The next afternoon, back at home, Gabby sat on the edge of her grandmother’s bed and tried to manage the mix of love and exasperation she felt. “I’m not leaving you here,” she said, keeping her voice firm. “You just got home from the hospital a few hours ago!”
“And she has a doctor to help care for her.” Sheniqua tapped on the edge of the bedroom door and then came in. “How are you feeling, Miss Estelle?”
“I’m perfectly fine, except these coddling young people are annoying me. One here and one pacing around the living room like he’s going to wear a hole in the carpet.”
“I heard that,” Reese called.
“We’re sorry.” Gabby studied her grandmother’s face. She did, indeed, look as well as ever. According to the doctors at the hospital, she’d simply overdone it and neglected drinking fluids on the day she’d helped with the boys, and it had caused her to get lightheaded and pass out. All of her tests had come back normal, so she’d been released early that morning with an admonition to pace herself better and stay hydrated.
It was a big relief, but the last thing Gabby wanted to do was to leave Nana alone, or even with Sheniqua.
“You don’t have a choice,” Nana said firmly.
“That’s right,” Sheniqua added. “Me and Miss Estelle are going to watch the National Gospel Choir’s Christmas concert, and she’s going to help me with my knitting project.”
“And it might be that I’m working on a project, myself, that you have no business seeing before Christmas. So go on, give a woman some privacy to make a gift for you!”
“But it’s your day off!” Gabby said to Sheniqua. “Are you sure...”
“There’s nowhere I’d rather spend it.” She looked fondly at Nana. “I told you she’s my favorite patient. I wasn’t kidding.”
Gabby looked at Reese, who’d come to stand in the doorway, and shrugged. “I guess we have no choice.” And it was a good thing, she supposed. They’d never had the opportunity to resume their conversation. Maybe today was the day.
The idea of talking to him about how his cousin had assaulted her had her quaking with nerves. Reese had been so lovely, helping with Nana. She didn’t want to lose the feeling of being even closer to him.
But if that closeness was to be real and ongoing, they couldn’t have secrets. So she’d gather her courage and talk to him this afternoon.
Jacob burst into the room, still in his snowy jacket. He’d been throwing sticks for Biff in the snow, and his cheeks were as rosy as apples. “Can you take me Christmas shopping?” he asked Gabby. “Nana was going to, but she can’t.”
“And pick me up a couple of last-minute gifts,” Nana said. “Hand me that pad and pencil and I’ll make a list.”
“Um, sure.” So much for having the time and opportunity to talk to Reese.
“And if you’re doing all that,” Sheniqua said, “you’d better leave sweet Izzy with us.”
“Oh, I couldn’t.” Gabby stopped in the act of getting the struggling baby into her fleece jacket.
Nana handed her the scribbled list. “Go on, now, and leave the baby to us. We have work to do and a show to watch.”
When Gabby hesitated, Nana took her hand. “Let me feel a little useful. Please?”
That was different. “You’ve got a deal,” she said, and handed the baby to Nana.
As they rode into town in Reese’s truck, Gabby felt tense but excited. She was worried about Nana and worried about the show...which had been her idea, and if it failed, how would she live with herself?
Most of all, she was worried about telling Reese her secret.
But having that conversation was going to be a lot harder, probably impossible, with Jacob in tow.
Reese pulled in to the last diagonal parking space on Main Street. It was unseasonably warm, and the sun was bright. Icicles dripped from the edges of the buildings and the sidewalks were almost dry of snow, although heaps of it remained along the street.
Dozens of shoppers strolled, looking into shop windows, bundles in hand. The warm weather and clear sky made it a perfect day for last-minute shopping.
The perfect day for a romantic walk with someone you cared about, too. Gabby’s coat sleeve kept brushing against Reese’s, making her catch her breath.
She was so aware of him: his easy, athletic stride, the way he waved to people he knew—friendly, but not as if he wanted to stop and talk. He made her feel like he wanted to focus on her, and the sensation was heady.
She even had a little bit of the hero worship she’d felt when they were teenagers together. She was walking downtown with one of the most popular, best-liked football players in town. It upped her status immensely.
And Reese had no clue of how much people admired him, wanted to be his friend.
The back of his hand brushed hers, and the temptation to turn her hand over and interlace her fingers with his was strong, but she didn’t do it. Too public of a place...a decision that was validated a minute later when a couple of the Rescue Haven kids came up and started high-fiving Jacob.
In just a short while, he’d become part of the community. He stood up straighter, smiled more readily, sounded more relaxed as he greeted people—other kids and adults alike.
As the other boys walked away, she noticed he was standing straighter still, forking a hand through his hair, the color rising in his cheeks. She turned in the direction he was looking.
Paige.
The pretty teenager stood in front of the window of the pet store, dressed in her stylish jeans and boots, apparently alone.
Gabby’s heart clenched up as she watched Jacob suck in a big breath and then head over to her. Her brother wasn’t just a kid; he was well on his way to falling in love.
“Hey, Paige,” she heard him say in an elaborately casual voice.
“Oh, hey!” Something about the way she said it made Gabby suspect that she’d placed herself in Jacob’s path on purpose.
