by J. M. Madden
Gina fumbled her phone out of her pocket with shaking hands and called 911, telling them she needed a squad car and an ambulance at her address. Her cheek blazed with pain, and she actually hoped there was bruising so that she could press charges against Chuck.
She stumbled to the hidden door and tapped on it gently.
“Gabe, you can come out, honey.”
The door was unlocked from the inside and shoved open. Then she was holding him tight against her. As he broke into sobs, it was all she could do to stay on her feet, so she sat down on the floor and cradled him to her. “It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay,” she whispered.
She looked over Gabe’s head and saw Matt just standing at the front door. His bloody fists were clenched, and he glared down at the unmoving older man. Gina thought she should maybe get up and check on the man, but Gabe was her priority right then. After several minutes, his tears began to ease and he pulled back. The sounds of sirens built until they suddenly stopped outside her house. Gina shifted to look down at the boy. A dark purple bruise spread across the left side of his face, and she cursed. “He did that to you? Why didn’t you tell me, Gabe? I’d have had the cops here sooner.”
He shook his blond head. “I wanted to wait for you.”
Matt went out the door to meet the policemen. Gina heard yelling and a sudden scuffle. With fear in her throat, she rushed to the door, tugging Gabe behind her. Matt was lying face down on the porch, hands cuffed behind his back. One policeman had his knee on Matt’s neck to hold him down. “No,” she yelled. “You have the wrong man. Leave him alone!”
A young cop held her back as she tried to get to Matt. She grabbed the man’s arm and tugged him toward the house. She pointed at Chuck sprawled on her hardwood floor. “He’s the one that broke in here after the boy. He went for me and slammed me into the wall.” She pointed at her face and prayed it was red enough for him to see. “Matt saved us. Chuck kept coming at us, but Matt stopped him. You have to let him go,” she cried.
But it took thirty minutes and a gazillion repetitive questions before they finally felt comfortable releasing him. Matt outweighed the largest of the cops by about fifty pounds, so she could kind of understand the hesitation. They snapped digital pictures of Gabe’s face, then her own. They also found where he had broken in through the kitchen door. Matt’s eyes burned with anger and humiliation, and she wanted to go to him, but Gabe was her priority. The ambulance arrived and checked him over. They told her he needed x-rays to confirm that nothing was actually broken. A woman from Children’s Services arrived and took a report but refused to allow Gabe to stay with Gina. The woman told her how to go about filing for temporary custody but was implacable when it came to taking the boy. “You are not a relative. You are a neighbor. That’s it. You need to go through the proper channels to be granted custody.”
Gabe was stoic. “It’s okay, Gina. I kind of knew this was going to happen eventually. I’ll be fine.” He hugged her hard one last time, then followed the woman to the car.
Gina burst into tears for the first time as the car disappeared down the block. She didn’t know what would happen to him, and it broke her heart. Matt unbent enough to cradle her in his arms and let her cry.
The police left and the ambulance hauled Chuck away. He had roused and started to spout threats, which backed up their story even more, but it was hard to feel victorious as her life fell apart around her. Even though Matt held her, there was a distance in him that was absolutely terrifying. More than anything else she’d gone through that morning.
Using her cell phone, she heard him call her parents and let them know everything was all right, and that she would call later to fill them in on the details. Then he guided her up the steps and into her house. In the kitchen he filled a cloth with ice cubes and held it to her face. Then he apparently caught sight of his still bloody hands, because he cursed and moved to scrub them under the faucet.
“I’m sorry, Gina,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t have been touching you with that nastiness on my hands.”
She stepped close enough to run her hand down his back, but he pulled away. He snatched a handful of paper towels off the roll, pulled a cleaning bottle and trash bag out from beneath the cupboard and headed back to the front. “Matt, don’t worry about that. I’ll get it.”
But he didn’t appear to hear her. Maybe he was just ignoring her.
He wiped up the small pool of blood Chuck had left behind, bound the trash bag and put it in the can outside the kitchen door. Gina followed along behind, aware that he was going to do what he thought he needed to do before he would relax. Drained, she sat at the kitchen tabled and watched as he put the supplies away. Then he stood at the kitchen sink and looked out the back window.
There was so much brittle emotion on his face. She was afraid to start a conversation, because she didn’t want to bring anything to a boil, but she was afraid that if she didn’t, she would lose Matt.
“Thank you for saving me. I never in a million years expected him to be standing on the other side of that door.”
Matt snorted, and his head bowed. At some point he’d lost his hat, and the dark brown curls were mussed.
“I didn’t do anything, Gina. Just pounded the shit out of some guy that deserved it. I guess the Calvin genes came in handy for once.”
“Yes, they did,” she agreed. “I wish I could have done it myself. You stopped when you needed to, though. Your dad didn’t.”
He shook his head, still not looking at her. “I didn’t stop because I wanted to.”
“Well, regardless, you did, and I thank you for it.”
