He thought about teasing her about the fact that a two-a.m. call could be for phone sex, but the kids were right there, and Stella really did need to talk to her. “It’s storming here,” he said. “Stella needs to talk to you.”
“Oh, no.”
He heard rustling on Addison’s end of the phone, and he pictured her sitting up in bed and trying to come awake. If Cooper had a bad dream or even just woke up in the night and wanted Gabe, he’d just come climb into bed. But Gabe knew well the feeling of forcing himself awake because Cooper was sick or needed something that required more of Gabe’s brain than just lifting the covers and snuggling.
“Is she okay?” Addison asked in his ear.
“I think so. She was pretty upset at first, but we talked about how thunder is just hot air shaking around,” he said, meeting Stella’s eyes and seeing that she was much calmer now.
A clap of thunder sounded overhead, and a bright flash lit the window. “Oh, cool,” Cooper said from the window seat. He turned. “I wonder how hot the electricity is,” he said, wonder in his voice. “Can we look that up, Dad?”
“Do you know, Stell?” Gabe asked.
She shook her head. “Really hot, though.”
He nodded. “I’ve seen trees that were hit by lightning, and they get black, totally charred.”
“Gabe,” Addison protested, “I’m not sure talking about how lightning can char things is helpful.”
He grinned. Addison couldn’t see Stella’s face. She looked part disturbed and part fascinated. It was the look she’d had on her face on the swamp boat when the guide had first brought the baby alligator out of its container. And she’d gotten over the disturbed part quickly. “Trust me,” he said softly to Addison.
He heard her take a breath and then say, “Yeah, okay.”
“Maybe we could find a tree like that somewhere,” he suggested to the kids. “See it up close.”
Stella’s eyes widened, and Cooper clambered down from the window.
“Really?” Cooper’s ratio for disturbed and fascinated definitely tipped more in the direction of disturbed. “Does that kill the tree?”
“We have a lot of stuff to look up,” Gabe said. “But I think Stella wants to talk to Addison first.”
Stella nodded, and Gabe turned the phone over.
He sat back, crisscrossing his legs, and Cooper climbed into his lap without a thought. Gabe wrapped his arms around his son and kissed the top of his head. He’d always taken for granted how easily Cooper hugged and sat on laps and accepted affection. He understood that Stella was more independent, maybe. That Stella and Addison didn’t have as much lap time as Cooper and Gabe did. But he loved that his son liked being held.
“I know,” Stella said to Addison. She paused. “Yes.” Another pause, longer this time. “I did.” She listened again. “I know.” Then she nodded. “Okay, Mommy.” She paused to listen again. She played with the end of the dog’s tail as she held the phone to her ear, the thing big in her tiny hand. She was nodding along with whatever Addison was saying. Then she smiled.
And Gabe’s heart turned over.
God, he was fully, officially, completely in love. With Addison. With Stella. With having them both in his life. And in Cooper’s life. This was good. It was so, so good.
“Okay, Mommy,” Stella said again. Then she looked up at Gabe. “Yes.” She watched him while listening to her mother. “Okay. I love you, too.” Then she held the phone out to Gabe. “She wants to talk to you.”
“Okay, sweetheart.” He took the phone and cleared his throat. “Hey,” he said to Addison.
“Hey.”
Desire swept through him with that simple word from her, but it was so much more than everything he’d felt to this point. They were parenting together right now. Kind of. And it felt so damned good and right and fulfilling that he knew that he wanted it forever.
“Everything good?” he asked, trying not to let all those emotions spill into his voice.
Cooper still looked up at him with a funny frown, and Gabe realized he hadn’t succeeded.
“Yeah. Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’m great.”
“I think she’ll be okay now. Usually by the time we talk it all out, the storm has passed.”
Gabe looked to the window. “I don’t know. I didn’t look at the forecast, but it’s still pretty strong out there.”
“Well, I’m hoping she’ll settle down for you now,” Addison said.
“It’s fine. We’ll do whatever we need to do,” he assured her.
“But you need to get your sleep.”
