Guarding Gaby

by Jean Brashear

  “Don’t give me nightmares.” She shuddered. “I never want to do anything remotely like that again.”

  “But you could, that’s the thing. You’ll manage whatever’s thrown at you.”

  He’d always believed in her, a gift beyond price.

  But the questions tumbled in her head. Do I have to manage without you? Do you feel any of what I do?

  What on earth are you doing here?

  Another silence, more awkward than the first.

  Finally, he spoke. “Don’t you want to ask me where the devil I’ve been?”

  “I…yes. I do.”

  He stared off past her head. “I spent quite a while with the Texas Ranger who’s in charge of the case. Discovered I’d never been formally charged and that I was free to go, as long as they could get in touch with me.”

  “I’m so glad, Eli.” And she was.

  “He may have to talk to you, but for now, your father’s papers are enough, he said.”

  She shrugged. “I’ll be around.”

  He went quiet again.

  “Then—” A line appeared between his brows. “I gathered up my gear and made it all the way to LAX, ready to buy a ticket to Nepal.” He cast a sideways glance at her. “Lots going on there these days.”

  “Really.”

  “Yeah.” He straightened. Stepped away from the door.

  Closer to her. “But instead, I found myself booking a flight to La Guardia.”

  She felt a little breathless. “Why?”

  He shifted uneasily. “Gaby, I don’t know the steps of this dance. I—” He glanced around. “You’re settled in here. I still don’t have much to offer you, not compared to all this.”

  That startled a small laugh from her. “You might be surprised.” She picked up a stack of papers from her desk, held them out.

  He frowned. “What’s that?”

  “Lists of what to pack.”

  His eyes widened. “Why?”

  “I’m—” She spread her hands. “Going home. As you pointed out, it’s my heritage. My roots.”

  “For real?” He shook his head. Then chuckled. “Unbelievable.”

  “How come?” She took affront.

  He saw it. “Because—” He shook his head. “I came here on a long shot. To see if I could convince you to return to Chamizal with me.”

  “You’re kidding.” She blinked. “Eli, why would you ever go there, of all places? After all that’s happened?”

  “I can’t tell you I have it all worked out, but—” He spread his palms. “The Anderson ranch is mine, if I want it. At first I didn’t. It’s built on blood money, and I didn’t want anything to do with that bastard.”

  “But then I had this idea.” He moved in on her, and she could hear excitement shift into his voice. “I’ve traveled thousands of miles trying to raise awareness of suffering by documenting it, but that’s too indirect.” He ran his hands down her arms and gripped her fingers. “I don’t have it all figured out, but there’s plenty of hardship right where we grew up, and now I have acres and acres of space at my disposal.

  “I’ve thought a lot about my mother and how she was trapped by circumstance. By him.” His eyes went hard. “She needed options no one could give her. So it occurred to me that I had room to create a place for abused women and children to come and heal. To learn useful skills as part of a working ranch.” He smiled ruefully. “Of course, I’d have a lot of skills to master, too, but the ranch is solid. And what better way to avenge my mother and everyone else Bill Anderson harmed, than by using his empire to make others like them stronger?”

  “That’s—” She shook her head in admiration. “Amazing.”

  “Yeah? Not just crazy?”

  “It’s wonderful, Eli. Truly.”

  “So—” His gaze darted away. “Any chance you’d want to go in on it with me?”

  “Me? You’re looking for a business partner?”

  “No. I mean, of course you’d be one hell of an example for those women to follow, and no one’s smarter than you. But I’m holding out for more.”

  He drew her hands to his chest, and his grip betrayed nerves. “There’s this woman, see, who told me that I was a good person. That she had one dream that mattered more than anything else. I said she was nuts, and she is, but—”

  He stopped. Swallowed hard. “Now that I’ve got that clean slate, I thought I might see if she would want to write a new story on it. With me.”

  She stared at him, struggling to absorb that the barriers that had parted them for so many years were gone.

  “I’m pretty sure she would.” Her voice broke.

  He gathered her into his arms. Held on tight. “I’m gonna make sure that this time, there’s a happy ending,” he murmured into her ear. “That I never have to leave you again.”

  “Oh, Eli—” She lifted a tear-blurred gaze to his. Laid her hand on his cheek. “I do love you.”

  He took her hand, placed a kiss to her palm. “You have always been the one shining star in a dark life. I’ll devote the rest of my days to making you happy. Will you marry me, Gabriela Lucia? Make a home with me, have a family? Even if it’s nine years too late?”

  Oh, Papa…this isn’t exactly how you’d planned to unite these ranches and certainly not the Anderson son you had in mind, but—

  Somehow, she thought he would approve.

  “I waited for you, Eli.” She slid her arms around him, wanting to never let go. “Just as I promised.”

  “Thank goodness.” He bent his head and kissed her deeply.

  Gaby sank into his embrace, grateful, so grateful that at last, nothing would part her and this man who’d had too little love in his life. She would make his future so very different.

  Suddenly, he lifted her high and twirled her around. She tossed her head back and laughed for pure joy.

  And in the hallway outside her door, applause and a sniff or two could be heard.