Bile rose in Matt’s throat as he heard her words. When he’d seen Chuck with his hands on Gina, he had literally seen red. He’d kicked Chuck’s ass, and she just didn’t understand how easy it had been. For years he’d lived his life carefully, removed from the rest of the world because he knew what kind of vengeful monster lived inside him. That monster had LOVED breaking the older man’s nose and jaw. It had appealed to the animal in him to protect his woman and child, and if the same threat was presented, he’d do it again a million times over.
But what was to keep his anger from going wild and hurting the very ones he vowed to protect? He was hooked on Gina bad, but what if she pissed him off at some point? Would he lose control of his anger like he had tonight and go off on her? Or worse, on the boy?
Redness on his wrists caught his attention. They’d cuffed him because he looked like a criminal. Could he blame them? The damn tattoo wrapping around his forearm certainly didn’t proclaim him a lawyer or a doctor. But then, he’d kind of screwed himself in having the ink put on in the first place.
Nausea turned his stomach at what he had to do.
Gina was pale, and her fine brows were furrowed over her eyes. The redness on her cheek wasn’t fading, and he knew it would bruise within the next few hours and be sore as hell. Her right wrist was cradled to her stomach.
Every mark on her was directly or indirectly because of his actions.
“Gina, I need to go.”
Disappointment shadowed her face, and she looked down at her feet without saying anything. When she looked back up, her eyes swam with tears. “Okay Matt. I understand. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He shook his head sharply. “I don’t think so. The banister is done, and I’ve gone to your cook-out. I’ve done everything I said I would.”
Her jaw slackened as she realized what he was telling her. “You’re breaking up with me?”
Frowning fiercely, he crossed his arms over his chest, fighting despair. “We were never together. I told you I couldn’t give you what you wanted. I’ve had fun with you, but that’s it.”
“So the fact that I love you doesn’t mean anything?”
For a terrible minute he faltered, wanting desperately to cave. How could he tell her something so precious, something he’d never had before, didn’t mean anything? He couldn’t. “I think you might be confused right now. Your e
motions are pretty upset with Gabe being gone and everything.”
Blue fire glared up at him. “That doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s in my heart. I told you I loved you this morning, before all this crap happened.” She waved her good hand at the foyer where the battle had taken place.
Matt fought not to be swayed. “You did. But when you have a chance to think about things, you’ll realize it was the best decision that I left. I’m not the right man for you.”
Gina shook her head and stared at him through dazed eyes. One tear slipped down her cheek, but she swiped it away. “I think you’re wrong Matt Calvin. You have some crazy thought in your head that I would be better off without you, but that’s a load of bull.”
He shrugged and dropped his arms. “I’m not the man for you, Gina.”
Then, before he lost it completely, he turned and walked out the door.
Gina’s eyes burned with tears, and her head throbbed. She’d just had two very special men ripped from her life within the space of an hour. Her emotions were zigzagging from low to even lower. What the hell had she done to be punished this way?
Grabbing a paper-towel from the rack, she blew her nose and took several deep breaths. It didn’t do any good to break down now. The situation with Matt needed to take the back burner. She needed to find out what could be done about Gabe.
Apparently, nothing.
Patrice called several hours later, but the news was not good. With the new manager she had at the Department, everything needed to be done by the letter. Gina would need to petition the court for custody the next day. Assuming she actually wanted Gabe to stay with her.
Gina sat back in her chair to digest the words her friend had spoken. Of course she wanted Gabe, but would she be the best alternative to take the child on? Flashes of curling up on the couch and watching TV with him and stuffing his pockets with food bombarded her. Would she do it again? Absolutely. Did she think she could be a good influence on the child? Again, absolutely. Did she want a child and all the responsibility they entailed? She thought about that one for a total of about three seconds before deciding the answer was unequivocally yes. It would be a change for her lifestyle, but it would be for the better, for both of them.
Patrice promised to meet her at the courthouse the next day to file the papers. Gina called Dr. Hamilton to let him know what was going on, and that she would need the morning off. She told him about the incident this morning and he readily agreed, cautioning her that she would need to secure child care for the evenings she needed to work late. Gina promised him she would tackle the task the next morning.
Then, emotionally drained, she dragged herself up the stairs to take a hot bath. And allow herself to cry.
Chapter Twelve
Matt didn’t see Gina for a solid week, and when he did catch a glimpse of her it was by chance. He was throwing a few groceries into a cart when he saw her at the opposite end of the aisle he was in. She was scanning juice boxes, totally oblivious that he watched her. Standing completely still, he traced his eyes over her. She looked good, of course, though there were dark circles beneath her eyes.
He wanted to walk up and tell her how very much he missed her. The truck upholstery still smelled like her, and the night he’d broken up with her, he’d found a blue hair scrunchy in his bed. He slipped his left hand into his pocket to reassure himself that it was still there, then shook his head at the sentimentality. He needed to pitch the damn thing in the trash. Instead he flexed it around his fingers and held it tight. Gina had been a brilliant detour in his mundane life, and if this was all he had left of her, they could pry it out of his cold, dead hand.
