This Time You

by T. M. Cromer

  “Mom! We’re home!”

  “Goddammit!” she muttered as she scrambled to her feet.

  Gabriel, the toad, almost busted a gut laughing.

  “It’s not funny. Fucking Scott was supposed to have the boys until tomorrow.”

  “Fucking Scott is a prick, and I don’t know why you ever married him,” Gabriel returned in a hushed voice, dropping a quick kiss on her lips right before her sons rounded the corner to the kitchen.

  “Me either.” She bent to give Aaron a hug. “Hi, sweetheart. What are you guys doing home today?”

  Scott strutted around the corner to join them, walking in a cocksure manner as if he owned the place. Margie had to make a conscious effort to unclench her jaw.

  The expression on Scott’s face soured when he saw Gabriel sitting at the counter. “You’d think you couldn’t afford a decent meal, the way you’re always hanging around here, eating. Lexus payment too high?”

  “Scott!” Margie was horrified and furious at once. She would’ve reamed him a new asshole if Gabriel hadn’t chuckled.

  He picked up a potato chip, and after he examined it, he popped it into his mouth, crunching down with a wide, toothy grin. His cheekiness knew no bounds, and Margie bit her lip to keep her laughter contained.

  Based on the daggers her ex was shooting Gabriel, he’d succeeded in getting under Scott’s skin.

  “Yeah, whatever.” He dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Something came up, and I had to return the kids earlier than expected.”

  “Crystal couldn’t handle them while you went out drinking with your friends again?” Margie’s voice dripped with false sympathy.

  His deep flush indicated she’d struck a nerve.

  Margie shook her head.

  If Scott continued with his selfish ways, he risked losing his latest girlfriend. She’d go by way of all the others and leave him choking on her dust when she fled as fast as her stick-thin legs could carry her.

  “She called us ‘little bastards,’” Aaron volunteered.

  A single glance at Scotty confirmed what his brother had said.

  Margie saw red.

  “Scotty, take Aaron into the other room. Now.” Her tone was low and dangerous, making her eldest son usher his brother out of the kitchen as if their little butts were afire.

  With a hard poke to Scott’s chest, she let out a growl. “That twatsicle better never…” Jab. “… I mean never call my children ‘little bastards’ again. Do you understand me?” Jab. Jab. “As a matter of fact, they won’t be visiting you any time she’s around.” Jab. Margie’s finger was hurting from the continued assault, but she’d be damned if she showed discomfort. She was receiving too much satisfaction from watching the color drain from Scott’s face. “If I find out she’s anywhere in their general vicinity, there will be fucking hell to pay. Do I make myself clear?” Jab.

  “Margie, babe—”

  Gabriel rose with such force, the stool flew backwards and scraped along the tiled floor with a harsh, discordant sound. “She’s not your babe. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, you forfeited that right years ago.”

  His tone was lethal, and Margie derived even more satisfaction when Scott’s complexion turned a distinct shade of green. Gabriel had to be an imposing figure as he stood behind her, all bowed up to his full height and giving off an aggressive vibe. Never had she been happier to have someone on her side.

  Somehow, Scott drudged up the courage to mouth off. “If Crystal can’t be around my kids, then neither can he.”

  “The difference is Gabriel is a positive influence on the children. They happen to like him. Maybe because he’s not verbally abusive.” She stepped into Scott’s space. She lowered her voice because she hadn’t missed the young, curious faces turned their way. “Don’t even think of pushing me on this, Scott. You won’t like the result.”

  “I’m outta here.” He glared once more at Gabriel before he hustled out the front door.

  Gabriel’s muscled arm hugged her across her upper chest and pulled her back against him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry my boys have such a deadbeat for a dad.”

  “How about I take you all to the beach?”

  She tilted her head back to gaze up at him. “You don’t have to try to make up for him being a shitty parent, Gabriel.”

  “I’m not trying to. You and I had planned to spend the day together anyway. Why not make it a family day?”

  Why couldn’t she have met him sooner? She smiled despite her desire to cry.

  “Is that a yes, Margaret?”

  “That’s a yes, as long as Aaron and Scotty are game.”

  Since the boys had moved into the living room to play video games, Gabriel had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise. “Either of you know how to surf?”

  Both boys stared at him in wide-eyed surprise. Aaron’s expression was tinged with hero worship.

  “You’re going to teach us?” Scotty asked. A hint of attitude was present, but Gabriel either missed the snark or chose to ignore it altogether.

  “If you want to learn.”

  Aaron whooped as his older brother neatly put away the controllers and turned off the television. Margie had to admit, it was a first. Scotty must be more excited by the prospect of surfing than he let on if he was going so far as to clean up his mess.

  Casting Gabriel a laughing glance, she asked, “Is now the wrong time to tell you they already know how to surf?” His dark brows shot up in surprise. “They’ve been surfing from the time they could stand.”

  He grinned as the boys ran to their rooms. “I should’ve known, considering we live so close to the beach.”

  “We leave our boards in Sammy’s garage.”

  Her mind flashed back to all the times Michael had joined her and her siblings to surf. Whenever the waves were high, they could all be found trying to outdo each other in a friendly competition. Ten years. Michael had been part of their world so long, the loss now felt like a missing limb.

