The First Time I Saw You

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  The phone rang, and she shoved the fridge door closed. “Hey, Marty! Was wondering when you’d—”

  “Elizabeth, it’s Gabriel,” he said, cutting her off. She could hear pounding in the background from the construction site where Gabriel worked.

  “Oh, hi.” Okay, that was weird. She wanted to cringe, but she was feeling embarrassed still about what she’d shared of her pathetic relationship with a man she still couldn’t believe she’d fallen for.

  “Yeah, listen, for dinner tonight, change of plans. Don’t cook anything. We’re going to my mom and dad’s at the ranch.”

  She didn’t know what to say, so she pulled the phone away and stared at the receiver. Right, hadn’t his dad said something to Gabriel the night before in her moment of embarrassment about coming out for dinner?

  “You mean you’ll be having dinner? Shaunty and I will stay home.” Tonight they’d have tuna, even though her daughter had made a point of telling Gabriel how much she’d loved his sauce and the vegetables, and she’d even asked for more steak.

  He chuckled on the other end. “No, we’ll all go—you, me, and Shaunty. My mom called, and she wants to meet you, and hey, you’ll get to see where I grew up.” He sounded happy.

  She didn’t think this was a good idea as she walked through the empty house and down the hall to her bedroom, which was neat and tidy, with a new window and two air mattresses where she and her daughter had slept the night before. They were still inflated, and they looked like legless twin beds. “You know what? You go. That’s your family, and I’m not sure…”

  “Nonsense. I’ll swing by and pick you up. I’ll grab Shaunty first from preschool on my way home. She’ll love it.”

  She actually stared at the phone again as she pulled the receiver away, because Gabriel wasn’t hearing her. Of course her daughter would love it. She wouldn’t, though, having to sit at a table with his parents, who were likely going to stare down their noses at her.

  “Gabriel, seriously, no. I think it would be best if you go by yourself, and Shaunty and I will just stay here.”

  She could hear someone talking in the background.

  “Listen, you’re coming,” he said. “My mom wants to meet you, and I’ve got to go. Give Shaunty’s preschool a call and tell them I’ll swing by and pick her up in about an hour. See ya.” Then he hung up, and she just stared at the phone, wondering how he’d convinced her to go to his parents’ for dinner when she’d basically said no.

  What was it about Gabriel Friessen? She realized he could convince her into going along and doing things with him she’d sworn she’d never do. It was a dangerous road. She needed to sit him down and lay out the boundaries that he seemed to be crossing on a daily basis.

  “Okay, as soon as he pulls up, you tell him that you and Shaunty are staying home, that he needs to go himself…even though him phoning was thoughtful.” She stared in the bathroom mirror at her image, trying to shake off the fact that she’d never experienced this kind of thoughtfulness—cooking her dinner, calling her and telling her about dinner at his parents’, even giving up his bed.

  She pulled her hairbrush through her hair and took in her green and white sleeveless blouse, her loose jeans, and the hint of makeup she’d put on even though she was planning on staying home. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself, because she was feeling this tug of war inside, needing to keep her distance from a man she felt herself dangerously wanting to be around.

  She heard the door and laughter.

  “Hey, Elizabeth, you ready?” Gabriel called out, and she took in her daughter and Gabriel in his worn jeans covered in white sawdust from the construction site.

  “Hi, Mom! Look what I made today.” Her daughter had a wide smile and was carrying what looked like artwork, a mass of scribbles and globs of paint.

  “Wow, that’s amazing! You know what? This will look perfect on our bedroom wall, and hey, I was thinking that maybe we’d stay home tonight, just you and me, and…”

  Her daughter was frowning, and she didn’t have to look over to Gabriel to know that he was frowning too.

  “But we can’t, Mom. Gabriel is taking us to his family’s ranch. He’s also going to show me his horse. You did say that, right, Gabriel?”

  Okay, now she wanted to kick him, and she wondered if he got it by the way she was staring at him, shooting daggers his way, or trying, her arms crossed. He glanced from her daughter to her.