“This isn’t good,” Reese said quietly to Gabby, and strode over to the teenagers. “Hey, honey. Do your folks know where you are?”
“They know I’m shopping in town,” she said, and then turned to Jacob. “Want to hang out?”
He glanced over at Gabby and Reese. “Um, sure, if it’s okay with you guys.”
Gabby looked at Reese and shrugged. “It’s okay with me, if they stay close by.”
Reese looked troubled for a moment and then shook his head as if to clear it. “For a little while.”
As the teens walked fifty feet in front of them, talking intently, Gabby smiled over at Reese. “Puppy love?”
“Looks like.” He glanced over at her. “Brings up some memories, doesn’t it?”
Gabby’s face warmed. “Yeah. It does.”
He didn’t say any more, but his steps slowed a little, and she glanced over at him. “What?”
“I really feel like we need to sit down and talk,” he said. “I guess now isn’t the time, with Jacob, and your grandma, and the show. But right after that, let’s you and I make sure we get some private time.”
“I’d...like that,” she said. And then, because she couldn’t stop herself, she asked, “Is anything wrong?”
“Wrong, right, I don’t know,” he said. “My aunt and uncle said a few things that I don’t think are quite right. Wanted to run them by you.”
Dread clenched Gabby’s throat, rendering her unable to speak. What had Reese’s aunt and uncle been saying to him? What did they know about her?
What did they suspect?
She bit her lip. “I... I do want to talk. We need to. But...” She looked up at him.
“But what?” When she hesitated, he gave her upper arm a little shake. “Don’t hesitate or try to protect me. You can say it!”
“Be careful what you ask for,” she said. Her voice was shaky and the joking tone she was trying for didn’t come through.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her shoulder and another on Reese’s, and they turned to see Reese’s uncle frowning and looking ahead at Jacob and Paige. “What on earth is going on?” he asked.
Reese’s heart sank. His aunt and uncle were the last people he wanted to see. He’d been enjoying Gabby’s company and feeling close to her. Watching Paige and Jacob’s feelings for each other start to grow, he’d been thrown back headlong into the weeks and months when he’d been falling for Gabby, and the memories had been sweet.
Now, though, the feelings he had were based on more. She was a coworker and a mother and a caring sister and granddaughter. In addition to being attracted to her and liking her personality, he now felt admiration for who she was.
But seeing his aunt and uncle brought back all the negative things they’d said when he’d met them for dinner.
He didn’t believe that Gabby was a bad person, not in the least. Any bad influencing that had been done in the past had probably gone from Brock to Gabby, not the reverse. Maybe they’d gotten into a little trouble at a party or something, but he couldn’t imagine that Gabby had been the wild woman pulling Brock off his pedestal.
The idea that she might be using Reese...that didn’t hold water, either. She just wasn’t the type. She was a good person. And she certainly more than carried her weight at work.
The only thing that nagged at him was the question of whether she’d be put off by his disability. He’d seen no evidence of that at all, but she might have some hesitations or squeamishness beneath the surface. You couldn’t talk yourself out of that.
“I’ve made it clear,” Aunt Catherine said now, “that I don’t want Paige hanging around that boy.”
Gabby’s shoulders stiffened and she turned, slowly. “His name is Jacob,” she said.
“Oh, I know his name, and his game. Yours, too.”
“What does that even mean?” Gabby sounded bewildered.
“How’s your baby?” his aunt asked.
“She’s fine. Jacob,” she called.
The boy turned, did a double take and said something to Paige. They talked for a minute and then came back toward the adults, reluctance obvious in every dragging step.
“Come on,” Gabby said to Jacob. “We need to pick up some things in here.” She took his shoulder and steered him into the bookstore, giving a “nice to see you” half wave over her shoulder.
“I need a book, too,” Paige said, lifting her chin as if defying her parents to yell at her.
“Not without me, you don’t.”
“Then you’d better hurry, because I’m going in.” And Paige strode into the bookstore, chin held high.
It called to mind Brock, who’d been quick to defy his parents’ orders and never suffered a consequence for it.
Reese tapped his aunt’s shoulder. “I won’t have you being rude to Gabby,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “You’re telling me what to do?”
“It seems necessary,” he said. “Please don’t criticize Jacob, either. He’s a good kid and he’s done nothing wrong.”
Aunt Catherine sniffed. “The very idea!” She spun and followed Paige into the store.
The moment the others were out of earshot, Uncle Clive started in. “I see you’re still spending time with Gabby. Our offer to help with the Rescue Haven program still stands, but my patience won’t last forever.”
“I’m losing some patience myself.” He smiled briefly at his uncle, more of a grimace, really. “I’m not interested in money that’s given to me with those types of strings attached.”
“Just wait,” Uncle Clive said. “You’ll soon see what type of woman Gabby is, and then you’ll come crawling back to us, wishing you’d listened.”
“Doubtful,” Reese said.
Nonetheless, there were doubts in his mind. And fears, too. What if the show didn’t go well tomorrow and Mr. Romano didn’t come through? Would Reese have to take the donation of his aunt and uncle, under their conditions? Would he be able to do that, for the sake of the kids, at Gabby’s expense?