by Tara Lain
“Be right there.” Gabe checked on the progress in the master bath where they’d removed the back wall and framed the new bathroom addition, and then he trotted the length of the long hall and down the stairs to the kitchen. As he walked into the enormously expanded space, he wiped at his eyes.
Jorge said, “When was the last time you slept?”
“It’s been a bunch of nights with a few hours sleep each, but I want to get as much done for the owner as I can while he’s out of town.” After the crews quit each evening, Gabe had been working into the night finishing bathrooms and installing bookshelves in the library, living room, and family room.
“That’s devotion, man. But I understand. Who wouldn’t want to do this house?”
“Yeah.” Jorge got it. Gabe was in hog heaven getting to trick out the house the way he would have wanted it if the house were his. When Jerry came back, Gabe would feel like he had to ask more questions. At the moment, he was large and in charge and didn’t want to waste a minute of it.
“How many men you got working on this place?”
“A lot.” Gabe chuckled. Jorge’s crew crawled all over the new kitchen, fireplace guys were cleaning the ducts and fixing the fireplace, a floor crew was going crazy trying to get wood laid all over the second floor at the same time painters and drywall guys were doing the walls. They were all running into each other, but as promised, shit was getting done.
“Well, let them do the work. You get some sleep.”
Gabe cocked a half smile. “Nope. I’m taking my kid to Eugene for some big rock concert. We’re celebrating her birthday.”
Jorge gave him a look through his safety goggles. “You’ve got a kid old enough for rock concerts?”
“Yep. Seventeen tomorrow.”
“Hey, man, you got somebody else doing your aging for you?”
“I had her when I was almost seventeen myself.”
“Jesus. Well, that’s quite a concert you’re going to.”
“It is?”
“Yeah. Jet Gemini. Man, big star.”
“I’ve heard of him, I guess.”
“He’d normally never show up in a place as small as Eugene, but I guess he went to University of Oregon, and this concert is a big fund-raiser for the university.”
“My daughter said something about that. Are you going?”
“No. The tickets sold out in a couple hours.”
“Well, I guess I lucked out. So what’s your question?”
They leaned over the frame of the island and looked at the drawings Jorge was working from. A piece of Gabe’s brain wandered toward the impending rock concert. He had to not only stay awake tomorrow long enough to get to Eugene, watch the concert, and drive home, but he had to be alert and excited. No way he wanted to disappoint Ellie for even a minute.
When five o’clock came, all the subs were gone, and he was installing towel racks and a toilet paper holder in the one upstairs bath that was finished. He wanted a nice bathroom for Jerry to use while his master bath was being expanded out onto the deck.
When he finished screwing in the robe hook, he stepped back and looked. Nice. Really nice. This bath had come complete with a Japanese-style soaking tub made of glistening emerald-colored tile that, amazingly, had been in good shape. He’d installed a glass shower next to it, replaced the beat-up floor with heated marble, and applied paint to the walls. Aside from the fact that there were no window coverings, the room was ready for company.
“Need some towels.” The two ragged things in Jerry’s bathroom wouldn’t do the job. Gabe could pick some up in Medford on the weekend. Of course, he didn’t know when Jerry would be home. Since the text giving Gabe decision-making power, he’d heard nada.
He walked into the hall where the freshly laid maple flooring gleamed underfoot, dusty but beautiful. Gabe was lucky every bedroom had its own balcony so workers could enter that way on ladders to do repairs, and he was free to have floors laid without worrying about them getting wrecked.
He stepped across the hall to the big bedroom that would eventually be a guestroom, but in the short term would be Jerry’s sleeping room while the master was being finished. From wood floors to polished beam ceilings to the reinforced balcony with a view of the pool, the room looked great. At least Jerry would have a retreat from the mess.
Okay, enough. I need to get home and sleep so I don’t drift off on the road tomorrow night.
