Grabbing a once white rag off the table, Randy focused on wiping his hands in short, jerky motions. “You mean my wife and my kids.”
Gabe drew in a deep breath and exhaled. Again with the territorial bullshit. “Yeah.”
Throwing down the rag, Randy placed his hands on his hips. “What about them?”
Gabe rubbed at his temple, where a throbbing started. You’re a counselor, for God’s sake. You talk to people all the time. “I’m concerned about Karen and how she’s been doing lately. I’ve talked to her a few times and been to the house. She’s not doing well. Her depression is getting worse, and I’m afraid she’s cycling quickly again. Have you noticed?”
“What’re you trying to say? That I wouldn’t notice what’s going on with my own wife?” The scowl was as deep as whatever threat he thought Gabe was to his family, which Gabe didn’t understand. Again, Karen had cheated on Gabe, and she had chosen Randy.
“I never said that. I’m asking because you’re her husband. What have you seen lately? Is she having erratic moods, sleeping more, irritable, crying a lot, a lack of energy, seems to be sad all the time or too happy, talking fast…. You know, everything we saw after the twins were born.” Gabe didn’t know if the man was just that removed from his marriage, ignoring what was right in front of him, or if he truly didn’t believe she was sick.
“What I’ve seen is Karen whining about having to stay home with two kids while I have to work my ass off to keep her in that house. You should know how expensive that house is to heat and what the upkeep costs. I don’t care what queen that house is named after. It’s drafty. There’s no insulation in the walls. The electrical is probably as old as the house. The plumbing is a nightmare. None of it’s up to code. And I’m working my ass off to keep it together. And she refuses to move. I’m sure you’re here because she ran to you like she always does when she has a problem. ‘Let’s call Gabe. I bet he could help.’ ‘Gabe took the kids today to give me a break.’ ‘Gabe didn’t have any problem keeping up the house.’”
And there was the reason Randy disliked him. But Gabe hadn’t known how entrenched he’d become in their marriage. He wasn’t sure how to stop Karen from turning to him with her problems and turn to her husband instead. Actually, he did know how, but could he turn his back on her? What if Randy didn’t help her?
“That sounds frustrating.”
Randy kicked a can on the floor, and it skittered over the concrete. “Frustrating? Whenever I try to help, she tells me that you never did it like that or tells me what you would do. I’m sorry, but I’m not you. And maybe I am working long hours, and maybe some of them are because I can’t take it anymore. I feel like there’s one too many people in this marriage, and one of us has got to go.”
Gabe wiped at his mouth. He’d created Karen’s dependence on him over the years. He was smack-dab in the middle of their marriage. “You’re right.”
That widened Randy’s eyes.
“Karen needs a lot of support. Always has. And I gave her that support without question, most likely out of guilt, because I couldn’t love her like she deserved.” Without someone there every day to talk to her, remind her to take her pills, remember to eat, exercise when she didn’t feel like it, keep her from doing something she’d regret during her manic phase, she’d started to fall apart. Damn, he’d been like her personal live-in counselor. “Do you believe she’s sick? Because she thinks you don’t.”
“Of course I know she’s sick. Some days are better than others. I’ve tried to help her, but I can’t compete with the great Gabe. She’s my wife, and I love her, but I can’t live like this.” His hard expression softened, and for the first time, Gabe saw his pain and indecision. “You know, when Karen and I first met, I remember thinking how beautiful she was and how sad she looked. Then she told me how lonely she was, and that you didn’t really love her, and I thought I could do something about that. I felt sorry for her, but… I guess that’s not a good foundation for a marriage, is it?”
Gabe wasn’t sure what to say, given his marriage to Karen had been built on a lie itself.
Randy leaned against the metal table next to him and huffed. “She and I got into a fight last week. I told her something I never should have said, but I had to make her see how hard I was trying.” Shame crossed Randy’s face, and Gabe wondered what he could have said.
