by Kathryn Shay
Gideon shrugged.
“What does that mean?”
“We broke our contact off before all this happened.”
“So, what’s stopping you now?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t ask to see me after all this went down.”
“Hey, you’re the one taking control of your life. Take control of the situation with her, too.”
“Maybe. I need to breathe right now, so much has happened.”
“I wouldn’t wait too long.”
“I suppose you’re going to give me a target date.”
“Hmm. Four days?”
“You’re something else.”
Rafe leaned over. His gaze was serious. “So are you, buddy. You deserve to have the kids, a new job and Anabelle Sanders.”
* * *
Four days after her last meeting with Gideon, Anabelle was flummoxed. She’d gone from confused, to angry, to hurt in the time that followed his announcement. Because Gideon hadn’t contacted her.
He was a sergeant now.
She was no longer his boss.
Maybe he didn’t want her anymore.
She stalked around the apartment. She could go to him. Ask him if they had a future. But she knew Gideon. If he’d wanted that, he would have come to her himself. And he hadn’t. She’d found out only accidentally he’d moved into his office at the academy and started his new job.
The intercom buzzed. Telling her lurching heart to be calm, she pressed the button.
“Hello, Sergeant Sanders. You have a visitor. He says you might be expecting him.”
Her hands started to tremble. “Thanks, Bob, send him up.”
In minutes, Gideon was at her door, holding a huge bouquet of red roses and the gilded trademark box of Godiva. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” She gestured to the gifts. “You missed Valentine’s day.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her hard on the mouth, then once again brushed her aside and entered the apartment, as if he hadn’t totally ignored her.
She sighed after she closed the door. “I’m not very happy with you right now. For letting me hang out to dry for days.”
“I’m sorry. I had my reasons.” He put the presents on the foyer table. “Now, do you want to talk about that, or make love? Free and clear no-guilt love.”
“How can I resist that?”
Later, as they lay under the covers, her head on his shoulder, staring out her window, up at the ceiling, he said, “I needed a few days to adjust to all the changes in my life before taking us on, too.”
“I-I guess I can understand that.” She kissed his chest. “We’ve had a messy relationship.”
“Not anymore. We can start over.” His hand moved up and down on her bare arm raising goosebumps. “With some caveats.”
“Shit, what now?”
“I don’t think my kids are ready for me to start dating.”
“Oh, sure.”
“Neither is the department.”
“Now that I agree with. How long do you think we have to wait?”
“I’d say at least six months for the kids.”
She stilled. “That’s a long time not to be together.”
He flipped her to her back and bent over her. His scent, something sexy and sinful, filled her head. “What are you talkin’ about, woman? We’ll sneak around. Keep it quiet. I think we can do it right.”
“I’m willing to try.”
His eyes danced. “At the end of six months, we’ll date openly for a while, you can get to know my kids. I’d like a fall wedding, I think.”
“Wedding?” Man, she hadn’t even considered that.
He tipped up her chin. “Come on, love. No more qualms or hesitance. Let’s enjoy each other until we can come clean.”
“I agree to that, but I have to think about a wedding. I didn’t do so good my first time around.”
“Me, either. But, Sergeant Sanders, I think together we can do anything.”
“Hmm. I guess I agree, Sergeant Casella.”
His face turned serious. “I love you, Anabelle. I have for a while.”
“Oh, God, me too. I love you. Now make love to me again.”
“So soon?”
“I’m ready if you are.”
“Yeah, I’m ready, love. For anything.”
* * * * *
If you liked this book, you might want to post a review of it at AMAZON.
For notification of Kathryn’s new work and information about her books, be sure to sign up for her newsletter here.
Author’s Note
* * *
I didn’t know Gideon well when I started to write his book. I had information on him from the other stories, but he showed a different side of himself from who he was in the previous Casella Cousins novellas. Because he’s gotten knocked down by life in many ways, Gideon learns to accept what fate has given him and go on from there. He’s not a hot head anymore. One way this is shown is with his kids. Once he gets full custody of them, he realizes how important they are to him. He tries to spend time with them, and he really pulls through for his oldest daughter. Did you like the awkward scene where he’s struggling to find a way to deal with her when he catches her half-dressed with Brandon?
Anabelle Sanders was easier for me to write. She also changes for the better in this story. She’s led a tough life and succeeded in the police department through grit and hard work. She’s delighted to become the sergeant of the task force, although she feels bad that an injury kept Gideon from competing. As the story progresses, she comes to understand Gideon better and likes his more humble approach to things. She validates him as a good cop, a good father and a solid member of the task force.
Hanging over them, of course, is their one indiscretion after his brother’s wedding. It soon becomes obvious that they can’t stay away from each other. And events do conspire to bring them together—physically, but emotionally, too. I liked how their relationship developed and the way they ended up together.
