Pick Me (Wait for Me Series Book 2)

by Walters, Dawne

  Lannie was staying the night with Clair while Colette was at work. Tonight was the night that she and Gabe were going to re-connect as a couple after her miscarriage. To say that she was nervous when she’d seen Gabe naked and had touched every part of him was an understatement. After cleaning and picking up, Colette got a shower, got ready for work and packed a small overnight bag with clothes for tomorrow.

  _____

  Work was slow for a Saturday night, but Colette wasn’t going to complain. Harrison came in, sat at the bar and chatted her up a little bit before he told her that Carter would be home in a couple of weeks. Since he hadn’t told her he was leaving on another deployment, she wasn’t sure how she should feel. Happy that he was coming home yes, but her relationship with Gabe was her main concern. So, she smiled and said the usual, ‘oh that’s great to hear.’

  They chatted a few minutes more about what was going on in their lives before Harrison swallowed the last of his beer, kissed Colette on the head and told her he’d let her know more when it became available. She just smiled and nodded her head.

  Her phone flashing let her know that she had a text.

  GABE: Have emergency. Let yourself in. B home soon.

  Looking at the time, it was almost midnight. Time had really flown by. Opening her text back open, she texted back.

  COLETTE: It’s okay, I’ll go home.

  GABE: My apt is UR home. B there!

  COLETTE: OKAY!

  Please, please, please don’t let this emergency involve Rosa, was a fleeting thought, but Gabe still hadn’t spoken to her, that she knew of anyway. It probably had something to do with Brock or one of their buddies. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she went on with work, helped clean up and re-stocked the bar for Sunday.

  Pulling into Gabe’s apartment complex, she didn’t see Gabe’s car in the lot. So, she used her key to open the townhouse when she looked out back toward the parking lot and didn’t see Brock’s car either. Maybe it was one of their friends. Stepping inside, she closed and locked the door and made her way up to Gabe’s room.

  She turned the TV on low, undressed, showered, and came back out to dress in one of Gabe’s t-shirts. She laid out a pair of yoga pants that she had kept there at the bottom of the bed so that she could grab them real quick just in case Gabe or Brock needed her. Snuggling under the covers, she turned the volume down even more to ensure that she could hear Gabe when he got home and fell asleep quickly.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Nooo!” Little G’s scream rent the air.

  “Shhh, little man.” Gabe walked back to the sofa and picked up the fussy toddler who quieted immediately.

  “See,” Rosa began, “he wants you. He hasn’t seen you in over a month. Why would you do that to him, to us?”

  “Rosa,” Gabe sighed, facing her now, “you need to start doing things for yourself. I wanted to have this talk with you when Colette was with me.”

  Rosa plopped on the sofa, crossing her arms in front of her, her eyebrows raised. “Why does she need to be here for us to talk?”

  “Because she and I are together, and you need to realize that you can’t always count on me for everything that you need. You are a grown woman. This dependency thing started after Huey died. You were perfectly able to take care of yourself and G man here when we were deployed, so you need to do whatever it is that you need to do to get back to that point.” Gabe looked at the toddler in his arms sadly. “Even if it means that you need to go back to California to be with your family.”

  The look that crossed Rosa’s face was pure evil. It was quite evident that she wasn’t happy, and she made no bones about letting Gabe know it.

  “This is ridiculous Gabriel! What can she possibly offer you? You think you know her, but you don’t! I would never leave you on your knees in the street. I have proven to you that I’d never leave you,” Rosa stated, flailing her arms in the air around her.

  “Rosa…my cousin hasn’t been dead a year,” Gabe offered in protest.

  “We are family.”

  “I don’t want you like I want…her.” Gabe stated.

  “Even if Little G was yours?” Rosa popped out her hip and rested a hand on it.

  “He is my cousin’s son Rosa. Stop it. I’ve heard enough,” Gabe said with finality.

  Rosa opened her mouth to speak, but closed it instead, thinking that the best offensive position was to take a defensive one. She kicked off her shoes and watched as her son’s eyes closed slowly, his little arms made their way around Gabe’s neck. Pulling her feet up onto the leather loveseat, she curled up on the end of it to get some sleep.

  Gabe tried to peel Little G from his shoulder and give him to his mother, yet each time he tried, the toddler would start to cry. Opting to not wake Colette, who was undoubtedly in his bed upstairs, he decided to wait for a few more minutes, turned the TV on low, sat on the other side of the sofa and flipped through the channels, settling on an old action flick he’d seen before.

  The time was almost half past three when Gabe looked at his watch. Little G was still snoozing on his shoulder. Rosa had fallen asleep on the love seat. Thinking now that the little boy was out, he could put him down. Again, when he tried to move him, he’d grab onto Gabe’s t-shirt tighter and fuss. Soothing him, Gabe decided to kick off his shoes, stretch out on the sofa and fall asleep with Little G on his chest.

