The First Time I Saw You

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “What is it about that flashy smile he uses on everyone, thinking it will get him anything he wants?” Marty said. “It’s so phony, plastic. Sorry, Lizzie.”

  She couldn’t help feeling as if he were reminding her how stupid she was. “Fine, I get it, the smile, and then what? Why the fight?” She fisted her hands at her sides, turning to see Gabriel leaning against the sheriff’s desk, his arms crossed and watching her in a way that had her stomach doing a flip. How could he still not be walking out that door? He was still there, and she needed to wrap her head around the fact that her brother and sister were in some seriously deep shit all because of her.

  “It was me, okay?” Ruby said. “I called him out about harassing you and not leaving you alone, wanting you back like a stalker, yet there he was hooked up with some babe in a bar, carrying on like a sleazy scumbag, and he laughed at me as he slid his arm around her, both of them far from sober, and he said he would decide when he was done with you, not you or anyone else. That chick just stayed there instead of realizing what a dog he was, and I suddenly just fisted my hand and popped him in the face.” Ruby lifted her right hand, taking in the slight swell of her knuckles and grinning.

  “Yeah, it was priceless,” Marty said. “She nailed him, and he stumbled a bit and lost his balance, falling on the pool table. I think he was as shocked as everyone, as the guys he was with started laughing, kind of emasculating him, saying he could be taken down by a woman. When he got on his feet, it was like he couldn’t believe Ruby would actually land a punch on him, right in his eye. I was standing there, thinking my sister is the first woman to get one over on him. Then next thing I knew, he hit her back, landed a punch right here.” Marty gestured to Ruby’s cheek, which was red, and she just shrugged.

  “And that was it,” she said. “Next I knew, Marty yelled and charged him and took him down over one of the tables and broke it, glasses and everything on it. I sort of got in on it, and then next I know the cops are there and cuffing us and hauling us out, and here you are.” Ruby reached up and touched her lip. “You know that was the first time I was ever in the back of a cop car?”

  Elizabeth looked back to Gabriel, who ran both hands over his face, and she thought for a second he’d realize this was all too much and walk out. This was it. Then he lowered his hands.

  “Okay, you know what? I totally get it,” he said. “Let me talk with Blake and see if we can’t get this to go away. Maybe he can talk to the bar owner and convince him to let it go, pay for the damages, and everyone walks away. Let’s not forget MM, either.”

  She could see the way he was considering something.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Marty said. “Geez, Lizzie, you picked a good one here.” Her brother gestured to him, and the grin on his face was priceless, as was her shock when she realized what he’d said.

  “Whoa there, Marty, you’re confused,” she said. “I’m renting a room from Gabriel. That’s all.”

  And he’d taken her to his parents’ for a dinner that they hadn’t had because her brother and sister had decided to become vigilantes and had landed on the local news, and here they were at the cop shop, and the heat and chemistry between her and Gabriel was making her question everything.

  “Yeah, she keeps saying that.” Ruby glanced over to Marty, talking as if she wasn’t even there. “She’s just afraid of making another mistake, like with MM, except, as I told her, if she keeps living in fear, she’ll be alone.” Then Ruby turned to face her, and Elizabeth couldn’t get her tongue to move, because she couldn’t believe how everyone was trying to push her and Gabriel together. “Seriously, Lizzie, you need to give yourself a break and take a look at that handsome guy who’s got your back, and don’t forget, we know you. There’s no way you can hide the fact that you’re interested in Gabriel. The chemistry rocks, and you know what? You two seriously are pretty together.”

  This was worse!

  She could feel Gabriel behind her, and she wondered if her sister could tell by the way her eyes widened that Elizabeth wanted to kick her ass. Maybe she did, as a mischievous smile touched her lips, and before she could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and the sheriff opened it. Elizabeth could hear her mother carrying on outside, but she couldn’t hear exactly what was being said.