There’s a lot of tough issues in this book: domestic violence, gang activity, white-collar crime, the death of a police officer. All the while, there’s Carina and her depression. Didn’t you love the way Gideon dealt with her? His sensitivity and his search for ways to bring them all to a better place is, to me, the most heroic thing he does in the story.
As for the ending, you might think it unrealistic, but I don’t. Like Derek, Gideon gives up his spot on the task force, but unlike Derek, it’s not for Anabelle, but for his family and himself. Kudos to him!
Finally, I hope you enjoyed the scenes with Ronan. He comes out of the shadows more and promises his story to his cousins and siblings—and to the reader.
This is book five of series, so if you missed any, be sure to get copies of The Casella Cousins: HAYLEY, SETH, FINN, ALESSIA, GIDEON AND RONAN.
Best to all of you,
Kathy
Visit or contact Kathryn at www.kathrynshay.com
www.facebook.com/kathrynshay
www.twitter.com/KShayAuthor
www.pinterest.com/kathrynshay
Don’t miss all of The Casella Cousins
* * *
Six cousins, separated as children, reunite as adults and become intricately involved in each other’s lives.
Available Now—Hayley Casella loves her job as an Assistant District Attorney – everything but facing Paul Covington, her nemesis, in court. She’s fought with him in trials for a year. What will they do when attraction sparks between them one moonlit night?
Find HAYLEY on Amazon
Available Now—Legal Aid lawyer Seth Casella is a truly good guy. Or so everybody thinks. But he has a darker side, that came out with his old girlfriend, Julianne Ford, which splits them apart permanently. Or maybe not!
Find SETH on Amazon
Available Now—Finn Casella, a mild-mannered guy, owns a bookstore in New York. He’s content with a quiet life and casual dating. Until he begins to see his young, sometimes infuriating a
ssistant in a new light.
Find FINN on Amazon
Available Now—Alessia Casella Benatti married the love of her life at eighteen. And he died young. After several years, she goes back to finish college. She meets dashing Dylan Davidson, a fellow student, and begins to see love in her future again – though something isn’t quite right about him.
Find ALESSIA on Amazon
November 17, 2020—Ronan Casella left home twenty plus years ago, abandoning his beloved sister and brother—until now. The mystery as to what’s happened to Ronan in the intervening decade is revealed in book six.
Find RONAN on Amazon
Excerpt
* * *
Take a look at the next book in the series,
RONAN
“Cut!” Ronan Casella ran his hand through his dark hair, already messy from the gesture. “It’s not working.”
“Of course, it’s not.” His choreographer, next to him, used her I-know-better-than-you tone, which belied the vulnerability her tall, slim build gave her. Combined with a lovely complexion framed by auburn hair and green eyes, she was a beautiful woman. And could be stubborn as hell.
Ronan sighed. “Losing the leading man a month before opening can’t be fixed. Poor Art. He was so good in the role.”
“I know you were devastated by his heart attack and so am I. But the issue with the play can be fixed, Ron,” she challenged him. “And you know how.”
“Take ten,” he called out to the cast on stage then turned to her.
Eliza Ellington had become his closest friend. She’d been through every single play he’d directed since he started Off Broadway five years ago and never backed down from a fight.
“Okay, smarty pants. How?”
“You can fill in for him.”
A feeling of dread went through him. “Me? I’m not an actor.”
“Don’t give me that crap. I’ve seen you act a million times when you help someone on stage with his or her part or demonstrate what you’re after in a scene. You’re spell-binding. And you could recite this script all the way through, with all the parts, if you wanted to.”
Because he had a photographic memory, which he’d never shared with anybody, even when he worked in Hollywood. Ronan Casella, aka Ronny Case, and now Ron Klein had a lot of secrets.
“It’s out of the question. We’ll have to cancel the show. Art’s not coming back, and it’s too late to find anyone else.”
“It’ll break their hearts. Especially when they…” she nodded to the stage “…find out it’s your last production in New York.”
“I should have told them before.”
She arched an insufferably arrogant brow.
“All right, you advised that. I didn’t listen.”
Grasping his arm, she moved in close. “Ron, please, just do it this once.”
What she didn’t know, of course, was that he resisted acting because he didn’t want people to recognize him. Then again, it had been ten years since his last movie. And he looked a hell of a lot different: Ronny Case had long, dark hair, scruff, and a swagger that went with his braggadocio attitude. It all wouldn’t matter anyway, once he went back to Hidden Cove in a few months as he true identity.
Someone approached them. Connor, who was the understudy for the antihero of the play, Bludgeon. “I can’t do it this quickly, Ron. I’m sorry. I won’t embarrass myself.”
“I understand it’s not working.” In reality, Ronan wanted to throttle the man. He should have been up on the part.
When Connor left, Eliza said, “This is Off Broadway. It doesn’t attract the most talented of actors. Though you’ve worked miracles with them.”
God, she could read his mind.
“Off Broadway attracted you.” He tossed the words back at her.
