,” she told her mother.

  “Where am I going to sleep?” Amelia asked. Gemma had originally thought she’d give up her bed for her mother and Amelia could have the spare and she’d stay on the pullout sofa, but she wasn’t giving up anything.

  “The couch pulls out and is pretty comfortable.”

  Amelia put her nose in the air. “That is where you’re putting guests?”

  “You could have gotten a hotel room if you wanted one,” she said back and wished that was what her sister had done. Maybe she’d offer, though she doubted. Actually, it might be better if Gemma offered to leave and left them the cabin for two days.

  “There is no way we could have gotten a hotel room on this short of notice,” her mother said.

  “You’re probably right,” she said. “It’s the couch or share a bed with Mom.”

  “Amelia, you’ll be fine on the couch for a night or so. If it’s that bad we will leave on Friday. I just don’t want to take off tomorrow after the long drive to get here,” her mother said. “Where are we going to dinner tonight?”

  Figures her mother would want to go out rather than have dinner cooked. Heaven forbid Gemma could
show them she was good at something.

  “Wherever you want,” she said, knowing that she’d be making up for the extra calories, but it’d be worth it to not be stuck in the cabin with them alone for any longer than necessary.

  Taunting Her

  Blake had no idea why Gemma wasn’t answering his texts since she was normally fast to respond to him.

  He knew she wasn’t at the gym. She always went in the morning. And it was hot out right now so he didn’t think she’d be hiking. Even if she was, she always had her phone with her.

  She’d been distant for a few days and he wasn’t sure why and didn’t know how to ask her.

  A few times he’d asked if something was on her mind, but she said everything was fine. It’s just he didn’t believe her.

  It wasn’t as if they spent every night together. They didn’t. He’d had dinner with her last night, they’d fooled around and then he’d gone home alone.

  It wouldn’t hurt to swing by after work and see her in person. Make sure she was fine. Hadn’t her place been broken into before, he reminded himself and then wished he didn’t when his pulse kicked up a bit.

  When he pulled down her driveway, he noticed her car was gone and a Mercedes was parked in the driveway. He got out and walked toward it, looked inside and didn’t notice anything odd.

  He went to the front door and knocked, but no one answered. This was getting stranger and stranger. Maybe her aunt was in town? Still, wouldn’t she have said that?

  He left and drove into town to get some food since his kitchen was pretty bare, but rather than pick up groceries, he ran to the sub shop and got takeout, bumped into a buddy, and ended up getting a beer and killing some time. Taking his mind off of what could be going on with Gemma.

  Two hours later on his way home, he swung back by Gemma’s to see if she was home and noticed her SUV there.

  Should he stop and check on her? She still hadn’t answered any of his texts.

  He pulled into her driveway and then decided last minute to turn around and leave. She obviously had company and didn’t need to tell him every little thing she did.

  Before he could swing his truck around, the front door opened and Gemma came stalking out. He thought for sure she was ticked he was there, but she spotted his truck, her smile filled her face and she ran toward him the way he’d hoped his love would welcome him when he came home on leave all those years.

  Hell yeah, he was staying now. That feeling of being a protector was jumping out of his skin and he was cherishing it.

  ***

  Gemma was losing her mind. Dinner had been pure torture with her mother and sister. Like fingernails being pulled out with tweezers while bleach was dumped into her eyes type of torture.

  As if sitting through the nonstop negativity about her dismal life wasn’t enough, they’d ordered ridiculous amounts of unhealthy food. She’d stuck with grilled fish and vegetables. But her mother and sister both got dishes full of cream and fat.

  It was like they were taunting her.

  To make matters worse, they both got dessert. It was on the tip of her tongue to pass, but she was so pissed off at what they were doing that she ordered a bowl of sorbet with fruit on it. And she didn’t feel the least bit guilty either.

  It didn’t calm her like food used to, but it kept her mouth occupied so she couldn’t scream at them.

  Then they got home after listening to her mother complain about her driving the whole way. The big four miles they drove on roads that weren’t that bad, but her mother’s comments like, “Do you have to hit every pothole?” were making her eye twitch. Just to be ornery, she actually did aim at one before she pulled into the driveway.

  The minute they were in the door her sister started up again. “I can’t believe you are making me sleep on this couch. You’re smaller than me. You can do it.”

  “That’s the first time in your life you’ve ever said I was smaller than you,” she couldn’t resist saying.

  “Shorter,” Amelia snapped. “I still weigh less, I’m sure.”

  “I need air,” she said, whipping the door open and marching out. She didn’t care if she had to walk back to town to cool off, she was doing it.

  Then right in front of her, like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, there was Blake in her driveway. He looked like he was ready to leave and she would have chased him all the way to his house on foot if she had to.

  “You are a sight for sore eyes,” she said, moving fast to his open window.