  “Of course I did,” he said. “Listen, let me grab a quick shower and change. Elizabeth, seriously, this will be fun. You’ll have fun. You’ll like my family.” He actually walked over to her, rested his hand on her shoulder, and stared down at her. Damn his eyes! She wasn’t sure what the color was, a cross between green and blue, and he was so not MM, but at the same time, she just didn’t want this getting any more personal than it was.

  “I’m sure I will, but, Gabriel, I’ve been thinking…”

  “How about you just come?” He cut her off, his hand still resting on her shoulder. “Have dinner, and for once don’t think about all the problems you think are going to happen or make this into something it isn’t.”

  She didn’t have a clue what to say as he glanced back to her daughter, who was still looking at her as if she were about to pull the rug out from under her. Damn, she had no choice.

  “Fine,” she said. “Shaunty, go put your picture in the kitchen for now.” She reached for Gabriel’s arm when he went to walk past her to his bedroom. “Can I talk to you a second?” She pulled him around the corner to his bedroom and stopped just outside his door, where her daughter couldn’t see or hear them.

  “Okay…?” He actually started to laugh and then stopped, likely from the expression on her face.

  “Look, I know I said I would go, but, Gabriel, you can’t be getting Shaunty’s hopes up like that. We rent a room from you. Remember the boundaries thing? I can see she’s starting to like you a lot, and now we’re going to your parents’ place for dinner …”

  He grabbed her wrist, pulled her into his bedroom, and closed the door.

  “Gabriel, what are you doing?”

  “Getting you alone so I can talk to you without Shaunty hearing. You really have this thing about boundaries, and I get it. I’m starting to get a really clear picture of why you would put up all the walls you have, considering the guy you were involved with and the crap he continues to pull on you, but I’m not like that. Most guys aren’t like that, and you know what? I’m starting to think this is more about you being scared.” He was right in front of her and had her backed against the door now.

  “I’m not scared. This isn’t that,” she said as she took in the hint of a smile that touched his lips.

  “Oh yeah? Prove it.”

  What was he, two years old?

  “I’m not proving it. Why would I do something like that? You’re making this into something personal when our relationship is…”

  He angled his head and then leaned in just a bit closer, his lips so close she could feel her heart jackhammering in her chest. She dipped her gaze to his lips, his full pink lips, and pressed back into the door, furious at herself for wishing that he’d just kiss her already. Then she shut her eyes and dug deep, pressing her hands to his chest, holding him back, and hating her hands for keeping all that hardness away from her.

  “You should get in the shower,” she bit out and then somehow slipped out of the bedroom.

  “Elizabeth,” he said.

  She kept her back to him, two steps out and freezing. His voice was so deep and pulled in her stomach, and she was furious at the effect he was having. She said nothing.

  “I’ll be ready in five,” he said, and then she heard him step up behind her and slip his finger over her shoulder, under her hair. She had to fight the shiver, wanting to lean back into his touch. “You just keep telling yourself this isn’t personal, that something isn’t happening between us,” he said. “Except the only problem is your reaction to me tells me something el
se entirely. You’re scared.”

  His warm breath had a shiver rising up all the way through her from her toes. Then he kissed her cheek so gently that her eyes shut, her breath caught, and he was gone.

  She listened to his door close, and a second later, his shower turned on. “What are you doing, Elizabeth?” she said to herself, turning back to the closed door and envisioning the man who could draw her into a relationship she swore she would never be in again. No, it was time to definitely set some boundaries, some clear rules that were easy to follow and lines that wouldn’t be crossed. The only problem was she’d have to make sure she first understood clearly what the rules were.

  Chapter 17

  She had never been west of the city, yet here she was in the passenger side of Gabriel’s pickup, Shaunty between them, as he drove the highway.

  Elizabeth had never been with a man who was a leader, an alpha, a man who took charge and made it seem as if that was part of who he was. Gabriel was driving them, caring for them, taking them to his parents’ house, and it made her feel like a woman. With MM, it was always “I’ll meet you there,” or he’d be out all night without a word to her, or “Oops, won’t be home. Don’t wait up.” Better yet, when he did walk back in in the morning, he always acted as if he’d done nothing wrong and didn’t have to explain.

