by Summers, MJ
Gabriela glanced her up and down and then gave her a weak little handshake, "Oh yes. I saw you yesterday but you were all covered in mud so I did not recognize you today. Are you one of the ranch hands?"
Cole spoke up, "Claire is my girlfriend and she's the executive chef for the ranch as well."
"Oh, how nice of you to give your girlfriend a job," she replied with amusement.
"I had the job first. My goodness, you look amazing for someone who just travelled so far with a baby."
Gabriela gave her a phoney smile, "Oh, she's sweet, Cole. I can see why you like her."
"Come here, my little angel," she said, holding her hands out for Tomas. Cole handed him over to her. "Did you like Dudley? He's a nice horse, isn't he?" she asked the baby.
"He really likes him. He's pretty brave," Cole said.
"Just like his daddy," Gabriela smiled from her son and back to Cole. "I'm going to go feed him now. He also has his daddy's appetite." She waved Tomas's little hand at Cole, "Bye-bye Daddy!"
It was all Claire could do not to roll her eyes. She and Cole watched them depart, Gabriela's ass and pony tail swaying behind her.
"She's not going to make this easy, is she?" Cole said.
"I guess not. She came all this way for a reason and I'm in the way of her getting what she wants."
"Well too bad for her," Cole said, giving Claire a big kiss on the lips, "because you're my girl and that's not going to change."
* * *
A little while later at the restaurant, Claire got a text from Alicia. It was her day off and she invited Claire to come by for a coffee after breakfast service was over.
At nine-thirty Claire knocked gently on Alicia and Ben's door. She was surprised when Ben opened the door.
"Hi Ben. I came to have a coffee with Alicia."
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Of course not," Claire smiled at him. She would have loved having him for a brother-in-law, but she doubted that would happen now.
Alicia was sitting at their kitchen table, setting out three plates and putting cinnamon buns on them, while Ben poured coffees. Claire flopped down into a chair across from Alicia.
Alicia looked over at her friend, "Holy shit, Claire! I can't believe that bitch is back."
"I can't either. This is just a fucking nightmare," Claire said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Ben grabbed a box of tissues and placed it down in front of her, along with her coffee.
"I'm sorry," Claire said, blowing her nose. "I'm just a complete wreck. Neither of us slept last night and we had a huge fight about her this morning. I have no fucking clue what to do here."
"Neither do we," Alicia said, "But we're pretty sure Mary will. Ben called her last night. They are on their way back from Arizona as we speak."
Claire's eyes widened with surprise, "What?!? What will Cole say?"
"He might be pissed at first, but he'll get over it," Ben shrugged, "Mom could always see through Gabriela's bullshit so the sooner she gets here the better."
"In the meantime, maybe you could call your sister for some advice. She went to law school here in the states, right?" Alicia asked.
"Yes she did, but I can't get a hold of her. She's on a vacation in Bali with Ted right now. I won't be able to reach her for another week."
"Well, we can ask around to see if we can get a recommendation for a good family lawyer around here," Ben said.
"Thank you but Cole said he was going to find someone first thing this morning," Claire had a sip of her coffee. "I can't believe you called Mary and Jake. How did they take it?"
"My dad didn't say much, he seemed shocked and worried for the two of you. My mom, on the other hand had a lot to say - none of it nice. She never liked Gabriela and she doesn't sound at all convinced that this is even Cole's child."
"I'm not either," Claire said, "but Cole seems so certain of it. This is my absolute worst nightmare. She came into the barn this morning - looking gorgeous, of course - and treated me like a bug she could just squash into the ground. It was humiliating actually. And if that's what is in store for me, I don't know how long I'll be able to handle it."
"Hang in there, Claire," Alicia said. "We're all on your side and Cole's no dummy. He knows what she is about."
"I know he does, but he's also a good man. He'll want to raise his son and she comes with the package unfortunately," Claire said, sighing heavily.
"You have nothing to worry about," Ben said, "I know my brother better than anyone. He'd never leave you for her. He's completely in love with you and if that even is his son, he'll find a way to make it work."
Claire gave him a worried look, "I hope you're right, Ben. He was in love with her once too and now they have a child together."
* * *
That afternoon, as Tomas napped, Gabriela paced the tiny living room of the cabin nervously. She knew that Cole would show up soon and that he would have a lot of questions for her. She had spent weeks imagining how the whole conversation would go and now that it was about to happen, she felt sick with worry. She had known there was a chance that Cole would have moved on with another woman and was extremely annoyed to find out that he had indeed done that. Claire's presence complicated things for Gabriela at a time when she desperately needed things to go smoothly. She could sense that Claire would be easily driven off though by the way that she had fled when she first saw Gabriela and the baby. She was obviously insecure and Gabriela knew exactly how to play on those insecurities. She would do whatever she had to do in order to give Tomas a proper family with a good father. The trick would be to make sure that Cole wouldn't see that she was intentionally running Claire off.
