by Val Welch
“You were right. It wasn’t Gabe in the video. I’ll run a query on Joaquin as soon as we get home.”
“Rebeca said they lived in Albuquerque. Maybe Joaquin has a perfectly legitimate reason for buying explosives. He works for a road construction company. Don’t they have to blast through hills and stuff?”
“That’s exactly what he does. We had a long discussion about it at the buffet table while Gabe was drooling over you.”
She laughed. “He was really drunk.”
“I don’t care how fucking drunk he was. If we weren’t sitting in his mother’s kitchen, I would have called him on it.”
She touched his cheek and grinned. “Ah … you’re jealous. How cute.”
He grinned back at her. “Damn right. You’re my woman and I’m going to take you home and show you just how much I love you.”
Nineteen
Shelby woke with a start, the last wisp of a dream fading away. She lay in the still, early morning and tried to convince herself that she hadn’t just had a very sensual dream about Gabe.
Carson was asleep on his side, facing her, his fist curled under his chin in an almost child-like pose. He trusted in her and their life together. They’d be married, raise a family and live happily ever after. It was such a pure and simple life stretching out in front of her.
Why was she dreaming about Gabe Navarro, she wondered as she carefully got out of bed.
She sat alone at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and looking out the bay window. As the rising sun slowly lit the surrounding forest, she took inventory of her life. She was almost thirty-eight years old and once again she was in limbo. Gone were the job and lifestyle she loved, given up for the sake of a woman who she’d thought would make Gabe happy and keep him safely out of her life. Now, Gabe clearly had other plans, and Shelby knew those plans included her.
She had no idea how she could love two men at the same time.
She was still sitting at the table when Doc padded into the room, grunted and poured a cup of the now bitter coffee. He took a long sip, sat down across the table and looked at her. “How long have you been up?”
“Hours.” She looked at his thick stock of unruly salt and pepper hair and laughed. “Has Lydia seen the bed-head thing you’ve got going on in the morning?”
He grinned, propped his bare feet on an adjacent chair and leaned back. “Yes, as a matter of fact, she has.”
Shelby stretched and then slowly rolled her shoulders. “Tell me about you and Lydia.”
Doc nodded toward the coffee pot. “We’re going to need some fresh coffee.”
She rose and crossed to the coffeepot as he began.
“It was July 4th, 1965, high noon.” He laughed. “I was meeting my friend Victor at the 4th of July barbeque at Lakeside Park. I saw this exotic beauty walking across the grass. I immediately forgot all about Victor and followed her.
“Now, when I think of it, it seems as though she moved in slow motion. She drifted through the crowd, skirting lawn chairs and blankets, smiling at the kids running around. There was a band playing patriotic music.” He laughed again. “I’m probably the only man in the world that fell irretrievably in love to the strains of ‘God Bless America.’”
Shelby laughed too.
“She was gorgeous. Had a mass of dark curly hair. She was wearing a white halter type dress. You know the kind, just tight enough and low cut enough to drive a man crazy. Oh, and it had a little slit in the back, when she walked you could see the inside of her thigh …”
Shelby smacked his arm and laughed. “Okay, Doc, I get the picture. Think Sophia Loren?”
“Yeah, but much sexier.” He laughed and then sighed deeply. “Well, I followed her across the park and damn if this girl of my dreams didn’t walk right into the arms of my best friend Victor. I knew then who she was. Victor had driven me crazy talking about this girl he’d met in Spain the year before. They’d been writing to each other and she’d come over for a visit. He was going to ask her to marry him. I’d even seen the ring. I walked up to them. Victor introduced us, and my heart broke right then when I saw her face. You’ve seen her. She’s beautiful, even more so now.”
Shelby smiled as she brought him a fresh cup of coffee. “She’s one of those women who time has been kind too.”