He trotted down the stairs and took one last look at the beautiful, soaring great room. Man. The room was painted, the ceilings polished, bookshelves installed, the huge ceiling fan that looked like palm fronds was operational, and so was the enormous fireplace. He knew that Jerry loved this room best. So did Gabe. In the middle of the room, the coffee table sat like some kind of icon. He hoped the couches he’d ordered arrived soon. Since they were pretty expensive, he hadn’t wanted to add to the cost by making it a rush delivery.
He left through the front door and locked it behind him.
All the way home, his brain buzzed with details he needed to remember and to-do items that should be added to the list. When he turned onto their street, his foot faltered on the accelerator. Damn. Tiffany’s car was parked in the driveway. Not even in front of the damned house.
He stomped the accelerator, pulled up in front of his house, hit the brakes hard enough to make them squeal, and was out of the truck and across the lawn in seconds. The screen door squeaked as he pushed it open.
Ellie sat on the couch between Tiffany and Irving. Despite the open package and pile of tissue paper surrounding her, Ellie looked miserable. What’s going on?
Tiffany looked up and plastered on a smile that didn’t quite warm up her eyes. “Hi, Gabe. I heard you’d been spending so much time at work, I thought you might not be here.”
Gabe had to bite his tongue to keep from saying, “Sorry to disappoint you.” Ellie shot him an apologetic look. Tiffany probably based her idea about Gabe’s work on something Ellie had said. “Been working hard on this special project. Short-term thing.”
“I thought you told the court that you keep that ridiculous ImproveMart job with its absurd salary because it’s stable and gives you time with Ellie?”
He walked to a chair and sat. “What’s going on, Tiffany?”
She frowned, although Irving’s mild expression barely changed. “As you can see, we brought Ellie her birthday present, since she’s not going to be here on her actual birthday.”
He let all the bait lie. “How nice. What did you get, Ellie?”
Slowly, Ellie reached into the tissue and pulled out a white Bible. She held it up and stared at Gabe with such a determinedly neutral expression, he almost laughed.
“Oh, how nice. You must have picked that out, Irving.”
Tiffany snapped, “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean he must have picked it out.”
He smiled softly, like he was somehow receiving visions of celestial beings the others couldn’t see. “Yes, I did pick it out. White for our pure angel.”
Ellie jumped up, dropped the Bible on the coffee table, and walked out of the room.
Tiffany’s frown got deeper. “She was fine until you came home.”
Gabe said nothing.
Tiffany cleared her throat. “I’m glad we have a moment. I want to talk to you about Ellie’s college.”
“What about it?”
“Irving, uh, and I are prepared to pay for it, but she has to go to our choice of school.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And what is your choice?”
She glanced at Irving, but his angelic mask didn’t slip, so she said, “We’d accept Liberty, Biola, or George Fox.”
“That’s nice, you guys, but none of those are Ellie’s choice to my knowledge. I’ll certainly discuss it with her.” He stood and gazed at them. Message? Time’s up. Leave.
Ellie walked back in from the hall. “Thanks so much for coming to wish me a happy birthday.” She said nothing about the gift.
Tiffany stood and Irving drifted up beside her. She said, “So what did you get Ellie for her birthday?”
“Concert tickets.” He glanced at Ellie in time to see her grimace.
Tiffany pounced. “What kind of concert?”
“Actually, it’s a special concert for charity, raising money for Oregon University. Lots of big names.”
Ellie’s lips twitched.
Tiffany looked somewhat mollified, but weirdly, Irving’s sainthood descended into fire and brimstone. “That concert is the work of the devil. Our ministry has been protesting for weeks.”
Tiffany glanced between Gabe and Irving. “What? Why?”
Irving’s eyes widened, and his hands spread like he was feeling the brimstone. “Satanic, orgiastic rituals.”
Gabe saw it coming but couldn’t stop it. Ellie’s eyes widened, her nostrils flared, and she yelled, “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
Tiffany gasped.
Irving whirled on her and raised his right hand.
Gabe took one step forward, grabbed Irving’s hand, and squeezed so hard it should have broken. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Ow!” he nearly shrieked. “Let go of me or I’ll have you arrested for assault.”