  This with Gabriel was something she didn’t understand, and she didn’t know how to handle it. He treated her like a lady, a term she’d never really understood. As she sat quietly in the passenger side, only half listening to the back-and-forth between her daughter and Gabriel, it wasn’t lost on her how good he was with Shaunty, and it wasn’t that pretend interest people showed for kids.

  “Do you know who your real dad is?” Shaunty said.

  Elizabeth turned to her daughter, then to Gabriel. She wasn’t sure what expression was on his face as he stared over the steering wheel and the open highway. “Shaunty, you shouldn’t ask something like that,” she said. “I’m sorry, Gabriel…”

  He was shaking his head and glanced over to her, then down at Shaunty. “My real dad? Why would you ask that?”

  For a minute, Elizabeth had a feeling he was embarrassed. “Uh, I think Shaunty means your biological father. When Andy gave me a lift to pick up Shaunty at daycare, he may have mentioned something about meeting you and your mom. He did add that a father is a man who raises a child, not fathers one,” she added pointedly, giving her daughter a long, lingering look and hoping she would drop it.

  What she didn’t expect was the smile that touched Gabriel’s lips. “Yeah, my dad was kind of my hero. I can still remember meeting him, being just a scared little kid. To answer your question, yeah, I know who my biological father is and what he did to my mom—got her pregnant at fifteen, turned his back on her, and left her to fend for herself. I can still remember the dumps we had to live in, being hungry.” He shook his head. “That guy really isn’t someone I want to know, even though he showed up when I was a kid, when I got childhood leukemia, to help. It was a nice thought, but it was my dad, Andy…” He glanced over to Shaunty and Elizabeth. “It was Andy who was there for me, has always been there for me, and he’s my real father. He makes my mom really happy, and I think you two will really hit it off.” He nudged Shaunty, and the way he smiled down at her daughter and the way her daughter giggled, Elizabeth was seeing another side of Gabriel that she didn’t want to see. Damn him for being so fricking perfect!

  “See up there, in the distance? That house is where we’re going,” Gabriel said. He was talking to her daughter again, and Elizabeth took in the ranch and the dusty gravel road. She could see horses, cattle, and land as far as the eye could see. Everything was open. Andy’s dark pickup was parked in front along with a couple minivans and a few other cars. “You’ll get to meet my brothers and sisters,” Gabriel said, “and looks like a few others, too. That could be Blake and Brandyne…”

  Elizabeth took in the men on the porch as she stopped listening, staring out the window at the three staring right at her. Her heart starting jackhammering, and she could feel a nervous sweat start under her arms. Andy held a beer and was talking with the other two, and no one was smiling. What was it about the way they were looking at her that gave her the feeling she wasn’t exactly a wanted guest?

  “So you’re sure it’s okay we’re here?” she said. It sounded scared and pathetic to her own ears, and Gabriel turned off the truck and gave her an odd look.

  “Of course. Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Then he was out his door.

  Her daughter rested her hand on her arm, looking up to her. “Mom, it’s okay. Don’t be nervous.”

  Elizabeth didn’t miss the way Gabriel was standing there, taking her in, really looking, and she didn’t like the way it seemed as if he could see inside her and all of her vulnerabilities.

  “Come on, Shaunty,” Gabriel said and lifted out her daughter as Elizabeth pulled in a breath and made herself open the door and step out.

  “Hey, Gabriel! It’s about time you got here,” said the man standing beside Andy.

  Andy had an amused grin, she thought, but said nothing as he watched her and then shifted his eyes in a second to her daughter, who’d come around the truck. She saw the moment his expression softened. Okay, so he had a soft spot for her daughter. Who didn’t? She found herself moving over to her.

  “Shaunty,” she said and held out her hand, walking closer to the house. Her daughter’s hand slipped into hers just as Gabriel’s hands rested on her shoulders.

  “Elizabeth, Shaunty, you’ve met my dad, but this is Blake, our sheriff,” he said.

