“Teague, I just…” Harry stepped into the office and stopped, frozen in place as he watched his boss and the newest assistant pull apart, the pretty woman frantically trying to adjust her clothes. “Uh, sorry,” he mumbled and started to back out of the office. Darn it, these two had been dancing around each other all week and he’d just stopped what looked to be closure on the tension that had been ramping up every day.
The rest of the crew was going to kill him! Hell, his boss looked like he was going to kill him right now!
“What do you need, Harry?” Gabriella called to him, looking down at her desk. She smoothed her hair down again, trying to pull her sweater back down around her waist since Teague had pushed it up higher, his roaming fingers straying from her waist to her….
She pushed that thought aside. Teague was…Toby was the man for her. Wasn’t he? She looked over at Teague, the strain in his features evident as he rubbed a hand over his face. He only wanted sex…right? And she wasn’t that kind of a woman. She wanted more. She wanted Toby. Yes, she definitely wanted Toby for her future…didn’t she?
“Sorry,” Harry mumbled, saying it more to Teague than to Gabriella.
“No problem,” she replied as she swung her new backpack over her shoulder. She’d grabbed it at the store early this morning before arriving here. The backpack replaced her black tote bag and was actually pretty convenient. She loved all the pockets and easy way it rode on her shoulder. “But can it wait until tomorrow?” she asked.
“Sure!” he said, relieved for an excuse to get out of the way. “Absolutely!” A moment later, he was gone and hurrying down the boards towards his truck.
“I have to go as well,” Gabriella muttered and hurried past Teague, twisting when he reached out to try and grab her arm to stop her. “Please,” she whispered, “I can’t.”
Teague watched her hurry down into the dim light, anger and frustration eating at him. Every time he got close to her, thought he might be making a breakthrough, someone interrupted them. He was about to lose his mind, he thought, as he stormed out of the office. He did one last check of the site, making sure that all of the security measures were in place for the night before he left. Cursing the whole time, he drove over to her place, wanting to talk things through.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t there! Or she was just ignoring him.
When he spoke to the guard at the front desk, he was told that Gabriella hadn’t come back from the office, but the man had heard the woman across the hall talking about dinner and a movie tonight, so she might just be out with her new friend.
He cursed at the situation all the way home, irritated when he walked into an empty house. He was glad he’d come back here tonight instead of staying in his trailer at the site. He needed a break. From everything. The crew was doing a great job and Gabby really was an asset to the team. A construction site couldn’t function if they didn’t have the supplies they needed. She was just as good as Marcy at organizing things and he respected her work. Amazingly, Gabby had stepped in and immediately picked things up, filling the gap they hadn’t been able to fill for Marcy’s maternity leave.
Grabbing a beer, he paced the confines of his house, wondering if he would ever get Gabby here. She would look so lovely sitting at the counter, watching him cook dinner each night. Yeah, he’d like that, he thought, as he wound his way through to the upstairs. Another cold shower and another sleepless night. Hell. Gabby was killing him.
Chapter 6
Teague stormed around the work site, feeling like a heel. He was snapping people’s heads off, handing out unnecessary assignments and pushing everyone harder than needed. Thankfully, Harry was walking behind him and contradicting the orders, otherwise, Teague suspected that they would have a mutiny on the work site.
When Logan walked up behind him, he knew that he was in trouble.
“Go away,” Teague grumbled, grabbing his clipboard even as Logan grabbed a hardhat and followed.
“Not happening, big brother,” he said and stepped in front of Teague before the man could get onto the elevator. “What’s going on?”
Teague gritted his teeth. “You mean, what’s happening in my life other than my wife telling me that she’s cheating on her fiancé with her husband? Or maybe I’m upset by the fact that she keeps sneaking divorce papers into the stacks of documents for Harry to sign, trying to get me to sign them. Or maybe the problem is that I have annoying brothers who show up, trying to tell me how to do my job.”
Logan crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, I can see how those problems could be an issue.” He looked around, noticing that his brother kept glancing over his shoulder to the office trailer. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
Teague ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. “I have no idea. I’ve never known what to do about that woman. She drives me crazy! But I can’t…” he didn’t finish that sentence, not wanting to reveal too much. His hands fisted on his hips and he stared down at the cement, trying to figure out a plan, but every plan that popped into his mind started and ended with Gabby. Naked.
Logan listened and understood. Well, sort of. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but he could understand a bit after watching Zeke go through a similar kind of hell with Marcy. Everything had eventually worked out with those two. The same kind of tension was happening with Gabby and Teague, so he was all for trying to resolve this just as amicably as Zeke and Marcy had.
He’d thought about it over the past couple of days, wondering what he would do in similar circumstances. “I think you should head out of town.”
Teague’s head lifted and he stared at his brother in confusion. Get out of town? Leave Gabby? That seemed like the exact opposite of his plan. “Why?”