George had heard through one of his cronies that Chuck was unable to post bond, so he would be in jail until he went to court. He had three aggravated assault charges, child abuse charges and a raft of other things he had to account for, so hopefully he would be away for a good, long time. Matt was glad that the boy wouldn’t have to deal with him. He also found himself worrying, though, too. Orphanages were not nice places. For the heck of it he’d called Children’s Services to see if he was okay. They wouldn’t release information to Matt, of course, because he wasn’t a relative. He asked what the process was for filing for adoption, then shook his head at his own foolishness. There was no way on earth he could take in a young child like that, but he found himself taking notes anyway.
If he knew Gina at all, she had already applied for custody. He’d seen how much the boy meant to her, and vice versa. The two of them would be together eventually, he had no doubt.
He and Gina, on the other hand, were done.
Leaving the cart in the aisle, he turned and walked out of the store. The chain across town had a better selection anyway. Or at least that’s what he told himself.
Gina thought she saw Matt’s big dually leaving the parking lot when she looked out the big plate glass windows, and her heart thudded painfully. She missed him, desperately, and it wasn’t easing up. He’d only technically been in her life for a week, but it had been the best week of her life, broken wrist aside. Even though he was gruff and reclusive, he’d tugged at her heart with his humility and doubts. But those doubts had overwhelmed any chance of a relationship they might have had.
In spite of what he had done to Chuck, Gina knew Matt was a gentle man struggling with demons from his past. The altercation had just brought all those demons howling to the forefront of his mind.
She tried to tell herself that he had never had a healthy, romantic relationship, so he didn’t know how to proceed. And the thought of being vulnerable to another person was difficult. She knew. In spite of telling him she loved him, he walked away. Destroying her.
Her eyes burned with tears and she swiped them away angrily. She was tired of crying over him and feeling so whipped. Besides, she had a new son to take care of.
***
Two weeks later, Gina saw George’s name on the patient roster for later in the day. Matt would drive him in and she could finally talk to him for a minute. About Gabe, and other general things. She could thank him for the locksmith he had sent over to fix her back door after Chuck had broken in.
From behind the reception desk, she watched as the big dually pulled into the parking lot, and Matt circled around the hood to help George step down. Resting her hand on the window, she tried to see Matt’s expression, but his head was tipped down, and the ball cap shaded his face as he spoke to the elderly gentleman. Gina hustled into the back when they disappeared from view and debated sending one of the other girls to check on the old man. That was cowardly, though, and she didn’t want to be like that. So, when a space opened up in the exam area, she went out to the reception and called George’s name. For the briefest second she glanced at Matt and was stunned at how lean his face looked, even covered by the light beard. The old man stepped in front of her and smiled, taking her good arm as they walked down the hallway. The entire time she could feel Matt’s hard eyes following her, tracing down her back, and in spite of where they were and how they had ended, she felt desire curl through her belly.
George was his same old ornery self, teasing her as she took his vitals, but when she prepared to leave he gripped her hand. “Sit down a minute, girly.”
Swallowing, she sat in the chair beside his. “What do you need, George?”
Rheumy blue eyes squinted at her in humor. “I don’t need anything. That boy out there does, though.”
Her eyes suddenly burned with tears. “Is he okay?” she whispered. “He looks…”
“Like he’s had his heart broken,” George finished. “Now, I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but he did everything he could not to come in here with me, and he’s been snappin’ my head off like crazy when I talk about you. What’s going on?”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she brushed it away. “He didn’t want to stay with me. I told him I loved him, but he got into that fight with Chuck and it all fell apart. It was like he thought he was going to just
snap and hurt me one day, and he’s not like that. It made him sick when we ran into each other and I broke my wrist. He would never intentionally hurt me.”
George nodded and swiped his hand over the few gray hairs on his head. “We know that, but he doesn’t. That boy got his ass kicked almost every day for years on end. Watched his momma get beat up a few of those years. He grew up in violence, and he thinks that if something sets him off, he’ll go back to what he knows. That’s a lot of learning to change in just a couple of weeks.”
Gina nodded. George was absolutely right. Things had moved very fast between them, and it probably had overwhelmed him. Maybe if she just bided her time and tried to be positive, they could build something stronger that would last.
She leaned over and gave the old man a hug. “Thanks, George. I’ll try to be patient with him.”
“How’s that boy Matt talked about?”
“Oh, he’s wonderful!” she gushed. “The judge granted me temporary custody, and I can eventually petition for adoption. We’re going to his old house tonight and moving boxes of his stuff over. He’s changed so much already.”
George grinned and patted her good arm. “I think you’re the best thing to ever happen to that boy.”
Her eyes watered at the vote of confidence. “Thanks, George.”
Wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the room, placing the chart in the holder by the door. She paused long enough to glance at Matt and give him a small smile. “Hi, Matt.”
“Gina.”
“Thank you for sending the locksmith over to fix the door. I wasn’t in a good frame of mind to think of it.”
He shrugged, arms folded tight to his chest. The glower on his face was positively scary and reserved. Exactly what he wanted, she thought.
“No problem.”
Gina really tried not to be hurt by his abrupt attitude, but the pain must have shown on her face. For a split second, his frown softened, and he looked about to say something. She held her breath, but one of the nurses came down the hallway and shattered their privacy. Matt clamped his jaw, shuttered his gaze and stared over her head.
