By the Heart Bride: Gabe (Matchmaking A Marriage Book 3)

by Joann Baker

  “At least Gabe here knows when no means no.”

  Thelma’s words caught and held Gabe’s attention. Yeah, Gabe was a rounder just like Benson, but he respected a woman when she said no. Benson had a reputation of being less than honorable with some of the women he dated.

  “Who is it that he’s pestering?” Pops asked the question before Gabe could. The hard knot in Gabe’s stomach returned and before Thelma could answer, he knew without a shadow of a doubt exactly what she was going to say.

  “The new lady doc, that’s who.”

  Amelia expelled a drawn-out sigh as the man standing by her table refused to take her not-so-subtle hint and go away. With controlled yet concise movements, she put down the knife and fork she’d been using to eat her scrumptious pancakes, then she took her paper napkin and wiped her mouth with as much refinement as the Queen of England herself. The methodical actions did nothing to diminish her simmering irritation at the thick-headed cowboy crowding her small space.

  “Look, Colby, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times, I am not interested in going out with you.” The stocky cowboy had been asking her out for weeks now, ever since she’d treated him in the clinic for a couple of busted ribs right after her arrival in Devil’s Spur. She looked up at him, noting the even features, his overly confident smile, and his lean build. He was good-looking, she had to give him that. But there was just something about him that reminded her of a snake-oil salesman.

  “And I’ve told you, a woman like you needs to get herself a piece of Colby Benson.” The smile that stretched his thin lips was still charming, but his eyes held a flicker of anger that made Amelia wince inside. Even though her figure was above average in size, she could say, with all modesty, that she was not unattractive to the opposite sex. While Gabe had been her first and last long-term relationship, she’d dated casually over the last few years, determined to get over the rugged cowboy.

  A cowboy whose charm and good looks could put the annoying cowboy still rattling in her ear to shame.

  Suddenly, the long night caught up with her and she wanted nothing more than to get home to her rented house and pull the covers over her head and pretend the outside world didn’t exist. She scooted to the end of the booth and stood up, forcing him to step back. “No.”

  Her answer was flat and monotone, and how anyone could read anything into it other than a flat-out rejection was beyond Amelia’s comprehension. But she’d said the same word to this man time and time again and, still, he came back.

  The spark of anger she’d seen earlier blazed into life as he grabbed her arm and jerked her to him. His fingers held her with bruising force and she wondered briefly at the man’s intelligence. He was manhandling her in a public place filled with people. People who were suddenly taking notice of their conversation. “You’re making a big mistake turning me down, doc. A really big mistake.”

  Before she could decide whether to stomp on his foot or go for the groin to get free, a large, muscular arm reached between them and pried Colby’s fingers from her arm. It only took a second for her body to recognize her rescuer.

  “Let her go, Benson.” Even as Gabe’s deep voice flowed over her, he was freeing her and pulling her protectively to his side and away from the harassing cowboy.

  “This ain’t none of your concern, Anderson.” Benson straightened to his full height, which was still a few inches shy of Gabe’s massive frame. That was one of the first things that had drawn Amelia to Gabe. His size. For her, he was the perfect foil, tall and broad, making her curvy figure feel small and feminine. Even dainty.

  A tantalizing feeling for any woman.

  “I’m making it my concern.” He leaned in a little closer and the cowboy tried to step back. The edge of the booth prevented his retreat and Amelia almost felt sorry for him. Gabe could be a very intimidating man.

  And sexy.

  Hush, she scolded the naughty side of her personality that had gotten her into more trouble than she cared to remember where Gabe was concerned. Trouble that had led to heartache, she quickly reminded herself.

  “Fine.” His lips thinned. “Just trying to make a chubby…”

  Amelia’s hand flew to her mouth as Gabe moved faster than she’d ever seen a man move before. In an instant his fist lifted, flying towards Colby’s face like a missile. The next instant Colby’s head was flying backward from the force of Gabe’s punch. If the man hadn’t been trapped against the table, he would have fallen to the floor. As it was, Gabe’s other hand reached out to grab him by the shirt front, keeping him upright.

