He tipped his chin my way and burned a hard stare into me. “You need to become a shrink.”
My grin crept out slowly. “You need to sign up for America’s Got Talent.”
“Hell no,” he said looking to his feet in a bashful way.
“Then buy a record company and sign yourself. You gave me chills, Gabe. You can’t waste your talent in a bar like this. You said you always wanted to grow your hair out.”
“I don’t want a record deal.”
I studied his dismal expression when his head lifted swiftly. He really had no idea how stunning he was to watch. His eyes darkened as I slid under his nose and lifted onto my toes to kiss him. The connection felt new. He was a different person. I no longer wanted to heal him and free him of his demons—I wanted to ravish him.
I forced my lips into his as he was about to say something. I don’t think he was expecting a kiss. It was only almost a little painful as he clutched my face and gave it back. I clasped his wrists and held his hands where they were so he wouldn’t let go.
He was my life support. And then the door opened, and someone pulled the plug.
Caleb burst through the exit. Lane was holding his arms behind him as he struggled to get free.
“Hey, man. I was only kidding,” he said.
Gabe and I stood with our backs to the wall while Lane made a goofy grin at us.
“Sorry to interrupt y’all’s screwin’ around,” he said.
Lane could hardly walk straight.
What happened?” I asked.
Caleb threw up on the ground and just missed his boots.
“You’re as tanked as he is,” Gabe told Lane. “What the hell was that about?”
Lane pointed at Caleb and laughed. “I punched him in the gut so hard he fell over. He can’t take a hit.”
“That’s because I sucker punched him first,” Caleb shouted proudly.
“Why were you fighting?”
“They don’t need a reason,” Gabe muttered into my shoulder and ran his hand behind me to grab my butt. I swatted him away, but he pulled me closer. My mouth was still tingling from his magnificent lips.
Lane pointed at the door. “He was hitting on her.”
Molly braced the doorjamb and leaned into the cold alley. “Both of you need to grow up,” she yelled.
Lane walked to the door and towered over her petite frame. It was impossible to tell she had a baby.
“You need to stop jerking us around, Polly Tramplor. We got feelings. Us both.”
Molly set her fists on her hips and scowled. “You probably can’t feel anything right now.”
“I got feelings too,” Caleb blurted.
“Pull it together,” she scolded.
“Aw, I don’t mind sharing you,” Caleb drawled as he approached the door. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and then stopped in front of me. “We can all share.”
I curled into Gabe’s chest so he couldn’t take a swing at Caleb. He pushed me to the side and grabbed onto his brother’s back anyway. They fell into the wall as an angry grunt escaped Gabe’s throat. Lane leaned against a dumpster and watched with a silly grin on his face.
“Stop, Gabe!” Molly shouted.
“Should I call the police now or let ’em finish what I started?” Lane asked.
“Gabe, don’t do this. Don’t ruin this night,” I said. “It’s not worth it. He’s been drinking.”
He held Caleb’s T-shirt in his fists and then shoved him into the wall and stepped back. “Touch her again and it’ll be the last time you find out what I’m capable of.”
“That goes for Molly too,” Lane blurted.
“I know what you’re capable of little brother, seeing that I’m still here.” Caleb slapped his hands on his chest and laughed.
Gabe lunged at his brother and cackled when he made him flinch. I snatched his hand and tugged him away so he couldn’t touch him again. “We’re leaving. Now.”
He pulled away until our arms stretched to the max. “In a minute. Jeez.”
I let go. My breath blew back in my face when I huffed. I headed down the alley toward the road and rubbed my hands up and down my arms to warm them. I wasn’t going to watch him self-destruct while I froze in an alley.
“By the way, I don’t have a tattoo,” Caleb called from the exit. “Though I appreciate the concern.”
Gabe chased me to the curb. I fished my hand into his front pocket before he could change his mind and go back. “I’ll take the keys.”
“I’m driving.”
“No, you’re not,” I said as I touched the keys with my fingertips.
