“Yeah. Okay.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter.
She turned back around and shook Nana’s evening meds out of their pill bottles and into her palm. She was slacking. Nana should have taken them with her meal. When she turned around again to head down the hall, the kitchen was empty. She paused, staring.
Cruz was gone. Without a word.
She guessed there wasn’t really anything more to say. She had asked him to leave. He did what she wanted.
So why did she feel like she had made a mistake?
Fifteen
He reconsidered the wisdom of giving his sister a spare key for his house when he pulled up to see her car parked out front and his living room lights blazing. He didn’t think she would use the key quite so freely. He pretty much thought it was a keep-this-for-emergencies type of thing.
Tonight, of all nights, he just wanted to be alone. Rebuffed by Gabriella, he wasn’t in the mood to be social.
When he entered, she was watching TV.
“Hey,” she greeted, reaching for the remote control and turning off the television.
“What are you doing here, Piper?”
She pushed up from the couch. “Well, hello, too. What kind of greeting is that?” She propped her hands on her hips.
He shook his head, feeling unaccountably tired right then. It wasn’t that late, but he wasn’t accustomed to so much interaction with people.
In prison he had kept to himself, maintaining only the necessary friendships. You didn’t want to be without allies behind bars, so he kept company with a few other inmates. Out of necessity. He made himself obliging, helping out and watching their backs. Never knew when you’d need a favor in turn. North Callaghan had been the one other inmate he trusted. Maybe the only one in there he ever fully trusted. Unfortunately, Callaghan was released before Cruz, leaving Cruz without anyone he could truly call a friend for the last couple years. Solitude had been his closest companion.
Everyday interactions took a toll on him. Or maybe it was simply dealing with Gabriella. The woman drove him mad. She wanted him. He knew it. Why was she so resistant? Was it simply who he was? He wouldn’t presume to think she wanted anything serious with him. He wasn’t good enough for her. He knew that. But what was stopping her from giving in to their mutual desire?
He should forget about her. He had enough on his plate getting his gym up and running. For a man not big on interaction, he was going to have to get over that to operate a business.
His sister was looking at him with such disappointment for his less-than-warm greeting, clearly waiting for him to say something. She looked at him a lot like that lately. She always wore that anxious expression. Like he might suddenly unravel, come apart into a million little pieces in front of her.
He knew why, of course. He understood her guilt even though he had said everything he could to assuage her sense of responsibility for him going to prison.
She wanted him to be okay. She wanted him whole and happy. She’d found her own happily ever after and he knew it made her feel guilty. He’d gone to prison for her and she couldn’t shake that. She wanted him unbroken and he didn’t even know how to pretend to be that.
“Sorry,” he said. “What can I do for you, Piper?”
Her dark gaze eyed him closely. “In a bad mood?”
“Something like that.” He had pretty much been in a bad mood for the last decade or more. Coming from Gabriella’s place aching and unfulfilled with the taste of her still ripe on his lips didn’t ease his mood.
As though he had voiced her name out loud, Piper cleared her throat, crossed her arms and said, “So the principal’s sister. Um. Do you think that’s such a good idea?”
He arched an eyebrow. “So the sheriff of Sweet Hill. Um. Do you think that’s such a good idea?”
She snorted and shook her head with an eye roll. “Well, since I married him and I’m happier than I’ve ever been . . . yeah, I think it’s a pretty good idea.”
“But in the beginning it was a terrible idea. You were working at Joe’s Cabaret. He was the sheriff.” He let that hang out there. A lawman and a stripper. It smacked of bad idea.
He had never loved the idea of his sister working at Joe’s, but considering he was behind bars he didn’t have much say on what methods she employed to survive. The moment he learned she was getting involved with the sheriff, he had feared it would end badly. He never imagined the end result would be the two of them getting married.
“So what are you saying? You and Gabriella Rossi are like me and Hale?” Her eyes widened and her mouth worked before managing to get out in an excited rush, “Oh my God, are you in love with her?”