  “This is just a taste of what you’ll get if I see you harassing another woman, Benson. You’re lucky I don’t fire your ass right now.” Gabe’s voice was a low growl that had Amelia shivering. He stepped back when the other man pushed against his chest.

  Benson was either a fool or as stupid as Amelia had first thought. He wiped his mouth, and she saw the temptation he had to spit in Gabe’s face. A move that would have resulted, she knew, in a severe concussion for Benson and bail money for Gabe.

  “What’s going on here?” A large man pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered around the booth. The attention of almost every occupant of the small diner was focused on the drama taking place beneath their noses.

  “Benson was just leaving. Weren’t you?” Gabe picked up the black Stetson that had fallen to the floor and thrust it at Colby’s midsection with a little more force than was necessary. The man grunted as his hands come up to clutch the hat.

  “Yeah, I was just leaving.” He jammed the hat on his head and turned on his heel. The crowd parted to make way for him.

  The sheriff was a man tending more towards his golden years than the middle-aged years. His belly protruded just a little and his tanned face was deeply lined. He turned a fierce glare toward Gabe. “When are you going to get your head on straight, Gabe? You’re going to push me too far one day and your ass is going to spend more than one night in a cell sobering up.”

  “Look, Sheriff, I…”

  Amelia stepped forward, laying a quieting hand on Gabe’s forearm. She felt his muscles tense beneath her fingers as if he couldn’t believe she’d touched him. She really couldn’t believe it either. But it felt good. Too good. She removed her hand, holding it out to the stern-looking lawman. “Hi Sheriff, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Amelia Murphy, Frank’s goddaughter and the new doc in town.” She’d learned a long time ago that honey caught more flies than vinegar. She had no desire to be in Gabe’s debt for his unsolicited rescue.

  “Yep. I know.” The sheriff gave her a tight-lipped response.

  “And this whole thing was my fault,” she continued, refusing to be intimidated. “Colby was a little forceful when asking me on a date and Gabe came to my rescue.” She threw the man behind her a quick look to see if she could ascertain what he was thinking. She couldn’t read him. Not anymore. His countenance was harder, more mature. Sadder? Maybe. She had no idea how the years had treated him. All she knew was that they’d allowed her to slowly mend her broken heart.

  Maybe. Seeing him again now, she wasn’t as sure since that particular organ was currently trying to work its way out of her chest.

  The sheriff and a few bystanders snorted. “Gabe here is not known for his chivalry, ma’am.”

  “That’s enough, Dewayne.” Pops’ voice, though a little shaky with age, was still authoritative enough to make the lawman pay attention.

  “Sorry, Harvey, but you’ve got to admit…”

  Amelia had heard enough. Had enough. She was tired, and her mind was racing with thoughts she knew she shouldn’t be having. “Look, Sheriff, I told you what happened. Anyone here can verify my story. Now, I just finished a twelve-hour shift and I’m very tired. I…”

  “Haven’t even finished breakfast.” Pops quickly took the coat she’d picked up and offered her his arm along with a charming smile. “You can join us.”

  “No.” Amelia felt Gabe’s eyes on her. Rat
her than look at his face, she kept her eyes on the older man. “Thank you, sir, but I…can’t.”

  “My name is Harvey Anderson, young lady. But you can call me Pops. Everyone else does.”

  Amelia recognized the man from the day at the clinic when she’d stitched up Gabe’s brother. The entire family had been there. “Thank you, Pops,” she smiled at the unfamiliar moniker, “but I need to go home. It’s been a long night.”

  “And you need your rest,” Pops agreed, his mind working double time as the crowd resumed their own meals and conversations. “I understand. But you’re young. You also need your sustenance to keep going the way you apparently do.” He nodded toward her uneaten pancakes. “That’s not enough to keep a bird alive.”

  “Pops, if she doesn’t want to…”

  Gabe’s voice sent familiar shivers down her spine and directly into the most womanly part of her, brutally reminding her that while she’d thought she had him in the past, his living, breathing presence now, branded her a liar. Would it make him uncomfortable to share a meal with her? After the way he’d treated her, a little discomfort on his part would certainly make her feel better.

