Texas Christmas

by Holly Castillo

“I’d prefer a poinsettia to a tree any day,” Dominic said, and Luke took his eyes off Gabby to look at the man he wanted to strangle.

  “I’m sure you enjoy the way it changes colors as the petals die, don’t you? Going from red, to purple, to yellow, almost like Gabby’s jaw, don’t you think?”

  Dominic tightened his grip on the glass he held, his knuckles visibly turning white, but Luke refused to look away and matched him glare for glare. If the family didn’t know the truth, they soon would if he had anything to do with it.

  “Dominic came back to us early. The day after the party. He also said the President is very gracious,” Olivia said, obviously trying to relieve the tension.

  “I’m sure he did,” Luke said. “What else did he share about his journey?”

  “Abuela, you are still the best cook in all of San Antonio, and further I’d wager. I cannot wait for some of your cake and pie later tonight.” It was obvious Olivia didn’t want certain subjects brought up, and she was going to make sure her role as the delightful hostess was not compromised by anything—or anyone.

  “I don’t see how you will have the room. That baby is taking up so much space.” Abuelo laughed to himself.

  “Yes, Abuelo, I’m very aware just how pregnant I am. It won’t be much longer.”

  “Not much longer is an understatement,” Gabby said, smiling at her cousin. “I think if you stand for more than five minutes you’ll go into labor.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “It isn’t that soon. Remember, I’ve already had one child. I know a little about what to expect.”

  “The second child is always different,” Abuela said firmly. “Always. Even if you think you are prepared...every birth is different.”

  That led the mothers of the family to begin talking about their pregnancies, and how their husbands had responded each time, and soon the entire table was laughing—at the expense of the husbands. But they were laughing along with everyone else.

  Darkness enveloped the house and the oil in the lamps was beginning to run out by the time they finished dinner. The women, excluding Olivia, cleaned the table and plates, making quick work of the task, while the men moved the furniture around in the dining room.

  “Exactly what are we doing again?” Luke asked as they rearranged chairs and brought in a rocking chair for Olivia.

  “Opening our gifts, of course,” Olivia said, as if he should have known. He smiled at her as though he actually did know, but in reality was absolutely clueless. He needed Gabby. I will always need Gabby. The realization was startling at first, then brought about a warm calm. He knew what he needed to do now. He just had to wait for the right time.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The rest of the family came in and gathered around the tree in chairs, and Luke was relieved when Gabby came and sat next to him, even though he could feel the daggers being aimed his way from Dominic. At some point he would have a conversation with Abuelo and Abuela, explaining why he wanted to marry Gabby and why he was the right man for her. But that would have to wait a little longer.

  “So are you going to tell me how you got that bruise?” Raphael said in a firm tone to Gabby when she had barely walked into the room, and Luke turned quickly, wanting to protect her, but also wanting to keep peace for Olivia’s sake.

  “It was my fault,” Dominic said, setting down the rocking chair he had just moved to make room for all of the chairs.

  A silence fell upon the room and the tension was so thick it was palpable. “Do you want to tell me exactly what happened?” Raphael asked, his words clipped. “Because if I’m looking at her right, I’d say she was hit. By someone, not something.”

  “Raphael—” Gabby began but was quickly cut off by her brother holding up his hand for her silence, his eyes fixated on Dominic.

  “She was hit. By me. I didn’t mean to—”

  “You son of a bitch!” Raphael charged forward and both Cade and Lorenzo tried to stop him. But Luke was in the best position to put up a solid wall between Raphael and Dominic, and he did just that.

  “Get out of my way, doctor. You don’t need to be involved in this conversation.”

  “It doesn’t look like it is going to be much of a conversation. And with you two bulls going at it, all you are going to do is tear each other apart. Give him the chance to explain, Raphael. I was there. Let him explain.” Luke recognized the rage in Raphael’s eyes, because it was the same rage he felt towards Dominic. But he couldn’t let them fight in front of the women. Later, out back, it might be a different situation altogether.

  “He hit Gabby and you’re going to try and protect him?” Raphael demanded, incredulous.