Logan rolled his eyes. “You haven’t been to your cabin in the woods in a long time.” He paused, watching Teague’s expression. “It’s one of those places that an owner really shouldn’t neglect since it is so isolated.” Still nothing, just frustration and another glance back to the office trailer. “No cell phone reception out there, if I remember correctly. No one for miles to interrupt anything. It’s isolated, private, and a good place for someone to just be alone…”
Teague glanced at his younger brother, thinking that the man had lost his mind. “Why the hell would I get out of town? She might…”
Logan didn’t say a word. He stood there, standing in front of Teague with his arms still crossed over his chest, just waiting. Waiting. It took a bit longer for his brother to get the idea, but Teague wasn’t an idiot.
Dawning hit him like a ton of bricks.
Teague’s shoulders finally relaxed. He even chuckled slightly as his hand lifted, rubbing against his rough jawline. “You think…?”
Logan nodded emphatically. “From what I’ve heard, she seems to want those papers signed pretty badly.” He shrugged a bit, almost as if he were dismissing the papers as irrelevant. “She might need directions,” he commented. “And I am more than willing to help out in that area.”
Teague’s frustration vanished and his mouth shifted into a grin. “Never thought you were much of a lady’s man, Logan. But your devious mind just might get you there!”
Logan rolled his eyes. “Don’t even think about setting me up with any woman with a desire for permanence!” he growled. “I like my single status just fine, thank you very much.”
With a pounding on Teague’s back, he walked out of the area, tossing his hard hat back onto the peg before leaving.
Teague wasted no time in packing up his truck with everything he might need. His cabin was already well stocked, but he drove to the store, getting a few other things that might be helpful. Making sure that Harry could cover for him, he walked into the office trailer, carefully, relieved when the stench of broccoli was minimal. He looked over and realized why. Gabriella wasn’t there. “Darn it,” he muttered but walked over and wrote a note, sticking it to her computer screen.
Without another moment’s hesitation, he
walked out of the office, jumped in his truck and drove off, heading out of town.
Gabriella walked into the office ten minutes later, saw the note and wanted to scream. “No!” she crumbled the note up and tossed it into the trash. After last night, it was more important than ever to get Teague to sign those papers! She had to finish this and get back to Toby, back to her life! The life she needed.
Toby was kind and gentle. He worried about her, made sure that she walked into her apartment building before driving away after each of their dates, took her to her favorite restaurants and made sure that she was happy. He cared about her! And she…well, she cared about him.
Darn it, she loved him!
Didn’t she?
A week ago, she would have been completely sure about her feelings for Toby. He was sweet, kind, ambitious, and everything she wanted in a man.
Now…she wasn’t so sure.
She felt…calm when she was around Toby. He centered her. He was her friend!
Wasn’t he?
She’d never been able to talk with Toby the way she’d talked with Teague when they were back in Vegas. But she hadn’t admitted all of her past to Teague either. She’d never told anyone about her childhood. Nor would she! Never!
Sitting back in her chair, she stared out the small window but didn’t see the construction happening all around her. Everyone was busy, but she just sat there, trying to figure out what was going on.
Okay, so she had to admit that she didn’t love Toby. She felt affection for him. He was kind and sweet. After the past few days, she could admit that love, at least the passionate kind of love, was not a part of their relationship. But she needed him! She needed him because of the nice things he did for her, the way he watched out for her!
Her mind flashed back to her first day in Seattle, how Teague had taken care of her after she’d ruined her clothes. He hadn’t laughed, he hadn’t told her she had acted foolishly. He’d just lifted her up out of the wet cement, cleaned her up, clothed her, fed her, and given her a place to stay.
“You okay, Gabby?” Harry asked, breaking through her concentration.
She looked around, realized that she was standing in the middle of the trailer, looking like she’d just lost her puppy.
Blinking, she looked up at the big guy with the warm smile and twinkling eyes. She shook her head. “No. I’m not okay. I’m definitely un-okay and I’m sick and tired of playing games! Do you have any idea where Teague might have gone off to?”
Harry lifted his hardhat, scratching his head a moment. “Well, the only place that he really heads off to when he needs a break is that old cabin he has up in the mountains.”
Gabriella’s head swung around to stare at Mount Rainier, but the day was too cloudy to see the stunning peak today. “Please tell me his cabin isn’t up there,” she begged, pointing behind her at the mountain that was on every license plate in the state.
Harry scratched his head again. “Um…well, okay.”
She sighed. “It’s there.” She thought about it for a moment, thought about Toby waiting for her at the end of the aisle in less than a month. The man was sweet and considerate, whereas Teague was wicked and obnoxious. She shouldn’t go to his cabin. She was fairly certain that his cabin was in some remote area of the woods where she’d have to hike for miles to reach him.
She had to go. She had to put Teague in her past and move on with her life. For too long, too many nights, she’d lain awake in bed thinking about Teague. She had to banish him from her life once and for all!
“I don’t care. I’m going.” She looked up at Harry. “Any idea how to get to this mysterious cabin?”
Harry’s mouth twisted slightly. “Well, I’ve been there. Most of the guys have been there to go fishing or something.”