  _____

  Colette woke up with a start. Reaching over, she didn’t feel Gabe, just cold sheets. Sitting up, she reached over for her phone to find that it was almost six o’clock, and there were no messages from Gabe. Looking around the room, it didn’t look like he’d come in at all. Her clothes were still at the end of the bed, the TV was still on low, and his charging cord was still lying on his night table. Quickly, she typed out a message to him.

  COLETTE: Hope everything is OK. Call me.

  She waited for almost ten minutes before she decided to get up, use the bathroom and chang into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, brushed her teeth and slipped her feet into her shoes, tying them. She tossed some of her clothes in her bag to take them home and wash them, grabbed her phone and keys in one hand, turned the TV off, and headed downstairs.

  It was at the landing that she noticed that the TV was on, but there was barely any volume. Slowly, her eyes went from the TV to the loveseat that was empty, then to the sofa. There was Gabe, stretched out with Little G on his chest. It was the woman that was stretched out on the edge of the sofa, with her head on his chest, his hand tangled in her hair that started Colette’s panic attack. Rosa’s hand was next to her son, on Gabe’s chest. So the evidence was irrefutable. While she was lying in his bed, Rosa was down here with her child and Gabe. She knew where his loyalties lie. That was glaringly obvious.

  She could feel the pounding in her chest that was her heart. She almost couldn’t believe that it was still beating after seeing this. Knowing that Gabe would try to try to explain what she’d seen away, she took her phone in hand, swiped it for it to turn on and turned the volume down all the way so that it wouldn’t make noise. She hit the camera button, focusing a little closer, snapped a picture, looked at it, amazed that in her shock and shaking because she was getting mad, it came out clear. She hit the red button to make sure the main screen turned dark, and made her way quietly down the stairs to the front door.

  Pulling the door open with her eyes on the sleeping threesome on the sofa, she made it through a small opening and closed it behind her just as quietly. Then, she ran like an ax murderer was after her to her car. She unlocked it, tossed her purse and bag in it, then pulled the door closed. Realizing that she’d slammed her door, she looked up at Gabe’s front door to make sure that he wasn’t coming out. She turned her key and when her car didn’t start, she turned it again until it fired up. Looking up, the door to Gabe’s townhouse was still closed, so she pushed in the clutch, released the e-break, put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking spot. A
fter revving the engine a moment, she put the car in gear and made her way home, feeling numb. She couldn’t even cry. She wasn’t even pissed off…and she should be.

  After the short drive, she pulled into the driveway, cut the engine off and got out of her car. She unlocked her door and tossed her purse in the chair in the corner where Carter’s picture hung on the wall above it. She leaned back against the door and just stared at Carter’s smiling face.

  Sighing heavily, it hit her just how much she missed him.

  He’d never treat her like this. He’d never have another woman at his side and have his hand in her hair downstairs while the woman that he professed to want for the rest of his life was upstairs in his bed waiting for him. Would he?

  Well, there was that one chick that he brought into the bar after she decided to see where things went with Gabe. Did he bring her to the bar to see how she’d react to him with another woman? Or, was it because he truly didn’t give a shit? Either way, it had bothered her a little that he could move on so quickly after he said that he wanted her. Hind sight being twenty twenty, she may just have picked wrong. At least everything in the past month wouldn’t have happened. She’d be patiently waiting for Carter to get home.

  Carter wouldn’t put up with his cousin’s wife getting all clingy and proprietary on him, Colette knew that. That realization took her back to Gabe, because it was clear he had no problem doing it. Family was one thing, actions were another.

  Making sure her door was locked, she pulled her phone from her purse and looked at the picture again. They looked like quite the family. Her heart hammering in her chest, she felt lightheaded as she pulled up Gabe in her messages and attached the picture. Her finger paused over the send button on the screen. She quickly typed:

  COLETTE: My OTHER HALF ?? I was in your bed waiting for you and you…well, please DON’T explain. (Attachment)

  Then turned her phone off.

  Something that she couldn’t quite remember about a birth certificate that she meant to ask Gabe about had her running over to her night table and looking through her important papers that were in a neat stack in the front. Pulling everything out and sitting on her bed, she flipped through the pile until she got to a rather obviously thick envelope where her name and address were hand written on it. This was the one. Opening it, she saw several hundred dollar bills paper clipped together with a note that read:

  Colette,

  Give me the opportunity to make this right. The money is for you. I’ll explain everything in due time.

  Clair

  Looking further in the envelope, the certificate was gone along with the original note. Giving a cursory flip through the bills, Colette had counted over five thousand. Shock hit her, and she felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Putting the bills in the envelope, she noticed that her hands were shaking again. She had to calm down until the questions started.

  How long had the money been in her drawer?

  When did Gabe walk in with Rosa and her son?