“Why don’t you wait until we’re in the truck to get fresh?”
“What’s that?” I asked as I rolled my eyes at his simpering gaze. My fingers wrapped around a small box and tried to pull it out.
Gabe twisted his hip so my hand got stuck. “You’ve been trying all night to get your hands in there.” He yanked on my wrist and retrieved the box. “Your grit paid off. I guess you can have it now.”
“I don’t want it—whatever it is. I want you to make amends with Caleb or at least tolerate him in the same room without acting like a caveman. You fall for his games every time.”
I ran to his truck. He caught me at the tailgate and held out his hand. “These were my mom’s.”
I bit my lips together and stared at the box. I felt a sudden twinge of guilt for scolding him.
“Gabe, why—”
“Lane got them from Tessa. My mom tagged things for each of us. Deliah won the jewelry bonanza, but these were left for me.”
“You don’t have to give me anything,” I told him, even though I wanted to know what was in the box.
A ghost of a grin warmed his face. It was hard for me to stay mad. Especially when I wasn’t over feeling like a hysterical groupie.
“Tell me you don’t want these.” He lifted the lid and waited.
My ice-cold hand reached up and snapped the cover shut. I darted my eyes at Gabe’s and covered my mouth before my tongue could fall out.
Twelve
“Gabe. Wake up. We fell asleep in the truck. It’s freezing,” I told him as I lifted my head off of his chest and pulled my hands out from under his shoulders. “What time is it?”
“Time to go back to sleep,” he grumbled under me.
I sat up and stretched the tiredness out of my neck. “Can you drive now? I don’t even know where we’re parked.”
He slid his back up the seat and yawned. “That’s nice, Av’ry.”
My shirt was open under my jacket. No wonder I was cold. “The truck’s been running all this time. We steamed it up good.”
Gabe’s T-shirt was bunched up under his arms. He pulled it down and arched his middle to zip his jeans. Then he lifted me over his lap and slid into the driver’s seat behind the wheel.
“You look really pretty,” he told me as he ran his finger over my hair and pushed it behind my ear to reveal the three-carat diamond stud.
I licked my chapped lips as I fumbled with the buttons on my shirt and silently recapped our last hour. We hadn’t even made it out of the city limits before we had our hands all over each other. The heat of my blush was enough to calm my shivers, but his touch sent a new set of chills down my spine.
Gabe put the truck in drive and jerked his chin toward me in a quick motion. He laid a kiss on my lips before casting his gaze back to the road. “Let’s make a habit of this. I always knew the truck was good for more than just necking.”
“Necking? Do they still say that in Texas?”
* * *
Gabe pulled the covers up to his neck. We forgot to turn the heat on last night after our spontaneous detour.
“My aunt’s stopping by to meet your father at the house.”
“My father?”
“I can’t start calling him something else.”
“How about liar?” he mumbled.
“Meggie wants me to watch Emmie in here while they check on the first fl
oor. The inspector told her yesterday the structure wasn’t sound and it didn’t meet building code.”
“It’s old. It tried to burn itself down. She should’ve knocked it down while she had the chance.”
“She’s trying to move back into the house before the groundbreaking ceremony for your father’s headquarters in two weeks. I don’t understand how he can break the frozen ground.”
I pinched Gabe’s leg through the sheet. He grabbed my arms and pulled me on top of him. I rested my head in my hands and studied his morning face. He was adorable, puffy eyes and all.
“It’s a technicality. A show. Get used to it.”
“Do you think Jud’s coming to the ceremony?”
Gabe scowled. “Don’t know. Don’t care. Not going myself.”
“Do you think he’ll come back to explain anything?”
“I don’t need any explaining. I do just fine. You weren’t complaining last night in the truck.”
“That’s got nothing to do with what we’re talking about, and you know it.”
“Av’ry, you can stop trying to make everything all better. It’s too late. The damage is done.”
I squirmed as he sat up and wrapped his arms around me.