“So you know where it is? How to get there?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly, not really. Teague gets us there but, well, it isn’t really a straightforward kind of thing. There aren’t any roads. At least not real roads.”
She was starting to think that this cabin was more of a campsite. “So is there a path? I’m not afraid of hiking,” she told him, even though she had absolutely no idea how to hike. She knew she needed good boots and lots of water. Other than that, it seemed like just walking towards a goal. Not too hard, right?
“One of his brothers might give you better directions,” he told her with an apologetic smile.
The thing was, Gabriella wasn’t sure if Teague’s brothers would give her directions. They all were very kind to her, but obviously Teague had run away from her by going to his cabin. They might try and protect him by not allowing her to find him.
She looked around as Harry went back to work, trying to figure out a better way to find the directions. Surely, if he’d bought the property, it would be in the county tax offices. She could just figure out directions from that information, right?
She walked back to the beaten up, old desk and sat down in Marcy’s chair, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. The problem would be tracing the correct county in which the cabin was located. The cabin could be anywhere! It was a big mountain! But she would not be deterred!
Harry had said the cabin was located on the mountain. She searched through the counties, every one of them. It took her three hours but she finally found the right county. A few minutes later and she actually had the GPS coordinates for the cabin!
Now it was only a matter of figuring out how to get up there. It was pretty remote, she realized. But as she studied the online map, she figured out a route, considered various options, and then made her plans.
The following morning, she was in a rented SUV and was traveling down the road, the divorce papers in her backpack, two additional pairs of socks, a change of clothes, an extra wool sweater, several bottles of water and energy bars. Teague thought he could hide from her?
Ha! She was going to find him, convince him to sign the papers, and get out of Dodge. It was a five mile hike from the nearest parking lot. She could park her truck there by ten o’clock this morning, walk the five miles up the mountain to his cabin in about an hour and a half, get him to sign the papers and be back down the mountain by mid-afternoon. She might even be able to catch a flight to Boston tonight and be home by morning!
It would all work out. Teague couldn’t continue to avoid the subject here in the mountains. At the work site, he had lots of places to go, things to do, and interruptions. There on the mountain, he probably just sat around being bored. A person could only stare at the stars for so long before boredom set in.
Yes, it was a perfect plan, she told herself.
Five hours later, she wasn’t so sure. She’d been hiking for four hours now and she still wasn’t to the site. She was fairly certain that she was pretty close, but five miles of walking on a street in Boston was entirely different than five miles of hiking up a mountain!
She guzzled another bottle of water and stuffed it back into her backpack. She’d already drunk half the water and her stomach was growling with hunger. But she had brought only two protein bars and she’d eaten one already. She’d need to save the other for the walk back down the mountain.
With determination, she pushed herself away from the tree and forced her feet to walk, ignoring the pain in her toes and heels.
An hour later, she was starting to get worried. She’d reached a beautiful lake and sat down, worried, hungry, tired and her feet were aching. She was fairly sure that she had some pretty good blisters on her feet and she had no idea where else to look. If that man had a cabin up here, she wasn’t seeing it.
The lake was gorgeous though. It wasn’t large, but the clear skies and the crisp air made the surface of the lake almost like a mirror of the sky.
With tears of frustration looming, she fell back against the soft earth, looking up into the blue sky.
“Gabby?” a deep voice said. A moment later, Teague’s hard features appeared in her line of sight. “Are you okay, darlin’?” he as
ked, bending down and looking into her tired eyes. “You don’t look so great, honey.”
Gabriella thought about admonishing him for calling her Gabby again, but she just didn’t have the energy any longer. “I did it,” she sighed and closed her eyes with relief. “I found you.”
Teague looked down into her beautiful features and chuckled. “That you did, honey.” A moment later, she was in his arms as he carried her down a path. “How long did it take you to find me?”
She put an arm around his neck but was afraid of touching him too much. After the last time they were alone together, she wasn’t sure what would happen.
It finally occurred to her that she was alone with him…on a mountaintop…and there would be no interruptions to save her this time.
Those green eyes looked down at her and she couldn’t even answer the question, too afraid of the situation she’d foolishly put herself into. She was here, on a mountain, alone with Teague!
Had he planned this?
No, impossible! There was no way he could have anticipated that she would have looked for him here of all places.
“Will you please sign the papers?” she asked, trying not to burst into tears. But the thought of walking back down the mountain with her feet so sore…she wasn’t sure she could do it.
“How about if I feed you and then we can talk about anything you want to discuss, okay?”
She couldn’t help it. She leaned her head against his strong shoulder and sighed. “Fine,” she told him, not really caring what would happen as long as she didn’t have to walk any further today.
“You okay, Gabby?” he asked as he lowered her down onto an adirondack chair that faced the beautiful lake. He moved around her, bending to one knee while he loosened the laces on her work boots.
“I’m fine,” she said, hissing when he slid the boot off her foot.
A moment later, he carefully peeled the wool socks away. “Oh honey,” he shook his head as he looked down at her bare feet. “You abused these beauties pretty badly.”
Seducing His Wife Page 8