The words slapped him in the face. He forced a smile. “C’mon. Seriously, Piper? This isn’t a Hallmark movie. I’m a felon—”
“No. You’re not!” she was quick to rebut, indignation staining her cheeks. “You were exonerated.”
He sighed. “Semantics in this town. I’m not innocent in anyone’s eyes, and someone like me doesn’t end up with someone like Gabriella. Have you forgotten that Shelley Rae was her cousin?”
“No. I haven’t . . . I was wondering if you had though.” Her eyes softened, searching his face. “I don’t want you hurt.”
He snorted. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not looking for forever with anyone. Not even Gabriella Rossi.”
Piper stepped forward and pressed a hand to his chest. “You deserve forever with someone though.”
“You’re sweet.” He patted her hand. “But you don’t need to worry.”
“If you say so.” Her eyes, however, remained unconvinced. Even as he walked her to her car, she eyed him with concern. “Let’s have dinner next week on one of Malia’s non-practice days.”
“Sure.”
“The department hired a new bookkeeper. She’s divorced. Very cute—”
“No,” he stated flatly. “No blind dates.”
“Fine.” She ducked inside her car and he shut the door after her. He stood there for a moment, watching her back out and drive away.
She plopped on her sister’s couch and helped herself to the television remote control. Her sister had every channel known to man, so channel surfing here was always an adventure.
She and her nephew had spent the evening eating pizza and playing video games. He was only seven, but he had still kicked her ass. Surprisingly, he had gone straight to sleep when she tucked him in. Surprising considering the half liter of soda she let him drink. Her sister wouldn’t approve. They didn’t even have soda in the house. Gabriella had ordered the liter when she called in the pizza.
She was halfway through an episode of Fixer Upper when the doorbell rang. She set down the bag of popcorn she was working her way through on the coffee table and got up to answer it. She took a peek through the peephole to see her brother-in-law standing there. Or rather, her former brother-in-law. She wasn’t sure what to call him anymore. Tess would call him a cheating bastard . . . and she did every chance she got.
She pulled open the door. “Hey, Jason.”
“Gabriella!” He blew her a beaming smile. Jason was still handsome even if he’d gone a little soft in the middle and his hair was thinning. “What a pleasant surprise. I thought I was going to have to face your sister.” He mock shuddered.
She didn’t grace that with a reply—it would feel too disloyal. Besides. He was the one who cheated on Tess. She stepped aside and motioned him into the house.
“I thought you couldn’t make it tonight.”
“Yeah, well, my date ended earlier than I expected.” He grimaced and shrugged. “Didn’t end as I hoped.” He chuckled and added, “I’d hoped it wouldn’t end until tomorrow morning.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. He bailed on seeing his kids because he was trying to score with a woman? She felt her lip curl in distaste. Tess wasn’t wrong. He was a douchebag. More than she had ever realized. She settled for, “Oh.”
He shrugged and held up bo
th hands in the air, palms out. “What are you gonna do, huh?”
“Well, Noah’s already in bed and Dakota is over at a friend’s.” Her gaze drifted to the door, assuming he would take his leave now.
“I’ll just go take a peek at him. Give him a kiss good night.” He waved a hand at her as though he expected a protest. “Don’t worry. I won’t wake him up.”
Nodding, she settled onto the couch as he went upstairs. He returned a few minutes later. “They always look like such angels when they’re asleep.”
“Yeah. He’s sleeping like a log. Surprisingly. I let him have so much junk food I didn’t think he’d fall asleep.” She cut him a warning look. “Don’t tell my sister that.”
Laughing, he crossed his heart. “Our secret.” He lowered himself down to the couch beside her, stretching his arm along the back as though settling in for a while. “What are you watching?”
“Um. Fixer Upper.”
“You thinking of buying a house?”
Okaaay. So he really was staying. “Ah, no. I’ll be back in Austin soon. Housing is expensive there.”
They fell into silence as they watched rotten floorboards being ripped up in an old farmhouse. “You know, Gabriella, I always thought we understood each other very well.”