“Don’t you have questions? Don’t you want to know things about your mother? Like why she left you all that land or why things happened the way they did?”
A horn honked outside.
“Everybody lies. Everybody cheats. Everybody’s in it for themselves. End of story.”
I rolled my shoulders and slid off the bed. “I have to get ready. That could be Meggie. Are you going to work?”
He turned over and pretended to go back to sleep. Then I nudged his leg, and he popped off the mattress in his boxer-briefs and headed to the bathroom. I ran in front of him and tried to shut the door. He pushed it into me and forced his way inside.
Twenty minutes later, we were showered and dressed. I poured myself a glass of orange juice and caught my reflection in the window. My ears sparkled. I realized in that instant Gabe’s earrings were way too glamourous for my wardrobe.
He emerged from the bedroom, buttoning up a plaid shirt and wearing his glasses. “Where’s my copy of the will?”
“It’s where you left it under the couch cushion.”
He reached past me and opened the refrigerator. “I’m going downtown to pay my speeding tickets and to see if I can buy off the judge.”
“What about checking out your land? Aren’t you curious? Wait, do you have to appear in court today?”
He nodded and swallowed a gulp of juice from the carton. “Yup.”
“You should’ve told me so I could go with you.”
Gabe grabbed his leather jacket and slipped it on. Then he pulled a jumbled mess of papers from the couch. He lifted his new cowboy hat off the hook at the door and gently placed it on his head.
“I don’t need hand holding, and I don’t care about seeing the land,” he drawled as he leaned in and kissed the side of my mouth.
After I stepped outside to watch the black Ford fishtail the end of the driveway, I scanned the snowy yard and wondered when the weather would break again.
“Margareta’s running late for our appointment,” Mr. Halden said as he appeared from behind a pickup truck loaded with lumber. His company logo was stamped on the passenger door. He spoke to me while he listened to his phone. I headed back into the trailer while he addressed his caller about a surge in oil stocks.
When I checked to see if Meggie pulled in, Mr. Halden had abandoned his call and was dragging a beam across the yard toward the front door. Most of Meggie’s borders were heading out since the boss was prowling. Mr. Halden disappeared into the house. I returned my attention to the road.
Then something happened, and I opened the trailer door to get a better look. I wasn’t sure what I heard. It sounded like a snowplow smashing into a car. It was a common occurrence back home. I couldn’t see anything odd on Meggie’s back steps, so I ran through the snow and tried to get a look at the front door.
The porch roof had partially collapsed and obstructed most of the doorway. I charged at the house, shaking so hard I didn’t think to run back and grab my phone.
As if he knew what had happened, Gabe pulled into the driveway and stared at me standing in the yard with my arms up. He jumped down and jogged through the snow.
“I forgot my birth certificate,” he said. “What are you doing?”
“It’s your father!” My shriek sizzled through the air as I pointed to the porch. He was clearly not paying attention.
“What the hell happened? He’s in there?” Gabe made a mad dash around me and took the front steps in a flying leap. He stubbed his boot on a pile of two by fours, but managed to brace the wall and catch his balance.
I ran after him and stopped at the bottom step to plead. “It’s not safe. Call 911!”
He yelled to me as he ducked inside. “My phone’s in the truck!”
“Gabe, come out! You’ll get trapped! Oh my god. Listen to me!” I darted to his truck and found his phone on the seat. It lit up before I could make my call.
“Caleb!” My throbbing heart was lodged in my throat, making it hard to yell. “Come to Meggie’s. The house fell in!”
“Legs? I called you? I meant to call Lane. I’m heading over to check out a vacancy in the coop. What fell in?”
I slid off the seat on my stomach and my legs almost folded in the snow.
“It’s Meggie’s house! Her house!”
“Slow the sputtering, legs. I’m not following.”
As quickly as I could spit the words out, I did. “Caleb, your father was inside, and it collapsed. Gabe ran in after him, and no one’s come out.”
“Aw dang. Be there in a jiffy. I’m just pulling onto the road. Stay away from the house.”