  “I don’t like it any better than you do, believe me. But now is not the time or place for a fight.” Please offer to go outside. Please. Please just suggest stepping outside...

  “I’m not invisible, you know,” Gabby said roughly, and all eyes suddenly turned towards her. “And I certainly won’t be silent. Dominic probably doesn’t even remember what really happened. He was too drunk.” Eyes darted back to Dominic, who had folded his arms over his chest and was watching Gabby intently.

  Gabby shook her head. “If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me. I didn’t tell Dominic that I had chosen...that I went to be with Luke. He arrived at the President’s house that night demanding to fight with Luke. He felt, and probably still feels, that Luke persuaded me to go to the gala. Which he didn’t,” she said, staring directly at Dominic. “Regardless, Dominic had more to drink than he should have and showed up and demanded Luke fight him. I—I, well, I wanted to stop the fight, and I jumped in the middle of it. Right when Dominic was taking a swing. So I took the punch before he even knew I was there.”

  “I appreciate what you are trying to do, Gabby,” Dominic said, “but I take full responsibility for my mistake. Yes, I had too much to drink. And I didn’t realize you had stepped between us until it was too late. My actions hurt you, and badly, and for that I will forever be sorry.”

  “You mean—this—this is why she’s been gone all this time? Good God, how hard did he hit you?” Lorenzo demanded, trying to examine her bruise in the lamplight.

  “Her subsequent fall off the high porch and through the rose bushes didn’t help her recovery,” Dominic muttered to himself, and Luke winced, knowing that would only add fuel to the fire.

  “That’s it,” Raphael growled and tried to lunge around Luke, who blocked him one way, and then the next. “How can you stand there and protect him? Isn’t she your girl? Don’t you care what he did to her?”

  Gabby’s eyes clashed with Luke’s and she seemed to be waiting breathlessly for his reaction. “Yes,” Luke said softly, but in the silent room only punctuated by the crack of embers in the fire, his voice could be heard by all. “Yes, she’s my girl.” He turned his focus back on Raphael. “But I made a vow to myself not to ever fight again when I left London. And it isn’t worth breaking that vow over something stupid he did when he was too far in the bottle.”

  “What do you mean to never fight again?” Trevor asked, his eyes suddenly narrowing in suspicion.

  “I have a past that I’ve only shared with Gabby, but you all deserve to know. I grew up an orphan fighting for my life on the streets of London. I was actually fairly good at it, or so I was told, and soon people were paying to see me fight. Then one day a man arrived and offered me a scholarship if I’d come fight for their school. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

  He looked around at all of them and they all had shocked expressions on their faces. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to leave London. Everywhere I went, people saw me as the fighter, not as a doctor. No one wanted me to stop fighting. So I jumped at the chance to come to Texas. I never imagined I would be welcomed in by a family like this. I’ve never had a family.”

  “Luke Davenport. The Luke Davenport,” Trevor said, grinning at him. “I’ve heard stories that made me wonder if you were just a fabrication of London’s imagination machine
. Is it true that you once—”

  “So who were you really protecting, Gabby? Me, or him?” Dominic demanded, suddenly frustrated.

  “I didn’t want him to be forced to fight and break his personal vow because of me. It would have been foolish!”

  “So your concern was entirely for him. I’m flattered,” Dominic said sarcastically.

  “I didn’t want to see you pummeled to death, either,” she said with irritation.

  “Glad to know you think so highly of me,” Dominic replied through gritted teeth. He looked back at Raphael. “It’s true. I was drunk. I never should have gone there. But Gabby is mine by our arrangement, and I needed to remind her of that. I never planned to hurt her. I hadn’t even planned to fight Luke. But by the time I got there, I was furious with him, and couldn’t think clearly.”

  “I’m not yours anymore, Dominic. You gave me the option—”

  “And you haven’t even attempted to meet my request!”

  “This conversation can wait. We have Christmas Eve to celebrate, and I would like for us to do so. Now. I don’t want to hear any more of this tonight.” Olivia stood with her hands on her hips, the picture of a frustrated mother trying to rein in her wild brood.

