Lily froze, terrified to look at him and see what he meant. “Oh, God. What’s wrong with Mama?”
But when she did, he was smiling. “She did somethin’ real, real right.” He touched one finger to her chin. “Your mama decided to wake up, chère.”
“Oh, Cal.” Lily burst into tears.
“Forgot to call me Calvin.” He turned her and began to lead her to the car. “You’re definitely too shook up to drive.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
GAMBLE HAD WHEELED into the nursery parking lot just in time to witness his sister struggling in the grip of a man he’d never met. He bolted from the car. “Take your hands off her.” Behind him, he barely registered the sound of Noah’s cell phone ringing.
Lily wheeled in his direction and registered his intent. “Gamble, no—”
She was too late. His fist caught the guy’s jaw with a satisfying crack. The impact sang up Gamble’s arm; the man was nearly his height and solid muscle.
His opponent braced for combat, and Gamble welcomed the release of a good fight.
“No!” Lily leaped at Gamble and clung to his right arm.
He attempted to shake her off.
“Gamble, listen, you hard-headed baboon. He’s not hurting me.”
“You were fighting to get away.”
“Calvin was only trying to make me see reason.”
The man she called Calvin stood ready, but his mouth quirked in a grin. “Don’t know why I bother, chère,” he drawled.
“Shut up,” Lily said, and turned to Gamble. “If I let go, will you listen to me for a second? There’s something more important than Calvin to discuss.”
“Sugar, you wound me.”
Gamble narrowed his gaze at the stream of endearments. “What’s he to you?”
Lily tossed her head. “Nothing.”
Calvin slapped a hand to his chest. “Now, that’s just low.” But his eyes danced.
Gamble relaxed, couldn’t help a chuckle. “And here I was hoping for a fight.” He held out a hand. “Calvin, I’m Gamble Smith.”
“Call me Cal. Robicheaux. Only Lily Belle here insists on irritatin’ me with the full name.”
“She takes irritation to an art form.”
“Tell me about it.” They clasped hands and grinned.
“Men. You’re all idiots.” Lily stepped between them and grabbed Gamble’s arms. “But forget that. Gamble, Mama’s awake.”
“What? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Didn’t I hear Noah’s cell ringing?”
Gamble opened his mouth to deny it, and closed it just as quickly. “Probably. I thought he was hurting you so—”
Lily pressed her hands to his cheeks. “My hero.” She smirked at Cal. “Don’t mess with me, Calvin. I have big brothers at my beck and call.”
Gamble hooked an arm around her neck and gave her a noogie. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, pest. Let’s split.” He glanced back at Cal. “You riding with us?”
The look the man bestowed on Lily told Gamble that there was more at work here than simple irritation, but Cal only shrugged. “No, you go ahead. I’ll watch over things here. Give Miz Marian my best.”
* * *
JEZEBEL PASSED the hospital on her way to the nursing home and pondered stopping off there first. Just as quickly, she rejected the idea, still stinging from the reactions of Gamble and Lily. Levi might be more welcoming, but he was probably at his clinic, and she only knew Noah by sight. Maybe the best thing she could do for a woman she admired was to steer a wide berth around Marian’s children.
She pulled into the parking lot of the nursing home and was gratified to see Skeeter sitting under the portico, relishing the glory of a sweet spring day. He waved, and she paused a minute to gather herself and shake off the morning’s unpleasantness.
With a deep breath, she emerged from the car and retrieved the brownies she’d baked. She pasted on the smile that Skeeter deserved and headed up the sidewalk.
“Hi there, handsome.” She bent and kissed his cheek. “What brings you outside?” The nursing staff was as worried as she was that Skeeter kept to his room so often. “Trolling for the ladies?” she teased.
“Hmmph.” But he favored her with a wink. “Waitin’ for my getaway car, more like. Women ’round here about to drive a man crazy with all their flutterin’ and fussin’.”
