by Sherry Lewis
“That’s only five men,” Emilee whispered sharply. “Five, not five hundred. We’re just going to have to think harder.”
Christa let out a sigh of annoyance, but dance music drowned it out. “I’ve thought as hard as I can. I’ve told everyone I can trust. If there’s a man out there for Mom, I don’t know where he is. And even if we found the perfect man, with the mood she’s been in lately, it wouldn’t do any good.”
Emilee had to raise her voice louder than she wanted in order to make herself heard. “She has been in a pretty bad mood for the past two weeks.” There’d been long periods of silence while their mom walked around with the strangest look on her face. Then, before Emilee even knew what happened, she’d start cleaning. Really cleaning. Moving furniture and practically scrubbing the surface off anything that didn’t move. Even Raoul had steered clear of her.
“Maybe it’s PMS,” she said.
Christa shook her head. “Even when she does get PMS, it doesn’t last this long.”
“Menopause?”
“She’s not old enough for that.” Christa put on a layer of lip gloss and shoved the tube back into her pack. “Maybe Adelle knows what’s bugging her. Or maybe something happened at work.”
“I don’t think so. Stuff happens at work all the time, but she doesn’t act like this.” Emilee glanced behind her. No sign of the guys yet. Good. “Anyway, we can’t ask Adelle. She’d tell Mom.”
Christa leaned against the wall and glanced around the crowded gym. “I wish Gabe was still around. Maybe he’d have an idea.”
Emilee sent her a look full of disbelief. “You’d ask him to help find a boyfriend for Mom?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Because that’s a stupid idea.”
“No, it’s not. He’s nice. He’d help.”
“He wouldn’t help. Geez, Christa, didn’t you ever notice the way he looked at Mom?”
“Yeah, he was always watching her. I don’t know why he hasn’t been around lately. I thought they were friends.”
“They were friends,” Emilee agreed. Like a bolt, an idea occurred to her. An idea so incredible she almost couldn’t believe it. She met Christa’s gaze with a smile. “Until a couple of weeks ago.”
“So what?”
“Maybe it’s no coincidence Mom’s been in a bad mood since Gabe left?”
“What—” Christa rubbed her hands. “Oh, I get it. She likes him.”
“She really likes him.”
“So— Now we just figure out some way to get them together, right?”
“Right.” Suddenly, Emilee didn’t want to stay at the dance. She didn’t want to do anything but start to work on this new plan. “Let’s do it tonight. After all, Sunday’s Valentine’s Day. What better gift could we give her?”
“We can’t. She’s on a date tonight with someone else, remember? Besides, we don’t even know how to find Gabe. And what if he already has another girlfriend?”
“Details,” Emilee assured her. “We can’t let the small stuff get us down. All we have to do is get home early enough to talk to Derry. He’ll know where to find Gabe. After that, it’ll all be downhill.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AS ED BROUGHT his car around the curve that led to her house, Sharon’s breath caught. There, silhouetted by the moon, sat Gabe’s truck. She tried not to show her excitement or her relief. Not that she cared what Ed thought. She’d had a perfectly miserable evening with him and his roaming hands. But as the moment to send him on his way loomed, she liked knowing Gabe was still around.
Not surprisingly, Ed’s face tightened into a scowl when he saw Gabe’s truck. “Looks like your boyfriend’s still here.”
She nodded and chose not to set him straight. “Gabe’s here nearly every evening.” She exaggerated slightly. “And on weekends.”
“Sounds cozy.” Ed’s smirk and tone of voice left nothing to her imagination.
She resented the implication and changed her mind about setting him straight. “Gabe’s a friend. Nothing more.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“A friend who has a key to your house.”
What an insufferable jerk. “Whether or not he has a key to my house is none of your concern.”
“Tell me,” he said, working the car into Park, “why did you need a date with me if you’ve got lover boy in there waiting for you to come home?”
Sharon leaned a little closer to the door and glared at him. “I didn’t need a date with you. You asked me out, remember?”
“You didn’t want this date with me to make him jealous?”
“No.” What a suggestion.
“Because if you did, we could make him really jealous, you know.” He cut the engine and shifted in his seat to face her. “If you’re having second thoughts about your relationship with him, I could help you make up your mind.” He brushed her cheek with the back of one hand.
She jerked away from his hand and fumbled for the door handle. “I don’t need any help making up my mind.”
He reached for her as if he intended to keep her in the car. “You’re a beautiful woman, Sharon. You need a man who’ll treat you like the lovely creature you are.”
“For your information,” she said, slipping away from him once more and opening the door, “I don’t need any man.”
He slid across the seat, apparently intending to pursue her into the clear black night. “That’s where you’re wrong. Every woman needs a man.”
Sharon managed to get out of the car and gripped the door with both hands. If she had to hurt him with it, she would. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
With lightning speed, Ed got out of the car and made another grab for her. “Why are you running away from me?”
She sidestepped him easily, in spite of the stupid heels she wore. “Because I’m not interested.”
He laughed. “Right. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing—”
“I’m not playing games,” she snapped.
