Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold Romance) (17 page)

One more night, Noelle thought as Gabriel took another card and slipped it into his hand. He studied the cards. One more night sharing a bed. Last night she’d been too exhausted to enjoy the closeness, but tonight she planned to savor the snuggling. And maybe come up with a plan to take things to the next level.

Whoever had stocked the cabin had been really thorough. There was a fresh box of condoms in the small medicine cabinet, along with aspirin and a first-aid kit. As no one was injured, she found the condoms most interesting.

She was pretty sure that making love with Gabriel was a stupid idea, but she no longer cared. She liked him. He was sweet and sexy and it had been way too long since she’d been held by a man. She accepted that he was leaving and not interested in anything long-term. While remembering her goals was important, so was living in the moment. And he was a real in-the-moment temptation.

“Gin,” he said, spreading out his cards on the table.

She stared at them. “No way.”

He shrugged. “Look for yourself.”

“You got gin last time.”

“The cards love me.”

She checked his runs and sets and saw that he really had won. She put hers on the table and was able to get rid of a couple of her extra cards by adding them to his, then she calculated the points.

“You’re annoying,” she told him.

He chuckled, then got up and stretched before crossing to the counter and picking up a bottle of wine.

“A saucy red,” he told her.

“I love it when wine gets saucy.”

He dug around in the drawers and found an opener. She went to get glasses. The lights flickered and then came on. The refrigerator began to hum. She stared at Gabriel.

“No way,” she said. “That’s more incredible than you winning two games in a row. We have power?”

“Gotta love the town,” he said, crossing to one of the vents and holding out his hand. “And we have heat.”

They also had access to the hot plate, she thought, carrying the lanterns over to the wall and plugging them in so they could charge. Even heating food on a woodstove was complicated.

He carried the wine over to the sofa, and she joined him. The cats were sleeping.

“I’m not sure how we’re going to transport all nine cats tomorrow,” she said, after taking a sip.

He pointed to the metal box that currently held kindling. “I figured we’d line that with a blanket and put the kittens inside. The mother cats will be loose, I guess. It’s not like we’ll be going fast, so they should be okay.”

“We’ll have to make it work. I’m worried that once we get out, we won’t be able to get back for a while and I don’t want to leave one of the families behind.”

“We won’t.”

Then she would have two new families in her small place, she thought, making a mental list of what she would need. When the kittens were old enough to be adopted, she would rally her friends to help her find them homes. The mother cats would need to be spayed, as well. It was a lot to take on, but she was confident she could manage.

The room was silent, with only the crackling of the fire as background noise. “Not exactly the fast-paced hospital life you’ve been used to,” she said.

“That’s okay. I needed a break.”

“And shoveling snow for hours at a time is what you were hoping for?”

“It’s good exercise.”

She turned to look at him. “Would you have become a doctor if you hadn’t joined the army?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to be a soldier, which didn’t leave a lot of options. I’m good at what I do. I know I make a difference.”

“At a price,” she said, thinking about all he’d told her about his work.

“It’s nothing compared to what those fighting have to pay.” He leaned back against the sofa. “Sometimes I think about what I could do instead. Live somewhere permanently. Have friends outside the medical profession.”

“You don’t have that now?”

“I avoid getting too close to anyone.”

She thought about the girlfriend he’d lost so horribly and unexpectedly. “I guess that makes sense.”

He nodded. “It’s hard to have to patch up a friend and not know if he or she is going to make it, while still having to move on to someone else.”

The realization of all he’d sacrificed made her sad. Somewhere along the way Gabriel had learned that the price of loving was too high. He was no longer willing to risk his heart because it all could be gone tomorrow. The wrong lesson, she was convinced, but she had no way to prove it to him. She reached for his hand—the one that had been injured. The wound had healed over and now there was only the scar. She put down her wine and held his hand in both of hers. There was strength here, she thought. Knowledge. He could recover, or at the very least, ward off death.

She looked back at his face and saw him looking at her. His gaze was hooded, as if he didn’t want her to know what he was thinking.

