“Do you have any ideas?” she asks.
“Not one,” I tell her. “However, it’s obvious this is all connected somehow.”
She looks up at Gabby, and something passes between them. “Guys, I have a theory,” Gabby says, turning to look at Chase and me. “You might want to sit for this,” she warns.
We both remain standing.
“Do either of you remember my twenty-first birthday?” she asks.
“Yeah,” Chase says. “You wore those tight-as-hell leather pants, and that sparkly tank top, no bra.” He goes on to describe her hair and shoes.
Gabby looks surprised. “Y-Yeah. Um, so that night, do you remember there was a girl hanging all over you, Harrison?” I can tell by the way that she’s looking at me, she’s being cautious.
I think back to that night all those years ago. “Yeah, she was annoying as hell. I was never so glad to see you,” I tell my wife.
“That girl was Gina,” Winnie tells me.
“What?” Chase and I say at the same time.
“Are you sure?” I ask, even though I know it’s possible. I barely spared her a glance that night.
“Surely we would have remembered that?” Chase says, almost as if he’s thinking out loud.
“Apparently, not.” This from Gabby as she never takes her eyes off Chase. “Do you forget all the women you sleep with?” Gabby asks, her face pinched as if it pains her.
“What are you talking about? I never slept with her.”
“That night she told me that the guy she wanted to go home with fell through, so she went home with his best friend.”
“It wasn’t me,” Chase says through clenched teeth.
“Right,” Gabby scoffs. “No point in denying it, Chase.”
“I’m telling you, Gabrielle, it wasn’t me.” He turns to look at me. “Ethan was with us that night.”
“That’s right. He just accepted that new job and was moving away,” I say as the memory comes back to me.
“It wasn’t you?” Gabby says, her voice sounding strange.
“No, Gabs, it wasn’t me. I remember distinctly. I had my eye on a girl way out of reach. I couldn’t see past her to notice anyone else.” His eyes lock on hers.
“It fits,” Winnie says, peeking under the cover at Sophia. “She’s snoozing, and I need to burp her.”
“Let me.” In a couple of long strides, I’m at her side. Grabbing the extra blanket, I place it over my shoulder, like I saw Winnie do earlier. Gabby helps her hold up the blanket while I lift my sleeping daughter into my arms. I go back to the window, and take my spot beside Chase, rubbing my little girl’s back. The conversation goes on as we continue to put the pieces together. Sophia burps and Chase laughs loudly, causing her to startle.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” he says, reaching over and lightly running his finger over her cheek. “I didn’t expect that from such a little thing,” he says gently.
“So what do we do?” Winnie asks.
“I’ll make a call. Tell them what we know. Otherwise, we do nothing.”
“What do you mean, nothing?” she asks incredulously. “She’s torturing us, messing with your business. She started a fire, Harrison.”
“I know. But all that matters is that we’re all okay. No one was hurt. We have a new baby girl to take home and get settled. We’ll let the authorities handle it. Right now we have no concrete proof that this is happening. We’ll tell them what we remember, what we think and let them work it out.” I’m furious at myself for letting her stay employed by All Fit as long as I did, and at her for everything she’s done. However, I refuse to let it ruin the miracle that is my little girl.
“Who are you?” Gabby asks.
“I’m a father,” I tell her. “I’m a husband, and a brother-in-law, a friend, a son. I’m lots of things, but most of all, I’m deliriously happy. If it was Gina, which I believe it was, they’ll get her.”
“And if they don’t?” Winnie questions.
“Then we’ll figure it out when that happens.”
“He’s right,” Chase agrees. “We can’t take matters into our own hands. I mean, what are we going to do? Tie her up in the basement? We’ll tell them what we know, and it all leads back to her. We’re all confident of that. They’ll more than likely need to talk to all four of us, to give our side of the story.”
“Count me in,” Gabby says.
“Not alone,” he tells her.
“It’s not the mob.” She laughs.
“I’ll go with you, Gabby.”