That evening, just after she got Tomas to bed for the night, Gabriela heard the knock she had been waiting for. She smoothed her hair and took a deep breath before opening the door.
"Cole," she smiled warmly, "Come in."
"Is this a good time?" Cole asked, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.
"I came all this way to be with you, Cole. It will always be the good time. I am sure you have many questions for me," she replied, sitting down on the couch.
"That I do," Cole said, planting himself on a chair opposite her. "Obviously I can't understand why you kept all of this from me the whole time. Didn't you think you should pick up the phone and tell me that I was about to be a father?"
"The horrible truth is that I didn't know until he was born that he was definitely yours. I wasn't going to call you until I knew for sure," Gabriela said, looking Cole in the face, her eyes filled with regret.
"When I got back to Brazil, Evandro was waiting for me at the airport. I found out that my parents had set it all up to get me home. Both families were intent on us getting married. He made all sorts of promises and declared his love to me and told me how much he regretted being so inattentive before. I believed him. I wanted the life he was offering - full of excitement and luxury. I was so stupid, a little girl chasing an easy life."
Gabriela paused, letting her head hang down for a moment and sighing heavily. When she looked back up at Cole, her eyes were glistening with tears, "I didn't realize what was important. I am ashamed to say I slept with him within days of returning home. A few weeks later, I discovered that I was pregnant. I hoped it was his child. I even told him that there was no way it was yours so that he would stay with me. When Tomas was born, it was clear that he was your son - his little blonde hair and blue eyes gave away my secret. Evandro left me at the hospital as soon as he saw his little face for the first time. He just stared at him and said, 'We are done', then turned and walked out of my life. Of course, I deserved it.
My parents were outraged, I had ruined everything. He sent all of my things to their house, but they refused for me to come home to them. I had to ask my sister to come stay with her. She agreed that I could stay until I got my feet under me again, but she couldn't help me with the baby. You remember how busy she is with her children and her cloth
ing store. I was so tired and humiliated. The wedding was cancelled and I realized that Evandro never did love me. If he had, he would have tried to make it work, no?"
Cole said nothing, but continued to stare at her, searching for the truth.
Gabriela continued, "I know I should have called you right away, but I was exhausted and so overwhelmed with trying to look after Tomas. He wouldn't eat well at first. He was up all the night, crying and hungry. I never slept. I couldn't think of anything but taking care of him. I was so big and felt so ugly. I wouldn't have wanted you to see me like that, especially after I how left you. It took me this long to get back on my feet again."
Gabriela's voice shook with emotion, "I am so, so sorry, Cole. I wish I could go back in time. I would have come right back as soon as I realized my parents had tricked me. We would have been together, you could have had the excitement of knowing you were going to be a father and being there when your son was born." She was sobbing now, her face in her hands.
Cole sat across the room watching her come undone, not sure what to do. No part of him wanted to comfort this deceitful woman and yet he had not been raised to be cruel, which was how he felt sitting silently as she cried. He got up and walked over to the kitchen, pouring her a glass of water and grabbing some tissues from a box on the counter. He walked over and sat down beside her, holding them out to her and setting the water down on the coffee table. She took the tissue and hung her head down, continuing to sob. Cole put one hand on her back and patted her stiffly.
Finally she looked up at him, "I took it all away from you, Cole. I robbed you of your son for so long and I will never forgive myself for that. I don't expect you to forgive me either."
Cole leaned back against the couch, letting his body slump down, "I'm not going to lie to you. I've never been this angry with anyone in my life. It's not going to be easy to get over, Gabby. We'll figure things out somehow, but it's going to take time."
Gabriela looked up at him, a surge of relief flooding through her. Here was the man she was supposed to be with. He was kind and forgiving. He was a good man. She threw her arms around him and buried her face into his neck sobbing. Cole put one arm around her and rubbed her arm for a moment, then tried to pull himself away from her carefully. Gabriela let her face come up to his looking into his eyes with longing.
Cole could tell she wanted him to kiss her, but instead he gently unwrapped her arms from his body and placed them carefully on her lap. He got up from the couch and crossed the room, picking up his coat. He turned back to her.
"Why did you leave in the first place, Gabriela?" Cole had tried to fight the urge to ask her, but in the end he gave in.
"I left because my mom called and told me that my father had a heart attack. You know that."
"Yes, but when you got home and found out he was fine, instead of getting on a plane and coming right back here, you decided to stay with Evandro. Why didn't you want to come back to me?"
"Oh Cole, I was getting so lonely here, waiting for you to finish work everyday and then you'd leave for days at a time on trail rides. I missed my home and my old life - it was so exciting and fun. I was always going out with my friends, traveling, spending days at the beach. I was so stupid. I didn't know what was important in life. I was chasing fun like a dumb, young girl."