In that moment, staring into his dark blue eyes, she understood that she’d never had a choice in the matter. That her destiny with Gabriel had been set from the second she’d seen him. He was kind and funny and smart and irreverent and he knew about cats. He was the kind of man who hiked through the wilderness to find the perfect tree for a window display that didn’t matter to him at all. He gave his all and expected nothing in return.

She wanted to tell him that he could have her heart. He could take it with him, if he wanted, because it was his. Only he wouldn’t understand the gesture as a gift. He would think she was trying to trap him, and she wasn’t.

“I’ll be right back,” she said instead and stood. She crossed to the tiny bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. She pulled out the box of condoms and put them on the small table by the bed, then turned to face him.

He’d risen to his feet, but didn’t walk toward her. “I wondered if you’d seen those.”

“I did,” she said, pulling her T-shirt off and draping it over the footboard. She unfastened her jeans and let them fall to the floor.

He put down his wine. “Just like that?”

“Did you want more drama?”

“No,” he said and moved toward her.

She went into his arms. He drew her against him, moving his hands up and down her back. His fingers paused on the back of her bra. She felt a slight tug as the hooks were pulled free, and then it fell away.

She pressed her lips to his as his hands slid up her sides and shifted to cup her breasts. Heat and need poured through her. She met his tongue stroke for stroke, even as she tugged on the hem of his sweater.

He pulled it off, then moved them to the bed. He touched her everywhere, arousing her with first his fingers then his tongue, exciting her until her breath came in pants and her release was inevitable. She helped him undress, silently pleased his hands trembled. After slipping on the condom, he joined with her, as the sun slipped slowly over the horizon.

* * *

“I can’t see you as a heartless corporate lawyer,” Gabriel said, his hand moving up and down her bare belly.

They were stretched out on the bed, their bodies sated...at least for the moment. Noelle liked that they were still naked and touching each other. To her the real test of sexual compatibility wasn’t in the moment. Anyone could make that good. It was after. Were there regrets? Did she want to make love again? Could they laugh?

“I wasn’t heartless,” she told him. “Which might have turned out to be a problem. Although I suppose I should point out that not all corporate lawyers are heartless.”

One eyebrow rose.

She grinned. “Okay,
some
of them aren’t. How’s that?”

“I’m still having trouble believing that.” He moved his hand over one breast, then the other. He paused to tease her nipples, which made her shiver.

His gaze sharpened. “You like that.”

“I liked pretty much everything you did,” she admitted. “I’m sure your technique has been honed by all your experience.”

He groaned and rolled on his back. “I never should have admitted that to you.”

She propped her head on her hand and smiled. “The fact that you used sex as a way to escape from your job pressures?” She paused. “Yeah, not your smartest conversational move. Because you can’t unsay it and I will never, ever forget.”

He glanced at her, the corner of his mouth turning up. “I wasn’t a complete dog.”

“Interesting, because I hear a distinct yipping in the background.”

“When I was in a relationship, I was faithful.”

“I have no proof of that.”

The smile faded. “I wouldn’t do that. I don’t get the point. If someone’s unhappy, talk about it. If you can’t fix it, man up and be honest about wanting to leave.”

“I know,” she said, leaning forward and lightly kissing him.

He took her free hand in his and brought it to his groin. She stroked him, taking him from relaxed to aroused in about three seconds.

She’d been about to suggest they get dressed and eat, but this was so much more interesting, she thought. Especially when he drew her up so she was straddling him.

She leaned over and let her hair trail along his chest. He moved his hand between them and found her very center. He smiled slowly.

“I challenge you to a test of wills,” he said. “Who can last the longest?”

She sighed as he reached for the condoms. “At last, a game I’m going to enjoy losing.”

* * *

The doors to the triage center opened again. They had a distinctive squeak, so Gabriel knew a second before it happened that yet another wounded soldier was being wheeled in. There was blood everywhere, and cries of pain.

