Jamie laughed and said, “We both made mistakes and suffered for it.”
“We are human after all,” she said.
“You aren’t so bad, Gabrielle, I may have misjudged you a bit,” he admitted.
“Good thing you learned then,” she said.
“So what are you gonna do now?” he asked.
“Stick around a bit, bother you a bit. I don’t know,” she said. “Don’t have anything to do to be honest.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
She looked at him in surprise and then looked away quickly, unable to bear his gaze.
“You might regret that.”
“Let’s see then.”
And the two sat there without words, staring at the night sky, finally at peace with one another.
Chapter Ten
It was Gaby’s idea to come and learn the ways of the ranch.
Jamie had only raised his eyebrows when she had suggested over their daily lunch that she spend a day at the ranch with him and everyone else so that she could learn it.
“Besides, it could help me one day,” she had said optimistically.
Jamie didn’t know in what way it could help her, but seeing her enthusiasm, he had agreed and couldn’t wait to see how she was going to deal with working on the ranch with them. Even Cat had to take some time before she could have adjusted to it but Gaby seemed very optimistic.
It had been ten days since the two had shared their regrets and somehow that had paved the way for them to become closer. They had lunch together, took some walks and she even asked him about things to do around the town.
He didn’t mention the council and she didn’t mention work except in passing. They talked about music, books, whatever came to their minds and he liked that. He was also aware that she was lingering on his mind more than he would have thought she would, that he would find himself in the middle of work and then suddenly she would come to mind, making him smile. It was worrisome in a way but he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he tried his best to reign in his thoughts and be a friend. Just a friend.
“It’s going to be great,” Gaby said as she walked across the field.
Jamie nodded and smiled at what she was wearing. It was casual but completely wrong if she was going to work in the ranch. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt but it looked new. She was going to end up ruining it.
“Are you sure about your clothes?” he asked.
She looked down at herself self-consciously.
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” he said. “I was just asking.”
“I’m sure,” she said smiling, taking his breath away. She had the ability to do that, he noticed and he could only stare as she ran ahead to where Mark was waiting for them with Cat.
“You are taking on a big challenge,” Cat said. “Are you sure about that?”
“Completely sure,” Gaby said.
“Take it easy,” Jamie cautioned. “I don’t want you hurt.”
“She is going to get hurt,” Cat said. “It’s just matter of when and how.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Gaby said sourly.
Jamie patted her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks,” Gaby said, her cheeks blushing slightly as she walked away with Cat.
“You know,” said Drew suddenly coming out of nowhere. “It’s the first time you brought a girl to the ranch.”
“And your point is?” Jamie said testily.
“You know,” Mark said. “I’ll leave the two big bros to their talk and go see what Cat has in store for Gaby.”
He walked off, leaving the two spectating as Cat led Gaby to a pile of hay.
“Why did you even let her come?” Drew asked.
“She wanted to have some fun,” Jamie said.
Drew snorted. “You know that’s not how it works. You like her.”
Jamie didn’t deny it as he watched Gaby struggle with the hay. He even smiled as she toppled over under its weight and Cat had to help her with it.
“Why aren’t you telling her?” Drew asked.
“She has her own life which doesn’t involve me. Who knows how long she’ll stay here, a week? A month? Then she’ll have to leave.”
“That’s not something that should stop you,” Drew said.
“What’s your point?” Jamie asked.
“I am just saying,” Drew said. “If you like her enough, you should give her a reason to stay.”
Jamie couldn’t fault the logic but suddenly he heard her yelp and without thinking, he was running towards her. Gaby was on the ground, cursing as she stared at her arm.
“What happened?” Jamie asked sharply.
“She lost balance on one of the stacks,” Cat said.
“I’m fine,” Gaby said wincing a bit.
“You are not fine,” he said gently, sitting down beside her. He took her arm and saw a large bruise starting to form on her arm. “This is why I told you to be careful.”
“I am fine, really.” She said.
“Why don’t you sit down a bit,” Jamie suggested. “And then go help them with the horses?”
“Fine,” she pouted adorably.
Drew threw him a look as the three of them walked off and Jamie led Gaby to the side so that they could sit down together.
“I can’t believe I hurt myself like that,” she said. “You must think I’m silly.”
“Nothing about that,” Jamie said. “Everyone is out of tune with new things. You wouldn’t expect me to write an award winning piece now would you?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” she laughed. “It does sting a bit.”
He realized that he was still holding her hand and she didn’t seem bothered by it one bit.
“Gabrielle, what do you think you’ll do from now on?” He asked suddenly.
“I don’t know, I think I might stick around for a while. Bother you a bit,” she said thoughtfully. “Why, is that a problem?”
“No, it’s good enough.”
She looked at him puzzled but before she could say anything, he leaned in and kissed her. She went still from the contact before relaxing and reciprocating until the two forgot everything around them. She didn’t speak for a few seconds after he let go of her but then she said,
“You know how to take people by surprise,” she said.
