Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set

by Misty Reigenborn

  “Gabe, put the gun down and get out of here. I swear on my life that I won’t say anything to anyone.” She kissed his cheek. “Please. Just go.”

  Gabe sighed. “It’s not to be is it? How could we make such beautiful love and not have that type of connection? Stella loves me, but she’ll never leave Ethan. I begged her. I pleaded with her over and over again, but she still tells me no. I’d do anything for her. Why do the women that I love always have to belong to another man Ami? It’s simply not fair.”

  Ami was curious as to whom Stella was, but she thought she heard a siren in the distance. “Get out of here Gabe. Now. They’re coming for you. You’ll be arrested. Get rid of that damned truck with the personalized plates. Call Stella and tell her how much she means to you. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

  Gabe smiled. “Do you really think so?”

  Ami gave him a smile that she didn’t feel. “Yes. Go. I’ll make up some story for Nick and the cops.”

  “We could have been so good together Ami.” He kissed her, and then took one last look at Shae. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” The sirens were getting closer. “Go. Now. I owe you this much.”

  “Thank you Ami.”

  Gabe took off out of the room, almost at a run. She heard the truck start and hoped that he got away.

  She crossed to the bassinet and picked Shae up. She cradled her daughter to her chest. “Oh baby. That was a close one. How in the hell are we going to explain this to Daddy?”

  There was a knock on the door of the room several minutes later. She realized that she’d left the note in the bassinet.

  She opened the door. An officer was standing on the other side with a worried looking Nick standing behind him.

  “Ma’am are you okay? Do you have your baby?”

  Ami nodded and gave the officer a bright smile. “We’re fine. I had a little misunderstanding with an old lover of mine.”

  Nick gave her a look. She kissed Shae on the forehead and then handed their daughter to him.

  “Ami are you sure you’re okay? It was him wasn’t it? Gabe took our daughter.”

  Ami nodded, trying to seem nonchalant. “Yes. He was under the impression that Shae was his child. But we cleared all of that up. I’m sorry to worry you.”

  “Ma’am your child was removed from the hospital by someone with no right to do so.”

  “Well, that may be true, but it seems to me that the fault lies with the hospital’s security.” She gave the officer a bright smile, wishing that he’d go away.

  The cop sighed. “True. Where is this man now? Do you know what he’s driving? Do you have a description of the vehicle?”

  “I have no idea what he was driving.”

  Nick was giving her a hard look. She was suddenly afraid that she was going to lose the man that she loved for making such a choice.

  “What is his last name? Can you give me a physical description?”

  “Look officer, there’s no problem here. Shae and I are both fine. We were going to be released from the hospital shortly anyway. I’m more than willing to take her back to the doctor for a checkup, but it seems pretty clear that no harm came to anyone. If you want to push this, my husband and I will consult a lawyer and file charges against the hospital for endangering our child.” She gave him a tight smile.

  “But you seem to believe that your child was never in danger.”

  “Regardless, the hospital had a responsibility to care for my child when she was out of my sight. If you’d prefer, I can go to the press with the story. I’m sure the hospital won’t want that kind of publicity.”

  “You’ll still need to fill out a report. The rest you can discuss with the hospital.”

  Amis shrugged. “Fine. I’m rather exhausted officer. I just gave birth and we have another child to care for. Charlie is with his grandparents, but I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing his little sister.”

  “Your husband can take the baby to the doctor while you come down to the station to fill out a report.”

  Nick shook his head. “I’m staying with her. Shae does appear to be unharmed. We’ll meet you at the station.”

  “I’ll meet you there in half an hour. I need to speak with the manager of the motel.”

  Ami hid a sigh. “Of course. Thank you sir.”

  He handed Nick a card. “Just ask for me at the desk.”

  Nick nodded. He handed Shae to Ami and followed her to her car. “We need to talk.”

  “I’ll explain everything later. I promise. I love you Nick.”

  “I love you too Ami. I just wish more and more that you’d never gotten mixed up with Gabe.”

