Dream a Little Dream (35 page)

Edward retrieved his rabbit from the floor and handed it back to Rosie, who immediately quieted. They all moved through the family room to the deck.

As Rachel stepped outside, she remembered that rainy day a little more than two weeks ago when she and Gabe had first made love. Gabe must have remembered, too, because he turned his head to look at her, and something warm flickered in those cool silver eyes.

Contrary to Cal’s warning, Jane didn’t serve either wheat-germ muffins or tofu. Instead, they enjoyed a fragrant omelet casserole filled with chunks of mushrooms and tangy bits of apple, along with a fresh-fruit compote, blueberry coffee cake, and some wonderful mimosas.

While the adults gathered around the umbrella table, Edward sat next to the small mesh-sided play yard where Rosie was confined so she didn’t get splinters from the deck. Rachel loved watching him as he dangled toys in front of her face, tickled her tummy, and made funny faces to entertain her.

It didn’t take Rachel long to see how much Jane and Cal cared for each other. The former quarterback’s expression, so unfriendly when he looked at Rachel, grew almost luminous whenever he gazed at his wife. They seemed to make excuses to touch each other: a brush of the hand here, a touch on the arm there, glances exchanged, smiles traded. And they both clearly adored their feisty blond-haired daughter.

But there were also some disturbing undercurrents at the table. Although she was accustomed to Ethan’s dislike, Cal’s hostility toward her had a colder edge to it, and she suspected he was even more protective of Gabe than his younger brother. To make matters worse, Ethan and Kristy seemed to be going out of their way not to look at each other, and Gabe was so tense she could almost hear him ping. She knew how difficult it was for him to be part of a family gathering when he no longer had a family of his own.

It was Cal who brought up the subject of the drive-in. “Can’t believe what you’ve done with that place.”

Ethan jumped in. “He took the biggest eyesore in the county and made it into something.”

Both of them went on in falsely hearty tones, telling Gabe how great it was to have the drive-in open again and what a service he was rendering the community. Neither of them referred to Gabe’s old life. It was as if his veterinary practice, along with his wife and son, had never existed. And the more they talked, the tenser Gabe became until Rachel couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Gabe, tell them about Tweety Bird.”

“Nothing much to tell.”

“Tweety Bird’s a baby sparrow that Gabe’s been nursing back to health.”

Gabe shrugged, and that small gesture was all his brothers needed to jump in and rescue him from a topic he might not want to discuss.

“That fireworks display went over really big last night. Rosie loved it, didn’t she, Jane?”

Ethan nodded. “It was a great idea. And I know the families in this town are going to appreciate having a place to take their kids without spending a bundle.”

Acting on pure instinct, Rachel leaned forward. “Gabe’s building an aviary in back of the cottage to get the bird acclimated to the outdoors.”

Gabe regarded her with irritation. “It’s no big deal, Rachel.”

Now she had all three Bonner brothers scowling at her. Only Jane and Kristy watched her with interest. “I think it is. Taking care of that scrawny little bird makes you happy. The drive-in doesn’t.”

“Tweety Bird isn’t scrawny!” Edward exclaimed.

Gabe pushed himself abruptly back from the table. “Coffee’s running low. I’ll make a fresh pot.” He disappeared through the patio doors.

Cal leaned back in his chair and stared at her with steely gray eyes. “Are you deliberately trying to make my brother unhappy?”

“Cal . . .”

He reacted to his wife’s interjection with a small movement of his hand, wordlessly silencing her. Dr. Jane Darlington Bonner didn’t look like the sort of woman who could be easily silenced, so Rachel sensed that her shrug of acceptance was voluntary. Maybe she had decided this confrontation was inevitable and that Rachel was tough enough to take him on.

“I’ve told Ethan the same thing I’m going to tell you,” Rachel said. “Stop pampering him. Running the Pride of Carolina isn’t what he should be doing with his life, and both of you need to stop acting as if he’s involved in something wonderful. Gabe’s a vet, and that’s what he needs to be doing.”