Tiffany shook her hands in front of her. “Let go of him, Gabe. Let go!”
Slowly, Gabe released Irving, who yanked his arm back.
Gabe said, “Don’t ever think of raising a hand to Ellie, or Tiffany for that matter.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I had no plans to hit our angel. I was simply raising my hand to gesticulate against her terrible choice of language.”
“It could have been better.” He took a breath and tried not to think of all the shit those two could stir up if they were provoked. Sadly, this meeting had been pretty damned provoking. “It’s best you go now. Ellie and I need to make dinner. Thank you for coming to wish Ellie a happy birthday.”
Ellie said nothing. Her lips were pressed together in an angry line.
In Tiffany’s favor, she looked conflicted. She’d seen Irving lift his hand and probably had a helluva clear idea about his intentions. She didn’t appear too excited about the idea of her fiancé hitting her daughter. She took a breath, walked to angry Ellie, and hugged her, though she didn’t get a lot of response. “Happy birthday, dear. I’ll have a couple other little things for you later.” She looked at Gabe with a glare, but not a really convincing one. Nodding, she walked toward the door.
Irving gave Gabe a look that sure as fuck wasn’t saintly or benign, then followed Tiffany out of the house.
For a second, Gabe and Ellie stared at each other, and then she burst into tears.
He covered the space between them in a second and gathered her into his arms.
She sobbed, “I’m sorry, Dad. So sorry.”
He held her out from him and looked into her face. “What on earth are you sorry for?”
“M-making them mad.” She sniffed.
“Sweetie, they came with an agenda. You’re the one who deserves to be pissed.”
“But-but what will they do?” Her sobs renewed.
He hugged her. “Come on, you’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re seventeen. The judge is going to respect your choices, and there’s nothing they can say or do about that.”
“Really?”
Man, he wished that was true. Still, he walked her to the sofa, sat down with her, and held her tightly, rocking her like he’d done when she was a tiny baby and he was a teenager. “Come on, it’s almost your birthday. We’re going to have a great time. Take their birthday gift and flush it down the toilet if you want.”
“Too hard on the plumbing.” She sniffed and chuckled.
“Probably true, but if you want me to bury it in the backyard, hand it over.”
She laughed. “I’ve been l-looking forward to the concert so much.”
“You keep looking forward to it. I am.”
“W-work of the d-devil.”
“Yeah right, I’m thinking of taking my pitchfork.”
She laughed.
“Let’s make some food and look at all the restaurants near the campus. We can pick out the very best one for dinner.” He nudged her. “Go get comfortable, and I’ll start dinner.”
She snuffled and dragged her feet toward her bedroom. Gabe would gladly have smacked Tiffany for wrecking Ellie’s enthusiasm. Irving, on the other hand, he wanted to lay out like a cheap carpet—and would, given half a chance. The bastard had shown his true colors. No more holier than thou.
Gabe pulled some already chopped onions and garlic from the refrigerator and started sautéing them. For a second he managed to keep his own doubts at bay, but his worries about the evil Irving and what he might do—and persuade Tiffany to do—crept in. Yes, Ellie was nearly an adult, but if Tiffany and her asshole managed to convince the judge that Ellie was in some kind of danger or trouble, all bets were off. No way they’d let Ellie choose to stay somewhere the judge thought was really bad for her.
He sucked in a breath. But that wouldn’t happen. Gabe might not be the world’s greatest provider, but Ellie wanted to live with him. Plus working on Jerry’s house would give them some extra money for Ellie’s college. Hell, it was going to be a fantastic year, and then he’d be getting his own daughter ready to leave for the university, or wherever she wanted to go. That was a lot more than he’d gotten to do. Of course, the idea of watching her go gave him a queasy stomach. Since the fateful day when almost nineteen-year-old Tiffany had announced tearfully to sixteen-year-old Gabe that she was pregnant, his whole life had been about seeing that Ellie was happy and cared for.