  Blake stepped down from the top step, and the way he took her in, she couldn’t help worry about what he was thinking and what he knew. He had dark hair and, like Andy, was also dangerously attractive. He held out his hand, and she was forced to let go of Shaunty’s and shake it. He had a firm grip, and she could feel his eyes burning into her.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth…” He let it hang, and she knew he was waiting for her to tell him her family name. Maybe for a record check!

  “Abercrombie,” she said, pulling her hand from his and resting it around Shaunty again.

  Andy gestured to her daughter, and what did she do but race up the stairs to him? He leaned down and said something to her that had a big smile plastered across her face as she replied, “Sure!”

  Elizabeth was trying not to crane her neck, because she didn’t have a clue what Andy had said. Then Andy pulled open the screen door and stepped into the house with her daughter, and Elizabeth lifted her hands, helpless over what to do.

  “That other bum over there is my brother Jeremy,” Gabriel said.

  Elizabeth had to drag her gaze away from the door her daughter and Andy had slipped through. Jeremy was maybe eighteen, nineteen, and the spitting image of his father. He had a brilliant smile, and she took in the blue eyes, different from Gabriel’s. She was trying to see some of Gabriel in his brother and at the same time was feeling as if she were under a microscope from the sheriff.

  “So you’re Elizabeth,” Jeremy said. “Great to meet you! Cute kid you got. Don’t worry—my mom and dad will be spoiling her rotten. Wow, Dad wasn’t kidding, Gabriel. She really is a looker.”

  Elizabeth wondered if this could get any more awkward. She heard the sheriff curse under his breath and chuckle before he took a swallow of his beer.

  “Ignore my brother, please,” Gabriel said. “There’s a dark, twisted side of him that enjoys stirring things up and being an ass in general.”

  Jeremy stepped around the sheriff, laughing and holding out his hand. He was ripped, young, gorgeous, and she wished the ground would open up. “Apologies, Elizabeth. Welcome to our humble ranch.”

  Her hands were damp, and she actually unfisted one and gave it a wipe on her jeans before sticking it in his. “This is nice,” she said. Okay, that was a really original thing to say. She turned her head to Gabriel as she pulled her hand from Jeremy’s
, and she could see the way he was shaking his head at his brother, the expression on his face far from amused.

  “Where’s Chelsea?” Gabriel asked, then turned to her. “Chelsea is one of my sisters, Jeremy’s twin.”

  The screen door squeaked, and Andy stepped out, holding a platter of raw meat, steaks. He walked over to the barbecue she hadn’t noticed.

  “She flew out this morning with a friend to some resort place in Minnesota. Where was it again, Dad?”

  Elizabeth felt Gabriel’s hand on the small of her back now, urging her up the steps, where she stood awkwardly beside the sheriff, who wasn’t saying anything, and Andy, who was now putting steaks on the grill.

  “Bear Island,” Andy said, then gestured with his tongs to Gabriel. “You and I need to have a chat about the cattle. We need to bring them in on Saturday. We’ve got a number of calves born and needing branding, and trucks coming to take eighty head into the slaughterhouse, so you need to be here at dawn. We’re starting early.” He then turned to Jeremy and said, “You get to help this weekend, too, along with Zachary and Sarah.”

  She was wondering who Zachary and Sarah were when she realized that they had to be his other brothers and sisters. Maybe she should have gotten a refresher from her mom, who had pried a bunch of personal information from Gabriel, before coming out so she would know who all the players were.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Gabriel said. “Listen, Elizabeth, do you want something to drink?”

  “Ah, you know, it’s okay…” Now they were all staring at her as if she’d said the most ridiculous thing. “Whatever you’re having will be fine,” she quickly added, and then he was gone into the house. His brother followed, and she was left with the sheriff and Andy, who weren’t the least bit chatty.

  “So heard you had some more trouble with that feller you were involved with,” Blake said, staring down at her, his gaze intense, hard, and so fricking intimidating. Of course Andy, or was it Gabriel, had told him about MM’s visit. How much did he know?