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her that I never wanted the twins. I mean, when she got pregnant, she was so happy. So fucking happy, and I was just wishing it had never happened. I never wanted kids, never understood them. Back after their birth when she was having such a hard time, I had to take the kids to my mom’s because I didn’t know what to do with them. I don’t have that parenting instinct, I guess. They were crying, and I just wanted it to stop. I know you think that makes me some horrible person.”
Gabe shook his head. “Not everyone wants to be a parent. There’s nothing wrong with not wanting kids, but you have two kids now.” Was Randy saying he didn’t want them?
“I know, and if they hadn’t been mine, I wouldn’t have stuck around. But they are mine, and I love them. I try hard to be a good parent. I said that to Karen when she accused me of not caring.” He rubbed at the nape of his neck. “I do care. On Sunday, I had planned to take them all to the petting zoo, spend some time together as a family. Karen knew that, but still she let you take them. Said she wanted to spend time alone. My only day off, and I had wanted to spend time with my family, only most of my family was with you.”
“I didn’t know.” Karen hadn’t told the truth when she’d said Randy had agreed to a day alone. “I love Mikey and Maddy too, but I never want to come between you and them.” He was a roadblock to them being a family. His heart ached at the thought of not seeing them for a while, but he had to do it. “I’ll step back from Karen and the kids.” His throat tightened. “I just… I can’t do that unless I know you’re going to be there to make sure she’s taking her pills and going to her appointments and well enough to take care of the kids. If she does what she should, then there’s no reason she wouldn’t be able to do that.”
“I can do that.” Randy looked Gabe right in the eye. “It’s not forever either. I don’t mind you spending time with the twins. They like to go with you, but I just need time to get my family back in order.”
Gabe bit on the inside of his cheek. “They might not understand why I’m not coming to see them anymore. Maybe I could call them and talk once in a while. Just to say hi?”
He was clawing to find any way to keep in contact with them.
“Okay, but I’ll be the one to call you and let them talk. I don’t want to involve Karen right now.”
Randy was stepping up, and Gabe needed to know he could make decisions, even though those decisions were ripping his heart out. “What do you want me to do if she calls?” Maybe being in control would spur him into action at home.
“Can you send her back to me for whatever she needs? Maybe don’t solve her problems or give her advice? I’d like to be the one to help her.”
Like a good husband should. Not an ex-husband.
“Okay.”
Randy shifted his weight and stuffed his hands into his coverall pockets. “Thanks, Gabe. I do appreciate your help. I figured you’d tell me off if I even suggested any of that.”
Gabe shook his head. “All I want for Karen and the kids is to be happy. To have a family.” Gabe hadn’t realized how much he’d felt like part of that family until right then.
Randy nodded, then turned back to his work. Gabe left, rushing to his car, dragging his heart behind him to start accepting his new role as a real ex-husband.
Chapter 17
DESPITE HAVING been pushed temporarily from the twins’ lives, Gabe couldn’t help feeling good throughout the next week. He attributed that to Brandt, who had done everything he could to improve Gabe’s mood. The sex was amazing and had been repeated many, many times over, with the same breathtaking resu
lts. They’d spent time watching movies, going to a couple of baseball games, and had even rented a canoe and paddled around the lake. Brandt had yet to spend the night, a step Gabe saw as another level in their relationship that he was ready to take. He just wasn’t sure where Brandt was in terms of moving forward. All indications were full speed ahead. However, Gabe didn’t want to jump before he should. He’d never taken the time to let a relationship build and grow naturally. Sometimes he could be too impatient.
Karen had called several times over the week, and Gabe had dutifully redirected her to Randy for help with her issues, despite her reluctance. She did say that Randy was spending more time at home like he’d promised. The others in Gabe’s life were doing better as well. Travis appeared happier in school, and most of Gabe’s clients seemed to be seeing better days. Life was just better, or as Julia had said, maybe Gabe finally viewed the world through a different lens. Three weeks into dating Brandt, and Gabe allowed himself to be optimistic, even hopeful that things would work out.
Gabe pulled into the youth center parking lot for work. As he was getting out of the car, his phone rang. Without hesitation, Gabe pulled the phone out and grinned, seeing Brandt’s smiling face on the screen.