Gabriella slid him a glance and smiled hesitantly, fully aware that her sister’s ex-husband was Enemy Number One. He’d cheated on her. With multiple women. There was no coming back from that. No forgiveness for that. And yet she should be civil for the sake of her niece and nephew. Her sister struggled with that, obviously, but Gabriella could paste on a polite smile for their sake.
“I mean your sister can be pretty ridiculous. And downright mean.” He grinned and winked at her in a conspiratorial manner. “Can’t she? I know you’ve always thought so.”
Her polite smile slipped a little. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree with what he was saying, but Tess was her sister. Family. While he was not anything to her anymore. It felt like a betrayal to agree with her former brother-in-law’s poor assessment, even if accurate, of her sister.
Jason continued, “I don’t know why I ever married her. I guess in the beginning that temper of hers had been kinda hot.” He shook his head and released a breathy laugh. “I mean the sex . . . she was craaazy under the sheets—”
“Uh, I’m not comfortable talking about this.” Yeah. TMI. She shifted her weight on the couch.
He kept on going like she hadn’t said anything. “When you consider it . . . I should have ended up with someone like you.” He scooted closer. She scooted away until she couldn’t go any farther. She pushed right against the arm of the couch. “We’re more alike . . . more suited temperament-wise.” As he said this, his gaze dragged over her, lingering on her breasts. “I mean . . . you’re so sweet, Gabby.”
Why did the way he say sweet feel so . . . dirty?
She squirmed, her stomach tightening with discomfort. He had never looked at her like the way he was now. Never made her feel like such a piece of . . . meat. Apparently this mid-life crisis of his was without boundaries. “Well, you and Tess were in the same class. I was too young for you.”
His eyes pinned her to the spot. “Not too young for me now.” His hand landed on her knee. He gave it an encouraging squeeze. “You’re all grown up, Gabby. And I’ve noticed.” He shifted closer. With one hand massaging her knee, his other hand dropped to fondle his dick. “Man, I’ve noticed.”
Oh. God. Revulsion swelled inside her, twisting her stomach into knots and she froze. Just . . . froze.
She watched in horror as his cock bulged against his pants.
She choked in outrage . . . and disgust and finally managed to push up to her feet. “Since you’re here now, I can go. No need for the two of us to be here.”
“Gabby.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down, thrusting his face close. Instantly, she smelled the beer on his breath. “No reason to rush off.”
Rage started to simmer in her veins. So what? His date hadn’t put out and he thought she would gladly oblige?
“I have to work tomorrow.” She tried to stand again, but he had a tight grip on her.
He snorted. “At that coffee place? What can you make in a shift?” His fingers flexed around her wrist. He dragged her hand across his thigh toward his crotch. “How about you stay and I’ll give you a C-note? That should cover whatever you would earn in an afternoon.”
She sucked in a stinging breath. “You’re offering to pay me . . . to stay here with you?”
He let loose a single laugh. “You make it sound so . . . cheap and dirty.” His eyes gleamed at that . . . clearly he liked cheap and dirty.
“That would be because you just offered to buy me like a whore. Let go of my hand, Jason.”
“C’mon. I have the money. I don’t mind helping you out, Gabby. We always got along so well.”
“I don’t need your money. Now let me go.”
He cocked his head and gave her a pitying look. “You’re living above Nana Betty’s garage. You can’t even afford a house.”
Is that what everyone thought of her? That she was a charity case? That she was someone to be pitied?
“I’m just asking you to stay,” he went on to say. “I thought you might like to hang out. Don’t make more out of it than that, Gabby. Stay.” Instead of letting her hand go, he forced it over his erection and let loose a groan. “Come on. Don’t you want some of this?”
“You’re sick.” She yanked her hand away and pushed up to her feet, but suddenly both his hands were on her, grabbing her by the shoulders. He flung her on her back on the couch and came over her, covering her mouth with a sloppy, beer-drenched kiss.