Gabriela's head hung down and tears poured out of her eyes, "It was the biggest mistake of my life, Cole. I would give anything to take it all back. No one has ever taken care of me the way you did or loved me so much, not even my own parents."
Cole gave her a hard look, "It's the exact same life here that you hated before, Gabby. But there are two major differences - now we have a son and I have Claire. And for me, no one has ever loved me the way she does. Certainly not you."
"But Cole, I never stopped loving you when I was in Brazil. I know you won't believe me now, but in time you will see. We had something so wonderful and full of passion. From that came our son. He is here because you and I are meant to be together. I made such a horrible, horrible mistake, but I can't believe it's too late. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you will let me."
Cole sighed, "Gabby, I'm in love with Claire. In time I hope that you'll see she is a good person and maybe even accept her as part of Tomas's life. We'll figure out a way to make this work so that he can have both his parents, but you and I aren't going to get back together. I need you to know that it's not going to happen, okay?"
Gabriela sobbed, letting the tears roll down her cheeks, "Okay, Cole. However it has to be. I gave up my say when I left here."
"We'll work this out. We just need time," Cole said, as he put his boots on. "I'll be back tomorrow morning before work to see Tomas, if that's okay. Maybe I can take him each morning for a little while so you can shower or get some sleep. We could start there."
"Okay," Gabriela nodded, "and Cole, I haven't thanked you. Tomas is the best part of my life by far and you gave him to me."
Cole stared at her for a moment and then turned and walked out the door. He had no response to her gratitude, having never intended to give her this gift.
Chapter 3
The next day, Gabriela woke up feeling refreshed. As she brushed her teeth and applied just enough make-up to give her a natural looking glow, she knew that she could win him back. Claire was a pudgy, boring little cook. She was no match for her. And Gabriela had the one thing that would bring Cole back to her - Tomas. It was only a matter of time before she would have her man back and Claire would be searching for a new job. He would get over his anger towards her and they would pick up where they left off. There is no way he could have forgotten how much heat they had when they were together.
Cole's parents arrived in the late afternoon. They went to find Cole first and then he took them over to Gabriela's cabin to meet their grandson. Mary was simmering with rage at what Gabriela had done to her son. She chose to ignore Gabriela completely and pay all of her attention to the sweet little boy who looked so much like her side of the family.
When they left the cabin, Mary put her hand on Cole's arm, "How's Claire doing with all of this? This must be awful for her."
"Yeah," Cole agreed, nodding. "She's taking it pretty hard but who could blame her? It's really driving a wedge between us right now. I honestly don't know how we'll get though this."
"That poor girl. I can only imagine how she must be feeling. How could you have let this happen, Cole?"
"We took every precaution, but I guess nothing is 100%. To be honest, I'm having trouble understanding it myself."
* * *
That afternoon, Gabriela took Tomas for a walk to the barn. She found Dustin there working alone. He had already heard the news about her and the baby.
"So this is the little guy everybody's talking about?" he said, taking Tomas's hand gently in his. "Hello buddy."
Tomas smiled at him. Gabriela greeted him warmly with a kiss on the cheek and the two chatted for a few minutes.
"Well, I should let you get back to work," Gabriela said, starting to walk away. She turned back casually, "Where is that brother of yours? I haven't seen him around yet."
"Oh, you mean that ugly mutt, Trey? He went to college this fall. We had a team of female volleyball players here a few months back and he realized what he was missing out on."
Gabriela's face flashed with relief before she laughed at Dustin's joke, "Good for him. Hopefully he'll actually make it to a few classes while he is there. Which school did he go to?"
"He's at the University of California in San Diego. I'm thinking he's working on his tan and learning to surf more than he's studying though."
"Well, I'm happy for him. You must miss him though."
"Yeah, a little. We don't hear from him much. He's not really an email or phone call kind of guy. But he'll be home at Christmas for three weeks, so that's coming up."
As the days dragged on, Claire became increasingly lonely and insecure. Cole would leave early each morning to be w
ith Tomas before he started work and then would go back over after work to bathe him and give him his bedtime bottle. Claire felt uneasy the entire time that he was in Gabriela's cabin. She knew that each moment they spent together, Gabriela was using the opportunity to erase the mistakes of the past and regain his trust, even just a little. Things were different now. She was no longer just a woman who had abandoned him, she was now the mother of his child and she would be able to show him a nurturing, kind side of herself that still came in such a sexy package.
Claire could feel her insecurities bubbling to the surface. She would just go through the motions at the restaurant, getting through each meal without even noticing what she was doing. By the time evening came she was a mess, often drinking half a bottle of wine while she cleaned up the supper dishes at the restaurant. They hadn't made love since Gabriela had shown up. Claire was suddenly self-conscious about her body again and oscillated between being sympathetic to Cole to feeling jealous and insecure to feeling complete rage at him and Gabriela for ruining everything.