“Hey, honey, what’s up?” He leaned against his car.
“Nothing much. Getting ready to torture some teenagers. How about you?”
Gabe chuckled. “About to counsel some of those teenagers that you torture on a daily basis.”
“Ha-ha. You’re a funny one.”
“Aren’t I? I missed you last night.” Actually he had bellyached, pined, and moped with Betsy, who’d chided rather than consoled Gabe, all because Brandt had needed to stay home and get some lesson plans done. Apparently Gabe was a distraction. Go figure.
“Missed you too, hot pants.”
Gabe caught himself before he giggled like a girl.
“I was hoping to make it up to you tonight by cooking dinner for you at my place.”
Gabe’s brow rose. “Uh-huh. Didn’t you describe your place as a one-room hovel that even a third-world insurgent wouldn’t be caught dead in?”
Brandt huffed. “Well, yeah, but we won’t be in my hovel above the garage. The Kramers are going to Europe for a few weeks and said I could stay in the house if I wanted. I’m going to be living in the lap of luxury.” Brandt sounded pretty damned proud of himself.
“That’s a beautiful house, and on the lake too. I may just have to accept your invitation.” Gabe grinned, wishing the day weren’t just beginning. Someday they were going to have to plan a nooner.
“Oh, you’ll accept and be there with bells on.”
Gabe snorted. “Oh really? And why is that?”
Gabe could practically hear Brandt smiling through the phone. “Because I’m irresistible.”
The truth, but Gabe wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. “Hmmm, don’t let that head get too big, Mr. Sawyer.”
“Just remember that name, sweetie, because you’ll be screaming it tonight.”
A shiver ran from one end of Gabe’s body to the other. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He swallowed hard and managed to say, “Promises. Promises.”
“Later, Mr. Reynolds.”
Gabe hung up, his world shifting again just from talking to the man. He wondered if his aging heart could take the man six years younger than him. As he started inside, he wondered if all the sex they’d been having could be considered exercise. He smirked. If so, he had been training like an Olympian.
Once inside, he greeted their only volunteer, Vicki, at the reception desk, picked up his messages, and started his day. Around ten o’clock Karen called.
“Gabe, can you take the kids tonight?”
Guilt washed through him as he recalled his conversation with Randy. He couldn’t break his promise, even if he ached to see the twins. “I wish I could, Karen, but I have plans.”
“Could you change them?” She sounded a tad anxious.
He swiveled in his chair from the computer. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“I’m a…. Randy, he has to work late, and I really need to get some things done. Maddy was home today with an earache—”
“Is she okay? Does she need to see the doctor?” Why hadn’t Karen called him? Then he scolded himself because that was Randy’s territory.
“No. She’s fine. The nurse at the preschool checked her yesterday afternoon. Her throat’s a little red. It’s been going around the school. I’m probably going to have to keep her home tomorrow too. I just need a couple of hours.”
Gabe didn’t like how she sounded. “I thought Randy wasn’t working as much.”
“He’s not, but he has to do a couple of late nights a week.”
Gabe rubbed at the bridge of his nose, his good mood fleeing fast. “I’m sorry Maddy doesn’t feel good. But I can’t change my plans. You should talk to Randy about this.”
Karen sighed impatiently. He knew she was angry that he wasn’t helping her. “I did, and he said I had to wait until he got home, but I have to do this tonight, Gabe.”
He turned to his computer and pulled up his resource page. It couldn’t hurt to give her a number, right? “What about Andrea’s niece, Violet? She’s graduating soon. You’ve used her in the past.”
There was silence.
“Karen?”
“I don’t trust other people with the kids. I only trust you. I can’t have a stranger in the house.”
“You used to have a couple of sitters when the kids were around six months old. It’s good for them to spend time with other people, and it’s good for you to have more than one person to depend on.”
Another long sigh. “I know. Maybe I’ll call her.”
Gabe knew she wouldn’t call, and that had to be her decision. “You sure everything’s okay? Meds good? Seeing Dr. Nemer?”