“You think you know my brother better than his own family?” Cal said coldly.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

Gabe reappeared. “Coffee should be ready soon.”

Ethan’s gaze flickered from his older brother back to Gabe. “There’s a ball in the garage. Let’s throw it around while Mr. Quarterback cleans up the kitchen. You want to come with us, Edward?”

Edward took his time replying. “I want to, but if I do, Rosie’s gonna cry ’cause she likes me so much, so I guess I’ll stay here and play with her.”

Rachel could see that her son’s decision had won him the affection of Rosie’s parents. Both of them smiled and told him he could go on, but Edward politely refused.

Ethan and Gabe stepped down off the deck. Rachel began to clear the table only to have Cal come up behind her and say softly, “Would you mind stepping into the study for a few minutes? I have something to show you.”

Going off with him was the last thing she wanted to do, but Jane and Kristy had just disappeared into the kitchen, so there was no one to rescue her. She gave what she hoped looked like a careless shrug and followed him.

When they reached the study, he closed the door behind them. Through the window to her left, she saw the football fly, then Gabe ran into her field of vision to catch it.

Cal walked behind the desk that had once been Dwayne’s and pulled open a drawer. “I have something here for you.” He withdrew a slip of paper and extended it toward her. Even before her fingers closed around it, she knew that it was a check. She glanced down and drew in her breath.

It was made out to her in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars.

Her voice croaked. “What’s this?”

He settled into the chair and looked up at her. “A down payment on your future.”

She stared at it, a sinking feeling in her stomach, knowing the answer to the question even before she asked it. “And what do you want in return?”

“I want you to leave Salvation and not contact my brother again.” He paused. “You have responsibilities. A child to support. This’ll make it easier.”

“I see.” A knot began to grow in her throat. She had come to Salvation to find a treasure, but she hadn’t imagined this would be it. She swallowed hard, trying to make the knot loosen. “How long do I have?”

“I figure you’ll need a little time to find a place to go, so I’ve postdated it. I’ll expect you gone in ten days.”

As she looked across the desk at him, she was surprised to see a flash of compassion in his eyes, and she hated him for it. She blinked hard. “Gabe laughs now. Not often, but sometimes. Did Ethan tell you that?”

“Reopening that drive-in has been good for him. He’s finally starting to heal.”

She wanted to argue with him, to tell him that
she
was the reason Gabe had begun to heal, but he wouldn’t believe her. Besides, she didn’t know if it was true. Maybe she didn’t mean anything more to Gabe than a few hours of forgetfulness when they were in bed.

“Both Ethan and I believe that having you gone will speed up the process.”

“If Gabe finds out about this, he’ll be furious.”

“That’s why you’re not going to say a word. Do you understand? If you even hint to him about this, the deal’s off.”

“Oh, yes. I definitely understand.” She drew the check through her fingers. “Just tell me one thing. Exactly what do you think I’m doing to your brother that’s so terrible? ”

“I think you’re taking advantage of him.”

“How?”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t play games with me, lady, because I’ll run you right over! Gabe’s a rich man who’s careless about his money. You want to take him for every penny he has, then set off for greener pastures.”

“You know this for a fact?”

“Are you going to take the check or not?”

She gazed down at the check and wondered if the time would ever come when she could outrun her past. “Yes. Yes, I’m going to take it, Mr. Bonner. You bet your life I am.”

She shoved the check into the pocket of her dress and turned toward the door, but his soft voice stopped her before she could leave.

“Mrs. Snopes, you won’t like what happens if you try to screw me over on this.”

Her fingers convulsed around the knob. “Believe me, Mr. Bonner, you’re the last man on earth I’d screw.”

She forced herself not to run from the room, but she was shaking by the time she reached the deck, where Jane and Kristy had abandoned their efforts to clean up and were sitting and talking.