  * * *

  The quicksilver change in her mood told Gabriel where her mind had gone. Drawing her into his embrace, he kissed her temple and rubbed her back. “I have extras in case you don’t want to disturb her.”

  “No, it’s okay. We have the garage code. I just…”

  “You don’t need to explain, love. I get it.”

  And he did. The recent loss of Opal hit him harder than he let on. There were times when he became downright moody and morose, knowing he’d never be able to speak to her again.

  “I have a friend who is a psychiatrist. I can call him if you or your family need someone to help with grief counseling.”

  Her arms tightened around him. “I’ll let you know.”

  They stood locked together as if the rest of the world didn’t exist, and Gabriel savored simply holding her.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as incredible as you.” She spoke so softly, he almost missed it.

  “I’m not anything special, Margaret.”

  “Yes, you are. You just don’t know it.”

  “I’m glad you think so,” he said dryly, knowing she was giving more credit than was his due. “Go get changed. Unless you need help. In that case, I’m all yours.”

  She laughed, and it made his heart lighter, knowing she was past the momentary grief.

  As she started to separate from him, he drew her back for a gentle kiss. “I forgot to ask. Do you surf, Margaret?” Her wicked grin nearly brought him to his knees. “I take it by that look, you do. What don’t I know?”

  “Mom was gonna go pro before she married Dad,” Scotty said from behind him. There was a wealth of arrogance and hostility in his tone.

  Gabriel chose to ignore it for the second time. “Seriously?” Surfing was one of his favorite pastimes. “How am I only learning this about you now?”

  “Because my son is a big mouth.” She shot a wide grin at Scotty. “I had intended to show
Gabriel up in the water today.”

  “Ah, Margaret, you have hidden talents.” Gabriel leaned in to whisper, “And I’m excited to discover more.”

  “Scotty, keep Gabriel company while I change, won’t you?”

  He watched her sashay down the hallway toward her room. “I’m crazy about your mom, Scott. If you have a problem with it, perhaps we should talk man to man.”

  “She’s been hurt enough by my asshole dad.”

  Gabriel looked down at the boy. Pain was reflected in the child’s eyes, and so was the challenge. “It’s not my intent, son. She doesn’t deserve the treatment she gets from your father. And she sure as hell won’t receive anything like it from me.”

  He tried to appear as open and straightforward as possible to show his true intentions.

  The resentfulness dissolved in slow increments, and Scotty nodded. “Okay.”

  A strong wind could’ve knocked him over when Margie’s son held out his hand. Gabriel gave him a manly shake. “Are we good?”

  “Yeah. Thanks for offering to take us.”

  Gabriel wanted to smile at his serious tone. “My pleasure. Want to see what’s taking your brother so long?”

  “He’s outgrown his wetsuit but is still trying to squeeze into it. I offered him one of mine.” Scotty shrugged as if to say, “Kids these days.”

  Gabriel pursed his lips to stem his desire to laugh. When he could manage speech, he said, “Tell Aaron we’ll pick him up another wetsuit in town, okay?”

  As Scotty hurried away, Gabriel allowed his smile. The boy was a lot like his mother. He appeared all bristly and ready to fight, but deep down, the kid was a softy.

  “What’s amusing you?” Margaret asked.

  He turned and nearly swallowed his tongue. She’d changed into a one-piece suit with a white sheer wrap around her waist. The sarong accented the curve of her hips and length of her shapely legs. At five-feet-six, she wasn’t overly tall, but she had legs that went on for days.

  “Gabriel?”

  “Yeah, sorry. You’re going to have to wear a muumuu, Margaret. Other men can’t be allowed to see you that way.”

  Her light laugh was music to the soul, and he grinned his appreciation. Before he could say anything further, her sons joined them.

  “Should we call Grandma and see if Kaley wants to go?” Aaron asked.

  “She’s actually with Annie over at Sammy’s place. But why don’t you text her and ask if she wants us to pick her up when we get the boards?” Margaret smoothed back the hair from Aaron’s forehead just before she bent and kissed him. A motherly habit Gabriel felt cheated of in growing up without his mom. Her son gazed back at her adoringly, and Gabriel felt a deep kinship with the boy.

  Chapter 16

  Later that night, Margie stepped into her walk-in closet, looking for a change of clothes. The first thing her brain registered was a pair of shoes lying sideways. Bending down, she put them back in place, careful to space them an equal distance between the neighboring pairs. It wasn’t until she opened the dresser drawer to retrieve undies that she registered the anomaly. She froze. Her heart gave an extra heavy thud or two. The disarray was impossible to miss or write off as her out-of-place shoes had been.

  Careful not to touch anything, she gave the closet another cursory glance then hurried to the kitchen where Aaron and Scotty were gobbling down the tacos Gabriel bought them.

  “Boys, did either of you go into my closet when we got home from the beach today?”

  They shook their heads and went back to cramming food in their pie holes.

  She met Gabriel’s curious gaze across the island.

  “What’s going on, Margaret?”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing.” She didn’t want to express concern in front of her sons, and she gave a slight tilt of her head toward the bedroom.

