Pro Bono Romance

by Shirley Holder Platt

  “It’s on me.”

  Rainy started to protest, but Sophie stopped her.

  “That story was worth at least one lunch.”

  “I hate it that my life has become a soap opera,” Rainy said as they got back into the car. The sunshine was so bright, both women immediately reached for sunglasses and plopped their visors down. “Hit that air conditioning quick!”

  “Coming right up. This car’s a/c is great. It gets cold fast. I had one that took forever back in college. Had to trade it in.”

  Rainy’s mind was elsewhere, but she nodded politely. She needed to know how to better defend herself.

  “Want to take some more kickboxing classes at night? I can arrange my shifts around their schedule.” She really hoped Sophie would go with her. It would be a lot more fun with a friend.

  Sophie nodded. “We can go together. We’ll be bad. Just let Martin Poopyhead come around. We’ll show him who’s boss. Put up your dukes. Put up your dukes.”

  Rainy laughed at her friend’s antics, but inside she was worried about what she’d find at her house. The alarm hadn’t sounded, so maybe all was well. She could only hope.

  Chapter Ten – Gabe

  Barbara was a one woman wonder. His desk was cleared when he got back to his office. There were neat folders on the credenza awaiting his perusal. He loved being able to see the wooden surface. He’d chosen the desk especially for the unique grain in the red oak. He ran his fingers along the surface and smiled. Picking up the receiver, he dialed the intercom number for Human Resources. He didn’t want to delay that raise for Barbara; he certainly didn’t want her looking for another job. With that taken care of, he got down to business, thinking of Rainy only occasionally. He was pleasantly surprised when she called him on his cell phone around four p.m.

  “Hey. How are you?” he asked.

  “All right. I’m at home. I just wanted to let you know that I changed my mind. I need to stay here. I can’t run away from Martin forever. If he comes around again, I need to talk to him. Need to make him understand that there’s nothing here for him anymore.” Her voice was strong. He liked hearing that, but hated her message. He wanted her safe, and that meant having her near.

  “I wish you’d reconsider. He’s dangerous.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so. He throws his weight around, but he wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “Rainy, I saw those bruises on your arms,” Gabe flinched just thinking about the blue and purple marks in the shape of Martin’s fingers.

  “That was a one off.” She sounded defensive. Why would she defend that jerk?

  “You don’t know that.” He huffed feeling exasperated by her obstinance.

  “I do.”

  “That’s the claim made by battered women all over the world. Don’t be one of them, Rainy. You’re too good for that. Too smart for that.” He ran his hand through his hair. How could he protect her if she wouldn’t let him?

  “I’m not a battered woman. I’m hanging up now.” The phone went dead. He pulled it away from his ear and stared.

  “Hit a nerve there, did I?” he said out loud. He wondered why that set her off so easily. Martin had man-handled her. In his mind, that was battery. He had no respect for a man who’d hurt a woman, or anyone weaker than himself. And the guy had chained Delilah up as if he enjoyed administering pain. That didn’t bode well for Rainy trying to talk him down. If he enjoyed hurting animals, what else would he enjoy? Gabe shuddered. “Hang up on me? I don’t think so, not when I’m trying to help,” he thought as he stood and headed out.

  He passed Barbara’s office on his way out; went back and knocked on her door. When she looked up, he entered and sat across from her.

  “This day is shot. I’ll be back tomorrow. You did an amazing job in there. I want you to know how much I appreciate your work, so I asked HR about getting a raise in your salary. It’ll take a couple of weeks to come through. We’ll talk about the amount tomorrow, but you’ll like it.” He stood to leave.

  “Thanks, boss.” Barbara’s big smile made his heart glad. At least someone appreciated his help. He was still grumbling about Rainy hanging up when he pulled into her driveway twenty minutes later.

  He knocked constantly with the metal door knocker until he saw her shadow darken the peephole.

  “I’m coming. Hold your horses,” she yelled. She yanked the door open and stood glaring at him with her hands on her hips. “What?”