“That’s not the main priority here, Ad,” he said sincerely.
“She’s a guest. And she’s got you up in the middle of the night. I’m sorry.”
“Addison,” Gabe said firmly, mindful of the little ears listening intently, “it’s fine. More than fine. I want Stella to know that we’ll always be here if she needs us.” He fully intended for the little ears to hear that.
Addison sighed. “That’s really . . .” Her voice sounded huskier. “Nice,” she finally filled in. “It’s really nice to know you’re there for her.”
“I am,” he said resolutely. “But is there anything you think I should do specifically? Or not do?”
There was a pause on Addison’s end. Then she said, “I think you should do whatever you think is right.”
“But—” Really? Addison, the most prepared, in-charge woman he’d ever met. The one who didn’t want people messing around in her life and didn’t want people making decisions that affected her daughter?
“Gabe,” Addison said softly, “you’ve got this. Go with your gut. Whatever you think Stella needs, I know it will be right. I know you love her. So just . . . take care of her.”
Gabe swallowed. This was a big deal. For Addison. For him. He could be honest and admit that he didn’t always trust his gut, even with Cooper. He relied on his mom and Logan giving input. And he knew his mom would certainly help give advice with Stella, too, but for Addison to give this over to him . . . it was terrifying.
“Ad, that’s . . .”
“I know,” she said when he trailed off. “I know it is.”
He blew out a breath, his eyes on Stella. “Okay.”
“Do you want me to drive home now? I can,” she offered. “We got the big stuff done. We were just going to finalize things over breakfast, but we can do that on the phone, too.”
Gabe kind of wanted her to drive home now. But that was ridiculous. “It’s the middle of the night,” he said. “And you shouldn’t be driving into this storm. No, we’re good. I’ve got this.”
“Okay.”
He heard the smile in her voice.
“I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Addison said. “I’ll head out as soon as I can.”
“No problem. We’ll see you then.”
“Okay. Good night. And thank you. And . . . I love you,” she said softly.
His heart thumped. “I love you, too.”
And yeah, he wanted those little ears to hear that, too.
“You should also know,” Addison said, “that you being there for my daughter during a storm at two a.m. is really freaking sexy.”
He gave a rough chuckle. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Very.”
“Well, you might have to prove it.”
“I can rent another limo.”
He felt the tightness in his chest loosen slightly. “Or we could do a little laundry when you get back.”
“Yes,” she said with her own husky laugh. “Yes, we definitely will do that.”
They disconnected a moment later. Just as another boom of thunder shook the house. Gabe sighed as Stella clutched the dog against her chest.
Okay, so it was just air, and lightning couldn’t get to them inside, and all of that. Stella knew in her head that she was safe. But she needed to feel it, too.
“I have an idea,” Gabe said. “What if we went over to Stella’s house for the re
st of the night? You might feel better in your own house.”
Stella looked at the window where the rain continued to beat against the house. “Go outside?”
“Yeah, Dad, that’s where the lightning is,” Cooper said, tipping his head to look up at Gabe.
Gabe nodded. “Yes, it is.” He opened the Internet browser on his phone and typed in lightning strikes. Clearly, both these kids appreciated facts and information. He started reading out loud. “Number one. If you find yourself outside in a thunderstorm, take shelter immediately.” He looked up at the kids. “Well, I guess maybe we should just stay here, then.”
Stella nodded, and Cooper giggled. “Duh,” he said.
Gabe couldn’t disagree. “Okay, so then what?” He kept reading from the web page. “Stay away from windows.” He looked down at Cooper. “I guess you need to stay right here, then.”
He hugged him, and Coop giggled again. “Guess so.”
“Number three says to not touch anything metal or plugged in.” He looked around. “Okay, I have another idea.”
He stood Cooper up, then got to his feet. He held out his hand to Stella. “There’s really only one way to do this.”
Was he gambling here? Maybe a little. Did he know for sure this would make her feel better? Not for sure. But his gut told him that Stella could use a little less independence tonight.