How she wished she could provide that getaway vehicle, but she had nowhere to take him. Even if he were completely healed, he couldn’t live alone and might never be able to do so again. The quarters behind the bar were too cramped, and he’d refused to consider letting her sleep on the couch as she’d offered previously.
Now Gamble Smith had flatly rejected her offer to buy the place she had her heart set on making into a home for this man who was the only paternal figure she’d had in many years.
She’d figure out something; she always did. And Skeeter could use cheering, not sharing her gloom. “It must be terrible having all the ladies vying for your favor. Most men wouldn’t be complaining.”
“Neither would I if they weren’t a bunch of ninnies,” he groused.
“What about Mary Faith?”
Skeeter went a most intriguing shade of pink. “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
She snickered. “Liar.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You Casanova, you.”
“Here now, young lady, I don’t have to take your guff. Set your impertinent fanny down and tell me how things are going at the bar.”
She settled beside him and nearly wept at the feel of sun on her face. The sound of…quiet. She closed her eyes and soaked it in. Not silence, really—a bird warbled atop the magnolia to the left of the drive. Wind shirred through the stand of live oaks dotting the lawn. A squirrel skittered across the roof, and in the distance, a plane engine droned. Now and again, a car passed on Main Street, tires hissing on the blacktop.
Hustle and bustle, Three Pines-style.
To her endless surprise, she couldn’t get enough of it.
“You want a nap, feel free. My bed’s empty.”
She blinked. Stirred. “Sorry.”
He focused all-knowing eyes on her. “You can’t keep burning the candle at both ends, little girl.”
Little girl. She couldn’t help grinning. She topped Skeeter by half a foot, minimum. “I’m doing fine.”
“You can’t lie worth a damn.”
She tucked away everything but what was best for the man beside her. “Hard work never killed anyone.” She winked. “Keeps me out of the pool hall.”
It was his turn to snort. “I’ll be up and around any day now. Then you can become a lady of leisure.”
“Of course you will.” But her heart quailed. What would she do if he truly didn’t need her? Even if Russ Bollinger wasn’t a threat, she’d come to like the sense of belonging, however tenuous, she felt here.
Then she pictured Lily Smith’s face. My mother may be fooled by you, but I’m not. Gamble would leave again soon, but Lily would remain. Marian had welcomed Jezebel, but Lily was not without her influence. If she decided to ostracize Jezebel, she would win.
Don’t borrow trouble, Jezebel’s long-dead mother had told a little girl prone to worry.
Jezebel forcibly relegated Gamble and Lily and the future to the back of her mind. “Oscar sends his love,” she said, knowing that would set Skeeter off.
“A cat in my place.” He said the word cat as if it were the vilest of curses. “What did I say about women being trouble?” But he grinned at her. “Tell ol’Rufus to chomp a bite outta that feline’s behind for me. Now, catch me up on the bar. Louie still moonin’ over you? And what’s this I hear about ferns?”
Jezebel grinned. “Chappy’s been by, I guess?”
“Yeah, but he don’t tell stories worth a durn. Start with Darrell.”
She leaned back in her chair and began to talk.
* * *
“WHY DOES CAL have to make you see reason?” Gamble asked Lily,
simply to break up the ponderous silence as they both contemplated what sort of shape their mother would be in.
“A little disagreement over a customer, that’s all.” She averted her face, but color stained her cheeks.
“Like what?”
“Nothing important.” But she still wouldn’t look at him.
She was probably remembering his behavior earlier. “Lil, I owe you an apology.”
“Me? Why?”
He lifted a shoulder. “You know. At the café. I was a jerk about the house, and none of you deserved that. It’s just…hard.”
Her eyes went soft. She touched his forearm. “You loved her so much. I’m with Levi. Sometimes I envy you, but other times—” She studied her lap. “I’m not sure if it’s worth what you’ve gone through.”
Unexpectedly, Gamble’s eyes stung. Would he give up the years with Charlotte just to avoid what he felt now? With a sigh, he glanced at his sister. “Someone asked me what Charlotte would do if our positions were reversed.”
