“Don’t they look wonderful together?” I heard.
I’d been resting my back against the bar, watching the first dance.
I turned to look at a woman, one of the evening guests who had recently arrived.
“They do, I’m pleased for them.”
“Do you mind if I join you? It’s not the easiest being the only singleton at a wedding,” she laughed.
“Sure, what can I get you to drink?”
“Whatever you’re having is fine with me,” she said.
I smiled as I raised my bottle of beer. “A bottle of beer will go down nice right now,” she said.
Something in my stomach knotted. Her voice, with its gravelly tone, hit me right in the center of my chest.
“So, I take it you’re one of Heather’s friends,” I asked.
“Yes, we’ve known each other a while, from college. I’ve recently moved to town. I’m taking over at the veterinary clinic. Oh, excuse my manners…”
She turned to me and held out her hand.
“My name is Victoria, Vicky for short. I’m your new vet,” she said.
“Then I’m pleased to meet you, Vicky. Gabriel, and this is my ranch.”
We clinked our bottles before each taking a sip.
“So, a vet,” I said.
“Yes, small, large, domestic, farm, you name it, if it’s sick, I’ll fix it,” she said.
I liked her confidence, and I liked listening to her voice.
“Daddy!” Taylor came running at me.
“Taylor, meet Vicky, she’s a vet, she looks after sick animals,” I said.
“No way! I want to be a vet, can I be a vet?”
Vicky crouched down and took one of Taylor’s hands.
“Well then, Miss Taylor, if you ask your daddy nicely, he can bring you to the clinic one morning. We’ll see how good you are as a vet’s assistant.”
“Cool, when, Daddy?”
“When Vicky says it’s convenient, baby.”
“Tomorrow? I have a foal and a puppy,” Taylor said.
“Tomorrow is fine by me, but let’s leave the foal and puppy at home, shall we?”
“Tomorrow, Daddy?”
“I can hear, Taylor, and sure, why not.”
Vicky stood, “Maybe we’ll get an ice cream after, I heard that the diner is something not to be missed.”
Taylor skipped off. “I’m sorry, she’s a little excitable,” I said.
“She’s adorable. Tomorrow then, it’s a date,” she said before taking another sip of her beer.
Heather came over, squealed and hugged Vicky. “You made it, and you’ve met Gabe I see,” she said, with a wink.
“Get the feeling that was supposed to happen?” I said.
“Mmm, I do. Hold that beer for me, I’ll be back,” she said, handing me her bottle then dragging Heather off by the arm.
“Well?” Thomas said as he sidled up beside me.
“Well, what?”
“Nice isn’t she? I met her a week or so ago.”
He looked at me and smiled. “What are you up to?” I asked.
“Nothing, my friend, nothing. Now, how about I go get my wife back, and you get to talk to the rather attractive Vicky? The vet, in our town, living here now, needs friends, got a son, same age as Taylor, perfect match.”
I shook my head and laughed as he walked off.
The attractive Vicky, ‘the vet, in our town, living there, in need of a friend, with a son, perfect match,’ walked back to join me. She took the beer bottle I was still holding and smiled, shrugged one shoulder and took a sip.
“Well, this is awkward now,” she said. I deflated a little.
“Oh?”
“I wasn’t aware I was being set up on a blind date, feel free to go do what groomsmen do. No need to be polite.”
“Vicky, I wouldn’t be a good groomsman if I didn’t take care of the guests, and I’d like to take care of you right now,” I said.
“Are you flirting with me, Gabriel?”
I laughed, “Honestly? I wouldn’t know how.”
“Me neither. So, how about we get drunk instead?”
I laughed. It was the hardest, loudest, and most honest laugh I’d experienced in a long time.
“I think, Vicky, you and I are going get along just fine.”
I saw Thomas in the distance; he was giving me a thumbs up. I wouldn’t be as crass as to return the gesture, so I raised my bottle of beer instead.
“How off-putting would it be, since this is our first blind date, if I say I need a cigarette?”
I pretended to think about it, I screwed my eyes and furrowed my brow as if in concentration.
“I think, for a first blind date, I’d say, let’s go, I’ll join you.”
We sat on the porch and rested our feet on the railing. We were interrupted constantly by Taylor, until eventually, she curled up on the swing seat and fell asleep. And we talked. We didn’t stop talking, laughing, and drinking beers. The evening wound down, guests started to leave and eventually Vicky looked at her watch.
“Thomas said you have a son,” I said, hoping to delay her leaving.
“Yes, I’m in the process of adopting him, so not biological. He’s a wonderful boy.”
“That sounds fantastic, how old?”
“Five, well, he’ll be five in a few weeks. Maybe Taylor can come over and party. Other than Heather, I don’t really know anyone here yet.”
“Why did you come here?”
“The job, basically. I started off in a rural practice on a farm just a couple of hours drive from here, but the lure of the city lights enticed me. I’ve kind of had my fill of pampered pooches, I want to get back to what I love,” she laughed as she spoke.
“So you thought you’d try your hand at the big stuff?”
“I sure did. And I wanted somewhere nicer for Benedict to grow up. He hasn’t had the best start, not that he’s fully aware of that, of course. Anyway, I guess I ought to be getting back,” she said as she stood.
“You’re not driving, are you?”
“No, I’m catching a ride.” She leaned toward me. “See the miserable mother-in-law, the one stamping her feet a little because she wanted to leave an hour ago, and Thomas wouldn’t let her?”
“I do.”
“That’s my ride.”
“Shit. I don’t think I’d keep her waiting any longer.”
She pulled away and I missed the closeness.
“Tomorrow then?”
“Sure, we'll look forward to it,” I said.
She gave me a smile and left.
“We’re off,” I heard. Thomas strode across the yard.
He shook my hand, “Thank you, for all this,” he said.
I gave Heather a kiss to her cheek and watched them depart as well. They were heading off on their honeymoon the following morning, flying to California for a week. I’d offered to drive them to the airport but was then informed the mother-in-law was joining them! I’d stifled laughter at that.
When the yard was empty of people I surveyed the mess. It would wait.
I picked up my daughter and carried her into the house. We climbed the stairs, and I lay her on the bed. I took off her sneakers, pulled the second grubby dress over her head, and turned down the sheet, then covered her I kissed her forehead and left her sleeping.
I stripped off my clothing and took a shower. I thought about Vicky, I thought about Sierra. She’d be happy for me, I was sure of that.
I climbed under the sheet of my bed and smiled. I had a date in the morning! I had a date with someone I thought I could really like and with the added bonus of a son, a son called Benedict.
I sat bolt upright—Where had I heard that name before?
A cold shiver ran over my body as I remembered.
I didn’t get all the answers. Those went to the grave with Lily, Zachary, Mom, and Syd.
From that moment on, though, I made a pledge to myself. I’d leave the past where it was. I’d remembe
r my wife, as I knew her, from the five wonderful years we’d spent together, and I’d forget the rest.
I owed it to Lily to protect her son. I owed it to Taylor to keep her safe.
It was time to move on, time to stop chasing answers from dead people and wait for those still alive to pick up where we hadn’t quite left off.
Gabriel: A thriller (Standalone within the Divinus Pueri series) Page 26