She reached out and took his hand without hesitation and let him pull her to her feet. Then with Cooper’s hand in his on one side and Stella’s on the other, Gabe took them into his bedroom. He closed the curtains over his windows, he unplugged everything in the room, he grabbed a flashlight from his dresser drawer, and he made a tent over the bed.
Then he held one side up and said, “Thunderstorm-proof tent.”
Both kids grinned.
“I’ve only got one flashlight,” Gabe said, “but we can use my phone, too.”
“Wait, I’ve got flashlights!” Cooper turned and ran out of the room, returning a minute later and dumping five mini-flashlights, the kind that would clip onto key rings, onto the bed.
“Where did you get all of those?” Gabe asked.
“I collect them,” Cooper told him with a shrug.
“I gave him that one,” Stella said, pointing at a bright-red one. “We had it at home, but we don’t use it.”
“I didn’t know you collect flashlights,” Gabe said. This was new information. That Stella knew but Gabe didn’t. Interesting.
Cooper just nodded and crawled inside the tent, and Gabe dropped the topic. He couldn’t deny that Cooper’s collection was coming in handy tonight. Stella followed him in, and they began turning on all the flashlights. Gabe ducked under the tent as well, lying down next to Cooper. They all settled onto their backs, looking up at the various circles of light on the dark-purple blanket overhead that made the tent glow with a soft purple light. The storm still raged outside, but the sound was muted inside the cozy tent.
“This is way better,” Stella finally decided. She still held Cooper’s dog, but not in the death grip she’d had on the poor thing before.
Cooper nodded. “No way lightning can get us in here.”
“No way,” Gabe agreed.
Stella rolled over onto her side to face him. “How long can I stay in here?”
Gabe looked over at her. “As long as you want.”
“What if I fall asleep?”
He gave her a smile. “Well, just don’t snore. That will keep Coop and me awake.”
She giggled. “I don’t snore.”
“Then we’ll be just fine,” he told her, resisting the urge to cup her cheek. She was sweet and looked so much like her mother that his heart ached. The only thing missing here was Addison.
What would she think of a bed tent? Of letting the kids sleep in here during the storm? Was he encouraging the fear or helping it?
“Oka—” Stella said, the word breaking off as a yawn stretched her mouth. She settled her head onto the pillow. In less than a minute, she was asleep. And he knew that he’d made the right decision.
“I’m glad she’s not scared anymore,” Cooper whispered to him.
Gabe put his hand on his son’s back and rubbed. “Me, too, buddy. You were a really good friend to her.”
“She’s nice,” Cooper replied. “She said next time we go on a swamp boat, she’ll help me pet an alligator.”
Gabe swallowed. “You’d do that with her?” he asked.
Cooper yawned. “I guess so. A little one.”
Yeah, the spirited adventurer was going to be very good for Cooper. And Gabe’s practical boy who collected flashlights had come through for her.
He drifted off to sleep wondering if convincing Addison to marry him was better done with beignets or pralines and if he should get her naked before or after she said yes.
Addison knocked on the door to Gabe’s house the next morning just after sunrise. She’d canceled her breakfast meeting, not because she was worried that Gabe was in over his head, and not even because she was worried about Stella, exactly. She knew that Gabe had handled it, or he would have called her back. No, she was on his front step bright and early because she missed them all, and the storm and Stella’s phobia were the perfect excuses to give the clients.
“Good morning,” Caroline greeted as she opened the door.
“Good morning.” Addison smiled. “I’m a little early.”
Caroline laughed and opened the door wide. “You are. No one else is even awake yet.”
“No? I guess they were tired after being up in the middle of the night.” Addison stepped into the foyer with a grimace.
“Oh, it wasn’t so bad,” Caroline said. “They all settled down afterward and went right to sleep.”
“You woke up with it, too?” Addison said, feeling bad, though it wasn’t Stella’s fault that storms were the one thing that could make her anxious.
“Yes, I checked in. But Gabe had everything under control, and I went back to bed and slept like a rock,” Caroline assured her.