Her lovely face, unlined at forty, flashed with annoyance. “And you know why. I told in confidence. Which is more than I can say for you, you tight-lipped bastard. Get your chakras in order.” Head held high and with perfect posture, like the dancer-turned-yogi she was, Eliza walked away.
Chakras be damned. But she was right. About everything. He stared at the stage. The cast was back. They were depending on him. He had investors, for Christ’s sake. Did he really have a choice?
There’s always a choice. That mantra had gotten him out of a situation that would surely have killed him. So, he chose. He walked up the steps and faced them. “Somebody grab me a book.”
One of the stagehands scrambled to get one.
“All right. Let’s start at the top.”
Everybody clapped.
“Now!” He tried to be gruff. But this particular cast was one of his favorites.
Act 1 Scene 1
(Contemporary set, bedroom in background, Roger Blakely sits on a stool, spotlighted. He holds a gun. Is looking down at it.)
ROGER: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I said I was serious all those times before.
(An uncomfortably long pause.)
ROGER: What am I waiting for? Who the hell knows? Who the hell cares?
(The stage goes dark. The scramble of resetting. In minutes, a group of dancers filled the floor. And Roger Blakely is at the forefront.)
Ronan hadn’t forgotten how to dance, though he’d had no lessons in ten years. He was rusty, but he managed the steps.
At the end of the rehearsal, the cast circled around him. “You’re so good, Ron. You could be on Broadway.”
“I’d rather be behind the camera.”
“You’ll put us all to shame.”
“Don’t say that, Mark! You are all solid actors. With hard work and study, this entire cast could be on Forty-Second Street.”
Nods and thanks.
“All right.” He peered out into the audience. “Eliza, do you have notes?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
After which, the group exited and the Ronan and Eliza sat alone in the theater side-by-side in seats. She picked up his hand. “Who are you? And don’t give me any shit. I’ve respected your wishes for five years, but since this is your last play, I want to know now.”
Should he tell her? This lovely person who was the best woman, outside of his family, he’d ever known in his life.
* * *
Since the time she’d met him five years ago, Eliza had been in the dark about Ron Klein’s past. They worked together better than she’d ever worked with a director. They’d come to know each other outside of their careers. He’d been her colleague, her friend, her sounding board. And there had been an attraction there, on both sides, which they ignored in order to carry on a professional relationship and a friendship that neither wanted risk. But she still knew so little about him. Every time she asked him directly, like tonight, he flatly refused to tell her anything about his past. She only wished she knew what he was hiding from.
As she unlocked her apartment door in the financial district, a home she and Taylor had gotten in the divorce, she called out. “Taylor, are you here?”
Her daughter exited her bedroom. Her long blond hair was down and pulled back with clips. In contrast, her dark as night eyes brimmed with love and a smile bloomed on her face. Eliza was ever so thankful that Taylor, at seventeen, liked her, in addition to loving her as a mother. “Hello, Mother.” She used the proper term Craig had preferred, as a mockery of her father. She hadn’t yet forgiven him for finding another woman while he and Eliza were still married, moving out to live with his young girlfriend, who’d eventually given him a son that he always wanted.
“How was school today?”
“I had great dance classes. Still struggling with AP Chem and English.”
“English? You love your teacher.”
“I do, but boy is she tough.” She took a bead on her mother. “You okay? You look tired.”
“Crises always drain me.”
She dropped down on the white sofa, Taylor sat, too, and Eliza explained the issue of the leading man and Ron acting as his replacement.
“Hmm. I always th
ought he had…stage presence, I guess.”
“You should have seen him. He was electric. Too bad he never did it for a living.”
“Maybe he did. He clams up whenever we ask him about his life before we met him.”
“I guess. This is our last play together. So, it doesn’t matter much.”
Gently, she touched Eliza’s arm. “Are you sad he’s going to Hidden Cove to live for a while?”
“In some ways.” She scrunched her nose. “In other ways, I’m grateful.” Mostly because the move put him out of her path.
“Do you have another job yet?”
“No, honey. I’m going to spend the spring and part of the summer with you, before you leave for Butler in August.” Her stomach clenched at the notion of her baby going to college. “I wish you’d chosen the number one dance school here in New York.”
“Butler’s number three. Besides…” Taylor glanced away, then looked at her feet.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Honey, we don’t keep things from each other.”
“All right. The City Ballet in Chicago contacted me. They offered me a student’s spot in their summer program.”
“A student’s spot?”
“In the ensemble. They take one a year.”
“That’s quite an honor.”
“I have all my graduation credits, but I could get a tutor for the AP exams I need to take in May.”
“Isn’t this late to be asked? Aren’t they already rehearsing?”
“Apparently, I didn’t make the first cut, but someone dropped out. They want me now and I’ll have to catch up.”
“Did you apply for this?”
“No, the recommendation has to come from a teacher.”