Lily’s eyebrows lifted, but she didn’t push him for an answer.
Gamble peered out the windshield. “She’d handle it better than I have, that’s for sure. She was always the better person. Much more than I deserved.”
“You’re wrong about that,” Lily said. “You treated her like a princess. She told me once that every woman should have a knight in shining armor like she did. You made her so happy, Gamble.”
“Then why—” He clamped his mouth shut. He was all too cognizant of Charlotte’s reasoning for bearing his child. But he still couldn’t forgive it, and he couldn’t admit that to a soul. Especially not a younger sister who thought their story was so romantic.
“Why what?”
“Never mind.” He was desperate for a change of topic. “So what did this customer do that got you and Cal at odds?”
“She just—” Lily paused. Then mutiny chased over her features. “I can’t believe that hussy had the nerve to take advantage of you, Gamble. To seduce you to get you to agree to sell the cottage is the lowest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Gamble fumbled the wheel as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. His mind reeled as he found a space and parked.
“Jezebel was at the nursery?” Was Lily right about what she’d done? Just as quickly as he wondered, he rejected that explanation. Jezebel hadn’t known his name when she’d first started flirting with him—had she?
He’d had a lot to drink that night, and his memory was clouded. Was that what she’d had in mind all along, to somehow use that knockout body to soften him up for her offer to buy the cottage?
Well, it backfired, Ms. Hart. Big-time.
“She had the nerve to come in to buy some flowers for Mama—doesn’t that beat all? I set her straight, I promise you that. No gold digger is going to seduce my brother, then cozy up to our mother when seduction fails.”
Conflicting images tore at him—Jezebel tempting him to play, promising only one night of no-strings sex.
Cotton underwear and her arms crossed over her chest. Her offer to let him go home when he lost his nerve.
The laughter, then the blinding heat of her body, entwined with his. The sense of connection for those brief moments after—
A hand slapped the hood. Gamble jolted, then saw Noah’s face.
Grinning. Levi beside him, just as happy.
“How is she?” Lily leaped from the car. “Is she talking to you? What does the doctor say?”
“Whoa there, Lily B.” Noah held up his palms. “One question at a time.” But his humor was an answer in itself.
“She’s going to be okay.” For the first time in two days, Gamble drew a deep breath.
“She’s not out of the woods yet, but the doctor is optimistic. She’s got a long recovery ahead—” His face split in a wide smile. “She already asked when we’re rescheduling the party.”
Lily’s eyes teared up.
Levi spoke. “With several more days in the hospital, at a minimum, then a lot of physical therapy once the break heals, Mom isn’t going dancing any time soon.”
“But she’ll be home,” Lily said. “She’ll be all right.”
“A lot’s going to fall on you, Lily B,” Levi said.
“It could be months before she’s completely well.”
“I don’t care. I just want her back where she belongs.”
“I’ll do everything I can. Noah has to return to his job, and Gamble will be returning to New York.” Levi raked his fingers through his hair. “After I close the clinic at night, I can spell you, but there’s still the nursery to deal with. Margins are too thin to hire much more help, aren’t they?”
“I’ll stay.” The words were out before Gamble could think.
Relief chased over Levi’s face, followed by a frown echoed in Lily’s expression. “Your career is just getting off the ground. And what about your place there? From what I hear, New York real estate is way too expensive to be paying rent when you’re not around.”
Gamble didn’t have any good answers; he dreaded staying in Three Pines one second longer than he must, but they’d always pulled together as a family in the past, and he’d shouldered too little of his share since Charlotte died. “We’ll figure out details later. I just—” He shrugged. “My work is portable, and I can sublet, if it comes to that. Noah can help on weekends.” He glanced over at his youngest brother, who nodded. “And we’ll make it work out. You two shouldn’t be penalized just because you live in town.”
