by Sarah Hegger
Kelly stood. “I’ll help clear—”
“Go.” Dot shooed her out, with a meaningful look in India’s direction. “I think a nice quiet chat might be lovely.”
Meek and listless, India followed her into the lounge and took a seat in one of the large, comfy chairs beside the fireplace.
Someone had turned it on earlier, and it warmed the lived-in room and filled it with a mellow glow.
Kelly sat on the stone step surrounding the fire, and Dot’s “baby” immediately joined her. He put his huge head in her lap and treated her to soulful eyes until she petted him. It gave her a minute to order her thoughts.
“I had a call today,” she said.
India stared into the fire. “Oh?”
“Yes, it was Piers.”
Starting, India stared at her. “He knows I’m here, doesn’t he?”
“No.” She hoped Piers wasn’t going to find his way to Twin Elks. “I only told him you were safe, and not where you were. I also called Ben and told him about the call. He contacted the Denver PD to pick Piers up.”
India winced. “He’ll be furious about the police getting involved.”
“You’re safe here, India. You have that restraining order, and none of us are going to let Piers near you.” Now came the awkward part. “But, sweetie, he mentioned something I wanted to talk to you about.”
India chewed her lip and checked behind her as if Piers might be coming through the door at any second.
“He said you suffered from postpartum depression.
Raising her chin, India gave a bitter laugh. “Of course, he did.”
“It’s not true then?” Kelly was reluctant to push India, since she seemed so fragile.
“I honestly don’t know.” India looked at her. Her eyes gleamed with emotion Kelly couldn’t identify. “Piers said I wasn’t myself after Jacob was born. He said I was acting differently. But I’d just had a baby, Kelly. Things change in a marriage when you have a baby.”
Kelly waited for more.
“You aren’t…the same. I was tired all the time, and the hormones...” She took a deep breath. Firelight created deeper shadows in her gaunt face. “Piers didn’t think he was getting the...attention he deserved.”
Shit, that raised a whole other hideous specter Kelly didn’t want to confront. “Are you talking about sex?”
Flinching, India nodded. “We waited until the doctor said it was safe, but I didn’t feel like it. I was tired all the time, and he didn’t think that was right.”
“India.” God, Kelly didn’t want to ask, but she had to. “Did he force you?”
“No!” India recoiled. “Whatever you think of Piers, he isn’t that. It’s more that he didn’t make it easy to say no.” She shrugged and stared into the fire. “You’re not married, Kelly, so you don’t understand. Sometimes it’s easier to go along with it.”
You didn’t need to be married to know that was bullshit, but India’s expression was shuttered. “Piers mentioned medication.”
“The doctor gave me that,” India said. “Piers insisted that I go and see him and tell him about my symptoms. I didn’t want to, but Piers is hard to say no to.”
Apparently in more ways than one. Kelly wanted to put her fist through something.
India shrugged. “It did make me feel better, which made Piers happier. For a while.”
“And then what happened?”
India huffed and stood up. “I’m tired, and I don’t want to talk about this.”
“But—”
India left the lounge, said goodnight to whoever was in the kitchen and walked down the passage. A door shut.
Damn it! Kelly hugged Dot’s dog. There was something about dogs that made the bad thing back off.
“Hey.” Gabe appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Everything okay?”
“Yes.” Her response came automatically, but she didn’t know why she was lying. “Actually no.”
Gabe cocked his head, waiting for more.
“Piers called me today.”
Gabe hissed in a breath. “Is he looking for her?”
“Yup.” She wrapped the dog’s silky ears around her fingers. “I let Ben know already, but I’m not sure if he’s going to pitch up here or not.” Why wouldn’t India talk to her about the medication? “Then he mentioned that India had been suffering from postpartum depression. He said he was worried about her when he came home and she wasn’t there.”
“Really?” Gabe snorted and propped a shoulder against the doorframe. “It sounds like someone is trying to build himself a case for the defense.”
Kelly wished India would let her in. “He said she left her medication at home and she needs it.”
“You believe him?”
“No.” She couldn’t meet Gabe’s eye. “But I can’t completely dismiss the idea of her having depression. India has always been…fragile. Emotionally.”
He dropped his chin to his test. “I take it you tried to talk to her about it.”
“Yup.” Kelly huffed out her frustration. “Now I’m more confused than ever, and she doesn’t want to clear things up for me.”
“Right.” Gabe straightened and called over his shoulder. “Ma!”
“Yes.”
“You got everything here? I’m taking Kelly for a beer.”
“How nice.” Dot sounded delighted. “You two run along now and don’t give us a thought.”
Gabe rolled his eyes and handed Kelly her coat. “She’s matchmaking.”
“I’m flattered, but I’m really not the marrying kind.”
Gabe cocked his head. “Not even for Vince?”
“Yes. No. I really don’t know.” It suddenly seemed strange that she’d been pining after a man for all these years and never thought the end game through.
“Way to commit.” Gabe laughed. “Anyway, I wouldn’t panic yet. Ma would marry me to Hank Styles if she thought it would keep me here.”
