Gabriel surged to his feet and covered the distance between them but kept his arms at his sides. “I would never hurt you or the boys. Never.”
“Not intentionally. But—” Rebecca reached out and clasped his left hand “—things turn out in ways we never intended.”
“I’m not going to kid you, Rebecca. Yes, I wanted a family with lots of children with Judy. And I still want that family. I have never tried to hide that fact from anyone who knows me.”
“But can you love the woman who will ultimately bear your children as she needs to be loved?” Rebecca ran her finger over his wedding ring. “Can you move on?”
He looked at their hands. “I don’t know.” He brought his troubled gaze to hers. “That’s the best answer I can give you right now.”
“Then that’s the only one I want. I want no lies between us. I’ve had that. Never again.”
“Give me time.” He lifted his hand and stroked his thumb across her lips.
The first drop of rain splattered Rebecca’s head. She glanced up, and another splashed her forehead. “We’d better get these dishes inside before it really starts to pour.”
Gabriel cupped her face and peered into her eyes. “You’re special, Rebecca Michaels.” Combing his fingers through her hair, he lowered his mouth toward hers.
The sky opened, releasing a deluge of water and forcing them apart. Rebecca hurried toward the table to grab as many dishes as she could. Gabriel stopped her and pulled her toward the house.
“I’ll get them when it stops.”
“Are you sure?” she asked as the back door slammed. She turned to look out and could hardly see the table.
“Very,” Gabriel said close to her ear.
The tickle of his breath caused goose bumps to rise on her skin. She stepped away. “It looks like it’ll rain for a while. I think I need to bum a ride home.”
“It’s early.”
“But tomorrow’s a workday, and I need to make sure Peter has his homework done.”
“I think you planned this to get out of doing the dishes.”
“Clever, wasn’t I? But then all you have to do is let the rain do your job for you.”
He glanced out the window. “If they aren’t washed away.” He grasped her hand. “Come on. Let’s dig up an umbrella and get you home.”
* * *
Several days later Rebecca eased the door to the police station open and peeked in to see if Mabel was at her desk. Sighing heavily, she quietly shut the door and knelt by Josh, who was in his stroller.
She ran her fingers through his baby-fine hair. “I know Gabriel said to come on and bring you in today, but—” Drawing in a deep, fortifying breath, she stood. “I have to get my courage up. I was hoping to get here early enough to sneak you past Mabel. No such luck. I think the woman sleeps at the station.”
“No, but she sure beats me most mornings.”
Rebecca gasped and whirled to find Gabriel lounging against the door with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. His eyes made a leisurely trek up her body. “Good morning, you two.”
“Are you sure this will be okay? I know Mabel took good care of Josh at the church nursery, but you know how she feels about the workplace.”
“If you hadn’t been able to bring Josh with you to work, would you have stayed home?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s the tactic we take with her. Your grandmother isn’t feeling well, and your neighbor, Ann, is in Tulsa for the week. You don’t have anyone to take care of Josh.”
“Maybe Alicia—”
“Stop. This will work out. I promise. And I never renege on a promise.”
She offered him a tentative smile. “That’s one of the things I like about you. Lead the way.”
Gabriel opened the door for Rebecca. Mabel glanced up from the keyboard and frowned. Then Josh cooed, and her frown dissolved into a smile. She rose, crossed the room and scooped Josh into her arms.
“Is your grandmother sick?” Mabel asked, blowing softly on Josh to get him to laugh.
“Her sinuses are really bothering her, and she has a bad headache.”
“Well, I see we won’t get much work done today,” Mabel murmured to Josh and carried him to her desk. She sat with him in her lap.
“I think someone kidnapped Mabel Preston,” Rebecca whispered to Gabriel.
“I knew she liked children, but if this doesn’t beat all.”
Rebecca wasn’t sure what to do. She stared at Mabel while the woman explained to Josh the inner workings of the computer.
Mabel looked up. “At least one of us should get busy.”
And in Rebecca’s mind she knew exactly to whom Mabel was referring. Rebecca pushed the stroller to her desk and parked it next to her chair. She hurriedly began logging in the incident reports from the evening before. Thankfully there weren’t many.
When she was through, she peered at Mabel. The woman and her baby were gone. Rebecca leaped to her feet and searched the large room. Then she noticed the door to the courthouse was ajar. She went in pursuit of them and found Mabel showing off Josh to several of the secretaries in the building.
“You need to let others enjoy your son as much as you do.” Gabriel came up behind her.
“But he’s…”
“Disabled?”
She nodded.
“Is that any reason someone couldn’t love him? When I look at Josh, I see a child with the sweetest face and the biggest brown eyes. He’s so trusting and innocent. As an officer of the law I forget sometimes what that means, and he always reminds me.”
Rebecca went into the police station. She felt adrift, even though she had work to do.
“I’m going to see Ben at his store. It seems someone is shoplifting again.”
“At least Bess is in the clear.”
“Thank goodness. He thinks it’s some teenage girls who were in the store last night. He feels they’re putting pressure on each other to shoplift.”