“He’s right, you know. Just to be on the safe side. Until she’s caught, we don’t know what she has planned next or where she might be lurking.” I hate the thought of Gina out there after my family. I’m not letting her ruin this day, though, Sophia’s birthday. Inside, I’m raging mad, and I won’t stop until she pays for what she’s done.
“You should stay with us,” Winnie tells her.
“No. No way. You have a new baby, and you all need to settle in and get a routine. You don’t need a house guest.”
“You can stay with me.” Chase doesn’t even hesitate.
“Absolutely not,” Gabby says, but there is no heat behind her words.
“Then I’ll stay with you.”
“Have you lost your mind? I’ll be fine,” she tells him. There’s a slight tremor in her voice. One that tells me she’s worried.
“Gabby,” Chase says sternly. “Please.” His voice is quieter now, almost pleading.
If I hadn’t been watching with my own eyes, I never would have believed it. I see Gabby’s shoulders fall, and her features soften. “We’ll figure it out.” It’s not a complete agreement, but it’s close enough. Chase must think so too. He nods his acceptance and that’s that.
Chase pulls his phone out of his pocket, and it reminds me I need to call our parents. “Our parents,” I say to Winnie. “Gabby called them both. They’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
“Detective Benson, Chase Callahan, I have some information that might help with your case.” We remain quiet as we listen to Chase give him the details and our suspicion of Gina. From that night all those years ago, to her being fired and the events that have happened since. “Thank you, sir. We’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Chase ends the call and looks at me. “He’s on it. I guess there’s video footage from the back of the gym. Apparently, there’s a camera she didn’t know about or forgot about.”
“She didn’t know about it. When Winnie started working out there, I realized the back hall wasn’t well monitored; there was a blind spot. And not willing to risk her safety, I had them come and install another camera. It was a Sunday. Gina wasn’t there,” I explain.
“Your alpha male tendencies finally come in handy.” He grins. “Who knew you being a caveman when it comes to Gwen would work out in our favor,” he jokes. My best friend never misses an opportunity to give me shit. “Time to eat,” he says, going back to the table full of tacos and passing them out.
“Then we need to go, let you three get some sleep,” Gabby says.
“We have a newborn. There won’t be much sleep in our future,” I tell her.
“Still. We should get out of your hair. Until later today that is.” Winnie opens her mouth to argue, but Gabby holds up her hands to stop her. “Nope. Chase and I will check on the gym, and we’ll be back to check on you.”
“Chase, please look out for my sister,” Winnie asks.
“I’ve got her,” Chase says. There is conviction in his voice, something I’ve heard from him on very few occasions in our life. I have no doubt he’s not going to be letting my sister-in-law out of his sight.
After we say our goodbyes, the nurse comes in and checks on my girls, asking if we want her to take Sophia to the nursery. We both say no, making her laugh. She reminds us to call if we need anything or change our minds, then walks quietly out the door.
“Alone at last,” I say, rubbing Sophia’s back.
“It’s been an adven
ture.” Winnie beams.
“Definitely. You did good, Winnie. You did real good.”
“You had a hand in that too.” She smiles. “Why don’t you put her in her bed, then climb in here with me. We need to sleep while she does.”
Doing as she says, I lower Sophia so Mommy can give her a kiss, then place her in her bed. I wheel the bed as close to us as we can get it before kicking off my shoes, and lying down beside my wife. Winnie snuggles up to me and I breathe her in. This is what life is about. The moments, no matter how big or small. Not your career, or how much money you have in the bank. None of that compares to snuggling up with your wife, while your newborn daughter sleeps peacefully beside you.
“It’s not over,” I whisper, kissing her temple.
“What’s not?” she asks sleepily.
“Our story. It’s not over. It’s just beginning.” She hums her agreement as we both drift off to sleep.
Chapter 20
Winnie
“So King Harrison had some major groundwork to make up to win Queen Gwendolyn’s heart back.” I hear the deep timbers of his voice through the baby monitor beside my bed.