A beer with Gabe sounded like a great idea, so Kelly slid her arms into her coat. “Hank has a wonderful personality, and when he puts in the effort, he really is quite dashing.”
Pulling her arm through his, Gabe chuckled. “You up for walking it?”
Things between them felt so easy. Kelly tucked herself closer to his side and leached his body heat. “Sure.”
Chapter Eight
A cold, crisp night settled around them. Not a single cloud obscured the stars from view and their breath made puffy vapor clouds in the air. Their footsteps clopped along the silent street.
“You and Dot have been so kind,” she said. “I’ll make arrangements for India and Jacob as soon as I can.”
“Don’t stress it, babe.” Gabe covered her hand on his arm with his. “Ma loves having someone to fuss over, and it’s not like I’m doing anything much anyway.”
“No luck on the job hunt?”
“I few nibbles.” He nudged her. “Nibbles? Sharks? See what I did there?”
Kelly had to laugh. “Dumbass.”
They walked farther, both of them enjoying the silence. The cold air and the walk cleared her head, and Kelly was grateful to Gabe for the idea.
“Do you ever think about staying?” She peered through the dark to read his expression.
Gabe didn’t say anything for a while, and then he grimaced. “Nope. There’s nothing for me here.”
“Ouch!” She punched him. “I’m sure your mother and brother would disagree. Not to mention your friends.”
“Are we friends?” Gabe’s voice dropped into a velvety murmur.
“Yes.” The other night aside, she liked Gabe. Actually, the other night had been spectacular. Dot’s boys took care of their women. Poppy said the same of Ben.
“With benefits?” His tone warmed and she got the feeling he was thinking about that night
as well.
She couldn’t afford to go there, however. Not with her chance with Vince still hovering out there, in addition to India’s troubles. Currently, she had all the entanglements she could handle. “Probably not a good idea.”
“Probably,” he said, but sounded about as convinced as she was. As in, not really.
They reached the Bugling Elk, and Gabe opened the door for her. The familiar smell of beer and woodsmoke rushed toward them in a draft of warm air.
Maddison looked up from the bar and nodded. “Hey, you two. How’s it going?”
“Good.” Gabe took Kelly’s coat and hung it on a coat hook before shrugging out of his own and hanging it.
Kelly looked at him. “Two beers?”
Gabe nodded and took the barstool next to her.
“On it.” Maddison turned and got to pouring their drinks.
The same two guys who had spoken to her on the street sat at the bar bracketing Robin Cameron and making her giggle.
Propping one elbow on the bar, Gabe turned sideways and rested his feet on the footrest of her stool. “About India,” he said. “This has all just happened, and she’s dealing with a lot. Maybe a lot of this doesn’t even make sense to her yet.”
That sounded right to her, and Kelly nodded. “Patience is not really my thing.”
“I remember.” Gabe gave her a naughty grin, his eyes glinting with a sensual message.
“Now, Gabe. God, please, now!”
That may have been her the other night—as in totally had been her—begging Gabe to put out the fire he’d stoked into an inferno inside her.
“Stop that!” She jabbed a finger at him. “We agreed it was a mistake.”
“Mistake?” Gabe pulled a face. “I don’t know if I’d call it a mistake as such.” He broke into a grin. “At least, from what I remember, it was pretty rocking.”
For her too, and heat climbed her cheeks. “Fair enough. It was passable, but we agreed it couldn’t happen again.”
He raised an eyebrow and called her bullshit. “Passable?”
“Yes, passable.” She held his gaze. “Because if I admit you rocked my world, then I might have more trouble with the not happening again part.”
He grinned. “Fair enough.”
Maddison put their beers in front of them, and they both took a sip.
“Speaking of reasons it can’t happen again, how are things with Vince?”
Kelly turned to face him for that one. “Such a clumsy segue.”
“I work with animals.” He shrugged. “I don’t always speak human.”
It struck her that he might be able to provide a different perspective. “Actually, I don’t know what the hell is going on with Vince.”
He sipped his beer and waited. Gabe did that a lot, gave you a silence to fill. Of course, she loved to fill a silence.
“He’s been coming to the shop since I opened it. Every day. Same cup of coffee and we chat, make each other laugh. From the day I came back and opened the Klatch, even when he was married to Chelsea.” But she had thought something new would have happened by now. “And he still does. But…”
“Same old same old?”
“Right.” She slapped her hand on the bar as an outlet for her irritation. “Only now, he comes up to the counter and gives me these meaningful stares. Like he wants to say something and can’t. And then I find myself wondering if I’m doing the chick thing.”
“Chick thing?”
“Reading into his every gesture and word as if it’s all meaningful. When most of the time you guys are hearing elevator music in your heads.” She finished her beer and motioned Maddison for two more.
Gabe straightened on his barstool and gave her a look of reproach. “We do not hear elevator music.” He counted his points on his fingers. “First off, it’s either jazz or rock we’re hearing, and secondly we do that because if you knew what we were really thinking, you’d probably knee us in the balls.”
He’d caught her with a mouthful of beer that nearly ended up shooting out her nose. “You’re such a guy.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining—”
“Ah-ah.” She wagged a finger at him. “We shall refer to that night, as the night of which shall not be spoken.”
