Letters to Gabriella

by Patricia Paris

  “I don’t know exactly what happened the night your father…the night of the accident.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Maybe there were other circumstances that…”

  Justin looked away, old feelings grating against his intentions. He closed his eyes and forced them back down. The truth was he really didn’t know what had happened that night. He’d never seen an accident report. He’d never talked to anyone who investigated the scene. All he knew was his parents had been killed and Landfred had survived. Like everyone else he’d assumed Gabriella’s father had been drinking and run into his folks’ car.

  What if he hadn’t been drunk? Did it change anything? The guy had still run head-on into his parents, and they’d died as a result. But Gabriella seemed to think things could have happened otherwise. For the first time since the accident a thread of doubt had begun to surface. Justin couldn’t believe his parents might have been at fault. His mind revolted at the thought. Landfred had run into them!

  “Are you all right?” Gabriella asked from beside him.

  He swallowed. Scenarios presented themselves in his mind that he didn’t want to consider. Not now.

  “Yeah, but maybe we should let things rest a bit.” He drew her closer. “I’m not trying to avoid the subject, but I think we’re both feeling a little raw, and we’re not going to resolve everything tonight. After the last week, it would be nice to focus on something pleasant for a while.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you and that gorgeous mouth of yours.”

  She regarded him warmly, her smile a balm to heal a hundred wounds. “We could do that.”

  Justin angled his head and brushed his lips lightly across hers. “How did you get to be such an amazing woman?”

  Gab shrugged. “Sheer luck, I guess.”

  He shook his head. She had no idea how special she was. Lowering his head again, he covered her mouth, eager to claim what he’d almost thrown away. Gabriella leaned into him, and he felt the thirst of a week’s drought without her loving. Need slithered through him, a building desire that fired his blood, urging him to touch, to taste, to drown himself in the luxury of her.

  They were on her porch swing. Justin was abruptly reminded of that when he tried to turn into her, and they both almost fell off.

  “This swing isn’t made for what I’ve got in mind,” he said, standing up and reaching down for her hand.

  Gabriella looked up at him with questioning eyes.

  “We can go inside if you’re okay with that.”

  Justin nodded. “It’s just a house.”

  Gabriella took his hand and stood up. She led him through the backdoor, looking over her shoulder and smiling at him as they moved from the kitchen to the living room.

  He wanted her in his arms, loving him, driving him wild, making him forget everything but the pleasure she brought him. And then he wanted to lie with her, entwined like lovers, wrapped together in blissful satisfaction. She was the only woman who could give him that, the only one he wanted to.

  Justin took her down onto the couch with him. Leaning against the side armrest, he stretched his legs down the length of the cushions and pulled her on top of him. Lord, it felt glorious to hold her again. He captured her mouth, angling one way then the other, falling deeper into the well of need she opened up in him.

  “Chloe,” he mumbled while nibbling her full lower lip. “Do we need to worry about Chloe?”

  “She’s asleep,” Gab said between kisses, “and she never wakes up once she goes to bed unless she’s sick.” She lifted her head and looked at him. “But if we’re going to start losing our clothes, I’d rather have to make a mad dash for them behind a locked door than down here in the unlikely event she did.”

  “What if she does? Are you okay with me being here?”

  Gabriella thought for a moment. “Yes,” she said. “I won’t say or do anything to put my daughter at risk. And I trust you won’t either. She likes you, and she’s already come to accept you as someone we spend time with, so unless she found us naked on the couch together, I don’t think finding you here would do her any harm.”

  “Even if it’s the middle of the night?” he asked, wanting to make sure Gab felt comfortable if he ended up staying over.

  “Are you asking if you can spend the night?” She looked a little surprised. It surprised him, too, but for whatever reason his feelings had changed about the house. Maybe he’d begun to accept it was just that, a house. Maybe he’d begun to associate it more with Gabriella and Chloe than her father. Or maybe he just cared too much for her to let it stand in the way any longer.