  The family looked at her with shamed faces, and each one gradually made it to their chair. Again, Gabby sat next to Luke and he had to fight the impulse to pull her hand into his own. But she looked up at him, her eyes watching him closely. “Did you mean it? Am I really your girl?”

  He trailed his fingers lightly down her cheek. “Now and forever, if you’ll have me,” he whispered.

  Dominic jumped from his chair, his face deep red, and a vein pulsing in his neck. “You have no right to touch her. She is mine, do you understand me? She belongs to me!”

  Gabby stood in response, her face just as furious. “I belong to no one! You don’t own me. And you gave me the option. I don’t love you, Dominic. I tried. I tried to have feelings towards you, but I don’t love you.”

  “You didn’t even give us a chance!” he roared, his voice reverberating off of the walls.

  “Yes I did, Dominic. I really did try. But my heart belongs to Luke. And if I can’t have him, I want no one. That is what you agreed to, Dominic.”

  “I agreed to that on the condition that you would give me a fair chance at gaining your love. You barely gave me a day! And then that very night you race off to be with him.”

  “You aren’t being logical, Dominic. You don’t love me, so how can you demand that I fall in love with you? We even talked about it—you don’t feel that spark of excitement when you look at me or touch me. We just aren’t meant to be together.”

  “We could feel those things if only—”

  Luke stood and put his arm around Gabby’s waist. “You’ve had plenty of time. You’ve had years if you really want to be honest about it. So man up to the fact that she’s made her decision, and it isn’t you.”

  “Bastard!” Dominic took a menacing step towards Luke. “And you.” He laid his eyes on Gabby. “You had an agreement your parents made. And you’ve disgraced them.”

  Luke felt Gabby trembling and knew she was close to losing her composure. “Did you or did you not say you would break the agreement? Because Gabby was going to honor it completely. I knew it the moment she acknowledged you were her fiancé. So you either told her the agreement could be broken, or you’re accusing her of lying. Which one is it?”

  “That’s enough!” Olivia’s shout startled all of them. “It is Christmas Eve. It is almost time for midnight mass. I will not have you ruin Christmas Eve! This needs to stop—oh!” she cried out and her hand flew to her stomach and her face was pinched with pain.

  Cade was instantly by her side. “What is it? Did the babe kick?”

  “No, no. It’s fine. I just—I just need to breathe.” She opened her eyes and looked at the faces around the room. Her eyes finally landed on Gabby. “You of all people know how precious Christmas Eve is.”

  A tear slid down Gabby’s cheek as she looked up at Luke. “I’m so sorry. I wanted this Christmas to be perfect for you, and all I’ve done is to create a massive problem.” She shook her head with her eyes squeezed shut tightly. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “You haven’t done anything wrong,” he said, tightening his hold on her waist and wishing desperately that he could kiss her. Instead he looked at Olivia. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave if you’d like. I don’t want there to be any further trouble.”

  Olivia glanced over at Dominic who looked like a young boy who had just been chastised by his mother. “I, too, am sorry. This wasn’t the right time for this conversation.”

  “Finally, common sense prevails,” Abuela said from the corner where she sat with Abuelo. They had all forgotten they were there, and several faces around the room blushed in humiliation, including Raphael’s and Lorenzo’s.

  “Good. Now that we have all of that sorted out, we can begin to open our presents,” Olivia said, though her face was still tense. Slowly she sat back down in the rocking chair, a smile plastered on her face. Luke watched her closely. Either the babe had kicked her exceptionally hard, or something else was going on.

  The children were called into the room and they entered with excited faces, staring eagerly at the large number of packages under the tree. Slowly Cade began to hand out the gifts, and the children eagerly tore into the packages, squealing with delight at the things Gabby and Luke had found for them in the market.

  From special sweets for the boys, to a beautifully made little doll for Angie and Lorenzo’s little girl, to a special drawing pad and charcoal for Bella, all of the children delighted in their gifts. Abuelo and Abuela exclaimed over the soft, woven blanket, and like two young people in love they held the blanket up so the rest of the family wouldn’t see them kissing behind it.