  “Okay, Ruby, Marty, Elizabeth, your parents are here,” Blake said, and Elizabeth felt her jaw slacken when she heard the commotion. Her mother appeared first in the doorway, wearing a bright pink skirt and a white short-sleeved blouse. Her hair was a brown poof that looked as if she’d just come from the salon, and her face was thick with makeup.

  “Oh, you two, whatever did happen?” Chloe said. “It’s all over the news, and every neighbor in the hood is talking. Your dad and I just had a word here with… Oh, Gabriel, so nice to see you.” Her mom actually pivoted, strode to Gabriel, and offered her cheek for him to kiss.

  Elizabeth wanted to die in embarrassment, and her hands flew up to her face of their own accord. Gabriel actually kissed her mother’s cheek as she patted his shoulder.

  “As I was saying, I was talking to your daddy out there. What a good man, coming down here to help out my Ruby and Marty, and all for you, Elizabeth. Why, that there just shows you what a good family, good people they are. And my grand-baby is right now out at your family’s ranch and being looked after.” Her mom was still talking as Elizabeth took in Andy in the doorway, an amused smile on his face, her dad behind him.

  The sheriff was leaning against an old file cabinet, his arms crossed, and he lifted his hand as if he realized no one was going to let him get a word in edgewise. “Okay, I’m going to have to cut in here, Mrs. Abercrombie…” he said, as her mom was holding center stage and was taking a breath to carry on with something Elizabeth knew would further embarrass her.

  “Oh, Chloe, please, sheriff,” her mother said. “We don’t stand on formalities here. Isn’t that right, Frank? Come on, get on in here. You two stirred up quite a hornet’s nest, but the sheriff here was just telling us that he’s talked to the owner of that place, and he’s agreed to drop all charges…”

  “As I was saying, how about you let me finish telling them, Chloe?” Blake said. Elizabeth noted the calm tone he took with her mother, who then lifted her hands as if she was allowing him to speak. Elizabeth found herself stepping over to the desk beside Gabriel. His glance to her lingered a little long and unsettled her.

  “Of course, by all means, Sheriff,” Chloe added, and Elizabeth didn’t miss her sister’s laugh.

  “There are damages that have to be paid, a few hundred, and you promise never to go into the Waddling Pig again, and you get to walk away with no charges,” Blake said, taking them all in.

  Elizabeth took in the exchange between her brother and sister. “Deal,” Ruby said, and her brother just shrugged as if it were no problem.

  “I’ll pay for it,” Elizabeth said, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. “It’s only right. They were only there because of me.”

  “You’re not paying for it,” Gabriel said just as her brother and sister leveled a heavy gaze her way.

  “He’s right, Lizzie,” Ruby said. “You can barely pay for groceries. I lost my temper. I’m the one who threw the first punch.”

  She could see the sheriff take in her sister, and she wondered for a minute if he was considering the possibility of the trouble she could be. Then he lifted his hand again as if he realized how her family could go on and on and he’d never get them out of there.

  “Then there’s MM,” he said before anyone could add anything else, and Elizabeth couldn’t help the way she moved closer to Gabriel, his hand reaching over and resting on hers. “We’re letting him go, releasing him, since, as Ruby said, she threw the first punch. He did hit her, but you see, the thing is that charges could be reciprocal, Ruby and MM.”

  She took in the moment her mom understood, and her sister too.

  “So no one’s pressing any charges,” Blake said, “and you all go
home. You all agree to stay away from each other.”

  Gabriel took her hand and held it, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. “Okay, so everyone walks away, but isn’t the whole point of this that MM won’t leave Elizabeth alone? So how is it that you’re going to get him to agree to all of this?”

  “Well, for one, before he’s released, we plan on having a talk with him,” Andy said, stepping inside the office and resting his arm up on the file cabinet. She took in the exchange with the sheriff, realizing something more had been said. “We’ll convince him and help him understand how it’s in his best interest to move on.”

  She didn’t know why, but the way Andy spoke, she believed he could make it happen. The edge of ruthlessness she thought she’d seen when she’d first met him was back, and it was something about him that made her damn nervous. Gabriel glanced down at her, and she took in the intensity in the mixed blue green of his eyes, which had her breath catching.