He looked down at the cup and then up at Shelby. “They were married a month later and had Gabe the following year. I licked my wounds for a few years then went on to marry your mother. We had you, got divorced and then I married Margie. Margie was a good friend of Lydia’s. In fact, Victor set us up. So, over the years we all spent a lot of time together. After I lost Margie, Lydia and Victor were wonderful. They were always inviting me over, even tried to fix me up with Victor’s sister Judith.”
“You married Mom because she looked like Lydia, didn’t you?” Shelby asked, looking over at him and grinning.
“You don’t miss much, do you? I didn’t see it at the time, but later on I realized it.” He chuckled and scratched the stubble on his chin. “Your mother was convinced there was something going on between Lydia and me.”
“Was there? I mean, did you ever …?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Victor was my friend.”
“Did Lydia feel the same way about you?”
He looked at her and shrugged. “I’ve never asked her that question. I know how she feels about me now, and that’s enough for me.”
“I’m really happy the two of you have each other. You’ve both been through so much.”
He set his cup down and looked at her. “Shelby, does this story sound familiar to you?”
She ran her hand through her tousled hair and looked out the window. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. I was in that kitchen last night. I think Gabe made his intentions very clear. I also saw what it was doing to Carson. What are you doing, Shelby?”
She held back the tears and refused to look at him. “I’m sorting it all out. It sounds like you were in love with two women at the same time,” she said, softly.
He nodded “Yes, I loved both Lydia and Margie for all those years. But, it’s not something I’d recommend if you have a choice.”
She deeply exhaled and turned toward him. “I don’t think I have a choice either. What should I do, Dad?”
He got up, poured another cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter. “Shelby, it’s your decision. But, since you asked, I’ll give you my perspective. I don’t have to tell you that Carson loves you beyond-all-reason. He will always be there for you. To be brutally honest, I’m not so sure the same is true of Gabe. Oh, don’t get me wrong, Gabe’s a good guy, and I know he cares for you. It’s just that he has this dark side. I don’t know, maybe that’s the attraction.”
She looked out of the window.
He laughed. “I thought so. Well, those are your options, Shelby. Choose wisely.”
“Dad, I really love Carson and I want to be with him. But the thing with Gabe … it just won’t go away.”
“Shelby, give it some time. With this much indecision in your life, are you sure now is the time for you to have a baby?”
“Dad, the baby is the one thing I am sure about.”
Twenty
Despite the worst hangover of his life, Gabe went to work. Saturday morning was his time to finally tackle all the paperwork that had eluded him during the week. When he drove past Doc’s house a little after seven and saw the lights on in the kitchen, he couldn’t help slowing and glancing in the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Shelby.
Seeing her with Carson last night had been agonizing and learning they were trying to have a baby together had felt like a knife in his gut. He had to talk to her and convince her to give him a chance.
He pulled into the station parking lot, turned off the engine and looked at the ominous clouds building to the north. The weather guys had been warning of impending bad weather all week. From the looks of the clouds, this time they may have been right. He began
mentally compiling his bad weather checklist as he left his truck and walked across the parking lot toward the building.
He was almost to the station door when he felt searing pain in his shoulder and his body involuntarily jerked forward. A couple of milliseconds later, he heard the sharp retort of a gunshot and realized he’d been shot. The momentum from the slug tearing into his shoulder helped carry him through the station door where he instinctively dropped and rolled onto the floor.
He hit the floor hard and came to a stop lying on his side facing the line of desks across the scuffed tile floor. Feet ran across the floor toward him as he struggled to raise his head. “Don’t move,” Helen commanded, sinking to the floor next to him. A pair of booted feet went to the front door then came back to him.
“Gabe, did you hear or see anyone?” Frank asked, his face filled with concern as he squatted down and peered at him.
“No. Keep away from the windows. They may not be done,” he managed to choke out as another wave of pain hit him and the room went gray around the edges.
He felt Helen’s hand on his cheek. “Hang on, Gabe. The EMTs are on the way,” she said from a great distance.
