“About that.” Gabe put a finger on his chin as if thinking. “I was thinking we could go to the cottage and visit your Aunts. They would be pleased to see you today.”
Rory grinned, excited at that idea. “Okay. Let me just get this organized and then we can go.”
Gabe chuckled and left her to her task.
It wasn’t too long before she had changed into her comfy jeans and sweatshirt and went to meet Gabe. Rory carried a small bag of gifts she’d bought for her aunts from their trip.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Aunt Florrie has food already waiting. She’s always cooking something.” Soon they were on Gabe’s ATV and driving down the trail toward the cottage.
As soon as they drove up Aunt Merrie was already running out to meet them. “Oh, you two lovebirds. You came just in time. Aunt Florrie has just finished making the soup. Come in and sit by the table.”
Rory quirked an eyebrow at Gabe as if to say I told you so.
As they sat around the kitchen table they said grace and started eating the soup. Rory told them about their adventures from their trip to Argentina. “Oh my I’m glad the man was caught and sent to jail and that those girls and you both were safe.” Aunt Fawn said softly as deep groove formed on her forehead.
“We were all fine Auntie. And it turns out that Maria’s family was willing to work with me to help hand harvest sea plants so that I can formulate larger quantities of the skin care products.” At their curious looks Rory explained. “It was Gabe’s idea and he encouraged me to get the help I need.”
“Good Gabe. And Rory we’re excited for you. I know so many of our friends and other people from Paradise Lake’s weekly craft fairs have been asking when you would have more jars of your skin cream available. So, this is perfect.” Aunt Merrie wore a huge grin.
“It was all Rory’s doing. She’s a force to be reckoned with.” Gabe winked a Rory and she could feel warmth hitting her cheeks from his attention.
The practical Aunt Florrie shook her head as she pointed out the big obstacle in this new plan. “How is Rory going to have the time to write, mix the formula for her skin care and cook and clean that large house? It’s too much.”
“I’m glad you brought that up Aunt Florrie. I’ve wanted to ask you if there is anyone you trust that you would recommend as a housekeeper and cook for us? She could live in the three bedroom guest house for free and we would pay her a good wage.”
Rory looked over at her husband surprised. It seemed that as usual Gabe was a step ahead.
“I know of someone. She and I go way back and I would trust her with my life.” Aunt Merrie grinned and clapped her hands together. “Her name is Betty O’Toole. She’s my age, widowed with three married children who live across the country. She’s lonely and this would be perfect for her. Plus she’d be close by and could come to tea ever so often.”
Her three aunts nodded and looked at Gabe.
“Rory what do you say? Is that a good idea?” Rory smiled that he’d thought to ask her. “Yes I’ve meet Mrs. O’Toole and she’s a kind warm-hearted person. I think she would be a great housekeeper.”
“Good. I can call and see if we can get that settled this week then.”
Aunt Merrie spoke up. “I can call Betty if you’d like? I can explain what you’re offering and then if she has questions Betty can talk to Rory.”
The had just finished their meal and Aunt Florrie was boiling water to make tea.
“That sounds good.” Gabe toyed with his cup.
“I’m glad you’re boiling the water for tea, Aunt Florrie. It reminds me of the present we brought back for you three. Some traditional Argentina Mate herb tea along with a gourd to use to pour the tea into.” Rory pulled out the yellow gourd she had in her backpack and the numerous bags of tea leaves she had brought with her.
“Rory this is wonderful. Let’s try it.” Aunt Merrie was always in the mood to try something new. Soon Aunt Florrie was pouring the boiling water into the yellow gourd and the Mate herb tea lingered at the top.
“Tradition says you’re supposed to pass the tea around to each person. It’s supposed to be a way of welcoming people to your home.” Rory could see the doubtful expressions of her three aunts but they were willing to give it a try.
“It’s a little bitter. I’m going to add a little honey.” Aunt Merrie added the honey and they all agreed it was a little easier to swallow.