  “He’s gone. For good this time.”

  “Uh huh. I’ll see you at the station. I’ll call the hospital and let them know that we found Shae. That place was crawling with all kinds of cops and officials.”

  “I’m sure it was. We should sue them. It would serve them right.” Then she shook her head. “No. I want this all to go away so that we can get on with our lives.”

  “Yeah.” Nick sighed. “Do you want me to take Shae or are you okay to take her?”

  “I’m fine babe. I promise. Gabe didn’t touch me.”

  “I thought that I was going to lose both of you for a while there. Charlie and I wouldn’t have done very well without you.”

  “I’ll never leave you unless you want me to Nick. As long as I have a choice at least. Let’s get out of here.”

  Nick took one last look at her and then went to his car. She tucked Shae into her car seat and then buckled the straps. She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Maybe Daddy will forgive Mommy yet. Huh baby girl? What do you think?”

  Shae’s eyes remained closed. Ami nodded to herself. “No comment huh. Yeah, probably better to leave it unsaid for now. And yeah, sometimes Mommy thinks that she’s a little loopy too.”

  Ami let out a harsh laugh as she got behind the wheel of her car. Nick waited until she’d buckled her seatbelt and started the car before he pulled out of the lot. The ride to the station was short. She still had no idea how she was going to fill out a police report and hoped that the people from the motel weren’t being too helpful either. She hoped Gabe was as far away as possible.

  They had to wait forever in the lobby of the police station. Shae woke up hungry. Ami felt a little self-conscious breast feeding her in public even with a blanket over her shoulder, but Nick refused to let her out of his sight to go to the bathroom where she’d have more privacy.

  She handed the baby to Nick after she’d finished feeding her. He gently lowered her back into her car seat. He kissed Ami and said “I’d say let’s talk about this now, but I don’t think it’s the time or the place. You look exhausted babe.”

  Ami sighed. “I am exhausted.”

  “You want to let him get away with this don’t you?”

  “Nick, I played with his emotions. I led him on when you were the one I always wanted. I was wrong to do that.”

  Nick shook his head. “That’s not an excuse for him to kidnap our daughter.”

  “Maybe, but the hospital had a responsibility to protect our child and they didn’t do it. Anyone could have walked out of there with Shae. We’re lucky it was someone who meant us no harm.”

  “I still want to kick his ass.”

  “Gabe is confused. He feels like his wife has never loved him. He wants someone to love him Nick. Can you blame him? Everyone wants that.”

  “Ami, it’s not like he hasn’t played women the same way they’ve played him. None of it was right. Are you sure he’s gone for good this time? I don’t think I can take the thought of him coming to steal you and Shae away from us in the middle of the night. Charlie loves me, but he needs you. Every child needs their mother.”

  Ami squeezed his hand. “I love you. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about seeing Gabe ever again. He seems to be in love with some woman named Stella.”

  “There’s a real estate agent
back in Brunton named Stella. She took me around when I was thinking of setting up a shop there. She’s kinda big but she’s beautiful. I wonder if that’s the Stella he’s talking about. Did you have a conversation about love with that psycho?”

  Ami gave him a half smile. “Yes.”

  Nick shook his head. “Of all the things to talk about with the guy that kidnapped our daughter.”

  “Mmm. Yeah.”

  Ami laid her head on his shoulder. She was half asleep when the cop came out to take them back to his office.

  He asked her a lot of questions. She tried to give him as little information as possible without lying outright. Nick let her do all of the talking, and she had hope that he’d be able to forgive her for letting Gabe get away. Right then she thought that she was so tired she could hardly see straight and that what she felt for Gabe was nothing more than a lot of remorse.

  She filled out a report. The officer told her that he’d be in contact. He shook both of their hands and then led them back out of the police station. Nick sat Shae’s car seat on the hood of his car and took her into his arms.