* * * * *
Shelby was washing up in the bathroom off the kitchen when the phone rang. She heard Doc pick up the phone in the kitchen and have a quick conversation before slamming the phone down. It was a familiar routine for a doctor’s kid. She knew he’d be speeding off to the hospital.
Doc ran past her toward his room. “Shelby, get dressed. Gabe’s been shot.”
She didn’t say anything to slow him down, she just ran to her bedroom. Carson was dressed and coming down the hall. She ran past him, tearing off her pajamas. “Start the car. Gabe’s been shot.”
Carson bolted down the hall as she ran into her room. She was dressed and out the door in less than a minute. She grabbed her shoes and coat and met Doc running from his room with his scrubs in his arms. They raced to the car and jumped in. Carson screeched out of the driveway, turned the car towards the hospital and laid rubber all the way to the corner. He slowed slightly, looked both ways and floored it onto the highway.
Doc had managed to get into his scrubs when Shelby turned toward the back seat. “Dad, what happened?”
He looked up at her as he pulled his shoes on. “Someone shot him as he walked into the station a few minutes ago. He’s being transported and the trauma team is in route.” He threw his cell to her as he grabbed his coat. “Call Lydia and get her to the hospital. Just don’t scare her.”
Shelby scrolled through Doc’s contact list, found Lydia’s number, swallowed hard and pushed the button. It rang five times and then went to voice mail. She left a message, hung up and then just concentrated on breathing.
Carson glanced at her and then back at the road, his mouth a grim line. She didn’t even know she was crying until Doc reached over the seat and squeezed her shoulder.
“Shelby, the fact that he was breathing on his own when they transported him is reassuring. We’ve got to stay positive until we get the whole picture. Okay?”
She took a deep breath and pulled herself together.
They arrived at the ER entrance just as the EMTs were wheeling Gabe toward the doors. They followed them inside and controlled chaos erupted as the trauma team surrounded the gurney and rushed Gabe down the corridor to the trauma bay.
Standing just inside the door, Shelby and Carson watched while Gabe’s bloodied clothes were cut away and the team worked to stabilize him. The glimpses of Gabe Shelby caught as the team moved around his bed terrified her. His skin looked like white alabaster splashed with copious amounts of deep ruby red blood.
“Carson, go to Lydia’s house and find her. Now,” Doc ordered from Gabe’s bedside.
Carson squeezed Shelby’s arm. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said before hurrying from the room.
Shelby leaned against the door jamb and stayed out of the way. A portable X-ray machine was brought in and the technician took several X-rays before leaving to develop them. The trauma team continually monitored his vitals as Doc and the surgeon conferred, waiting for the films to come back. Doc ordered them the clean him up before his mother got there. One of the nurses walked by, gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said. “His vitals are strong, he’s stable, and we’re just waiting for the films.”
“Thanks,” Shelby said gratefully.
Doc turned when he heard her voice and walked over to her. “Shelby, we’ll know more in a few minutes, but it looks like a fairly clean through and through wound. He may need surgery. It depends on what the slug did internally before exiting. His vitals are strong and we have him sedated. Come on over and you can see him.” He led her across the room.
She stood next to the gurney and looked down at him. His face was partially obscured by the oxygen mask and there were jumbled tubes and wires running everywhere. There was fresh blood seeping through the thick bandage on his right shoulder. The room smelled of blood, alcohol and a vaguely familiar odor she finally placed as gunpowder. There were conversations going on around them and the machines and monitors in the room provided a variety of sounds in the background. She lightly touched his hand and jumped when he grasped her fingers. Doc nudged her. “Talk to him. I’m going to go check on those films.”
“Gabe, you’re going to be all right. Just relax and let Doc take care of you,” she said, unable to hold back the tears as she took his hand into hers.