  “I can’t think of anything I want more.” He reached up and traced her mouth with his thumb. Her lips were as soft as summer rain. “Why don’t we hike up those stairs and start losing some clothes?”

  She smiled at him. Damn, he loved this woman.

  A few minutes later Justin got his wish. She was in his arms, naked, heaven in the form of a woman…his woman. And he planned on spending the next several hours experiencing paradise with her.

  Saturday morning Justin and Gabriella were sitting at the small table on her back porch having coffee when Chloe walked out and found them together.

  “Justin!” the girl exclaimed, and a smile lit up her face. She ran to Justin and threw her arms around his neck for a hug. “Are you taking us out in the boat today?”

  Justin laughed. “Not today, pumpkin, but I did have an idea for something I think you might enjoy.” He looked at Gabriella. “If it’s okay with your momma.”

  Gabriella arched her brows in question. He hadn’t said anything to her yet that morning about doing something together, although she didn’t have anything planned, and the prospect of the three of them spending the day together was a happy one.

  “What did you have in mind?” she asked, leaning her elbows on the table and propping her chin in her hands.

  “Well.” He winked at her and then transferred his attention to Chloe. Pulling her daughter up onto his lap, Justin tweaked her nose and said, “How would you like to go over to my buddy’s and ride one of his horses?”

  Chloe’s eyes widened with excitement. “For real?” She looked at Gab. Gab shrugged, and Chloe looked back at Justin.

  “I always, always wanted to ride a horse! Are you really going to take us?”

  Justin nodded. “Like I said, if it’s okay with your mom. She’s the boss.”

  Two faces swung in Gab’s direction. The sight of Chloe sitting on Justin’s lap, his arms looped loosely around her daughter’s waist while they regarded Gab with equally questioning gazes, melted her heart. “Sounds fun. Let’s do it.”

  Chloe let loose a whoop of delight and Justin chuckled.

  Gabriella hugged herself. In that moment any doubt she may have had about letting him all the way into their lives evaporated along with the early morning mist that had been hovering over the water. He was a good man…good to her and good to Chloe. She could easily envision the three of them as a family. And one day they might have more children. He would be a wonderful father. She already knew family was important to him.

  Justin cocked his head, watching her. Did he have any idea where her musings had traveled? Last night he had come to her with his heart in his hands, offering it up to her, and she had embraced it. Later, he had made love to her with a passion that took her breath away—demanding, urgent, and then with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes. Afterward, they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. She had opened her eyes this morning to find him already awake, quietly watching her, a smile on his face.

  “Why don’t I give Blake a call and see if they’ve got plans for dinner,” Justin suggested. “After we go riding, we can pick up some burgers and dogs and take them over to their place for a cookout.”

  “You don’t think they’ll mind us inviting ourselves?” Gab asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Justin smirked at her. “Delaney will be thrilled to see you and Chloe, and Ben will be happy to
have someone to play with other than Hunter.”

  “And Blake?” Gab asked, unsure how much Justin had told his brother.

  Justin met her gaze and said somewhat seriously, “Blake will be happy to know I’ve finally come to my senses. My brother only wants what’s best for me. And he’s made it pretty clear he thinks you’re it.”

  That made her smile. It was nice to know his family was rooting for her. She liked his brother, and Delaney had become a good friend. It was important to her that they all got along, and as close as Justin and Blake were, it was probably a prerequisite.

  “Then I’d enjoy seeing them.” Gabriella looked at her daughter. “What do you think, Chloe, would you like to go over to see Ben later?”

  “Sure! But after we ride the horses.”

  Gabriella laughed. “Yes,” she agreed and shot Justin a wink, “after we ride the horses.”

  Justin’s cell phone rang and he pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and frowned.

  “Do you need to take that?” Gab asked.

  He shook his head and slid the phone back into his pocket without answering the call.