  “What? I’ll tell you what,” he said. “You hung up on me.”

  She didn’t back up an inch.

  “You called me a battered woman.”

  “Well?” He pointed to her arms. She crossed them but continued to glare.

  “I told you it was a one off.” She raised her voice. Anger radiated off her. He wanted to push, to find out why she would defend the creep. He stepped closer.

  “I told you, people like Martin escalate in violence. They don’t get nicer.” He knew he needed to calm down, but the woman wouldn’t listen. At least he hadn’t raised his voice.

  She moved closer, until their noses were almost touching.

  “Don’t think that you can tell me how to live my life because I asked you for help one time.”

  “Twice.”

  “Twice. OK.” She threw her hands up. Delilah started barking and darted between her feet. It startled her. She lost her balance and fell forward. He reached out, and she was suddenly in his arms.

  She smelled like sunshine, flowers. Heck, rainbows and unicorns couldn’t smell that good. He tightened his hold around her waist. She didn’t resist. Her eyes were as big as saucers, moving from one of his to the other. She wasn’t breathing, and her tongue flicked across her bottom lip as he watched. Someone groaned, and suddenly his lips were on hers.

  She came alive in his arms, all heat and passion and urgency. He matched her, hungry for the woman he’d come to care for so much. She stepped back, holding onto his neck, groaning. This time, he was sure the sound had come from her throat and not his. He followed eagerly. They stumbled into the living room, and she pulled his shirt out of his pants. Her eyes were glazed. She ran her fingertips down his spine, and his body responded without conscious thought. He deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled sensually. He wanted to rip her clothes off, swoop her over his shoulder and run up the stairs with her like a caveman in a black and white movie. He wanted to do all the things he’d imagined when he’d been in the next room over and listened to her taking her shower. He wanted so much from her, it made him ache. She was panting in his arms. She was all he’d ever dreamed of.

  Suddenly, Gabe realized what he was doing was wrong. She was in turmoil, and he never wanted to take advantage of her. So, he stopped her. Pushed her away.

  “We can’t do this,” he said. He was out of breath but determined to do the right thing by her.

  Confusion followed by anger flared on her face.

  “Excuse me?” she asked.

  “It’s…I just…” He put his hands in his front pockets to keep them off of her.

  “You just what? Come on Gabe. Are you kidding me?”

  He ran a hand through his hair. She might hate him now, but she’d thank him later.

  “Get out!” she pointed to the door. Her chest heaved rapidly and her nose flared. She meant business.

  “Rainy, let me explain…”

  “I said get out. What part of that did you not understand, Mr. Attorney? This is my house. My world. I get to say who comes inside, and you, Gabriel Hart, are no longer welcomed.” She strode to the door that was still open and waved her hand in a signal that was impossible to misinterpret.

  “I wish you’d…”

  “Out.”

  He stepped out; turned to try to talk some sense into her, but she shut the door in his face. Hung up on, now shut out, he shook his head and walked back to his car with both hands on the back of his head. How had that gone so wrong? He got in the car and turned the rearview mirror to look at himself. Her lipstick wa
s on his face. He was flushed and still breathing deep from their encounter. He’d kissed a lot of women, done more than kiss them; but no one had ever turned him into putty in their hands. He wiped the lipstick off with his handkerchief, put the mirror back into place, and backed out of the drive and into the street. He had no idea where to put all the feelings bubbling up inside his chest. A cold shower should take care of that, he thought. So, he went home feeling defeated and angry at himself for losing control with her. She deserved better. He wanted to give her romance, flowers, dancing; wine and dine her, not claw at her like the animal she had barely escaped.

  Chapter Eleven – Rainy

  She leaned against the door. Her heart raced in time to Delilah’s barking.

  “What was that about?” she said. The dog stopped her barking and tilted her head as if she’d heard the question and was trying to decide how to answer.