  “Why don’t you go home and go to bed babe? I’ll take Shae back to the doctor for a quick checkup. Then I’ll go and get Charlie and try to explain all of this crap to my parents.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You look like you’re ready to drop honey.” Nick kissed her forehead. “We’ll be okay. There’s still some of that breast milk that you pumped in the cooler right?”

  Ami nodded. “Yes. Thank you. I’ll see you at home.”

  Nick turned, but she couldn’t stand the thought of letting him walk away. She had to know that he could forgive her. “Nick?”

  He turned back to her. “Yes?”

  “Can you forgive me for wanting to let Gabe go? I know what he did was wrong, but two wrongs don’t make a right. I’m just glad that it’s over. And it is over. For good now.”

  “I hope so babe. I may not agree with what you’re doing exactly, but I kind of understand. And that’s enough for now. I love you Ami. I’ll see you in a bit.”

  “I love you Nick.”

  She leaned against her car and watched him strap Shae into the backseat of his car. She waited until he’d pulled out of the lot before she got into her car. She leaned over and popped open her glove box. She had half a pack of cigarettes in there. She knew that it wasn’t good to smoke when she was nursing, but she needed that familiar surge of nicotine flowing through her veins.

  She shook a cigarette out of the pack and lit it. She took a deep drag and then pulled out of the parking lot. She liked the feeling it gave her, but the cigarette tasted like shit and it was reason to believe that it was the last cigarette she’d ever smoke. She drove home, making only one stop on the way. She stopped in the downtown area and pulled over and gave the rest of the cigarettes and a $5 bill to a man that was holding a sign that read ‘Hungry. Really need a cigarette. Anything helps. God bless.’

  The man gave her a huge grin and she smiled back, feeling a little lighter. She reached home and realized that home had never looked quite so good. She unlocked the door and entered her house which was too silent. It was never that silent even when Charlie was in bed. She paused for a minute, because it almost didn’t feel empty and she was afraid that Gabe had changed his mind and came back for her. But there was nothing.

  She shook her head at herself and went upstairs to her bedroom, wondering if she was too tired to wash her hair. It felt greasy. She decided she was too tired and undressed, putting on a pair of loose pajamas. She crawled into bed and was asleep within minutes.

  She had no idea how much time had passed when she awoke. She could hear Nick talking downstairs with Charlie. Shae was crying. Nick called up the stairs “Hey Mommy, are you awake? Shae is hungry and she already drank all of the milk you pumped for me.”

  Ami sat up, yawned and stretched. “I’m awake Nick. I’ll be down in a minute. How is our big brother?”

  “I’m okay Mom. Shae is so small.”

  Ami laughed. “I know she is baby. I love you Charlie.”

  “Love you too Mom.”

  Ami used the restroom and then headed downstairs. Charlie was sitting on the couch, already involved in watching a program on the educational channel that Nick had managed to get him to enjoy watching.

  Nick kissed her. “Have a seat babe. I don’t think she’s going to quiet down until she gets what she wants.”

  Ami sat down in the rocker. Nick handed Shae to her. She lifted her shirt and brought Shae to her breast. Shae latched immediately and began greedily sucking. “Much better, huh baby girl?”

  Nick smiled. “You’re so beautiful. Did I ever tell you that?”

  Ami laughed. “You can never say it too much.” She winked at him. “I might forget.”

  Charlie rolled his eyes. “Parents are weird.”

  “It’s okay Charlie.” Nick reached out and ruffled his hair. “Kids are pretty weird too.”

  The conversation was light and easy until after they’d had dinner and put Charlie to bed. Shae was nestled in her bassinet on the side of their bed and Ami was lying in bed with Nick when he said “Babe?”

  Ami turned to him. “Yes Nick?”

  “You never would have really have left me for Gabe, would you have?”

  Ami laughed. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. He’s good looking, he’s rich. He could give you everything you wanted.”