  “If you need to—”

  “No,” Justin said in a clipped tone that surprised her. “It’s not anyone I want to talk to.” He lifted Chloe off his lap and stood up.

  “Okay.” Gab stood too, having gotten the distinct impression he had no intention of telling her who or what the call may have been about. She shrugged it off. It was probably just a client who was too impatient to wait until Monday to call Justin at the office.

  Gabriella made French toast for breakfast, which they ate outside. Justin volunteered to wash the dishes while Gab took a shower, and Chloe watched Dora the Explorer.

  Justin called his friend midmorning to see if he could bring his woman and her little girl over to go riding after lunch. Gab smiled to herself when she heard him refer to her as his woman. She liked the sound of it. It had the ring of commitment, and it gave her reign to think of him as hers. She definitely liked the sound of that.

  They spent an enjoyable, as close to perfect day as Gab could have imagined. Justin was an experienced rider, but neither Gab nor Chloe had ever been on a horse before. Gary, Justin’s friend, chose two gentle mares for them to ride, ensuring Gab they were well-behaved. Chloe’s horse was named Clarice, and her daughter fell in love with the pretty, bay-colored filly.

  Justin took the lead, mounted on a big, black stallion named Ike, that he told her he had ridden on numerous occasions. Clarice and Gab’s horse, Bella, fell in behind Ike as if they were used to following. There were numerous paths through the woods, and Justin kept his horse at a walk as they explored. Occasionally a path would lead out of the woods, and they rode along the waterfront.

  When they got back to the field bordering Gary’s property, Justin gave them a few instructions and to her daughter’s delight, he showed them how to make their horses trot. After returning the horses to the stables, Chloe informed Gab that the only thing she wanted for her next birthday was a horse.

  “Sorry,” Justin apologized, but the corners of his mouth twitched with amusement.

  “Yes, I can see that.” She pretended a pique she didn’t really feel. He had once again taken her daughter’s feelings into consideration and come up with something the three of them could enjoy doing together. He had already won her heart, but his thoughtful inclusion of Chloe endeared him to her in a way no other man had done.

  Justin wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked to his car. He leaned toward her ear and said in a low voice, “Maybe we can convince Chloe of the benefits of a kitten over a horse.”

  “Like?”

  “Like…a kitten can curl up next to her in bed at night.”

  Gab looked at him, nodding in agreement. “That’s a good one.”

  He grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “Yeah, I thought so, too.”

  Justin pulled out of Speckles’ parking lot after they picked up some food for the cookout, and they headed over to his brother’s house. He had told Chloe she could pick out the dessert, and as a result they would be eating hamburgers, potato salad, and corn on the cob, followed by banana ice cream bars shaped like some cartoon character named Spongebob Squarepants. He could barely contain his enthusiasm.

  He felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and ignored it. If it was Brin, he didn’t want to know. It would only annoy him. She had already tried to call twice that morning. Once was when they were having coffee on Delaney’s back porch and again when Delaney was in the shower. He had hoped by not taking any of her calls the woman would get the message without having to hurt her feelings. But she wasn’t taking the hint, and if she persisted, he was going to have to tell her point-blank that he had no interest in maintaining any kind of relationship with her.

  “Looks serious,” Gabriella said from the passenger seat.

  Justin shot her a glance. Christ, she was gorgeous. She wasn’t wearing a bit of makeup, but in his mind she looked more beautiful to him right now sitting beside him in a pair of blue jeans and a gray tee shirt than any supermodel or Hollywood actress he’d ever seen on the big screen.

  “Not even close,” he said, pushing all thoughts of Brin’s calls out of his mind.

  “It’s been a great day.” The corners of her mouth lifted in a sweet smile that warmed his heart.

  “Day’s not over, sugar. And when it is—” He looked back at her and winked.

  She rolled her eyes, getting his meaning immediately, but her smile broadened before she looked out the window and pretended to ignore him. Yep, he thought, when the day ended they would have the night, and come the night he would have her all to himself again.