He let out an impatient sigh. “Look, sweetheart—”
“I’m not your sweetheart.” She turned toward the house but kept one eye on him as she walked. He could easily outpace her in these shoes.
His voice cut through the silence of the night. “Adam told me the whole story about you. I know you’ve been alone for a long time. It’s all well and good to play hard to get—but only to a point. You’re taking this too far.”
Sharon increased her pace and tried to get to the door before he decided to come after her. She could feel him watching her every step of the way up the driveway, along the sidewalk and onto the porch. Only when she’d let herself into the house and dead-bolted the door behind her did she relax.
She kicked off her shoes, tossed her evening bag onto a chair and waited until she heard Ed’s car start and drive away. What a disaster. The whole evening had been a catastrophe, from the moment she’d opened the garage door and realized how much she wished Gabe would try to talk her out of going with Ed, to the moment Ed had finally stopped trying to maul her.
When something brushed against her leg, she jumped and let out a soft scream. Her hands trembled, her heart thudded wildly.
Murff.
She managed a shaky laugh and picked up Raoul. “Hello, boy. Were you waiting for me to come home?”
Murff.
“I thought you were supposed to be a guard cat. Why didn’t you come outside and scratch that jerk’s eyes out for me?”
He blinked up at her, settled into her arms and upped his purr a notch.
“Why do I need another man in my life when I have you?” she asked as she padded across the living room. “I’m never doing this again, even if I live to be a hundred. Remind me of that, okay?”
When she reached the kitchen, she heard music drifting up from the basement. It was softer than usual and she couldn’t hear any of Gabe’s usual noises. No power saw. No electric thingamajig shooting nails into boards. No banging or pounding.
Nothing.
Making a futile effort to argue herself out of it, she put Raoul down, gripped the stair railing, and started down the steps. She moved slowly but steadily. She knew she was being foolish, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
As she neared the bottom, she caught a whisper of sound. He was probably cleaning up and getting ready to go home. She should turn around and climb the stairs again and leave well enough alone. But all the logic in the world couldn’t make headway with her heart.
So she kept going until she reached the bottom of the steps. There, she stood for a moment and watched him work. As usual, just the sight of him made her breath catch.
He stacked a couple of stray boards together and returned a tool or two to the red metal toolbox on the floor. As he reached for the broom and dust pail, he realized she was standing there. He stopped moving and everything about him tensed. A smile flitted across his lips, then disappeared into a slight frown. “You’re back.”
“Yes.”
He attacked the floor with the broom—short, jerky, agitated movements that told her more than his words or expression had—and a flicker of hope grew. Maybe he did care.
He spoke without looking at her. “Did you have a good time?”
“Not really.” She took a step toward him, ignoring the shock of cold on her feet.
His sweeping faltered, then started up again, a little less jerky this time. “Well, that’s too bad.”
She moved closer still, watching him, noting the flush on his cheeks, the grip of his hands on the broom handle. “It was no big loss,” she assured him quietly.
This time his glance was filled with uncertainty. “You didn’t like him?”
“No, I didn’t,” she said, unable to take her eyes off his handsome face.
He smiled, only a tight curve of his lips. It was enough. “Are you disappointed?”
“No.”
He stopped sweeping and studied her face. He tried to avert his gaze, but he seemed no more able to look away than she could. His grip on the broom handle tightened. His eyes darkened. The pulse in his neck jumped. “Well, that’s good. He seemed like a jerk.”
Absolute joy filled her, but she held back the delighted laugh that threatened to escape. “He was a jerk. I’d have been happier if I’d stayed here.”
With you, she thought, but she didn’t dare say that aloud.
He propped the broom against the wall and watched her for so long she thought he might never move. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he took a step toward her. “You look incredible tonight.”
She battled the urge to move closer and told herself to wait. But the need to feel his arms around her nearly did her in. “So do you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I do.” He smiled. “I’m dirty from head to toe. My jeans are old and worn.”
“My hair’s falling out of this clip,” she countered, “and my makeup’s half gone.”
He closed the distance between them and touched the clip in her hair with one hesitant hand. “You look good this way,” he said softly. “But you’d look better with your hair down.” When she made no move to stop him, he removed the clip and let the rest of her hair fall.
She resisted the urge to straighten it and waited while he studied her face with such intensity, she thought she might stop breathing. Slowly, gently, he grazed her temple with the backs of two fingers. She didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. But when his hand touched her shoulder, she raised her face to his.
He slipped his arm to her waist and pulled her closer. Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers. Almost hesitantly, he brushed her lips with his.
The touch was featherlight, not at all demanding, but it unlocked something inside her. She slid her arms to his shoulders.
The floor seemed to disappear beneath her feet. The world around them vanished.
Suddenly, from somewhere far away, a noise reached her. She couldn’t identify it. She didn’t want to identify it. She wanted nothing but this moment with Gabe.
Before either of them could react, footsteps pounded down the stairs. Sharon willed them to stop. To go away and leave her in this place she’d never been before. But Gabe started to pull away.
Before he could, Christa reached the bottom and raced into the room. “Derry? We need your help. We need to find—” She broke off suddenly and slid to a stop just as Emilee rounded the corner.