“Sounds like a mouthful to me.” Gabe grinned around the mouth of his beer bottle. “So, Vince is dragging his feet?”
Hauling on her big girl pants, she asked the question nagging her, “Do you think he might not be interested anymore?”
“Maybe.” Gabe mulled it over. “I mean, it’s always a possibility, but if he’s still hanging around, it’s not that likely. If he really wasn’t interested, he would avoid you and hope like hell you didn’t push the issue now that he’s free to do something about it.”
“Is that what you did?” All his wisdom was pissing her off.
Gabe grimaced. “Yup. I earned a master’s degree in ignoring the signals. I even managed to overlook the magazines left on the coffee table, page opened to engagement rings.”
“Wow.” Kelly felt for his ex. “Those are some impressive ignoring skills.”
“I wasn’t ready to get married.” He shrugged. “I’m still not.”
“Hmm.” They drank in a comfortable silence. “Do you believe there is someone out there for you?” She felt silly asking, but she’d gotten this far. “I mean, like a one person for you.”
He glanced at her. “The one?”
“Yes.”
“I do.” Gabe nodded. “Look at Ben. After Tara, I would have sworn he’d never marry again. She fucked with him in about every way a woman can screw with a man. But look at him now.”
“Poppy is special.” And Kelly’s best friend since the day Poppy had thrown herself out of her minivan and begged to be arrested.
Gabe studied her for a moment. “So are you.” He held his hands out, palm up. “No bullshit. You’re a great girl, Kelly, and Vince is lucky to have you.”
“Only he keeps trying to throw me back.” His compliment warmed her from the inside out.
Shrugging, Gabe said, “It’s not that so much as he’s hesitating to take you off the hook.”
“Nice.” She snorted. “Can we stop with the fishing analogies now?”
Gabe chuckled. “Sure thing.” He cocked his head and studied her. “If Vince is struggling to ask you, why don’t you ask him?”
“Gabe.” Kelly squirmed on her barstool. “Because I want him to ask me. I’m that girl.”
He gave that some thought. “Yeah, and I’m that guy. I can’t imagine not making my move if I’d waited as long as Vince.” He sipped his beer. “Who broke up with whom way back when?”
“I broke up with him.” And regretted it immediately after and for the next fifteen years. “He wanted to stay in Twin Elks, and I wanted to head for the wide blue yonder.”
“Ah!” Gabe nodded as if he understood the secret to life. “That makes more sense.”
“How, Yoda?”
“He needs a show of faith from you. You broke up with him, probably broke his heart, and definitely dented his ego. Now he needs to know you’re on the same page before he puts himself at risk again.”
Kelly let that sink in. It made a sort of sense. “Is that what you would need?”
“Nah.” Gabe shook his head. “If I’d missed out on my girl for years, I’d be at that like a rat up a drainpipe.”
She was glad she wasn’t drinking as he said that. “Nice!”
He gave her that Gabe bad-boy grin and a wink. “But I’m an asshole. Ask Belinda.”
“Is that why you didn’t marry her?” A pattern was emerging, and it made her understand him better. “If she wasn’t the one, and you knew it, you knew she wasn’t the right one to marry.”
“Yup.”
“That’s not wrong per se.” But
her girl card demanded she speak for women everywhere. “What makes you an asshole is you stuck around knowing that.”
“Agreed.” He pointed his beer bottle at her. “Except Belinda knew the score. Or at least she did until she didn’t want to know it anymore.”
He glared behind the bar and drank his beer.
Kelly took the hint; talking about Belinda was a no-fly zone. “What sort of gesture?”
“Eh?”
“You said Vince might need a show of faith from me. What would that look like?”
Gabe cocked his head. “You make the first move.”
“Like seduce him?”
This time Gabe almost spat beer. “I was thinking more of you asking him out.”
Kelly weighed that over. After all these years, it wasn’t really the same as asking a complete stranger out. Still, it would be nice if Vince asked her. Then again, what if he didn’t and they let another fifteen years slip by?
She needed to think. “I need to get going.”
“Let’s do it.” Gabe dropped some bills on the bar for Maddison and waved her good night.
While they put their coats on, Kelly felt she needed to offer, although she didn’t mean a word of it. “You can stay if you like.”
“Nah.” He opened the door for her, and they stepped into the night. “Ma would have my balls if I didn’t walk a lady home.”
It had grown colder since they’d arrived, and Kelly shivered.
Gabe dropped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world to slide her arm beneath his coat and around his waist.
Her mistake didn’t wait around to make itself known. Gabe smelled fantastic. Not of aftershave, but of soap and clean skin and that hormone incinerating male musk. He felt even better. Under her arm, his waist was trim, and through his shirt his back muscles flexed with each step.
Knowing that he looked as good as casual contact suggested exacerbated her problem and sent it soaring into dirty dreams territory. All she had to do was close her eyes, and it was right there waiting to give her a replay.
Dammit. It replayed behind open eyes as well.
Gabe slid his hand into the hair at her nape and cupped her neck. His hand was warm and calloused against her skin.