“Speaking of gifts we wanted to give you your birthday gift a little early.” Aunt Fawn nodded to Aunt Merrie who hurried up the stairs and returned carrying a bunch of tattered notebooks.
She handed them to Rory and said, “These are your mother’s journals. She started writing them when she was a teenager and the last entry was the day before your sixth birthday party.”
Rory could feel her eyes fill with tears. A few tears slipped down her cheeks as she stared at the torn edges of the multi-colored notebooks. “These are from my mom.” She breathed out. So many questions filled her that she wasn’t even sure where to start.
“We didn’t feel like you were ready to read them until you were an adult, Rory. That’s why we waited so long. We didn’t mean to hurt you by holding them back. Once you read the diaries you might agree that many of the personal things that your Mom wrote in her diary were better left for adult ears only.” Aunt Merrie spoke softly. “We hope you’re not too upset at us.”
Rory reached a hand over to her aunt and squeezed it. “No I’m not upset. You were protecting me.” Rory held them to close to her heart. “Thank you for this. Maybe some of the unanswered questions will be answered as I read her words.”
“I hope so too my dear.” Aunt Fawn patted her hand.
Aunt Florrie spoke quickly. “And one more thing.”
“Another gift?” Rory asked.
“Well they are yours anyway but we wondered if you’d like to take Mocha and Latte with you? They’re your dogs more than ours. We thought we might get a small dog.” Aunt Florrie smiled.
“What do you think Gabe?” Rory wanted to respect that it was Gabe’s great-grandfather’s place and that he was okay with it.
“Sure whatever you want.” Gabe chuckled. “I remember Grand had his dogs that he brought to the Island in the summer. I sure had fun with them. It might make the place feel more like home to have your furry friends around.” Gabe chuckled.
“Then I’d love that.”
Rory felt a sense of happiness surround her. She was with Gabe and her aunts and everything felt right in her world. At least for the moment.
The sun started to go down and Rory stood to her feet. “Well, I think we should probably get back. I want to grab my computer and a few things from my bedroom before we go.”
Rory hurried upstairs to her room and put her computer and a few clothes into her backpack. She looked around her room, and realized that it would be quite awhile before she’d be back. Now she would live at her husband’s home at least for the next year. She felt nervous and excited all at the same time.
Hurrying back downstairs she saw Gabe by the back door talking with Aunt Merrie.
“Latte and Mocha, here boys.” Her dogs came quickly and sat on their haunches waiting patiently as she slipped on her shoes. She patted their heads. “They think they’re going on a walk to the beach which they love. This will be a new adventure for them.”
She was just about to slip on her backpack when Aunt Merrie stopped her. “Here are your mother’s journals. There are about twelve of them. In many of the journals, your mom packed two years into one notebook.”
With shaky hands she slipped the journals inside her backpack, blinking back tears.
“Thank you Aunt Merrie.” Rory kissed her cheek and looked up to see her two other aunts close by. “Come here you three. Thank you. I’m so grateful for all you’ve done for me. The good new is we’re neighbors, so this isn’t goodbye but simply I’ll see you a little later. I will be back regularly to check on you all.” After Rory had hugged and kisse
d all three of them on the cheek, she followed Gabe out the door. She waved one last time and two of her aunts wiping the edges of their eyes. She blew them a kiss and then settled behind Gabe on the back of the ATV.
“Ready to go?” Gabe turned to ask above the noise of the engine. His eyes held a warm compassion that melted her heart, causing a few more tears to slip down her cheeks.
It would be so strange to live with Gabe at the Hunting Lodge now. It wasn’t very far from where she’d grown up in her aunt’s cottage but it was the fact that she was living there as Gabe’s wife. Well, his fake wife. It was all such a new and far grander lifestyle that it made her a little afraid she wouldn’t measure up.
But, she didn’t want to weigh Gabe down with all her worries. So she simply said, “Yes, I’m ready to go.”
Rory waved once more to her aunts and they were on the trail back home. Mocha and Latte followed behind.