  Everyone laughed—everyone except Olivia. During the course of giving out the gifts, her expression had become more and more strained. Something wasn’t right, and Luke knew it. But there was nothing he could do until she said something or acted in some way that allowed him to do something.

  “Luke, this one is for you,” Cade said, handing him the brown paper wrapped package. Luke tried to hide his excitement. A Christmas gift for him... He had never thought it would happen. He glanced over at Gabby and she was grinning broadly, not making any attempt to hide her joy. “When did you—how did you...”

  “Oh, just hush and open it,” she said, the lightness in her voice making him wish they were alone together. Soon enough he would get her alone. He was determined to so he could make sure she knew how much he loved her. He knew it now, finally. He knew it beyond any doubt.

  No longer hiding his eagerness he tore into the paper and found a simple box that he quickly opened. Lying within the fluffy paper was a new stethoscope, the newest style available with the single earpiece and the rubber tube that led to the piece to place on a person’s chest. He had wanted one for the longest time, and it was one of the first things he planned to order when he got all of his supplies for the clinic.

  “How did you know? How did you... It’s wonderful. Thank you.”

  Gabby smiled broadly, and, obviously without thinking, leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. Dominic’s chair scraped backwards and without a word he stormed outside. Gabby cringed. “I forgot,” she confessed. “I was just so happy to see you happy.”

  “Gabby,” Cade said, clearing his throat slightly and obviously trying not to laugh. “This one is for you.”

  Gabby looked at Luke with surprise, holding the box in her lap. Then, almost as eagerly as the kids had earlier, she tore into the paper and ripped open the box. At that point, though, she stopped with a gasp. “Luke,” she breathed, “it’s beautiful.”

  “Well show us what it is, Gabby. Don’t keep us all waiting,” Serena urged.

  Gabby reached into the box and pulled out a brand new medicine bag, with her name scrolled carefully across the leather. It was a de
ep black with a thin board in the bottom to support the shape of the bag, and it closed with a shiny silver clasp.

  “You both are completely hopeless,” Angie said with a chuckle. “A medicine bag and whatever that thing was you got for him...I mean, couldn’t it have been something more romantic or normal?”

  “It is romantic to me,” Gabby said, looking at Luke again, and he could tell she wanted to kiss him again. And he wanted her to.

  “Oh!” Olivia’s sudden cry drew their attention and they set aside their gifts and went to her side.

  “What is it, Olivia?” Cade was already asking her, kneeling down on the ground and looking up at her with worried eyes.

  Olivia was breathing rapidly through her mouth, her hand splayed across her stomach. After a couple of minutes, she finally opened her eyes and saw Cade, then Gabby and Luke. “It’s the babe,” she said softly, but the entire room could hear her. “I’ve been having pains since this morning.”

  “Why didn’t you tell someone, Angel?” Cade asked, his eyes dropping to her stomach where he splayed his large hand.

  “I didn’t think it was time. The pains weren’t very strong. And it is Christmas Eve.”

  “Christmas Eve or not, I think this baby has decided it’s time to meet everyone,” Luke said gently.

  “No, no. Not yet. It’s almost time for midnight mass. We can make it to that—oh!” She grabbed Cade’s shoulder and he winced as her fingernails dug in.

  “I think you’re right,” Cade said. “Let’s get her to the bedroom.”

  Gabby quickly began telling Angie and Serena about supplies to gather for them, and before Cade and Luke had even moved Olivia down the hallway, her room had been prepared, the bedding had been changed and towels had been placed down, and a stack of fresh towels waited for their use. Lanterns had been placed in several spots around the room, making it glow brightly. And Gabby stood waiting for them, wearing a fresh apron and holding a towel to dry Luke’s hands after he washed them in the basin.

  As usual he was impressed with her talent and knowledge. He only prayed he hadn’t hurt her so much by his actions the previous night that she would choose to be alone rather than with him.