  “Yeah, and I’ll be there too,” he said to everyone, but he looked only at Elizabeth.

  When she opened her mouth to tell him What? No, it’s not your problem, all that came out was, “Thank you.”

  Chapter 20

  Gabriel turned off the truck and slid around in the bench seat, taking in Elizabeth as she sat in the passenger side. The night had settled in. It was dark, and he didn’t say anything for a minute. He took her in, feeling as if he could just reach out and pull her closer. She wished he would, but she said nothing.

  “We really should get Shaunty,” she said. “It’s not right that your mom and dad keep her tonight.”

  She wasn’t sure what expression was on his face, but he just shook his head, stepped out of the truck, and walked around the front. What the hell was that?

  She pulled open the door just as he came around, and he slid his hands around her as she stepped out, pulling her closer, running his hands over her back and lower, over her ass. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her lips, and she couldn’t keep from leaning into it, taking it deeper, or maybe it was him. She sighed into it as her hands slid over his shoulders, and she was pulled closer, feeling every hard, chiseled part of him.

  Then he broke the kiss and lifted his head just a bit, and she didn’t miss the heat in his eyes. “No more talking about Shaunty,” he said. “I told you she’s already in bed, asleep, and we’ll get her tomorrow. Besides…” He just took her in, and she could feel the way her heart hammered harder and wondered if he could feel it, her reaction to him, which she couldn’t hide anymore. She wasn’t sure when it had happened, at what point she hadn’t wanted to fight this attraction—no, this need to allow herself to be happy.

  He reached for her hand and led her up the steps to the house, then let go only long enough to shove the key in the door and pull her in. He pressed the door closed and turned the deadbolt before turning everything in his gaze on her.

  She swallowed and could feel her insides shaking, but it wasn’t from cold, and she wondered, as his gaze lingered on her, whether he had any idea how she was feeling. His hand lifted to her chin, sliding over the edge of her jawline and over her lips, and she didn’t look away, though his gaze should have had her backing away, because it said everything about what was going to happen in a matter of seconds.

  “We can’t do this,” she said. “It’s not right. There are all kinds of boundaries here that we’re crossing, and we can’t. I don’t want to ruin—”

  He lifted his finger and pressed it over her lips, so she stopped talking. For a minute, he seemed angry. Then he stepped away from her, into the living room, jamming his hands in his hair and yanking hard before he dropped them to his sides. She stared at his fists, seeing a side of him she hadn’t before.

  “You know what?” he said. “Would you just stop already with this boundaries crap? Haven’t I shown you how I feel? Haven’t I shown you that I’m not some scumbag? Please explain to me why it is that you keep pushing me away and putting up these walls, saying this can’t happen, when just looking at you and seeing your reaction to me, I can see that all of this is just bullshit, as if you’re trying to convince yourself there can’t be anything between us.”

  He started toward her, and she stepped back until she bumped the wall. He was right in front of her, pressing into her, and she could feel all his hardness, so much that her legs felt limp, and for a second she thought they’d give way if he hadn’t been standing so close and pressed to her, holding her up. She lifted her hands over his chest, feeling the pulse of his heart, feeling the sharp cut of his pecs, wondering what his abs looked like and feeling all that flat hardness pressed against her.

  Her fingers wrapped in the cotton of his shirt, and she couldn’t fight the need to just touch him. He lowered his head again to kiss her, and she turned her head and pressed his chest until he stepped back. She could move around him even though her body wept, and she felt his hand brush over her arm as he groaned in frustration, but that sound was nothing compared to how frustrated she was with herself. She couldn’t look at him, and she had her hands on her face, her eyes shut, as she tried to remember why it was so important for her to be who she was and not ever take a chance again on something that couldn’t work.