  “Thank you, Pops.” She smiled at the older man. “I believe I will take you up on your kind offer after all.”

  “Good,” Pops beamed. “Right this way, young lady.”

  Thelma refused to let Amelia eat cold pancakes and insisted on bringing her a hot order and a fresh glass of milk. Pops entertained her with several stories until her food arrived. Once she’d begun to eat, he’d resumed his story telling.

  Gabe ate in silence, grunting once in a while at his grandfather’s off-hand questions and looking a tad uncomfortable. As awful as it sounded, his apparent discomfort did make her feel better, just as she’d thought.

  Amelia grinned at Pops, loving the way the sullen cowboy squirmed in his seat as the old man finished another story that painted a not-so-heroic picture of Gabe attempting to train a particularly stubborn horse.

  “That was one that almost got the best of him,” Pops laughed, his eyes shining.

  “Almost being the operative word,” Gabe felt compelled to add. “He finally learned to see things my way.”

  “They usually do, son,” Pops agreed, his face beaming with pride.

  Amelia forked the last bite of her pancakes, running them around her plate to get the last of the melted butter and syrup. The moment the fluffy sweet treat hit her tongue, she closed her eyes, sighing with utter delight. Her lids opened quickly at Gabe’s harshly indrawn breath.

  Mesmerized by the expression in his stormy eyes, she couldn’t look away. It was the same one she’d seen on his lean face a hundred times before. The one that said he was aroused and ready to do something about it. Her heartbeat doubled and her breath came in small spurts. Around them, conversation faded as she continued to burn under his smoldering gaze.

  “Do you ride, Amelia?”

  Well that was as loaded a question as a double-barreled shotgun, Amelia thought, the pancakes sticking in her throat as remembered sexual dalliances with Gabe snapped through her foggy brain. Hastily she grabbed a sip of milk. She was sure Pops was referring to the equine skill.

  “I, ah, no, I don’t.” She blinked, forcing herself to focus on Harvey’s question. More composed now that she’d broken eye contact with the man on her other side, she added, “But I’ve always wanted to learn. As a little girl, Black Beauty was one of my all-time favorite books and, of course, I loved the movie.”

  Harvey nodded. “The connection between a horse and rider is a marvelous thing. There has to be a mutual, umm, connection.” His eyes darted back and forth between her and Gabe.

  She put on her best doctor face lest she give something away. She didn’t have any illusions that Gabe might have shared their short romance with anyone in his family. No doubt he considered her just a long ago notch on his impressive cowboy belt. Any illusions she’d had that he’d missed her had been quickly laid to rest on her arrival in Devil’s Spur. Thelma’s earlier warning wasn’t the only one she’d received.

  Amelia nodded, forcing her attention back to the conversation at hand. “I can understand that.” She picked up her coffee, enjoying the feeling of being sated and warm. She could sense her eyelids growing heavier. “I’ve always thought that horses were such magnificent animals. It must be nice to ride like the wind.”

  “Then why don’t you learn?” Harvey leaned forward excitedly. “Come out to the ranch this Saturday and we’ll set you up. With a few lessons, you’ll be riding like a pro in no time.”

  “Pops, I’m sure…”

  “Hey, Gabe, you gonna compete in the bronc busting at the rodeo this year?”

  Amelia grimaced, wishing the perky waitress had waited just another minute before coming over. What had Gabe been about to say? Her eyes narrowed as she watched the slender woman move closer to Gabe’s chair, a smile on her painted face that plainly said he could not only look but touch as well. Unobtrusively, she peeked around for Thelma, finding the older waitress across the room, taking the order of a half dozen cowboys. This one was younger and a lot more attentive. At least to Gabe.

  Amelia squashed the surge of jealousy. She had no claim to the man.

  “I sure am,” Gabe answered the woman, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Bareback and saddle.”