Levi still seemed troubled. “Gamble, Mom wouldn’t ask—”
“Mom needs our help. Enough said.” Gamble clapped his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “And you don’t always have to carry the weight of the world just because you’re the eldest.” From somewhere he found a grin to cover his dread. “Anyway, you’re not the boss of me.” The reference to an old refrain had them all chuckling.
“So…let’s go welcome Mom back to the land of the living.”
Lily launched herself into Noah’s arms and dragged Gamble and Levi close, too. The four of them clung in a hug of thanksgiving, and Gamble put away his questions about Jezebel Hart and her motivations for now.
Arm in arm, they strode into the hospital, and for the first time in years, Gamble was looking forward to a visit to a medical floor.
* * *
JEZEBEL PICKED UP the pregnancy test again. Set it down with a thud. Unfolded the instructions once more, but nothing in them had changed.
She had to wait until her first skipped period to be sure. “I thought they said early,” she muttered. “Early is now. Yesterday, not four days.”
Oscar leaped to the toilet seat and butted her hand with his head.
“What if I’m not in the mood to pet?”
He rubbed her fingers and purred.
She dropped to her heels in front of him and buried her fingers in his fur with a sigh. “What am I going to do?” she whispered. Rufus stuck his cold nose on her arm and she lost her balance. Collapsed on her behind.
Then her arms were full of dog. She clasped him to her and held on. “What on earth do I do?” she repeated.
Took advantage of a man who’s heartsick over the only woman he’ll ever love…my mother only felt sorry for you. Lily’s contempt had been clear.
You’re not fit to wipe your shoes on Charlotte’s mat. Gamble’s fury.
It would be so easy to pack up and run. So tempting.
But Skeeter’s eyes were losing their hope, and she was sick to death of landing in places that would never be home.
Jezebel gave the dog one last ruffle of fur, the cat an additional stroke, then rose to her feet and stared in the mirror. “You’ve run too often, Jezebel Hart, but not this time.” She started the shower to get ready for work. “Some people are just going to have to learn that lesson the hard way.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
WHEN DARRELL ARRIVED, Jezebel already had all the chairs down off the tables, the glassware sparkling, lemons and limes sliced and
the small bowls of fiery peanuts set out. She had cheese heating for nachos and chips already in the warmer, and she was measuring the windows.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“Hello to you, too,” she replied airily. “Why would you think something’s wrong?”
He removed a fresh apron from the drawer and donned it. “Maybe because when you’re upset, you start redecorating. Folks barely survived the fern. Don’t you even consider bringing any frilly curtains in here, girl. I’ll go drag Skeeter’s ass back, prop him up in a bed in the corner, if I have to. Somebody got to rein you in now and again.”
He was grinning, but she couldn’t return his humor. The mention of Skeeter was a barb beneath her skin, highlighting her failure to salvage anything of her dreams from this thoroughly miserable day.
“Hey—I was only fooling with you. Didn’t mean to make you cry.”
She tossed back her hair. “I’m not crying. I’m fine.” She glanced around them for some distraction. “Maybe I’ll—”
Darrell caught her arm, murder in his eye. “What did that sonofabitch do to you?” He reached for the strings of his apron and wheeled around. “Don’t matter. I get a piece of him, regardless.”
“Darrell, I’m okay.”
He whirled to face her. “Oh, yeah, I can tell how happy you are. Shoulda known the second I walked in the door why you got that long face and those big, sad eyes.” His brows slammed together. “Not that I didn’t warn you, oh, no. Did I warn you he was bad news? ’Course I did, but would you listen?” He slapped the apron on the bar and stalked to the back door.
“Stop—” she called to him. “Please. I need you here and—” To her relief, he finally faced her. “He didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to do.” Gamble had exceeded her expectations physically; the man was indeed a very gifted lover.
No, it wasn’t their interlude that was the problem; it was everything after. The broken condom, his reaction to her presence at the cottage. His sister’s accusations she hadn’t bothered trying to refute. The awareness that she’d let Skeeter down.
Drained by the overload of emotions today, she settled into a chair and rubbed one thumb over the tabletop.
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