He pointed to where the soldier should go and tried to get out of the way, but he couldn’t. There were too many wounded and he was unable to make room. The doors opened again and he could see the line of gurneys stretched on forever. There were hundreds who needed him. Thousands. And he could never be enough.

He came awake with a start. In the darkness, he had no idea where he was or what was happening. Then the scent of the fire drifted to him and he heard the soft rumble of one of the cats purring. Memories returned and he was able to place himself in the cabin.

Noelle slept next to him. He put his arm around her and drew her against him. She was as warm and yielding in sleep as she had been awake. He hung on to her and steadied his breathing.

He didn’t need to study psychology to understand what the dream meant. He was exhausted from his work. Drained down to his soul. It would take months to heal—maybe years. But he only had until the first of January before he had to decide and he honest to God didn’t know what to do.

The decision should be about staying in the army and nothing else. But somehow Noelle had woven her way into his life—into how he thought and what he wanted to do. He’d never meant to get involved. Never meant to care. Because there was no point. They could both be dead tomorrow.

Only in her arms, right now, it didn’t feel like that. It felt like there could be possibilities. And he understood that concept scared him more than any mortar shell ever could.

Chapter 11

Noelle felt Gabriel get out of bed. She was sure it was early in the morning, but she couldn’t see the clock. She sat up and turned on the small lamp by the bed. Gabriel pulled on his jeans before facing her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, taking in his drawn features. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

“It’s not exactly something you can order me to do.” She got up and looked around for her clothes. She’d been down to her underwear the first time they’d gone to bed, and had only been wearing her T-shirt the second.

She couldn’t see any clothes anywhere and started to lean over and to move the covers when Gabriel swore. She turned and saw him holding out his shirt.

“Put this on. Please.”

He sounded both furious and pleading. She shrugged into the shirt and fastened the buttons. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. We have to get out of here.”

“Yes, that’s the plan. When the plow comes, we’ll drive back to town.”

He ran his hands through his hair. “That’s not good enough. We need to go now.”

She shifted so she could see the clock. “It’s five in the morning. The plows won’t have been here. Are you going to dig us out all the way to the road?”

“If I have to.”

She spotted her panties and her bra and scooped them up. She wasn’t sure what had happened in the past half dozen hours, but whatever it was, it was bad. Last night Gabriel had been a warm, attentive lover. This morning he was acting as if she’d done something wrong. Or as if she wanted something unreasonable from him.

She knew neither was true and refused to let herself go there. Something was bugging Gabriel. For all she knew, it had nothing to do with her. Or maybe their great two days together had rattled him to the point where he couldn’t cope. On the surface, he was a smart, charming guy. But underneath, he was as wounded as the soldiers he treated. Either way, she wasn’t taking the blame for something she didn’t do.

She retreated to the bathroom and dressed quickly. When she stepped back into the main room, he was gone. She told herself that if he wanted to shovel them back to town, she wished him luck.

She spent the next hour taking care of the little cabin. She fed the cats, then let them out. She washed dishes, made coffee and generally straightened up. She’d already made a list of the supplies they’d used so she could replace them later. She would talk to Mayor Marsha about how to do that. No one wanted her driving back to the cabin while there was snow on the ground.

When all that was done, she settled on the floor and played with the older kittens. They were alert and curious. As they hadn’t been around people before, they’d started out a little wary of her, but a rousing game of string had them crawling all over her and settling into her lap for a quick snooze.

Sometime after seven, Gabriel returned. He was chilled and breathing hard.

“The truck is clear,” he told her as he pulled off his cap and shrugged out of his coat. “The plow will be here in the next couple of hours. They’re already working on Mother Bear Road.”

She watched him as he spoke, hoping to see a smile or some sign that whatever was bothering him had worked itself out. But he barely looked at her as he shrugged out of his layers.

“There’s coffee,” she told him, pointing to the pot. “I’ve cleaned up and stripped the bed.” She was planning on taking the sheets with her so she could wash them.

He glanced around at the empty casserole dishes, the neatly tied trash and the folded sheets. “I would have helped,” he told her.