“Well, I’m glad about that. I wish I knew where this storm fear came from, but I really don’t.”
“Phobias are like that,” Caroline said. “And we all have them.”
It was true. Though Addison’s go-to phobia was fear of commitment, and Gabe was beginning to chip away at that one, too. Or rather, blast right through it.
“I might sneak up and check in on Stella,” Addison said. “I feel bad I wasn’t here.”
“Of course, dear,” Caroline said. “They’re all in Gabe’s room. Second door on the right.”
Gabe’s room. Addison hadn’t been in Gabe’s room yet. And they were all in there? Addison crept up the stairs, her heart stuttering a little at the thought of going into Gabe’s bedroom while he still slept. The door was cracked, and she pushed it open gently. And stopped. Gabe’s bed was covered with a blanket fort. She hadn’t been expecting that.
She moved into the room quietly. With the tent, she couldn’t tell if everyone was still sleeping, but she did hear the soft snoring that she’d gotten used to sleeping next to Gabe on their weekends together. She smiled and realized that she could absolutely listen to that every night forever.
Addison approached the bed and lifted the edge of the blanket closest to her. Gabe lay on his back. He was wearing a T-shirt with his boxers. He had one leg out from under the blanket, one arm over his head, and the other around Cooper, who was draped over him like he was a big pillow. And on the other side of Cooper was Stella. She was on her stomach, her face turned toward Gabe and Cooper, her dark curls in a wild disarray around her face and spilling over the pillowcase. She looked completely serene and deep asleep.
This sight . . . Addison took a deep breath. Yeah, she could definitely do this forever.
She thought briefly about waking them, but she felt a sense of comfort and happiness wash over her. And it hit her that she was tired. She hadn’t slept a lot last night, and then she’d hit the road right away.
&nb
sp; So she kicked off her shoes and rounded the bed, sliding in beside Stella. And when her daughter sighed and curled into her, Addison realized that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Chapter Ten
The next two weeks were pretty much perfect.
Addison and Stella saw Gabe and Cooper for dinner once a week. They saw Gabe, Cooper, Caroline, and Logan for dinner once a week. And Addison and Gabe had dinner alone after their support-group meeting while Stella played with Cooper and Caroline. Addison, Gabe, and the kids spent the weekends together.
Today, Addison sat in the middle seat on the swamp boat again, but she was alone. Cooper was up at the front with Stella and Gabe. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but he was there, and Addison felt a surge of pride that he was facing his fear.
They were all wearing ear protection as they whizzed along the bayou on their way to the area where Sawyer, their guide, felt they’d see the most alligators. Gabe sat between the kids. Cooper clutched the edge of his seat, and though she couldn’t see his face, Addison could picture his expression—part excitement at the speed and noise of the boat and part trepidation. That seemed his standard look when they were out doing almost anything, and Addison felt a swell of love thinking about it. He was careful, but he was so curious and bright. Stella, on the other hand, was looking around avidly, taking in all the sights, with Gabe’s hand resting on the back of her neck. It was an affectionate gesture but also designed to keep Stella in her seat as the boat was moving. Addison felt that same wave of love as she watched both of them.
Last weekend at the children’s museum had perfectly illustrated how the two kids approached new things and had taught both Addison and Gabe more about how to supervise and help. Gabe was more cautious with Cooper, but Cooper needed that. Addison had learned that Cooper liked to have the adults closer and especially loved to have one of them doing whatever he was doing. He liked to have his hand held, literally, and he appreciated hearing “Good job” or “I’m right here.” Stella wasn’t like that at all. She preferred more space and was perfectly content figuring things out on her own. They, of course, stayed close to her, too, in the huge public place, but said things like “Hang on, Stella” and “Stay where we can see you.” Gabe did well with giving Stella the space she needed, but Addison could tell he had to hold back from wanting to help her all the time. Still, Addison noticed that Stella looked around for both Addison and Gabe throughout the day and, more often than not, Stella was the one encouraging Cooper and showing him new things. And Cooper was much more likely to do something Stella suggested than something his father did.
Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy) Page 18