“Was it a bad thing?”
“No,” she said, her fingers entwining with his. “It’s not a bad thing at all.”
***
Gaby decided that she had to be stupid.
What could have possibly induced her to say that she was going to cook for him? Why would she take such a big risk? I mean, it was going so well! After he kissed her, big surprise but it took him long enough to do that, the two had gone out regularly, spent a lot of time together that was until her big fat mouth decided to tell him to come over for dinner. It had only been a week since they properly started dating and then she decided to ruin everything by asking him over. She didn’t have the skills to make a fancy dinner, if anything; she could barely cook for herself.
It didn’t help that he had looked intrigued when he had accepted. No doubt he was used to good food, she had dined once at their place and Lana was great at cooking. How was she even going to make something edible for him?
She decided to go through with this, she was going to need some help from someone who was experienced in cooking and the best person for that had to be Ms. Hay. So she walked over to Ms. Hay’s house so that she could ask her about it. Ms. Hay’s house was similar to her sister’s house and she loved the similarities in them. Ms. Hay seemed surprised to see her but after she had explained why she had arrived, she readily helped her pick out some cookbooks.
“These used to help me when I was younger,” she said, handing her a stack of books. “I think you can find something special for your little date.”
“Thank you so much,” Gabrielle said, smiling.
“It’s no problem dear.”
She waved to Ms. Hay as she helped and with the books in hand; she was more determined than ever to make something good for Jamie’s visit.
***
It took her three hours to set a menu and to actually get everything started. She decided that she was going to go for a baked dish and then prepared that to put into the oven. The starter was going to be a salad which thankfully fell into her area of capabilities but dessert was something which she knew she was pushing onto herself which was a crème brulee. She didn’t know why she chose that, but she figured it was easy enough. Or thought until she ruined two attempts of it. The third attempt went well enough but after putting it into the oven, she was completely tired and conked out on the sofa.
She awoke to the smell of burning and was up, panicked. She ran to the kitchen to see that the top of her baked dish was charred and that her crème brulee was ready to come out. At least the salad had survived but as she was starting to think about what to do, the sound of the door alerted her to the fact that Jamie was here.
Red-faced, she went to open the door, all dreams of looking great having gone out the window. Jamie took one look at her face and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“I messed everything up!” she said. “I was going to make something nice and impress you, but then it all ended up worse!”
Jamie chuckled and hugged her.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m already suitably impressed with how you are.”
He kissed her forehead and mollified, she accepted the flowers he had brought her.
“So now, what did you mess up?”
Gaby led him to the kitchen where he calmly scraped off the burned bits, sprinkled sugar on the crème brulee and put that back in the oven. He set the table for her and then pulled up a chair for her, winking as he did.
“I can’t believe you were so calm through that,” she said shocked.
“I have been through worse,” he said casually, pecking her. “Besides, Lana once set something on fire.”
“Lana did?” Gabrielle exclaimed. “But she always seems so poised and composed.”
“She didn’t know anything when she came to work with us. Pete used to hide around and help her, he thought we didn’t know and then she started to gradually learn through that. That’s how they fell in love.”
“That sounds romantic,” she said.
“It does,” Jamie agreed. “Not as much as this though.”
“You being my knight in shining armor by fixing up my mistakes?”
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
She laughed at that. “You are a smooth talker Simmons.”
“I have to be so that I can impress you.”
“I am impressed already.”
He leaned over to kiss her again and this time, she deepened the kiss. He was the one who broke the kiss saying,
“We should eat first,”
She laughed and felt a rush of warmth flow through her as she stared at him. This was the first time she was feeling so happy. Her relationship with Dave had been built around their jobs but here, with Jamie, she didn’t have to care about anything. She could be happy with him without having to worry about anything.
Love was such a beautiful thing.
That made her almost frown. Love? Was this love? Did she love Jamie? Watching him laugh and talk as he ate, she felt her heart expand.
Yes, love.
She would enjoy it and then when the time was right, she would tell him.
Chapter Eleven
“You seem happy today.”
Jamie looked at Destine who was beaming at him and smiled.
“It’s a good day.”
“You have been happy ever since you went to hang out with Miss Montague.”
Jamie laughed out loud at that and said,
“Nothing escapes your attention.”
“No, nothing does. But I think everyone has started to notice that you look happy most of the time,” she said. “Especially now that you won’t be here more often.”
Jamie had finally listened to Gabrielle and decided to put his foot down with the council house. He had stated that he wasn’t going to be helping around more often and that his interest with them was going to be strictly related to the ranch and nothing more than that. They had accepted it well enough and Henderson had seemed pleased about it, which lightened the load on him. Gaby was right; it was time to leave everything in the past. Sally was surely happy in her life and he was going to be happy in his life as well.