  Was Little G really Gabe’s?

  Was that why Rosa called him Little G?

  What did this mean for their relationship?

  What about Carter?

  Deciding that a nice hot shower was the best course of action, she looked at the Converse high tops that covered her feet. She sighed and suddenly couldn’t take them off fast enough. Then, she peeled her clothes off and headed into her bathroom. Cranking on the hot water, the steam permeated her pores and she could smell Gabe on her from where she’d slept in his bed.

  Stepping in the shower, she felt her heart start its demolition all over again. How it would crack, then crumble into rubble, the next step was pebbles, and finally dust…where a good strong wind could blow and it would be all gone. Letting the water wash over her, she finally fell to her knees and was able to cry. She let the image of Gabe and Rosa on the sofa take over every recess of her brain. She cried so hard that the hot, thick air took her breath away.

  She cried for falling for Gabe again, she cried for the baby she’d lost, she cried for her mother that looked so happy in the pictures that Clair had showed her. Finally, she cried because the one person she wanted, she couldn’t run to. Carter.

  The water was starting to turn cold, so Colette stood up and washed herself quickly and rinsed. Turning the water off, she grabbed a fresh towel from the rack and dried off. Walking out into her room, she noticed that it looked like it was going to rain, which suited her mood. She slid into a pair of clean jeans and a bra that Carter had selected for her when he’d been home the last time and had taken her shopping. She slipped it and a clean t-shirt on. Opening the interior door, she walked up the steps to the main house and took in the massive kitchen before she grabbed a bagel and a banana, then set the coffee pot up for a cup.

  Standing there waiting for the toaster and the coffee maker, she took in the silence, until the house phone rang four times before the machine picked it up. It rang another four times before the machine picked it up again, and once more after that. Colette had never answered the house phone. There was no one that phoned her on it, so she didn’t really care. Looking at the time on the coffee maker, she noticed that it was almost eight thirty. Which meant that she’d taken almost an hour in the shower breaking apart.

  The toaster popped and she started preparing her bagel when the coffee maker finally huffed out the last of the coffee into her tall mug. She decided to take her mug and saucer into the front room of the house where Bunnie would have tea with some of her clients as they discussed houses and business. Colette sat down in one of the dark blue wing back chairs and set her mug on the table beside her. She tucked her feet to the side of her and watched the Sunday traffic on the road in front of her house in the rain.

  The shrill ring of the phone made Colette realize she’d fallen asleep at some point. Looking over, it was almost ten. She’d eaten her bagel and banana, but her coffee was cold. Not caring, she drank the contents cold, made her way back to the kitchen to clean her dishes and then headed back down to her bedroom. Deciding she had enough time to wash a load of laundry, she collected her clothing and walked across the great room to the washer.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  On her way back to her room, she noticed Harrison’s truck pull up in the driveway. What the hell would he be doing here? Pulling open the French door to the great room, she met him as he jumped from his truck.

  “Damn woman!” he exclaimed by way of greeting as he walked up to her to stand under the patio awning. “You are hard to get a hold of.”

  “I didn’t think I’d need to check in so soon,” Colette offered looking up at him. The guy was a giant like Carter, over six feet.

  “Well, I wanted to let you know when Carter would be home.”

  Colette placed her hands on her hips. “And…you couldn’t leave a message on my phone…why?” she squinted at him.

  “I tried your phone five times. It went to voicemail, but there’s a bit more to it actually.” Harrison looked decidedly nervous.

  “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Colette whispered, feeling her stomach fall into her feet.

  Harrison sighed for a moment. “He was on his last mission and as they were coming back to the FOB, they got engaged. It was just three days before he was to come home.”

  Her hands went to cover her mouth. “How bad is he?”

  He shrugged, “More shrapnel scars, but the big one is his back and a concussion.”

  “How big?” Colette’s eyes started to tear up.

  “He was out for almost twenty minutes. An RPG hit near him and threw him. Prelim report from Landshtul is saying two bulging disks and a grade two concussion. So, he’ll have post concussive syndrome. They are checking for any short term memory loss or damage to his brain.”

  Harrison caught Colette by the shoulders before she stepped back against the house. She could only shake her head. Everything was so messed up. Gabe was with Rosa, Carter was injured, there were pi
ctures of Colette’s mother with Bunnie, and now over five thousand dollars in cash that took the place of a birth certificate with a note promising to make things better.

  Colette sucked in a deep breath, put her hands over Harrison’s on her shoulders, and breathed out slowly before she spoke, “So, when does our boy come home?”

  “Three or four days depending.” Harrison squeezed her shoulders.

  “I’ll go over and freshen the apartment up. Change the sheets on the bed, stuff like that,” Colette smiled.

  “You know if you need anything…”

  “I know. Now scoot.” Colette teased Harrison as he stepped back. “I’m good. Promise.”