I woke up fifteen minutes ago when Sophia started to cry, but Harrison just kissed me on the forehead and told me he had her. The clock reads just after two, a common wake-up time for our daughter, but even though I’m seriously lacking sleep, I’ve been unable to drift back off.
Instead, I lie here and listen to the sound of a doting father caring for his daughter. At only ten days old, she already adores him. Her eyes light up when she hears his voice and often search for him. When she’s tucked safely in his arms, she sleeps soundly and peacefully. It always makes me smile because, well, I know that feeling.
Sliding out of bed, I tiptoe across the hall and stand silently in the doorway. Harrison has her swaddled in a pink blanket and is giving her a bottle of breastmilk. The breastfeeding thing just didn’t work out for me, even though I tried, but she just wouldn’t latch on. I decided to pump for now, which is nice too for Harrison. He gets to help feed her, something he couldn’t do those first few days when I was attempting to get her to latch on.
He gently rocks in the chair and keeps his eyes focused on her as he tells her a story. “King Harrison was determined, though. He knew in his heart his queen was the only woman for him, and it became more clear when he found out about Princess Sophia.”
He smiles down at the baby in his arms. “The king was an idiot, you see, like most men. Of course, Princess Sophia isn’t going to date until she’s thirty, so that’s nothing we need to worry about right now. This story is about the stupid king who let his queen get away. He was a total jackass, my little love,” he tells her.
A giggle slips from my mouth.
“Ahhh, Princess Sophia, I believe we’re not alone. No worries, though. It’s only the beautiful queen, and she could definitely vouch for how senseless the king was,” he says, his eyes dancing with laughter as I enter the room.
“I think the queen and the king were both a little dense,” I reply, stepping up beside the rocking chair. I reach down and run my index finger over her soft cheek, mesmerized by her tiny little features. Her mouth suckles hard on the bottle and her gray eyes watch every move her dad makes.
“Well, this is my bedtime story, and I say the king was the dumbass. Oh, shit. I probably shouldn’t say dumbass,” he stops, turning wide eyes at me. “Fuck, I said shit.”
I can’t help but laugh. With my arm around his shoulder, I snuggle against his head and watch our daughter eat. Her eyes start to droop and her sucking begins to slow. Her little belly is finally full, and she’s ready for a few more hours of sleep.
“Anyway, the day the princess was born was one of the happiest days of the king’s life. He couldn’t imagine his life any better than it was right then, in that moment. Except, maybe, if the queen officially wore a ring on her finger so that everything in the kingdom was complete,” he says. His words barely register. It isn’t until he opens our daughter’s tiny little hand that I see the diamond nestled inside.
A gasp spills from my lips as my eyes dart from his to the ring. He’s moving, gingerly getting up and pulling the bottle from our now-sleeping daughter’s lips. Harrison positions her on his shoulder as he drops to one knee. “Winnie, you are the love of my life. For a while, I was lost. Without you, I was nothing, just an empty shell. But now, with you and our daughter, I’m complete. Everything has fallen into place, and even though you’ve already agreed, I wanted to make it official. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you that I was worth the risk. Will you marry me?”
Through tear-filled eyes, I gaze down at the only man I’ve loved. It’s not the first time we’ve been in this exact position, though there wasn’t a baby in the picture the first time. But as I recall his first proposal, when we were so young and naïve about the world, I know that this proposal is the one I’ll forever remember. He’s holding our tiny daughter against his bare shoulder, gazing up at me with so much hope and love that it steals the very air I breathe. I know that our story isn’t your typical fairy tale. It wasn’t easy, and, at times, it wasn’t pretty. But it was ours.
Our story.
Our love.
So there’s only one answer I can give him. One answer that speaks from the depths of my soul. “Yes.”
The smile that spreads across his handsome face is my favorite. It radiates happiness and love, and as he slips the ring onto my finger, I can’t help but pray my smile is the exact same.