  ~THE END~

  Thank you for letting me share my stories with you! (PS Rosaria Sandoval, the gentle curandera you met in this story, has a prominent role in TEXAS HEALER, part of the Lone Star Lovers series, if you’d like to see her again.)

  Next up in the Second Chances series is BRINGING BELLA BACK:

  They had the perfect marriage…until he lost his way. Then he lost Bella.

  The blueblood and the bohemian married despite all the odds against them. They raised two children in a home that blossomed like the gardens Bella nurtured.

  But somewhere along the way, they lost who they’d been. At a crisis point, Bella sought time and space to think. Devastated by his role in her heartbreak, James had no choice but to let her leave.

  Only she never came home. Never answered even calls from their children.

  A frantic search. A woman with amnesia. A doctor half in love with his patient.

  When James finally locates the woman who owns his heart, learning that she remembers nothing of their life together is both a curse and a blessing.

  Can James remind her of all the joy they shared and make her fall in love with him again?

  Before her memory of his mistakes returns…and Bella stays away forever?

  Get your copy of BRINGING BELLA BACK today!

  If you enjoyed GUARDING GABY, I would be very grateful if you would help others find this book by recommending it to your friends on Goodreads or by writing a review. If you would like to be informed of new releases and be eligible for subscriber-only special discounts, please sign up for my newsletter here. You can also follow me on BookBub here.

  I love hearing from you, so please contact me through any of the options at the end of this book.

  Thanks!

  Jean

  Please enjoy this excerpt from BRINGING BELLA BACK:

  THE FIRST DAY

  A tickle, a whisper. A murmuring voice eluding my grasp. My foot stirs to give chase. Soft sheets brush my skin.

  I open my eyes to a room I’ve never seen.

&nb
sp; In a house I do not recognize.

  In dawn’s fragile light, I spot mountains. Shiver as crisp, delicious air wafts through the window screen.

  Then I fully awaken, and I remember.

  That I am Jane Doe.

  And I am lost.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The woman sank to the creaking wooden porch step and soaked in the serenity, rare since she’d first regained consciousness in the small town she’d been told was Lucky Draw, Colorado.

  Luck was certainly something she could use.

  Still, for the moment, she would be asked no questions, could allow her mind respite from her own. Stop flailing against Who am I? and Where did I come from? Is anyone looking for me? and simply…rest. Only…be.

  The green soothed her, though the tangle of it was a little unsettling. If she weeded over there and planted daisies beneath—

  She halted. Was this a piece of the puzzle of Jane Doe? A gardener? Heartened, she followed the thread. Bent forward, rested her chin on folded arms atop her knees.

  So what would she do with this jumble? She let her eyes go a bit out of focus and imagined the Johnson grass rooted out—though heaven knows it was as nasty as kudzu to control, with its roots that stubbornly cling to the soil like a toddler to her mama—

  She sat up, breathless. Where did kudzu grow?

  The faintest of shadows. A wisp of memory, a garden, teased at the edge of her inner vision. Something blue, leggy, a fluff of blossoms at the end of a long stalk.

  She frowned, bore down, desperate not to let the image slip away.

  But the fragment had already vanished. Frustration soured the brief, earlier bliss, and the bitter edge of fear threatened to drag her back into despair.

  A faint buzz snatched her attention. A hummingbird hovered in front of her perhaps five feet away, pretty ruby throat and incessant search for energy, as if he wondered whether she was a flower from which he might drink.

  The sight of him calmed. Staved off fear once more.

  She needed to act, to seize control. Perhaps she would plant flowers for her busy little friend. “Thank you,” she murmured, to the bird, to the green, to the morning she was, after all, alive to experience, a grace note in this dark hole that was the past she could not recall.

  One step, minuscule but desperately appreciated, into the new life she must create.

  Strengthened a bit against the constant drain of worry, Jane Doe rose and walked into the chaos that could become a garden, trailing her fingers over the feathery tops of doomed Johnson grass as she formulated plans for how she would spend this first day in the garage apartment Dr. Lincoln—Sam, she corrected—had insisted she make her home, since she had no money and nowhere to go. This tiny village of three hundred fifty-six souls was nearly five hundred miles from the nearest city, with no social services available except the old-fashioned concept of community. After being released from the hospital in Denver, where an MRI had revealed no brain damage beyond this amnesia, she’d accepted Sam’s offer because he was a kind man and because she’d had no choice, but only, she reminded him, until her memory returned.

  Until she figured out where home really was.

  …Excerpt from BRINGING BELLA BACK by Jean Brashear © 2019

  The SECOND CHANCES series includes:

  Click on the cover below to learn more

  BOOKS by Jean Brashear:

  Click on the covers below for more on each book

  THE TEXAS HEROES series:

  THE GALLAGHERS OF MORNING STAR

  Secrets will be revealed and the lives of four people will be shattered as they learn that who they are and where they come from is not at all what they always believed.

  Texas Secrets: Former SEAL Boone Gallagher returns to the only home he’s ever known only to find that the ranch has been willed to a stranger who doesn’t want it—and he must keep her there for thirty days, or it will be lost to them both.