  Ami shook her head at him. “That doesn’t matter. Things don’t matter. Love matters. People matter. I love you. I’d love you even if we didn’t have a dime to our names. I would live with you in a broken down shack in the middle of nowhere and spend the rest of my life growing all of our food and sewing all of our clothes if it meant that I would always have you, Charlie and Shae beside me. I was so worried that you were going to hate me because I wanted to let Gabe go after he stole Shae from the hospital, when you’re worrying about me leaving you for him. You’re the one for me. I meant every word I said when I said our wedding vows.” Ami squeezed his hand.

  Nick kissed her. “Mmm. I love you too baby. Is it wrong to get turned on when I watch you nurse the baby?”

  Ami wrinkled her nose at him. “It is a little weird. It’s supposed to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about me, not make you horny.”

  “You look so beautiful. How many more kids do you want?”

  Ami laughed. “It must be nice not to be the one that just gave birth. Do you think that a mother wants to think about having more kids right after she’s given birth?”

  “No, I guess not. I can’t wait until we can have sex again.”

  “It’s nice to know that watching me have the baby didn’t make you want to never have sex with me again.”

  “It was kinda gross here and there, but overall it was really beautiful. I guess we’d better go to sleep huh?” Nick sighed.

  “Yes. Shae will be awake and hungry before we know it. Do you think that Gabe will be okay?”

  “You are so soft hearted Ami. He stole our child.”

  Ami stroked her hand down his bare chest. “I feel bad for him. He wanted so badly for me to love him. I almost wish I could have.”

  “Hey, none of that. You signed on the dotted line to be mine until death do us part remember?”

  “Yes. I never thought I’d find a man like you Nick. I used to think that you were all like Corin.”

  “I’m very proud to have proved you wrong darlin’.” He gave her a lingering kiss. “Goodnight Ami. I love you.”

  “I love you too Nick. I say three more sounds good. Maybe four.” She winked at him.

  “How about we start with one in another year or two?”

  Ami laughed. “Deal. Goodnight Nick.”

  He reached over and turned out the light. She snuggled back into his arms and was soon asleep.

  The police didn’t contact her again. The hospital sent them a note of apology and offered to cover their hospital bill for t
he birth if Ami and Nick agreed not to disclose the situation. Since somehow no members of the press had found out, Ami and Nick agreed that it was for the best if they took the hospital’s offer and tried to put the incident behind them.

  Two weeks later Ali told her that a local Brunton real estate agent named Stella had disappeared into the night with her daughter. Her husband Ethan, who owned the real estate agency, had been proven to be the father of a seventeen year old girl’s child and was facing statutory rape charges.

  Two weeks after that, she received a package in the mail. Nick was at work and Charlie was at school when she opened it. It contained the deed to Gabe’s Place, some other legal documents, a set of car keys and a letter in a flowing feminine hand.

  ‘Ami’ it read. ‘I hope this letter finds you well. Gabriel told me about the stupid stunt that he pulled with your child. I apologize sweetie. Gabe has always been impulsive and so damned stubborn. He’s a romantic fool. He never realized how much I loved him, but then again we always knocked heads. We weren’t compatible and it took us way too many years to figure it out. But what can I say? We got three beautiful children out of the deal. Do what you want with the bar. Sell it, run it, burn it to the ground. I don’t need it. One piece of advice though, if you do decide to keep it, please put someone else in charge. Eric is going to run that place into the ground soon. I grew weary of dealing with drunks long ago or I would offer to take over until you were able to find a suitable replacement. The keys are for a very nice minivan. I don’t know how he managed to trade out the SUV, but Gabe has always been resourceful. In case you’re interested, Gabe and I are in the middle of divorce proceedings. He is quite happy with Stella and her daughter Lena. The silly man has finally found the love that he searched so damned hard for. They are safely stowed away in some undisclosed location and we will work out custody somehow. Don’t feel like you pushed Gabe over the edge darling. He was always one step away from the edge of a cliff. Don’t try to forget him because he has left an imprint in the souls of many a woman. I hope that someday he takes responsibility in some shape or form for all the children that he has fathered over the years, but then again maybe it’s better if he doesn’t. Take care Ami.