“I know I’ve already asked a thousand times, and you’ve agreed, but Sophia and I were talking a few nights ago and she told me a ring would make it official,” he says, grinning widely up at me as he wraps his big hands around my shaky ones.
I can’t help but giggle. “Oh, she did, did she?”
“She did,” he confirms. “She’s very wise, just like her mom.”
Gently, he stands up, holding Sophia tightly in his arms. The image is enough to send my hormones into overdrive. It hasn’t even been two weeks, but I’m already craving him like a drunk longs for a nip of whiskey. I’m not sure I’ll survive these next few weeks.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he demands, lightly patting our daughter’s back in an attempt to get a burp.
“Like what?” I ask coyly.
“Like you want to strip naked and screw me senseless,” he whispers. Even in the dimly lit room, I can see the desire in his eyes.
“Oh, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” I reply, running my hands up his bare, muscular forearms.
“Sorry, Queen, but you’re out of luck. The doctor says six weeks.”
“What do doctors know anyway?” I tease—though, not really teasing.
“A lot more than gymrats, so I’m going to heed her advice.”
Sliding my hands up his arms and around his shoulders, I say, “Well, you know there are… other things we can do, right?”
“Keep talking.”
Just then, a small belch is released from our daughter, making us both smile. I lean forward and place a soft kiss on her forehead, rubbing her back as I go. Harrison slowly walks toward the crib, kisses Sophia in the same spot I just kissed, and gingerly sets her down in the middle. The bed is huge in comparison to her tiny body. We watch as she settles into position and falls fast asleep.
Together, we backtrack to the doorway, our attention still on the crib against the wall. We step out into the hallway and his arms wrap around my lower back. “Now, what was this about other things we can do?” he asks, kissing that magical spot behind my ear.
“I’d rather just show you.”
“He’s late,” Gabby says for the tenth time as she glances out the window. She’s holding her niece in her arms, while Chase stands close, stealing glances when he thinks no one is looking.
“He’ll be here. He wouldn’t have asked us to all meet him if he wasn’t going to show,” Harrison states, setting a bottle of water on the end table beside whe
re I sit.
The detective in charge of the All Fit fire called this morning and asked for a few minutes. He wouldn’t tell us anything over the phone, but considering he also called Chase and Gabby, we’re hoping for good news.
Chase and Gabby arrived together. He’s still crashing on her couch, where he’s been stationed since the night of the fire. He insists it’s to protect her from whatever threat could be looming, but honestly, I’m not so sure anymore. She refuses to even look at him, and when we were alone in the kitchen, she wouldn’t elaborate on their roommating status.
After a few tense minutes, a car finally pulls into the driveway. Detective Benson slides out of the driver’s seat and makes his way to the front door. Before Harrison can get there, Chase has the door open and is greeting the older man.
“Thank you for seeing me on a Sunday afternoon,” the detective states, shaking everyone’s hand as he enters.
“We’re hoping this call was because you’ve figured out who set the fire,” Harrison says, taking a seat beside me on the couch, while Gabby and Chase sit together with Sophia on the loveseat, and Detective Benson takes the recliner.
“We have, actually, and I wanted you to hear it from me,” he says, pulling a series of photos from a folder and handing them to Harrison.
The first one is an image of Gina entering the gym with a bag, the date and time stamped on the corner. Even though her head is down, there’s no disguising her tight tank top and the boobs she can barely conceal beneath it. The second image is of her going into the ladies’ locker room, again with her head down to avoid the cameras. The third photo is a clear image of her face, taken as she sneaks down the back hallway and toward the back door.
“This was taken by the camera I had installed without her knowledge,” Harrison informs, pointing to the picture of his former assistant.
“Correct. Clearly, she wasn’t aware of that camera or else she would have kept her head down as she left,” the detective answers.
“Where’s the bag she walked in with?” I ask before passing the photos over to Chase and Gabby.
Fair Lakes Series Box Set Page 25