  “Oh, bareback, huh? Sounds like fun.” The woman leaned over and placed a hand on Gabe’s chest. The smile that passed between them said they’d had their share of fun on past occasions. The thought set Amelia’s teeth on edge. She set the glass she held down with more force than necessary, spilling a little of the milk. Gabe’s eyes flickered her way briefly.

  Harvey snorted indelicately, a clearly disdainful look on his face as he took note of the woman’s behavior. Amelia grinned at him. She could really learn to like the older man. He was, she could tell, an old-fashioned gentleman. One with morals and manners—something sadly lacking in younger males. At least the ones she’d had the misfortune to date.

  Liar, her inner voice chided. Gabe had been the perfect gentleman.

  Until he’d left without a word, breaking a promise and her heart in the process.

  “I think I’d better go home and get some sleep.” She rose, motioning Harvey back into his seat when he attempted to stand. “Don’t get up.” Making quick work of putting on her coat, she tried desperately to ignore the waitress’s flirty giggle and Gabe’s low chuckle. She wouldn’t be jealous, she reminded herself desperately.

  “It was a pleasure talking to you, young lady.”

  “And you as well.” Her smile faltered as she encountered Gabe’s stare. From the things she’d heard since being in town, she’d do well to heed Thelma’s warning. Gabe Anderson was just too damned sexy for any woman—especially her—to get wild ideas about tying him down. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.

  The young waitress continued to talk a mile a minute, Gabe’s attention focused solely on her—and the cleavage her unbuttoned uniform revealed. Amelia wanted to take her aside and tell her to find someone else to try her wiles on. Altruistically, of course, since she didn’t want to see the young woman end up with a broken heart. Unfortunately, she knew she’d be wasting her breath. The look of longing on the girl’s face was all too familiar.

  “Thanks for rescuing me.” With a tight smile, she turned on her heel, walking quickly toward the glass door. Suddenly the air in the diner seemed a bit too warm.

  Gabe kept his attention focused solely on the woman trying overly hard to get him to commit to a date. He’d gone out with her a time or two and tried for all he was worth to remember her name. Jessica, Julie. Something like that. As soon as Amelia was out of sight, he eased his arm from around her petite frame. Though she had a smoking hot body and a face that was more than easy on the eyes, right now she was doing absolutely nothing to revive Gabe’s slumbering libido. For reasons he hadn’t tried to analyze, his sex drive had taken a nose dive afte
r Ryder’s wedding, and after Cal’s, had finally turned off altogether.

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d certainly had a stunning reaction to Amelia’s curvy frame this morning. One he was still trying to hide from any curious eyes.

  “Sorry, sweetheart, I’m not feeling it tonight.” He smiled up at the woman, trying to ease the hurt in his words. Not that he thought he was God’s gift to women or anything. But he was never deliberately cruel and he had been just then, leading her on with no intention of following through.

  Following through. That’s what he needed to do now. He knew that. His brain—and even his lacerated heart—told him that’s exactly what he needed to do with Amelia. Follow through with how she’d ended things and why she’d given him the boot without any explanation.

  The woman grabbed their empty plates. He caught sight of her name tag as she stomped off. Jordan. Yeah, that was her name.

  Not that he’d remember it tomorrow.

  “Well, I guess she won’t be bringing any refills.”

  When Gabe turned toward his grandfather it was to discover a smirk on the weathered face. “Nope. Guess not.” He lifted his now cold coffee and took a sip, hoping to avoid any more conversation.

  “What do you think about the new doc?”

  He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy to deter his grandfather. “Don’t know. She seems like a good doctor. She stitched up Calhoun pretty good.”

  “That she did. I reckon it won’t be long before someone snatches her up, though,” he mused. “She’s a mighty pretty woman. Has those wide childbearing hips. Make a good wife for some lucky cowboy.” Pops said all this with a straight face.

  “Pops, don’t go getting ideas about setting me up with the new doctor.” His heart thumped at the thought. Then it froze, thinking about their shared past.

  “Of course not, she’s Frank goddaughter. Couldn’t do that to our good friend.”

  That comment made Gabe frown. “You didn’t have any qualms about setting Calhoun up with Otis’s niece.”