  Texas Lonely: A loner who’s lost faith in love is the only hope for a mother and child on the run

  Texas Bad Boy: Disgraced bad boy has his chance for revenge against the beautiful society girl who chose money over his love

  The Gallaghers Of Morning Star Boxed Set

  THE MARSHALLS

  Texas Refuge: Haunted former detective is the only sanctuary for an actress being stalked by a madman

  Texas Star: Sexiest Man Alive becomes a white knight for a woman who keeps trying to escape him

  Texas Danger: Down on his luck rancher is the only hope for a socialite on the run from the mob

  The Marshalls Boxed Set

  THE WORLD OF SWEETGRASS SPRINGS

  Nestled in the Texas Hill Country, tiny Sweetgrass Springs was founded by four veterans of the Texas Revolution, and for over a century the town and their ranches grew and prospered. Nowadays, however, too many of the town’s children leave for the big city as soon as they can escape, and Sweetgrass is barely hanging on. The heart and soul of Sweetgrass is Ruby Gallagher. Her daughter vanished from Sweetgrass right after high school, but Ruby, owner of community gathering place Ruby’s Café, remains, keeping vigil, hoping for her daughter’s return. She is fighting to save her ancestors’ legacy, but the town is dying, and it’s breaking Ruby’s heart.

  Then the granddaughter she never knew existed arrives and sets in motion a new life for this eccentric, lovable spot in the road…where hope never fades and love never dies. Readers call it “a special place for hearts that need healing.”

  Texas Roots: A Paris-trained chef on the run finds Texas family she never knew existed and a sexy cowboy she doesn’t dare love

  Texas Wild: Sexy SEAL turned Hollywood stuntman returns home to find his buddy’s little sister all grown up

  Texas Dreams: Take two reluctant brides and two frustrated grooms, mix with both clans of Gallaghers and season with a SEAL or three, a movie star, a Hollywood Barbie and a country music giant—and get not one but two surprise weddings

  Texas Rebel: A former rebellious teen turned billionaire’s reunion with his teenage sweetheart and a secret baby he never knew about

  Texas Blaze: What happens when a shark lawyer in stilettos has a fling with a hot firefighter determined to find Suzy Homemaker?

  Texas Christmas Bride: All he wants is the girl he thought he’d lost forever.

  The Book Babes: Five women began as a reading group and became family…but now change is rippling through the group. (A surprise Sweetgrass Springs connection!)

  Texas Hope: Can two brothers who never knew each other existed overcome the secrets of a woman who abandoned one son and lied to the other?

  Texas Strong: Can a man who’s never trusted anyone and a woman who’s trusted all the wrong men defy the odds and open their hearts to each other?

  Texas Sweet: When a stranger who holds the keys to her identity arrives in town, will the girl everyone knows as Brenda come to terms with her past or run again?

  Be Mine This Christmas: The man he’s become is not the boy she once knew—and he may never forgive her, once he knows the secret she’s been concealing.

  Texas Charm: He’s a country superstar; she’s a small town waitress. When the real world slams into their reverie, whose heart will be the one to break? (Contains an original song written for this book)

  Texas Magic: One billionaire…one tomboy…one night of magic. Miracle or mirage?

  Be My Midnight Kiss: It’s New Year’s Eve…and now or never for these two hearts

  Boxed sets:

  The Gallaghers Of Sweetgrass Springs Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-3)

  The Gallaghers Of Sweetgrass Springs Boxed Set 2 (Books 4-6)

  LONE STAR LOVERS

  Heart-tugging, action-packed and passionate stories of the close-knit Sullivan/Sandoval family of four brothers and one sister, plus the three Morgan sisters, orphaned and separated for many years, whose lives reconnect as they become part of the family circle.

  Texas Heartthrob: Hollywood’s hottest star is a man in disguise when h
e encounters a woman who’s lost everything…but her secrets. When the world catches up to them, will the price of their lies cost them everything?

  Texas Healer: Special Forces medic holds the power to heal both a doctor’s injured body and her wounded heart…but she can’t stay in his world—and he can’t leave.

  Texas Protector: A detective forever haunted by the night when he couldn’t save a young girl from trauma—now she’s a cop herself and he has to send her undercover to lure a murderer.

  Texas Deception: A plucky crusader falls for a down-on-his-luck stranger—only to learn too late that he’s the villain determined to destroy her town

  Texas Lost: A hard-nosed detective targeted by internal affairs and the woman who’s professional evaluation will make or break his career. A a growing attraction between them risks first his case…and then her life.

  Texas Wanderer: When she’s lost all her dreams and is finally finding a place to call home, will she place her trust—and her heart—in the hands of a wanderer with secrets?

  Texas Bodyguard: He’s undercover as a bodyguard to a film star because her best friend is his top suspect. When she comes to mean too much to him, confessing his deception means risking his career—but not coming clean with her could risk her life

  Texas Rescue: A haunted warrior who lives in the shadows encounters a small, valiant woman who’s a champion of lost causes, and the vibrant light within her lures him from the darkness. When she is rocked by a brush with evil, can he make her feel safe again…and can she convince him that he deserves to live in the light?

  Lone Star Lovers Boxed Set (Books 1-3)

  SECOND CHANCES series