With that in mind, he was starting to think about going back to photography. Maybe use it as a hobby, it had been a long time since he had taken a decent picture and he still had his equipment in storage somewhere. Taking the images for Gabrielle had reminded him how much he loved taking pictures.
“Look who is here,” Destine said with a knowing smile.
Jamie turned to see Gabrielle, her face glowing with excitement as she burst through the doors and ran over to him.
“What’s on your mind today?” he asked laughing.
“I have something to do and I need you for it.”
“Why don’t we discuss that in the diner?” He suggested. “We’re making a spectacle of ourselves.”
“Nonsense,” Destine said. “I quite enjoy seeing you two.”
“Hello Destine, having a good day?” Gabrielle asked cheerfully.
“Quite. Sad to hear that Jamie won’t be here as often, but I think it’s for the best.”
“You won’t?” Gabrielle asked puzzled.
“The diner,” Jamie said with mock sternness.
“Yes sir,” she said, doing a mock salute.
He took her hand and then the two of them walked out of the council house together, heading for the diner. Loretta took one look at them and then smiled, nodding to indicate that she would be there with their order. The two sat down at a booth and Gabrielle looked at him expectantly.
“You first,” she said.
“Fine, nothing to say. I decided that I was going to take a step back from the council,” he said.
“That’s great. You will have more free time now,” she said. “The others are always complaining about how you are never there.”
“Yes, I know. Now it’s your turn.”
“Okay, so you know how there’s going to be a circus nearby?”
“You mean the annual fair?” he said. “It happens each year in the neighboring town.”
“Yes well, that,” she said impatiently. “Joe called me today to cover it. He usually sends someone, but since I am close by, he said that I should cover it.”
“That’s great but what does that have to do with me?”
“How do you feel about working as my photographer?” she asked, her eyes shining mischievously. “I’ll pay you.”
“That does sound intriguing,” he said playing along. “Will it be worth my time?”
“Well, you’ll have to tour the whole fair with me so…”
“That does sound tempting. Fine, when do we have to go?”
“We can go tomorrow, at 10,” she said. “You have to be on time.”
“Already acting like my boss aren’t you?” he said laughing.
“I am a very serious worker,” she said. “You can’t slack while I ‘m watching you.”
“Alright, alright,” he said. “I’ll ask Lana and Pete if they want to go too.”
“Sounds great. I am hungry, wonder what Loretta will give us today.” Gabrielle twisted herself to see and Jamie felt a warm smile on his face. He couldn’t imagine anything else he would have to do without her.
***
“That does sound great,” Lana said wistfully. “But I already have plans with Pete to go to an art gallery.”
Jamie looked at Pete, who simply shrugged.
“I didn’t know you had an eye for the fine arts,” Drew said mockingly.
Pete ignored the sarcasm and said, “She is getting me into it.”
�
��What about you and Cat?” Jamie asked Mark.
“We are planning to look over the ranch together,” Mark said.
“It’s amazing how you found someone that thinks that going over the ranch is a great date,” Drew chimed in.
“You talk like that,” Jamie said. “You’re going to be the next one to find someone.”
“Not me, I’m going to be a lone wolf. I have no interest in getting shackled down,” Drew said easily, popping a grape into his mouth.
At least he had tried. He was actually looking forward to being alone with Gabrielle at the fair tomorrow, especially now that he had gotten the chance to test out his equipment. It was going to be a fun day.
***
“I thought you said that I had to be on time?” Jamie said as Gabrielle, yawning got into the car.
“I forgot and slept really late. Don’t judge me,” she said yawning again.
“What were you doing?”
“I seem to have found a fascination for TV shows, that’s going to be hard to get rid of.”
He ignored the last part, preferring not to think of it. He knew that there was a time limit on his relationship with her that the two didn’t talk about. She had her life to go back to and he knew he couldn’t stop her from doing that, but whenever he thought about it, his heart hurt because he didn’t want to let her go. She had gotten too close to him but he always pushed it out of his mind when he had to think about it.
“I have never been to a fair before,” she said. “I wonder what I’ll get to see there.”
“You have never been to a fair before?” he said, surprised.
She shook her head. “I never got the chance to go.”
“We used to go every year when we were young. Mom and Dad used to take us so that we could appreciate it, but when we grew up, we never thought we would need to see it.”
“That sounds great,” she said wistfully reminding him of the fact that she hadn’t any parents.
“We’ll have fun today and we’ll take lots of pictures as well,” he said.
The car ride went smoothly enough. Jamie had driven he truck on purpose, smiling when Gabrielle scooted next to him. Then the two of them were in the outskirts of the fair. It was pretty crowded but he managed to find a decent place to park the truck. Gabrielle’s eyes shone up like a child’s and she couldn’t wait to enter the fair. Jamie could already tell that she was going to make this outing an exciting one.
Simmons Brothers Series: Boxed Set Page 22