“You were busy.”

For a second he looked at her. She waited, barely breathing, hoping for something. A smile, a hint that what they’d had so briefly still existed. But then he turned away and the moment was lost.

* * *

Nine cats were not easily corralled. The smallest kittens protested at being put in the box, but couldn’t do much about it. The older kittens wanted to explore and scramble out. The mother cats had no interest in taking a drive. After several false starts, Noelle and Gabriel stood in the center of the cabin no closer to getting the animals loaded than they had been at the start. The difference was he was pissed and she couldn’t stop giggling.

“This isn’t funny,” he told her as he reached for one of the larger kittens again.

The animal went easily into the box, then just as quickly jumped out. Both mother cats were under the bed, yowling their protests at this kind of behavior.

Noelle laughed, then picked up the box. “Stop. Just stop. This isn’t working.” The truck was already loaded with everything else. They just needed to get the cats in order.

“I’ll sit in the backseat,” she said. “I’ll put the box of little kittens next to me. You can pass me the other kittens one by one through the window. Bring the mother cats last. I’ll keep them out of your way while we drive back to town.”

One of the mother cats poked her head out from under the bed, saw the box and promptly retreated. Gabriel rubbed his temple.

“That might work,” he admitted.

She put on her coat and took the box. He grabbed a couple of mobile kittens and started after her. When she was in the backseat, she reached for the kittens and held them on her lap.

Five minutes later all nine cats were in the rear cab of the truck, and Gabriel had gotten behind the wheel. The plow had been through, clearing the road. Noelle put on her seat belt and did her best to reassure the two families.

“This won’t take long,” she told them. “We’ll be home soon.”

Unfortunately, home was a strange place with no feline supplies, but there was no reason for them to know that. He started the engine, and they slowly drove down the freshly plowed road.

The trip back to town took less time than she would have thought. Once they got to the main road, he was able to drive quickly. In Fool’s Gold, the houses were covered with snow, as were the lawns. But the sidewalks were shoveled and the streets clear.

Gabriel pulled into her driveway and helped her inside with the cats. It took a few trips and then the family was safe. The mother cats and older kittens started exploring right away. She walked Gabriel to the front door.

“I’ll go to the pet store,” he told her. “Get what you need for the next few days. Food, litter, some dishes.”

“That would be nice,” she said. “Thank you. I’m going to take a shower, then call around and find someone who can check on them while I’m at work.”

They were strangers exchanging information, she thought sadly. It was as if the past two days had never happened at all.

“Just tell me why,” she said impulsively. “What happened? Why are you different?”

His dark gaze settled on her face. A muscle twitched by his mouth. She waited, hoping he would say something—anything—because that would give them a chance. If they could talk about it, they could fix it. Or at least deal with it.

“Everything is fine,” he told her. “We’re back. We have things to do.”

“All right,” she said quietly, knowing there was no point. Gabriel had to be willing to meet her halfway. Obviously, he wasn’t.

She took her shower and dressed for work. Gabriel returned with the promised supplies, and she set up two litter boxes in the laundry room, then put out dishes of water and dry food. After making sure all the windows were securely closed, she left for work.

The store was exactly as she remembered. Bright and warm, with all things Christmas. Just walking inside lightened her spirits. She didn’t know if she was going to see Gabriel again and tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. When she realized she was lying, she told herself that whether or not she saw him, she would recover. That this was only ever going to be temporary and she had survived much worse.

A little before ten Melissa arrived, her younger sister, Abby, in tow.

“I can’t believe you got snowed in,” Melissa said, hugging her. “That’s so scary. But you’re okay?”

“We were fine. We had electricity most of the time. Hey, Abby.”

The fifteen-year-old smiled at her. “I heard about the kittens. I can go by and check on them, if you’d like.”

“Thanks, but shouldn’t you be in school?”

Abby grinned. “It’s a teacher day. Those are my favorite.”

“They were my favorites, too,” Noelle admitted.