I spun around.
“He’s not coming out!” I shouted, “Gabe!”
“I’m here,” Caleb drawled in my phone as the Raptor tore into the yard and skidded in the snowy grass beside me. He jumped out and ran up the stairs. “Call for help, Avery!
The remaining supports on the porch were buckling. There were no noises. No voices. The silence made me panic.
I typed in the password on Gabe’s phone using shaky fingers and held my breath as the operator asked me to explain my emergency. I blurted the address and answered her questions in a blubbering manner. She told me she would notify authorities. They would be there as soon as they could.
I was about to climb the front steps and scream into the living room when I heard Caleb. “Don’t move anything, dangit!”
“Caleb! Where’s Gabe?”
“You call for rescue?” he shouted at me. “We’re in a little fix.”
I climbed onto the porch and it moved.
“Legs, get back. Get out of here!”
The roof shifted, and I stumbled into the yard after stepping backward down the steps. “Caleb? Is Gabe okay? Why hasn’t he answered me yet? Please help him. Where are they?”
A crash echoed through the yard. I screeched so loud that someone in New York could have heard me.
“Caleb! Gabe! Answer me!”
I couldn’t take it. I needed to go inside and help. I imagined Gabe covered in an avalanche of ceiling rubble. I skirted the foundation and ran up the back steps. At the door, I turned the nob and found the house locked. I pounded my forehead against the glass and cried.
A truck pulled in. I spotted the Air Force banner through the rear window and knew it was Meggie. I sprinted to her door and pulled it open. She unbuckled her seat belt and gave me a puzzled look.
“What is it, kiddo? What happened now?”
I couldn’t get the words out. I pointed to the porch and shook my finger. I was breathless. “Gabe…Caleb…Mr. Halden…”
“Oh my stars! The porch! My house! Where’s Joel?”
I grabbed her wrist and found my voice. “They’re inside. I think the ceiling caved. Caleb wouldn’t tell me. H
e’s been in there forever, Aunt Meggie.”
“Call 911!” she hollered as she ran toward the steps. “Watch Emmie! She’s sleeping in her car seat.”
A siren blasted in the distance. I fell into the truck and tried to stop shaking. I didn’t want to watch the baby. I needed to watch for Gabe.
“Please don’t cry,” I begged Emmie through the window. Caleb must have stopped Meggie because she stood exactly where I was and shouted inside while cupping her hands into the shape of a megaphone.
Emmie’s face turned a deep red when she heard her mother shout. The cry coming from inside the cab mimicked my internal anguish. I yanked open the door and released her from the tentacles of her infant seat. She calmed as soon as I lifted her out of the truck and cuddled her to my neck.
“Joel Halden! Don’t you dare scare me like that ever again,” Meggie bellowed. “First the fire. Now this!”
I looked up as the boys and Mr. Halden materialized on the collapsing porch. My heart summersaulted as they carried their father to the yard with his arms draped behind their shoulders. He was covered in dust, dragging his leg.
I carefully stepped down and scampered across the snow to greet them. I held Emmie to my chest and let my heart bang against her snowsuit. Had I not been carrying her in my arms, I would have covered Gabe with kisses. All I could do was stare at him while my entire body flashed cold and hot.
Meggie hovered around Mr. Halden as he tried to stand on his own. She frantically checked him out and then wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “Uff-da, Joel. You had me frightened to the core. Are you hurt?”
“Part of the second floor collapsed. We couldn’t get him out,” Caleb panted. “He was trapped. One more inch and his legs would’ve been crushed if it wasn’t for Gabe. The ceiling was caving in right above our heads.” He threw his HalRem hat in the snow and rubbed his neck as if he couldn’t believe what had happened.
Gabe stood dazed. He was holding onto his shoulder. When I approached, the pinched look on his face alarmed me.
“I…don’t…I…” he whispered in a choked-up voice.
Stubborn Truth (The Stubborn Series Book 3) Page 25