  She dropped her hands and turned around, seeing the way he lingered a foot away, maybe more, and his expression showed how close he was to losing his calm. Maybe she could push harder, and anything he didn’t want to show would appear, that hidden monster that he’d carefully tucked away, before she was in too deep—before she fell hard for him and he let it slip, crushing her heart. It was just a matter of time, she supposed. She was done with the lies, the deception, and the crazy, yet there he was, not doing what she expected him to.

  “Maybe you say it’s not so, that you’re decent and kind and this is the real you, but how hard do I have to push before I see something you don’t want me to see?” she said.

  It was in his expression, the shock, and he pulled back as if he was done with her. It was what she’d tried so hard for, what she’d really wanted, but at the same time, right now, she was angry at herself for bringing about something she seemed to be destined for.

  “What is it exactly that you think I’m hiding, huh?” he said. He stalked toward her, and she took in his strong arms, the muscles of his forearms, the strength that oozed out of him. She stood there, looking up at him, as he stopped right in front of her, so close that she could feel his warm breath. She wanted everything about him so bad.

  “I can see now how angry you are with me,” she said. “You can’t hide it. Are you going to tell me to go? Or maybe after you have me in bed a few times and I open my heart to you, you’ll decide it’s not what you want, but having me here is easy. I’ll give myself to you again and again, but you’ll pull away after all the kind words, the chase, and then you …” She stopped talking, because it wasn’t just anger she saw on his face. It was something she didn’t understand looking back at her.

  “Elizabeth, I’m not your ex. I’m not the kind of guy who gets a kick out of toying with a woman and her heart. If this is what you think is going to happen with us, if you expect this from every man, the deceit, the unfaithfulness, and all that crap you put up with from someone who didn’t deserve you, then you’re right: You will always believe that love is for fools, because you’ve already made your mind up that there can’t be anything else between us and that I’ve got some evil twisted side that I’m hiding and am going to pull the rug out from under you. The problem is, Elizabeth, that isn’t me, and I just realized there’s nothing I can do to convince you. There’s nothing I can do to show you that we can have something really good.” He lifted his hands and then dropped them to his sides, brushing his jeans, and he suddenly looked so tired as he turned away from her.

  Then he did something she didn’t expect. He lifted his hands in the air and backed up. “You know what? I’m going to bed,” he said, and it left a little part of her broken as sadness took over his amazing eyes, and
she was responsible for putting it there. Then he turned away and started down the hall.

  “Gabriel,” she said, her hand on her chest, wanting to go to him, wanting to say she was sorry, wanting to take what he was offering, but as he turned his head, glancing to her, all she could say was, “Never mind.”

  Chapter 21

  He rested his arm on the window frame, taking in his darkened backyard and the silence in the house, realizing with sadness that Elizabeth just might be too far gone to give any chance to love. Could he blame her? Not really, he thought, remembering the moment he, Blake, and his dad had stepped into the concrete interrogation room in the back of the sheriff’s office after leaving Elizabeth, her siblings, and her parents in Blake’s office to dissect the drama of the fight at the Waddling Pig.

  There, they’d found an arrogant Mac Murrin sprawled in a chair without an ounce of remorse. The door had shut, and he’d said not a word as an easy smile touched the sides of his lips. The guy had confidence if not brains. Any sane person would have been shitting his pants, considering the gravity of the situation.

  “So what is this…?” MM said and narrowed his gaze on Gabriel, and he knew the moment he realized who he was. “Oh, you. Shit, dog, you think you can go after what’s mine?” He actually sneered at Gabriel, and his dad had stiffened, and Blake too, as if they believed he would try something.

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Gabriel said. “Elizabeth isn’t yours.”

  MM laughed, and Andy moved around the room and stood across from him, not saying a word, though his expression said that he wasn’t one to mess with. “See, that’s where you’re confused,” MM said. “Lizzie is mine. She has my kid, which makes her my property.”

  He couldn’t believe he’d actually said that. “Seriously? You were with another chick in the bar, yet you think Elizabeth and you are together? You’re delusional, and you don’t own her. You have no rights, and she’s clearly asked you to stay away from her.”