Shelby was still at Gabe’s side when Lydia and Carson arrived a few minutes later. Lydia frantically rounded the corner and then stopped dead. She took a deep breath, rolled back her shoulders and slowly exhaled before continuing across the room. She patted Shelby’s arm as she stepped up to the head of the bed and leaned over the railing. “Gabriel, what have you done now?” She looked at his face, smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead. “I love you, son. Please be a good patient for Doc now.”
Carson put his arm around Shelby’s shoulders and the three of them stood huddled next to Gabe’s bed until Doc and the surgeon came back into the room. The surgeon took charge of Gabe, while Doc herded them into the empty waiting area across the hall. Doc had his arm tightly wrapped around Lydia’s shoulders and was murmuring something into her ear as he sat down on the couch with her. “It’s not as bad as it looks. He has a gunshot wound to his right shoulder. They’re taking him to surgery to get a better look at it and repair any possible vascular damage. We’ll know more when they’re done.”
Shelby sat down on the other side of Lydia as Doc continued to calmly speak to them.
“Shelby is going to stay here with you, while I go with Gabe. It should take two, maybe three hours, tops. Try not to worry. He’s going to be all right,” Doc said. He tenderly kissed Lydia’s cheek before standing. He nodded at Carson, and the two of them left the room.
Lydia turned to her, tears flowing down her cheeks and said, “If he dies, I’ll never forgive you for bringing her back into our lives.”
Shelby winced. “Lydia, he’s not going to die. And we don’t know if it’s about Eden at this point.”
“Of course it is. This town has much anger in its heart for that woman, and now they have tried to assassinate my Gabriel. I know you love him. How could you let this happen?” she asked, shoulders quaking as she lost the battle for control.
Shelby held Lydia tightly and refused to let her anger upset her. She knew it was a reaction to the stress and anguish she was suffering. Gradually, Lydia regained control and Shelby gently tried to explain. “Lydia, I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing. I just wanted him to be happy.”
“Shelby dear, are you so blind that you cannot see it’s you he loves?” Lydia asked, patting her arm. She smiled through her tears. “Please, don’t break his heart.”
Shelby didn’t reply. There was nothing she could say.
Lydia made the sign of the cross and lapsed into prayer. The room slowly began filling with family and friends. A few m
inutes later, Gabe’s Aunt Judith burst into the room. Shelby stood and Judith slid into her place next to Lydia. The two women had a hushed conversation in Spanish. By now, many of the Navarro family were crowded into the room along with various members of the Pine Ridge police department. Everyone was speaking in low tones in deference to Lydia who seemed to be pulling herself together with Judith’s help.
Shelby walked out into the hallway. It was filled with sheriff’s department deputies who had created a secure perimeter around the area.
She found Carson speaking with a group of officers. He introduced her to Miles Presler, the county sheriff. He was middle-aged, balding and looked more like a CPA than a rural Arizona sheriff.
Presler firmly grasped her hand in his and said, “Special Agent Ryan, I’m real glad to meet you. Doc’s an old friend of mine.”
“Thank you, Sheriff Presler. And please, call me Shelby.”
“I will, and I’m Miles.” He nodded at Carson. “Carson and I were just discussing some of the events of this morning.”
“Let me guess. You’ve heard from EFA?” she asked.
“Yes I have. Right before the shooting someone claiming to be with EFA called my office and informed us that both Gabe and you were about to be killed.”
He looked toward a couple of casually dressed twenty-something guys who were leaning against the nearby nurses’ station counter. “That’s why I have Officers Conrad and Miller here. They’re going to become a big part of your life for a while.”
Shelby glanced at them. They both nodded at her. She turned back to Presler. “Not necessary. I can take care of myself.”
The sheriff laughed and grinned at her. “I have no doubt. But, humor me … please.”
She shrugged and looked up at Carson. “Did you call Morgan?”
“Yeah, he’s on his way, along with the forensic team. They should all be here within a couple of hours.”
“That’s exactly how long Gabe’s supposed to be in surgery,” she muttered before turning and walking back down the hall to the waiting room.