  “Be right back, fellas. Save some for your mother, okay?” Once the door of her bedroom was shut, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I think someone was in my room.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. Her, with a deep-seated knowledge her things had been disturbed, and him, with concern for her sanity. Okay, maybe the last little bit was her own personal fear he’d had enough and would run for the hills.

  “I’m not crazy, Gabriel. You know how I am about my things.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him into the closet. “Those shoes. When I came in, they were like this.” Margie placed them in the position she’d originally found them. “And my underwear…” She opened the drawer.

  His frown deepened, his expression growing stormy. The shoes he might have dismissed. The unfolded panties, he couldn’t. Hell, anyone who knew her would realize this was out of character.

  “I think we need to get the kids and get out of here.”

  She looked up from counting her clothing. “I don’t understand.”

  “Margaret, you set your alarm when we left.” He let it sink in, and when she reached the same conclusion, her heart began a hard hammering.

  “Someone knows my code. It’s the only way they didn’t set off the alarm.”

  “Exactly.” His troubled eyes drifted to the drawer then snapped back to her. “The day the alarm was installed. Did you change the code?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you give it to anyone outside your family?”

  “No.”

  “Would your kids?”

  “Perhaps to Scott? But he wouldn’t do this. He’d have no reason.”

  “Wouldn’t he?”

  Sweat beaded on her upper lip, and her hands grew clammy. Could she have misjudged Scott all these years? Yes, he had been a cheating sonofabitch, but spiteful to the point of trying to terrorize her?

  “I don’t think so, Gabriel.” She shook her head when he would’ve argued. “I know he’s an ass and a bit of a bully, but he would draw the line at trying to scare me.”

  “What if he thought it was the only way you’d allow him to see the children? Especially after you humiliated him today over his girlfriend?”

  Margie worried her lip as her gaze fell back to the open drawer, and she did a quick tally. “There is a pair of panties missing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “All the laundry was folded and put away last night.”

  “All right. Let’s call your alarm company and see if any of the outside cameras picked up anything.”

  “I’m scared, Gabriel.”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise.”

  She nodded but remained unconvinced. She wiped her damp hands down her sides and shook her head. Whatever was happening here, he didn’t need to chase her boogeyman away. “You aren’t responsible for us. I…” What could she say? That she was beginning to realize a larger problem existed? Someone had her in their sights and decided to fuck with her. Today’s incident made discovering who and why paramount. Sick mind, sick game, or both?

  “Margaret. Look at me.”

  Her eyes flew to his.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you or your family. Ever.”

  The hair on the back of her neck lifted. “You can’t promise that, Gabriel. You shouldn’t.”

  “Yes, I can, and I will.”

  Dread settled in the pit of her stomach, and she knew, by stating what he had, he’d challenged fate to do its worst.

  “Call your neighbor, Margaret. You should find out what time the alarm was deactivated and reset. I think it would be wise to file a police report, too.”

  “It won’t do any good. What am I going to say? My shoes were moved and a pair of undies happen to be missing?”

  “Have you checked jewelry or the other rooms?”

  “Well, no. Not yet.”

  “Let’s do it now.”

  Because of her hyper-organizational skills, it was a simple matter to determine all her things were in their proper place. The exception was a bottle of her favorite fragrance, which appeared to be missing.

  “So, our pervert h
as taken your underwear and perfume. No doubt about what he intends to do with those.”

  The clear picture made her ill, and she didn’t object when Gabriel gathered her close.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “It doesn’t mean you’re wrong,” she said quietly. “I don’t understand why anyone would target me.”

  “Then you’re blind, love. There’s much to admire about you.”

  She hugged him tighter. If she could climb inside his skin to merge with him more completely, she would. Gabriel was all things desirable, and he always managed to say what she needed to hear. “Thank you.”

  “For being bright enough to recognize an incredible woman when I find one?”

  With a snort, Margie said, “We’ll go with that.”

  As Don watched his monitor, Margie snuggled into Gabriel’s embrace. Don clenched his fists around the panties in his hand. Somewhere along the way, she’d fallen victim to Gabriel’s charms and foiled Don’s planned seduction before he’d had a chance to implement it. The need to find a way to break up their romance rode him hard, and he knew he’d have to transition to Plan B.

  Making a split-second decision, he rewound the video until the moment Margie and her family left the house to go to the beach with her neighbor. He spliced it with blacked-out footage then spliced it back in to about thirty-minutes before they came home.

  Over and over, Don replayed the video, making sure there were no obvious glitches. Once he was satisfied it looked as if someone had interrupted the video feed, he pulled up the entry log for Margie’s home. A quick copy and paste to a word document, with a simple modification of times, and he was set to print it out for his needs. He saved the footage to an external drive and collected his van keys.

  Just as Margaret was picking up the phone to dial the alarm company, the doorbell rang. Gabriel glanced at his watch and went to confront their visitor. Instinct told him it would be her creepy-ass neighbor. The guy had been popping by more and more, as if hoping to catch Margaret home late at night by herself.

  “Don,” Gabriel said flatly as he swung the door open. “Who would’ve guessed?”