“I hope I won’t have to deal with that. I know how difficult peer pressure can be. Thanks to you, Peter’s getting to know some good kids. David was over at the house yesterday after school. They did their homework together, then practiced some baseball.”
“The kids your child hangs with are important. I’m glad I could help.” Gabriel paused at the door. “When I get back, I want to take you and Josh on a picnic at lunchtime. The day’s too beautiful to eat inside.”
Before Rebecca realized it, it was almost one. Josh was stirring from his nap in his stroller, where she’d placed him while Mabel went to lunch. Through the doorway, Rebecca saw Gabriel hang up the phone and rise from his desk. Mabel was back. Excitement tingled through her.
He came out of his office. “Ready to go?”
She nodded and finished what she was entering on the computer. “Are we walking?”
“Yep. The park is down the block. On the way I want to stop at the diner and pick up the food I ordered.”
“So the diner does picnic lunches,” Mabel said, bending over the stroller to smile at Josh and touch his cheek.
“Nope, not usually. They’re doing me a favor.”
“Oh, boss, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Mabel straightened, winked at Rebecca, then turned to Gabriel, presenting a stern facade. “What will the townspeople think of you, currying favors like that?”
“I insisted on paying extra for the picnic lunch.”
Mabel punched Gabriel in the shoulder playfully. “I’ll tell you what they’ll think. That it’s about time you came to your senses and started dating again.”
“But—” Gabriel cleared his throat.
Rebecca’s cheeks reddened. “This isn’t—”
“Are you two pretending you aren’t dating? If so, it isn’t working. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ve already been on your first official date last Sunday night.”
Gabriel and Rebecca looked at each other. “Bess!”
“Did you really think you�
��d keep it a secret in a town like Oakview?” Mabel shook her head, tsking. “Boss, you should know better than that. If you want, I can keep Josh while you two go eat lunch.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do,” Rebecca said, gripping the handle of the stroller as though Mabel would rip it out of her hands.
“If I don’t get through, I’ll stay this evening until I finish.”
“I can’t let you do that.” Rebecca glanced at Gabriel for some help. He shrugged.
“What do I have to do at home? I live by myself with no obligations.”
The loneliness Rebecca heard in Mabel’s voice stirred her compassion. Until that moment Rebecca hadn’t thought of Mabel as being lonely. “If you’re sure—”
“Go. Enjoy your lunch. Josh and I have some serious talking to do.” Mabel took the stroller and headed for her desk before Rebecca changed her mind.
Outside the police station, Rebecca paused and looked in through the picture window at Mabel taking Josh out of the stroller and holding him close to her. The whole time the woman was talking to Josh as if he understood every word she was saying. Rebecca’s heart expanded, and she fought the emotions threatening her composure.
“I was so wrong about Mabel. Did you hear her teasing you in there?” Rebecca asked.
Gabriel placed his hand at the small of her back. “Mabel never married, but she has lots of nieces and nephews. Most of them live in other parts of Oklahoma and Texas, but the ones who live here she dotes on. I think she’s just adopted your son as another of her charges.”
“Speaking of adopting, I suppose you’re aware of Peter adopting Bess as his grandmother. Did you come up with that idea for the Cougars?”
“Peter didn’t tell you?”
“No, what?”
“That adoption scheme was all his idea. He organized the Cougars with David’s help. You have quite a son there. Actually you have quite a family.” Gabriel stopped outside the diner. “You wait here. I’ll get our food.”
While he was gone, Rebecca scanned Main Street and noticed a few of the people on the sidewalk staring at her. She waved to them, and they waved back. One young mother from church paused when she passed Rebecca and told her about a meeting of the young mom’s group on Saturday. Clara encouraged Rebecca to join them. As Clara strolled away, Rebecca drew in a deep breath of spring air and thought about how content she felt. In a short time she had become a part of this town, even a part of the church. She had never experienced this feeling of belonging when she lived in Dallas even though she’d lived there over seven years.
“Let’s go,” Gabriel said, grasping her hand and walking toward the park a block away.
“A basket and everything.”
“I told them I wanted only the best.”
At the park, Gabriel chose a picnic table under a big oak tree. He opened the basket, and spread a cloth over the stone table. Container after container came out of the basket, and Rebecca’s mouth fell open.
“You must have been hungry.”
Gabriel glanced at all the food, and a sheepish look entered his eyes. “I guess I went overboard. We can take the leftovers to the station. They won’t last long if I put them out for everyone to take some.”
“Yes, I noticed the policemen who work for you have hearty appetites. Those cookies Rose baked for them the other day didn’t last an hour.” Rebecca tilted her head. “Come to think of it, most of them were gone after you were alone with the plate.”
Gabriel grinned. “Okay. I confess I probably took more than my share. In my defense, I can only say chocolate does crazy things to me.”
“To be fair to the others, I need to tell Granny to bake oatmeal or sugar cookies next time.”
Gabriel produced two large slices of the diner’s famous French silk pie. “Well, in that case I ought to eat both of these.”
Rebecca snatched a plate from his hand. “I don’t think so.” She put it out of his reach on the bench next to her.
She filled a plastic plate with fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw and a roll with butter dripping off it. Gabriel sat across from her and piled his plate even higher.