With her arms around Gabe some of the worry melted away and she felt comforted. She could trust Gabe — her childhood friend — to help her through this.
As they drove up to the Hunting Lodge Rory spotted a man sitting on the front steps.
Gabe stopped the ATV and turned off the engine.
“Max, you’re back.” Gabe walked forward and shook his hand. Rory did the same. “What brings you by?”
Her body tensed. Max had found the identity of the person who started the fire. She braced herself for the worst.
“I wanted to stop by to give you the results of the identity test we had the lab do on those jars that were found from the fire near the cottage.” Max pulled out his smartphone and searched for a few documents.
“Yes. That’s good.” Gabe turned to her, his blue eyes filled with warmth. He grabbed her hand and squeezed in a comforting grip. Rory gave him a hesitant half smile in return. “What did you find?”
How could Gabe voice be so calm? She grew anxious and keyed up as she waited for Max’s reply.
“So the person identified is a man who goes by the name Ned Baxter. He lives in Oregon.” Max looked at Rory and then at Gabe. “Does that name ring any bells?”
Rory sighed in relief. “That name is not familiar to me nor have I heard my Aunts mention someone by that name.”
“I don’t recognize the name at all.” Gabe responded. He put a finger on his chin thinking. “That’s strange. Here I thought we would uncover a bit of a clue. Do you know anything about this Ned fellow?”
“Yes. It looks like he’s a twenty-two year old male who still lives with his mom. Her name is Nadine Baxter. That’s all we have to go on for the moment.” Max slipped his smartphone back in his pocket and stood there in silence for a moment.
“Sorry, we didn’t find anything really useful. My team and I will dig deeper into the background of this Ned fellow as well as his mother. I’ll keep you informed of any new developments.” Max looked beyond them toward the raging water behind them. “We’ll keep digging down to the truth, that’s all I can tell you.”
“Appreciate that, Max. We just want to put a stop to the senseless attacks against my wife. We have complete faith that you’ll find something soon.” Gabe shook Max’s hand as did Rory and he waved as he walked away.
As they walked toward the house and Rory slid the backpack from her back. “I wish we knew more information. And who is Ned Baxter anyway? Never heard of him.”
Gabe put a warm hand on her back as he opened the door. “I don’t know. But Max and his team will find more information soon I’m confident of that.” He grabbed her heavy backpack filled with journals and released a small chuckle. “And who knows maybe your Mom left a clue in her diary.”
“Maybe.” She nodded entering the house. But she had a feeling finding out the truth of who started the fire would only get harder before the whole story saw the light of day.
Her whole body trembled as she thought about who they would discover was behind this. Rory only hoped that they would discover the truth soon.
Chapter Eleven
Rory stretched and opened her eyes to the sliver of daylight shining through the gingham curtains in her room. Rubbing her eyes she breathed in the scent of cooked chicken.
She sat up in bed as she remembered Mrs. O’Toole had arrived last evening.
Rory was quite happy that the cook Gabe hired arrived yesterday. She had shown the older lady the guesthouse, and she seemed happy with it. Rory had hurried to clean it before she arrived, so their cook would feel right at home.
It was strange to have someone to cook for them. Rory felt guilty for not doing it herself, but it was a blessing she wasn’t about to turn down.
Turning to her nightstand her gaze fell on her mother’s diary. She had started reading the first journal last night and had learned about her mother’s years in college and had a little more insight into her mother’s family.
Ever so often her mother wrote about her alcoholic father and how he’d hurt her grandmother — Keeva Murphy — and his five daughters over and over again. Rory knew that her mother was younger than Florrie, Fawn and Merrie, but she had never heard much about her mom — Delanee’s — oldest sister, Aunt Mallory. Her mom called her Mal. From her mother’s perspective, Aunt Mal had taken a lot of abuse from Cedric Murphy, her grandfather when he was in one of his alcoholic rages. She wrote that the year she started college her grandfather had died. All five sisters had all come to his funeral to support her grandmother but she’d written that they were all better off without him in their lives. Rory thought it was so sad that her grandfather had been so controlled by the alcohol that he became abusive.