  Rainy kicked off from the door, a fresh wave of anger humming through her heated body. This must be why the Hart boys have such a reputation. That kiss almost burned her alive. If Gabe hadn’t had his arms around her, she was sure her knees would’ve buckled. She still shook from the impact. It was like he’d ignited an atomic bomb inside her and then walked away to let her explode on her own and pick up the pieces. She scooped Delilah up and ran up the stairs, willing the tears to stay inside her eyes. She wouldn’t cry over a man. She refused to let him bother her. She’d need to find a new lawyer. Yes, she’d do that as soon as she could think straight again. She sat on the side of the bed and Samson jumped into her lap, knocking Delilah out of first place.

  Rainy let her body go limp and fell back onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling until the tears dried up. Samson purred and Delilah snored.

  “This is my world,” she said out loud, more to convince herself than anything else. Delilah perked up one ear. When Rainy remained silent, the little dog went back to sleep. Rainy ran her hand down the dog’s back and felt thankful for the comfort of her animals. She didn’t need a man. Why had she let herself get attached to Gabe so quickly?

  “Must be the white knight syndrome,” she said to herself. “Too many fairy tales. Too many romance books. Get a grip.”

  She pushed herself up on her elbows and huffed out an angry breath.

  “A shower,” she said. “That’s what I need. I’ll wash all thoughts of Gabriel Hart away.” She got up and gathered a change of clothes and a new towel. As she stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain, she shook her head.

  “Right,” she said dejectedly. “It’s just that easy.” She turned the water on full-blast and cold. It hit her hard and took her breath away momentarily. She let it run while her skin popped out in gooseflesh as a punishment for falling for Gabe’s charms. Then she took the soap and tried to scrub all thoughts of him from her mind and off of her body. Everywhere he’d touched her was still aflame. It infuriated her.

  Chapter Twelve – Gabe

  As he drove, Gabe went over the last few minutes with Rainy. He’d believed that she was still in love with Martin, but the way she’d responded when he kissed her had him wondering. And that kiss. It was electric, still had his body humming. He almost wished he was a lesser man. It would have been so easy to take advantage, to have his dreams come alive. But, no, he was sure he’d done the right thing. He stopped at a red light. Someone honked, startling him. The light was green, so he pressed the gas pedal and headed to the gym. He’d need a heavy work out to get his body under control. As he pulled into the parking lot, his phone chimed. A picture of Nat popped up.

  “Yo,” he said as the Bluetooth connected.

  “Where are you? I called your office, but Barbara said she didn’t know where you’d gone.”

  “Why? You need something?” He parked and reached into the back seat for his gym bag. A car pulled up beside him and a muscle-bound guy got out and jogged away. He’d parked so close; Gabe wouldn’t be able to get out of his car without scraping paint. He sighed heavily.

  “What’s wrong? Catch you at a bad time?”

  By the time Gabe explained the situation in the parking lot, his mind was finally off the encounter with Rainy.

  “Well, I called to see if you wanted to watch the game tonight. Zeke’s spending the evening with his little wifey, so it’d just be the two of us.”

  “Plus, how many dogs?”

  “Only four today. I found homes for the dachshund and the retriever.”

  “Good. I’ll bring beer.”

  “And pizza.”

  “Nope. It’s your turn.”

  “Dang. I hoped you’d lost track,” Nat said. Before Gabe could reply, his brother had already hung up the phone.

  “I wish people would stop hanging up on me,” he said. He moved his car to another spot and headed into the gym. He avoided the guy who’d blocked him in the parking lot earlier. If he got too close, he was sure to explode all over the man. From the looks of the beefy guy, Gabe was pretty sure he’d come out the loser in that situation.

  As he did curls with free-weights, his mind drifted back to Rainy.

  He was a million miles away, lost in thought, when he heard a loud bang. A scuffle at the door caught his attention next. The muscle-bound guy chased a man carrying a hunting rifle. Gabe knew it was a 30 30, because he had one just like it that his father gave him for white-tail hunts. As the rifle-bearing man’s shirt ripped in beefy guy’s hands, rifle-guy dropped the rifle and it clattered to the floor. Gabe noticed a tight pressure in his arm. He looked down and noticed copious amounts of blood running down his arm. He dropped the weight.