Ellie walked back in wearing her pink sweatpants and a big T-shirt. Gabe crooked an elbow around her neck and gave her a quick kiss. “So right after dinner, I’ll get out the black candles and we can get started.”
She looked at him like he was nuts. “Get started on what?”
He widened his eyes innocently. “Don’t we need to do satanic rituals before we can go see this rock star of yours?”
“Dad!” But she laughed, and as he’d hoped, it broke the tension.
“So tell me about this guy.” He added olives and tomatoes to his mixture and slid half a package of pasta into a big pan of boiling water. “Is he a solo act?”
“No. It’s a band, but the group has Jet’s name. It’s called Jet Gemini.”
“That can’t be his real name.”
“It’s not, but nobody talks about his real name at all.” She grinned. “You’re going to love him.”
“I’m sure I will, but you can still change your mind and ask MaryAnn. I’m happy to wait for you guys and be your driver.”
She shook her head as she pulled out a bag of already ripped-up lettuce and assembled two salads. “No, I really want you to see him.”
“So I can be lured to the dark side?”
“Exactly.” She poured some sparkling cider into two glasses.
“Well, I’m honored that you want me.”
“Even if you’re scarred for life?” She giggled.
“Looking forward to it.” He reached for the glasses, handed one to her, and clinked them together. “To my almost seventeen-year-old daughter.”
She raised her glass. “And to Jet Gemini!”
Chapter Twelve
“THERE ARE sure a lot of trees on this road.”
Gabe glanced at Ellie, who was staring fixedly out the car window at the beautiful but admittedly unchanging landscape. She’d given up on staring fixedly at her phone when the reception got shaky.
Her phone made a chirping sound. “Oh good. Reception.” She grabbed it, and her head bent. “Wow.”
“What?”
“MaryAnn’s dad pulled some strings at Oregon U and got her a ticket to the concert, but she’s going to be alone, so she’ll come find us.” Her thumbs flew over her phone keys. “I’m telling her our seat numbers.”
Gabe smiled. “Good. You’ll have someone with you
who shares your passion.”
“You said you liked the music.”
“I did. It’s just, uh, I’m not as familiar as MaryAnn, so you two will have more to talk about.” And if he wanted to escape to the truck at intermission for a snooze, he could do it and she’d barely notice. “Is she nearby? Want to invite her to have dinner with us?”
“Oh, are you sure?” But she looked excited.
“Absolutely. Come on, we’ve got to have some fun from all those overtime hours I’ve been spending on my moonlight job.”
“Thanks, Dad.” The flying thumbs went to town; then she stared at the phone screen again. “Yes. She’s close to campus. I guess her dad dropped her off at her aunt’s or something. Anyway, she’d love to come.”
“Get the address. We’ll pick her up.”
“No, she says her uncle will drop her off at the restaurant and then we can take her back after, if that works.”
“For sure.”
The thumbs clicked, and then Ellie looked up. “Yay. We’re finally off the 5.”
“Don’t dis da 5. It’s our road to everywhere.” The 5 Freeway snaked up the entire west coast and was so central to Oregon transportation, people didn’t have to say what town they lived in; only what exit. But they’d finally left the highway and were threading through the tree-lined streets of Eugene, a small city that looked exactly like what it was—a college town. Kids walked down the sidewalks, chatting, and bikes were parked everywhere. Most streets had at least one pizza parlor.
Ellie stared avidly out the window.
Gabe said, “Nice town, huh?”
“Yeah.” She kept staring.
“The drive home’s pretty easy. I mean, if you decide you might want to go to Oregon University. They have a good music school, right?”
She nodded, but there was a crease between her brows. “But here I’d need to pay room and board. If I go to SOU, I can live at home, and they have a great music program too.”
“True, but SOU costs more, so it’s a wash.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Trying to get rid of me?”
“Yep. Gotta make way for my wild gay sexual orgies.”
“Right.” She stared out the window again as they turned on the street where his map app said the restaurant was located. “Oregon gives a lot of financial aid. I read that. And since I’m in-state, I have a better chance of being accepted.”