After grandfather died, her mother wrote that something must have snapped in Mal, because she never contacted them anymore. She tried to call her oldest sister and wrote that she often asked her to go for coffee, but Mal always pushed her away.
Her mom was sad about that, but did her best to keep in touch with her other three sisters and to make friends at college so she wouldn’t be so lonely.
Last night Rory had just got to the part where her mom graduated college and got a job working as a writer for a popular magazine. For Rory it was just getting good, and her mother had wrote that she just met her husband-to-be, Edward Shepard — Rory’s Dad — when Razelle had texted.
“How’s married life?”
“Um, good.”
“But, not great? Come on Rory, I need more.”
“Well, Gabe has treated me well. But every time I think we’re getting closer, he pulls away.”
“I bet he’s scared of what being with you does to him.”
“You think so?”
“I’d bet my last dollar on it.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“Has he kissed you yet… I mean a real kiss?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s terrified. Which explains why he pulls away whenever Gabe feels he’s getting too close to you.”
“What do I do?
“Keep showing Gabe that you love him and keep getting under his skin. Then one day he’ll realize he can’t let you go.”
“I hope so. Thanks Raz, I needed that today.”
“That’s what friends are for. See you later.”
Rory pondered her friend’s words. The truth was she wasn’t sure if Raz was right about Gabe. But, she would continue to spend time with Gabe because she liked being with him.
A small whine at her bedroom door, made Rory realize the dogs were waiting for her.
She opened the door she saw Gabe standing there.
Rory nervously tucked a hair behind her head. “Good morning, Gabe.” His eyes lowered to take in her pajamas. She looked down at the large Seahawk’s t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts, which were her normal nightwear. Heat stained her cheeks as she realized she must look like a rumpled mess. “Sorry, I’ll change my clothes in a minute.”
“Don’t change on my account, I think you look beautiful rumpled. I was just admiring the view.” Gabe blue eyes darkened and glittered with appr
eciation for a moment before he looked at her. “Our cook wanted you to know lunch will be ready soon.” He walked away whistling.
Rory closed the door, leaning her head against the back of it. He thought she looked beautiful rumpled and was admiring the view? A small tugged her lips upwards. She couldn’t hold back a smile as she slipped on a pair of jeans and her favorite pink sweater.
Brushing out her blonde hair, she added some mascara to make her violet eyes look bigger and some light pink lipgloss.
Maybe today would be the day she would begin to get under Gabe’s skin, as Raz put it.
She opened her door and walked toward the dining room, her dogs at her side.
“Mocha and Latte, lie down.” Her dogs lay down in the corner while she joined Gabe at the table. He pulled out a chair for her and sat down in Grand’s old spot at the head of the table.
A salad was already on the table as well as plates and water glasses.
“You sitting in that chair brings back memories of your great-grandfather drinking his coffee and reading his newspaper.” A wave of nostalgia hit her as she remembered. “I really miss him.”
“I do too.” Gabe put his hand on top of hers, squeezing it for a moment. “But we can make our own memories in this place.”
Rory stared at him for a moment and wondered if he really meant it. When he talked about them making memories together, it sounded like a long-term marriage not just a fake marriage with a time limit. “Yes, of course we will.”
At that moment, Mrs. O’Toole walked into the dining room and Rory was relieved at the interruption. Her grey hair was tied up in braided coronet that circled from ear to ear. A long red apron covered the jeans and western styled shirt she wore. Their cook wore a smile that only added sweetness to her plump cheeks as she set down a pan of chicken casserole on the hot plate in the middle of the table. “Here you go. Lunch is served. Enjoy.”
“Thank you Mrs. O’Toole. This looks delicious. Will you be joining us?” Rory asked, looking her way.
“No my dear. I will be preparing for the next meal and adding some healthy snack trays to your refrigerator. You two enjoy.” With a smile, their cook left them alone.
The Billionaire's Marriage Promise Page 13