  When they got to the house, they took the food out of the trunk and started up the walk. Blake came out onto the porch to greet them. Justin shot his brother a look and knew immediately that something was wrong. His first thought was something had happened to Delaney or the baby, and a ripple of fear shot through him. If that were the case, though, there was no way Blake would be out here and not with Delaney. Justin relaxed a little, but Blake’s expression looked ominous and whatever the cause for it couldn’t be good. He mounted the steps, Gab and Chloe coming up behind him.

  “I tried to call you a couple of times,” Blake said, his eyes shooting to Gabriella and back to Justin. He put his hand on Justin’s shoulder and steered him a few feet away to the side of the porch.

  “You need to get Gabriella out of here!” Blake’s tone was dead serious.

  “What’s going on?” Justin asked, alarms sounding in his head.

  “Just get her the hell out of here before it’s too late, Justin.” He started to push him back toward Gab and Chloe. “Take them home and then get your ass back here. Alone.”

  “I want to know what the—”

  The front door opened, and Justin stared in disbelief as Brin walked out onto the porch, an obviously pregnant Brin. He looked from her face to her protruding stomach and back to her face. Denial screamed in his head. It wasn’t his, it wasn’t his…but she looked far enough along that it damn well might be his. A sick feeling churned his gut as his mind grasped for a different conclusion.

  “Hello, Justin.” Brin walked forward and stood beside Blake. “Since you wouldn’t return my calls, I decided to deliver the good news in person.”

  His breath caught in his chest as invisible walls began to close in around him. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Justin?”

  He swung toward Gabriella’s voice, his eyes locking with hers.

  “Hi, I’m Brin.” His old girlfriend approached Gab with an outstretched hand. “Justin’s fiancée. Well, old fiancée.”

  Gabriella looked as if she’d just been sucker punched. Her eyelids fluttered, and she seemed to sway on her feet a moment. Justin took three long strides to get to her side. He took her by the elbow and felt her flinch.

  “We were never engaged.” He gripped Gabriella’s arm, an unwelcome sense of
doom already beginning to cast its shadows.

  “Not officially,” Brin said.

  “Not at all,” Justin retorted hotly.

  “We’ll need to think about changing that now.”

  Justin gaped at Brin. Was she actually expecting him to marry her? That just wasn’t going to happen, regardless of the situation.

  Gab looked between the two of them and then shook her head, as if trying to shake the image before her away. She released a stunned breath and stepped away from him, looking down.

  He reached a hand out to her, willing her to take it. He could only guess what she must be thinking, but based on her expression, he knew it didn’t bode well for them. “Gabriella,” he said, a plea in his voice.

  She glanced up at him, her eyes full of questions and disbelief.

  “Why don’t you go inside with Delaney and I’ll join you shortly?” He was scrambling for a way to avoid the oncoming train wreck. “This…I don’t know what’s…I just need a few minutes to talk to her and then—”

  “No,” Gabriella said, shaking her head. “I think you and your friend are going to need more than a few minutes to talk about things.” She reached over and pulled Chloe against her side. “I think it would be better for everyone if Chloe and I went home.”

  Justin looked at the two of them standing together, separate from him, and could feel them slipping away. He felt a desperate need to keep them there, feared if she left now his odds of overcoming whatever barriers to their future she might be constructing would grow slimmer by the hour.

  “Blake,” Gab addressed his brother. “Would you mind giving us a ride?”

  “There’s no reason for you to leave,” Justin said, reaching out and lifting her face so he could see her eyes. “Whatever responsibilities I may have here, it doesn’t change things between us, sweetheart.”

  She pursed her lips together and darted a glance at Brin before shaking her head again. “I think it would be best if we leave.”

  He started to object, but she held up her right hand. “Please, Justin…I don’t want to argue about it. There’s a child’s future at stake here, and any discussions between you and me can wait.” She stepped away from him and nodded at Blake.