She gave the teen a spare key and they set up a schedule with Abby agreeing to stop by Noelle’s place right after school. They were discussing payment when the phone rang. Melissa answered it.

“That was Gabriel,” she said a couple of minutes later. “He’s not going to be coming in.” She drew in a breath and looked at Noelle. “So, we were wondering if Abby could work here. She’s really responsible.”

“I’d still look after the cats,” Abby promised, her fingers clenched and her eyes bright with anticipation. “Mom said I could work a few hours after school, but only through Christmas break. Once the new semester starts I have to focus on my studies.”

“Having you around would be great,” Noelle told her, ignoring the sense of being hit in the gut. He hadn’t even told her goodbye himself. Weak-assed jerk. Only calling him names didn’t make her feel any better.

“I’ll show you where to put your stuff,” Melissa said, leading her sister toward the back room.

Noelle walked to the front door and turned the sign to Open, then she unlocked the door and greeted her first customer.

* * *

Gabriel went back to his vacation rental and tried to sleep. When that didn’t work, he drove his brother’s truck up to his place and got his car, then went back to town. He passed by the store several times, but didn’t go in. He didn’t have to, he reminded himself. He’d called to say he wouldn’t.

Only that didn’t seem to matter. All he could think about was Noelle. He missed her and wanted to be with her. Only he couldn’t because he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

He waited until close to six, then parked where he could see her lock up and head home. She greeted several people as she walked the familiar streets, pausing to look at the window display in front of the sporting goods store.

Gabriel swore and pounded his fist against the steering wheel. The window, he thought. The whole point of their trip up the mountain had been to get the perfect tree for the windows. Because she wanted to win that stupid contest. Only somehow that had been forgotten.

The judging was in the morning. There wasn’t time to— Or was there? He reached for his cell phone and dialed.

* * *

“Dad, be careful,” Gabriel said, watching the older Boylan stretch up on a tall ladder.

“If I fall, you can patch me up,” his father said cheerfully.

Great, Gabriel thought, now his dad had a sense of humor. “Bones aren’t my thing.”

It was late, or early, depending on one’s frame of reference. His entire family was crowded into The Christmas Attic, working to make Noelle’s display as perfect as possible for the morning judging.

“Just have to get this power strip in place,” his father said. “Gideon, hand me that power drill.”

Gideon did as requested, then returned his attention to the laptop he and Carter had brought. Karen and Felicia were sharing another computer—or rather Felicia was working the keys while Karen pushed buttons on a remote-controlled robot, dressed to look like a Christmas elf.

When he’d put out the call to his family, he hadn’t known what to expect. But everyone had come through. They’d met at Gideon’s house a little after six to work out a plan, then had collected everything they would need for the window display and had descended on the store around nine. The idea was to combine an old-fashioned Christmas with high-tech innovation.

The tree was the centerpiece. There were presents, some wrapped, some unwrapped. But instead of a team of elves helping Santa, there were three small robots in jaunty Christmas attire. The background was a light show, synchronized to holiday music.

“Dad, where did you find these old songs?” Carter asked.

“They’re classics.”

“They’re not even from this century.”

Gideon typed on the keyboard, then glanced at the lights his father was mounting in rows. “Nothing good is from this century.”

“Hey, I was born in this century.”

Gideon paused to squeeze his son’s shoulder. “Okay, you’re right. You’re the one good thing.”

Karen held up a box. “Wrapped or unwrapped?”

Gabriel glanced at the make-your-own-plushy-elephant kit. “Weird, so we’ll leave it unwrapped.”

He glanced at his watch and swore. It was after four. Carter yawned.

“I’ve never been up this late,” the teen said with a sidelong glance at Felicia. “There’s no way I’m going to make it through classes today.”

She pressed her lips together. “Yes, I know. I should have made a bed for you in the storeroom so you could sleep.”

Norm climbed down the ladder. “You worry too much, woman. An adventure like this is good for the boy. I used to take my sons out in the middle of the night to look at a meteor going by.”

“Once we went into a deer blind and watched the does walk by with their newborn fawns,” Gideon said.