“Yes!” she snapped. “I’m sorry. Maddy didn’t sleep well last night.”
Gabe’s gut tried to get him to change his plans, but he needed to keep his promise to Randy and see Brandt. “Make sure you sleep when she naps, okay?”
“Yeah. She needs some juice. Bye.”
He hung up the phone, reassuring himself that he’d done the right thing. When his cell phone vibrated, he swiped the screen and found a text message from Brandt.
Can’t stop thinking about you.
Grinning like the kid who won the big game, he texted back. Same here.
Couple of saps, I tell ya. LOL
And you love it.
You bet I do. <3 <3
Gabe stared at the red hearts, and his good mood was back. When he realized he’d been sitting and gawking at his phone, he stuffed the distraction into his pocket. His next client was probably waiting for him.
He went to the reception desk and found his next client, Jana Holmes, sitting in the waiting area, furiously texting on her phone. The tenth grader came Mondays during her free period. Usually someone from the school drove her there and waited inside, but Gabe didn’t see anyone.
“Hi, Jana.”
She looked up. “Hi, Mr. R.” She popped up from the chair and walked to him.
“Did someone from the school drop you off?”
“Yeah, Mr. Grant, but he got a call and said he had to run back to the school. I’m sure he’ll be right back.”
“All right. Come on in.”
As he shut the door, she plopped onto his futon. Her phone beeped as they sat down. He gave her an expectant look. She shut off the ringer and handed him the phone, which he placed on his desk.
“So how was the weekend with your dad?”
“Good.”
He raised his brow. “Care to elaborate?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
They did the same dance each week. He’d thought about sending her an agenda ahead of time. Maybe she’d come prepared to talk.
“Last week we talked about how you felt being ordered by the court to go to your father’s house. You jus
t had your first weekend there.”
She nodded.
“We also talked about how you’d only seen your father once since he got out of jail six months ago, and felt as if you were being forced to stay with someone who was a stranger.”
She pursed her lips, and her unaffected attitude faded. She clasped her hands in her lap and rubbed her thumbs together. Her breathing had accelerated. Finally, some feelings were heading to the surface.
There was a knock on the door. Gabe sighed. Bad timing.
He opened the door to see Vicki. “Ms. Messier’s on the phone. She says there’s an emergency at the school and needs to talk to you now. I can hear sirens,” she whispered.
He remembered what Jana had said about Mr. Grant being called to the school. An icy cold ran over him. He picked up the phone on his desk as Vicki and Jana both watched with rapt attention.
“Julia, what’s wrong?” The high-pitched wail of a siren drowned out her reply. “Is that an ambulance?”
“Gabe!” Even shouting, he could barely hear Julia over the commotion of voices and sirens. “There was an accident in the science lab. Some students… injured… well….” The phone cut out.
“Julia, I can’t hear you. You’re breaking up.”
“Can you… hospital now?”
“You want me to meet you at the hospital?”
“Yes!”
Gabe hung up the phone.
“What’s going on?” Jana asked.
“Something happened at the school. Jana, call your parents and wait here until someone picks you up. Vicki will be here with you.”
Gabe grabbed his keys and school ID. He flew past Vicki, who yelled after him that she’d reschedule his appointments. His hands shook as he tried to insert the key into the ignition. He prayed no one was seriously hurt, but the calm-in-the-eye-of-the-storm Julia had sounded so freaked. If kids were hurt, Gabe might be able to calm them down and help contact parents.
Within twenty minutes, he was at the nearest hospital in Elizabethtown and barely recalled driving there. He’d called and sent several texts to Brandt, asking him what happened, but he didn’t respond. If the building was evacuated, then he might have left his phone in his office. Gabe weaved around people in the emergency room—the sheer number of kids being triaged in the hallway was staggering. Gabe searched for anyone he knew, hoping to find Julia. A weak voice called out to Gabe. He spun around and spotted Travis huddled on a gurney, an oxygen mask covering his face.
Happily Ever After Isn't Easy Page 13