  The next thing he knew, he was looking up at a woman in scrubs fussing with a pillow under his head. He moved and felt a pull on the back of his hand. The woman moved to check an IV-line, which Gabe followed back down to his hand.

  When he realized he was in a hospital bed, he tried to sit up, but a sharp, hot pain knocked him back down.

  “Please lie still, Mr. Hart,” the woman who was obviously a nurse said. “The doctor will be in to see you this evening.”

  “What happened?”

  “You were shot. Do you remember?”

  He searched his memory. The loud bang. Two men scuffling over a rifle. Blood. Then nothing. He shook his head trying to loosen more memories, but that was all.

  “I was at the gym.”

  “Well, you’re in Methodist Hospital now. Please try to rest. Your brother will be back shortly. He went to get a soda down in the cafeteria.”

  “Which brother?”

  “I didn’t catch his name. Nice young man, though. Now, here’s your call button. Just press here if you need anything.” She pulled a curtain for privacy and left him alone. His mind was unfocused, so he wondered if they had him pumped full of pain meds.

  Someone opened the door to his room, waking Gabe. He hadn’t known he’d fallen asleep.

  “Hey, you woke up,” Nat said. He pushed the door closed and pulled the curtain open. “Don’t know why they keep things so dark in here.

  “Never mind that, dude. Who shot me?”

  “Oh, you don’t know? It was Martin. Some big marine knocked him out. They have Martin in county jail awaiting bail. So, what did you do to piss him off?”

  “The guy needs to be in a mental ward,” Gabe said.

  Sophie rushed into the room.

  “Oh my gosh,” she said as she leaned over and kissed her brother-in-law’s forehead. She pushed his hair back tenderly. “Zeke is out on the river. I called, and he’ll be here as soon as he can.”

  “Tell him I’m all right,” Gabe said. “He can come later.”

  “You know better than that. I couldn’t hog tie him and keep him from coming. I’m just glad they locked Martin up, because Zeke wants to kill the man.” She started looking around the back of the bed.

  “What are you doing?” Nat asked.

  “My phone is dying. Looking for a socket, so I can charge it up.”

  Nat got up and started looking with her. Gabe closed hi
s eyes and drifted to sleep. The next time he opened his eyes, his mother was at his bedside holding his hand, and his father was at the window.

  “Hey,” he said. His mouth was as dry as the Sahara. “Water,” was all he could get out. His mother rushed to get the cup to him. She held the straw while he sipped. He laid his head back and tried to keep his eyes open. It was dark outside, so he couldn’t figure out what his father was looking at. He caught his mom’s attention, and she watched his eyes as he looked over at his father.

  “We’ve been here a few hours, hoping you’d wake up. Right, honey?”

  His father turned toward him, frowning.

  “What did you do to make someone want to shoot you?”

  Gabe sighed. His father always went the negative route with his sons. Gabe usually didn’t let the gruff exterior of the man bother him, but dang it, he’d like a little sympathy about now.

  “Helped a woman. Is that so bad?”

  “I heard you ran out of the office. You’ve been doing that a lot lately. This woman, is it someone I know?”

  “Not sure. Have you met the owner of Rainy Daze Café?”

  “Never been inside the place since old man Ryder sold.”

  “Well, you’re missing out.”

  “I doubt that.” His father still stood by the window, but at least he’d turned to face Gabe. His mom looked exhausted.

  “I don’t have the energy to argue,” Gabe said. “Take Mom home; she looks about ready to drop.” Gabe shut his eyes, willing his father to leave the room.

  “I’ve tried to tell her she was doing you no good while you slept, but the woman’s as hard headed as all my sons put together.”

  “Now, Tucker, there’s no need to get the boy riled up. He’s been hurt.” Phyllis tried to run interference between her husband and her son, as she’d done all of Gabe’s life. It exhausted him.

  “He’s been up to no good, is what he’s been.”

  Gabe sighed again.

  “I’m going to sleep now. The drugs are making me droopy.”