  “Thanks,” he said, smiling and reaching his hand out to lie on hers. “You haven’t responded to any of my messages and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I saw the car and figured you had company.”

  “My mother and sister.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me they were visiting?”

  “Because I was hoping they’d change their minds. Now I think they wish they did.”

  He ran his finger over her knuckles. “Are you going to introduce me?”

  “I don’t want to. Sorry,” she said when she saw his stricken face. “But maybe I need to. I’ve been listening to all the negativity and poor choices I’ve made in my life. I’m never good enough and never will be and I guess I just didn’t want you to see that.”

  “I’ve told you about my family, so I get it.”

  “Why don’t you come in? If anything, maybe you’ll have a better understanding of why I’m so quiet and like to be alone.”

  “Only if you want me to,” he said. “I can leave and you can call me later.”

  “No. I’d like you to meet them. I’m sick of them insinuating that I’m going to be this old spinster with twenty cats in a few years.”

  “No cats,” he said. “Maybe a dog someday, but I don’t like cats.”

  She felt a fluttering in her belly with those words. Did that mean he saw a future with her?

  She took a deep breath and walked back in the front door to see her mother and sister arguing about the sleeping situation again. They both stopped and turned to look at her and Blake.

  “Did you get the police to decide where we sleep?” her sister asked, laughing.

  She’d forgotten about Blake’s badge and gun and that he normally didn’t take them off until he got home. Even in her house he kept them on now. Just the first time he came to change her locks he removed them and she wondered if it was to make her feel more comfortable. He was always doing sweet things like that.

  “No. This is Blake Wilson. He’s my boyfriend.”

  Amelia laughed like the bitch that she was. “How much is she paying you to say that? Gemma doesn’t date.”

  He snorted. “Could have fooled me since we’ve been dating for several weeks. You must be Amelia, the perfect older sister,” he said, walking forward and holding his hand out.

  Gemma almost burst out laughing when Amelia frowned. Blake had said it in a polite way but any idiot could see the insult a mile away.

  “I am her older sister,” Amelia said, shaking his hand. “Where did you two meet?”

  She’d had no plans on telling her mother about the break-in here, but realized that they wouldn’t be worried anyway.

  “When I arrived here I noticed someone had been in the cabin. I called the police and he showed up to investigate.”

  “And you overreacted as normal, I’m sure,” her mother said.

  “No, someone had been in here,” Blake said. “Most likely a hiker trying to get out of the bad weather and saw an empty place. I came back and changed the locks for Gemma and we had dinner together. Since then we’ve been dating.”

  Her mother and sister looked back and forth at each other, then her sister said, “Did she tell you how fat she was as a kid?”

  Gemma hadn’t thought this night could get any worse. She thought wrong.

  Toughen Her Up

  Gemma’s sister was a piece of work. He didn’t know how to respond to what Amelia just said. “She said she was overweight and judging by the interaction in this room I
wouldn’t mind a piece of cake myself.”

  “It wasn’t just cake,” Amelia said crossing her arms. “Gemma ate everything in sight. Right, Mom?”

  He would give Gemma’s mom credit for blushing, then finally saying, “Amelia, we don’t need to talk about this in front of Gemma’s boyfriend. It’s in her past. Look at how healthy she is now.”

  Amelia snorted. “Most people gain all their weight back. Just like Gemma did all through school. Lose five pounds, gain ten. How many did you lose so far? A hundred?”

  Blake was shocked to hear that. “Not quite,” Gemma said quietly, then moved away to look out the window. He wasn’t about to let this go on when he could see how much Gemma was hurting.

  “Whatever the number is,” he said, “it’s one hell of an accomplishment and you should be proud of her rather than making her feel bad about it.”

  Gemma looked over at him, tears in her eyes, then looked back away. He moved closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder, rubbed it a little and then pulled her next to his side. Her mother and sister were staring at him like he had two green heads with eight purple eyes. You’d think they’d never seen their sister comforted before.

  Maybe they hadn’t. Maybe that was why Gemma was so withdrawn at times. So timid. Still a virgin at her age and looking like she did.

  “Amelia,” her mother said. “You should apologize for embarrassing Gemma.”

  “Or maybe apologize for saying what you did,” Blake said. “For hurting your sister. My guess is it’s intentional.”

  Amelia’s head snapped back. “I’m not apologizing to her. We always banter like this. It’s how we are. If she was hurt or upset then she should have enough gumption to open her mouth and tell me so. Maybe I’ve been trying to toughen her up over the years. Did anyone think of that?”

  He wanted to tell Amelia it was a piss poor way to go about things, but realized he’d overstepped himself enough. This wasn’t how he thought things would go when he met her family for the first time.

  “There are a lot of ways you could have toughened me up if you really wanted to,” Gemma said. “Let’s be honest, Amelia, you were a mean girl in school and it bled over to home. Or it started at home and bled into school. I have no idea and don’t care.”