After a bite of chicken, he said, “Next to home cooking—” his gaze caught hers “—yours in particular, this is the best food around these parts.”
She laughed. “Okay. You must want something. You’re buttering me up more than these rolls are. Spit it out, Stone.”
“Another home-cooked meal would be greatly appreciated. And—” he picked up a paper cup of iced tea “—I would love to have you sing the solo at next week’s service.”
Rebecca dropped her plastic fork. “Sing in front of the whole church by myself?”
“That’s what solo means.” He leaned over, his expression intense, and seized the hand that had been holding the fork. “You’ve got a beautiful voice. I want everyone to hear how beautiful it is.”
“But I can’t—”
Gabriel held up his free hand. “Hold it. Don’t say no yet. Think about it. What better way to celebrate what God has given you than by celebrating Him with a song?”
There was a part of her that wanted to accept the invitation, but there was a part that was afraid, that still wasn’t sure where she stood with her faith. How could she celebrate God when she had doubts? “I’ll think about it, Gabriel. Please give me more time.”
His grasp on her hand tightened for a moment before he released his hold. “Rebecca, you have all the time in the world. I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want to. You just say the word, and I’ll give you the floor.” He took a bite of his roll and chewed slowly, his regard fixed upon her face.
She dropped her gaze to her plate, feeling his probing look, and searched for a safe topic of conversation. “I’m picking Bess up this evening and bringing her to Peter’s first game as a player. She’s quite excited about seeing him play.”
“And Peter’s quite excited about playing. He tries not to act like it means anything, but the last two practices he has asked me to stay and pitch to him afterward.”
“I wondered why he was late, but he wouldn’t say anything. What if Peter doesn’t do well?”
“He’ll do fine, Rebecca. I promise.”
“I know you pride yourself on always keeping your word. But Gabriel, you don’t have control over this. Peter’s the only one.”
“I know your son’s abilities. He can do it.”
“But I don’t know if he realizes that. I watched my son over the years slowly shut down because Craig demanded perfection.”
“No one is perfect, especially ten-year-old boys.” Again Gabriel’s gaze captured hers. “Rebecca, you’re just gonna have to believe in Peter and me. If he fails, I’ll help him through it.”
“That’s my job,” she immediately said.
His look sharpened. “There you go again, not wanting to share. You’re not alone, Rebecca, and the sooner you realize it the easier things will be for you.” Gabriel spread his arms wide. “You have a whole town that cares about you.”
What about you? Rebecca wanted to ask, but didn’t. She didn’t know if she could handle his answer. “I realize I’m not alone.”
He lifted a brow. “Do you?”
She straightened on the stone bench. “But I am Peter’s parent.”
“And I’m not?”
“You’re Peter’s coach. Of course, his playing is your concern, but—” Her words dried up.
“But that will be all I ever am?”
She swallowed around the constriction in her throat. I don’t want to get into this, Gabriel. We need to get back. I still have physical therapy exercises to do with Josh.” She reached for her pie. Rebecca focused on it rather than the intent look on Gabriel’s face, which incorporated anger as well as sadness.
* * *
Rebecca shifted between Alicia and Bess. Peter walked to home plate and took a few practice swings. Rebecca’s heartbeat accelerated. Biting her nails when she was nervous wa
s a habit she had worked hard to break several years before. When she found herself starting to resort to the old habit, she quickly sat on her hands.
“Oh, isn’t this exciting,” Bess said in Rebecca’s right ear.
Alicia said in her left one, “He’s gonna do fine. Don’t you worry.”
But worry nibbled at Rebecca’s composure. She caught her breath as Peter took his first swing and missed. She cringed when the ump shouted, “Strike one.” When the ump announced the second strike, she chewed on her lower lip and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see the next pitch. She pried one eye open and saw her son swing at a ball that was outside and too low. The sound of it hitting the catcher’s glove reverberated through her mind as the ump’s words did. “Strike three. You’re out.”
She started to rise, to go to her son. Both Alicia and Bess placed a hand on her arms and held her down.
“You don’t want to do that, my child,” Bess said, pointing to Peter stalking to the dugout with a frown carved deep into his boyish features. “Let the coach handle it.”
“But he’s hurting.”
“It won’t be the last time. Gabriel will help him shake it off.” Alicia patted Rebecca’s arm and released her hold. “I sometimes think this game is harder on the parents than the children playing.”
Rebecca watched her son plop down on the bench and hang his head, tuning out everything the other boys said to him. She knew he was drawing in on himself, berating himself for failing. She was afraid he wouldn’t try to bat when his next turn came. She wanted to go to him so badly and put her arms around him, hugging him to her and telling him that it would be all right.
When Gabriel knelt in front of Peter and spoke to him, her son looked at his coach, shook his head and straightened on the bench. Peter watched the rest of the batters as they played, then, when the teams changed places, he snatched up his glove and headed for the outfield.
“See? I told you Gabriel knew just what to say to him. He’ll be all right.”
Rebecca was beginning to believe Alicia might be right about her son. She settled in for a long evening.
The Power of Love Page 14