“Mom?”
Somehow, Sharon managed to make her voice work. “You’re home early.”
“Yeah,” Emilee said slowly. “We, uh, we wanted to see how your date went.”
Christa nodded, clearly too dumbfounded to speak.
Sharon moved away from Gabe and tried in vain to pull the tattered edges of her dignity around her. “Ed and I didn’t get along.”
Emilee looked from Sharon to Gabe and back again. “Apparently not.”
Christa leaned against the wall and studied them carefully. “So, are you two going to start dating, or what?”
Sharon peeked at Gabe from the corner of her eye, expecting to see a scowl on his face. Instead, he grinned at the girls and slid his arm around Sharon’s shoulders. “Would you mind?”
“Are you kidding?” Emilee cried at the same moment as Christa, “Mind? Why would we mind?”
“Come on, Christa.” Emilee turned toward the door, tossing them an indulgent smile over her shoulder. “We need to do something upstairs.” She didn’t give Christa a chance to question or protest, but grabbed her wrist and led her back up the stairs.
Sharon watched them go, comforted by Gabe’s arm around her, confused by her daughters’ reactions and worried that she’d just stepped over a line she’d never intended to cross again.
Gabe tightened his arm around her and bent down for one more kiss. She pushed everything else out of her mind. There’d be time enough tomorrow to figure out what had just happened. Tonight, she’d just enjoy.
SHARON COULDN’T REMEMBER a Valentine’s Day she’d ever enjoyed more. Sunshine promised an early spring. A beautiful bouquet of wildflowers delivered by the florist had warmed her clear through. And an incredible phone call from Gabe shortly after the gift arrived had left her convinced that unlocking her heart was the right decision.
Lost in thoughts of Gabe, she pushed her grocery cart through the aisles of King Sooper’s. Emilee and Christa had come with her this morning, but they’d both run off to talk to friends they’d noticed a few minutes earlier. That left Sharon free to relive the comfort of having Gabe’s arms around her.
She hadn’t slept well—excitement had kept her awake most of the night—but today she didn’t feel sleepy. When Gabe phoned, he’d asked if he could stop by later this morning. Of course she’d said yes and had offered to fix him brunch. Now she couldn’t wait to get home and start cooking.
She turned down the cereal aisle and spent a few minutes making her selection. Just as she started forward again, Emilee and Christa came around the far end of the aisle. “So, what plans did you make?” she asked when they drew closer.
Emilee looked confused. “Plans?”
“With your friends.”
“We’re not going anywhere today,” Christa said. “We’re staying home.”
Sharon looked at each of them in turn. “Are you serious?”
“Sure.” Emilee hooked her fingers through the wire cart. “Why not?”
“I’d love to have you around all day,” Sharon assured them. “It’s just that you usually do things with your friends on the weekends.”
Christa trailed one hand along the shelf. “Didn’t you say Gabe was coming over?”
“Yes, but—”
“So, we want to see him.” Christa dropped her hand and walked backward. “He’s cool.”
Emilee readjusted the cereal in the cart. “Yeah, he is.”
“I didn’t realize you knew him so well.”
“We talk to him a lot,” Christa said.
“Yeah, he’s a great listener.” Emi
lee held up a box of her favorite cereal. When Sharon nodded, she dropped it into the cart. “I even helped him pick out a present for his daughter.”
Sharon could feel the astonishment on her face. “You did? When?”
Emilee shrugged. “I don’t remember, exactly. A few weeks ago.”
“You didn’t mention it.”
“I didn’t know it mattered…until last night.”
“Of course you didn’t.” Sharon smiled. “Well, then, if you’re going to stay home, you can help me decide what to make for brunch.”
“Blueberry muffins,” Christa said immediately. “The ones you make are the best.”
“Thank you.” Sharon gave her a quick hug. “What else?”
“Fresh fruit,” Emilee suggested. “And I could make Spanish omelettes.”
Sharon’s step faltered. “You’re offering to cook?”
“Sure. Unless you don’t want me to.”
“I’d love your help,” Sharon said quickly. She pulled paper and a pen from her purse and jotted down the things she’d need to buy. “It just surprises me, that’s all. You usually come up with excuses not to cook.”
“I don’t mind today. I really want you to impress Gabe.”
“Me, too. I’ll set the table,” Christa offered. “We could use the crystal Grandma gave you. And we could put the flowers Gabe sent on the counter.”
“That would be lovely.” Sharon pushed the cart slowly. “So that’s why you’re both so eager to help? So I can impress Gabe?”
“You don’t mind, do you? It sounds fun.”
“More fun than going somewhere with your friends?”
“Sure.” Christa fell into step beside her. “We want to make sure Gabe sticks around. It’ll be like having a real family.” At Emilee’s slight frown, she quickly added, “That didn’t sound right. I mean—well, you know what I mean…don’t you?”
Sharon tried not to show how much that comment hurt. “Yes, sweetheart, I know what you mean.” But as she rounded the end of the aisle, she decided she couldn’t let the subject drop. “I didn’t realize the three of us living on our own bothered you so much.”