Even now his heart sped up at the thought of her, but he knew why he procrastinated. He’d put himself out there once before—albeit almost a decade ago—and been burned. He wanted to diminish the risk of repeating the scenario.
Gabriella had seemed pleased about the grant and the media exposure. So pleased, he’d been tempted to let her know he owned the responsibility for making it happen. But he took the Bible passage seriously that exhorted believers to give in secret.
Luke turned to the receptionist. “As soon as you’re done with that file, you’re free to go. You’ll be paid for the full day. The door is set to lock behind you.” He pressed the glass door open as he threw on his designer shades, a smile plastering his face. He loved summer. He stepped out to an empty parking lot.
He always parked behind the office building along with his employees. The spaces in front were reserved for clients. He grabbed the glass door before it fully closed. “Karen?”
“Yes?”
“Did you see where my client went?”
“Oh. Yeah.” She picked at a piece of fuzz attached to her blouse. “She argued with some guy for a second, but then when she saw her friends coming, too, they like must have worked it out, ’cause they drove off together.”
Luke rubbed the throbbing spot above his brow. “Her friends?” It didn’t make sense. Gabriella was too considerate not to let him know she’d changed her plans. At least the girl he once knew would’ve been. Maybe she’d changed.
“Yeah, well I think so,” Karen muttered. “Two of them got in her car and the others followed them when they left.”
Luke’s shoulders sagged. An impromptu reunion? He shook his head. It didn’t add up. “Did she say anything when she left? Did she look upset?”
Karen lifted an eyebrow. “Well, yeah. Didn’t you say her mom just died?”
Luke blew out a long breath. He spun on his heel and headed for his truck. Maybe Gabriella had changed her mind about putting the property up for sale, but if that proved to be the case, he still wanted to show her how serious he was about being her friend. And who was the guy she argued and left with? The back of his neck tensed.
People changed over the years, sure, but Gabriella’s thoughtful nature defined her. Driving off without telling anyone didn’t ring true.
He entered Gabriella’s phone number and started his full-size Dodge Ram while it rang.
Four rings later it transferred to voice mail. Luke frowned. Something didn’t sit well. He didn’t want to be overly pushy, but he had also let Gabriella go once instead of being a true friend. He refused to make the same mistake twice. He shifted the truck into Drive and headed for Radcliffe Ranch.
Copyright © 2016 by Heather Humrichouse
ISBN-13: 9781488008382
Reunion Mission
Copyright © 2016 by Virginia Vaughan
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