For a moment, she couldn’t move. She was too stunned. Frozen again.
Then she fired to action, rage and fear fueling her. She used both hands to fight off her brother-in-law turned letch. She struggled against him, trying to speak beneath the onslaught of his lips.
“Jason, stop! No!”
She shoved hard at his shoulders. He wasn’t built like Cruz but he was still strong. Stronger than she would have ever thought possible.
She managed to wedge both arms between them. She had almost succeeded in shoving him off her when a loud braying screech shattered her eardrums.
“Gabby! Jason! What the hell are you doing?”
Suddenly she was free.
Her brother-in-law sprang off her as though burned. Her gaze landed on her sister.
Tess’s face burned several shades of red. She pointed an accusing finger at Gabriella. “You! How could you?”
“Me?” she squeaked. She cast an incredulous look at Jason. He merely stood there. Mute. No explanation. No apology. Nothing close to the truth stumbling from his lips.
“You’ve always been jealous of me,” Tess charged, her chest lifting on a ragged breath. “Is this your way to get back at me because I’m prettier? More successful? More . . . everything!”
“Tess—”
“I just never thought you would sink so low to make a play for my husband.”
“Ex-husband,” Jason chimed. “Remember? It’s not as though we’re married anymore. Gabriella and I are both adults and free to do what we want with each other. No reason to overreact, Tess.”
“Liar!” Gabriella knotted her hands into balls to stop herself from hitting him. “There was nothing consenting about this.” She turned to face her sister, beseeching her. “Tess, I didn’t do this. You have to believe me.”
Tess’s hand lashed out so quickly, Gabriella couldn’t have seen it coming. Perhaps she should have predicted it, but she didn’t. The slap rang out, echoing in her ears even as the sting radiated painfully throughout her face.
She gazed at her sister in shock, one hand holding on to her burning cheek.
Tess’s lips trembled, her eyes bright with emotion. Beneath the angry emotion there was a glimmer of shock, too. Like even she couldn’t believe she had just struck Gabriella. “Get. Out.” The wo
rds shuddered from her.
Gabriella stared a long moment at Tess as though her sister might somehow come to her senses. Then she turned her gaze to Jason, as though he might grow a conscience and speak up.
Except neither of those things happened. Nothing happened.
After a long moment, she turned away. Grabbing her bag, she slammed out of the house, stopping just short of running. She was going to be sick. Her stomach ached. Inside it felt like a flock of birds battled to break out.
Even from the driveway, she could hear them going after each other. Their shouts carried into the driveway.
Too bad they divorced. She glared back at the house. They really did deserve each other.
In her car, she eyed her stinging face in her rearview mirror. It was already puffy. Starting the engine, she backed out of the drive.
She was halfway down the street before the tears started to fall.
Sixteen
Gabriella took an extra-long shower. As though she could wash away the horrible events of the night. As though it could make it all go away. She lathered her body twice. Scrubbed her hair multiple times. The only thing she didn’t attack with ferocity was her face. She washed it once, gently. The skin was tender and swollen from her sister’s prizefighter slap.
Stepping out of the stall, she lifted her robe off the hook on the bathroom door and slipped inside it. She snuggled in close to the fabric, inhaling the fresh scent, taking solace in the worn terrycloth.
The shower had helped a little. Made her feel a little fresher, a little cleaner. A little more like the girl she had been earlier today. Before Jason assaulted her. Before her sister betrayed her and struck her.
She expelled a breath. No sense crying over what she couldn’t change.
She picked up her brush off the vanity counter and moved into her bedroom. Sinking down to the edge of the bed, she started brushing out her hair in steady strokes. She’d left her bathroom light on, so a soft glow suffused her bedroom.
Even in the soft glow she could see her face—and the slight bruise in the shape of a handprint forming there. The sight of it angered her . . . brought with it a rush of emotion. Betrayal. Hurt. Why couldn’t her sister just . . . love her? Believe her and take her side over a man that had hurt her, too?
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