The moment Jane saw Rachel, her expression grew wary. “What did he do?”

Rachel couldn’t quite control the small quaver in her voice. “You’ll have to ask him.”

Jane rose and caught Rachel’s hands in her own. “I’m sorry. The Bonners are—They’re a family in every sense of the word. They’ll fight the world for each other, but sometimes their loyalty blinds them.”

The most Rachel could manage was a small nod.

“I’ll try to talk to him again,” Jane said.

“It won’t do any good.” She spotted Gabe’s keys on the table, and she scooped them up. “I’m not feeling well. I’m sure Ethan won’t mind driving Gabe back to the cottage. Come on, Edward, we have to go.”

Edward protested Rachel’s announcement, and Rosie fell apart when she realized she was losing her play companion. Her small face crumpled as Edward disengaged Horse from her hands. She reached out her arms for him or for the rabbit, Rachel wasn’t sure which, and began to howl.

Edward gave her a clumsy pat on the head. “It’s okay, Rosie. You’re just having a bad day.”

Rosie stopped crying, but her blue eyes brimmed with tears, and she regarded him with an expression so pitiful it could have melted stone.

Edward looked down at Horse. And then, to Rachel’s astonishment, he handed the stuffed rabbit back to her.

Rosie clutched it to her tiny, heaving chest and gazed up at Edward with grateful eyes.

Rachel regarded her son with concern. “Are you sure about this, Edward?”

He hesitated for only a moment before he nodded. “I’m all grown-up now, Mom. Rosie needs Horse more than I do.”

She smiled, squeezed his hand, and tried not to cry.

Gabe leaped out of Ethan’s Camry before the car had even stopped and charged toward the front porch where Edward was constructing a lopsided log cabin from sticks he’d gathered. “Where’s your mother?”

“I don’t know. Inside, I guess.” His gaze moved past Gabe to Ethan and Kristy, who were just getting out of the car.

Gabe began to walk toward the door only to stop as he saw the boy make a small gesture to the side, as if he were trying to pick up something that wasn’t there. Then his arm fell back into his lap, and he gave a sigh that seemed to come from his toes.

Gabe wished he didn’t understand the gesture. “You’re missing that rabbit of yours, aren’t you?”

Edward bent his head over his log cabin and scratched his knee.

“I heard you gave it to Rosie, but everybody’ll understand if you want it back.” He tried to contain the gruffness in his voice, but couldn’t quite manage.

“Rosie won’t understand.”

“She’s only a baby. She’ll forget about it.”

“Horse isn’t the kind of thing a kid forgets about.”

He spoke with such absolute certainty that Gabe knew there was no use arguing with him. In that way, he was exactly like his mother.

“Pastor Ethan! Kristy!” The boy smiled as they stepped up onto the porch. “You want to see my log cabin?” He was too young to sense the tension between them, but Gabe had felt it.

“You bet we do,” Kristy said.

Gabe turned away and walked into the cottage. “Rachel?”

There was no answer. He made a quick search of the rooms, then found her outside where she was bent over a rogue tomato plant in the weedy garden.

She was wearing the orange dress she painted in. Sunlight dappled her hair and danced along those slender, golden-brown arms. Her feet were bare, and she’d buried her toes in the soft dirt. She looked timeless and sensual, made up of earth and fire, and he wanted to take her right there in that imperfect garden. He wanted to cover her body with his body, forget who he was, who she was. He wanted to go to her without a past or future, with no thoughts beyond this single moment.

She looked up. A light sheen of perspiration glistened along her cheekbones, and her lips parted in surprise. “I didn’t hear you.”

She gave no smile of greeting, no sign that she was glad to see him. “Why did you take off like that?” he snapped.

“I wasn’t feeling well.”

“You seem to be feeling fine now.”

She didn’t reply. Instead, she bent her head and began working a clump of chickweed free.

“If you wanted to leave, you should have told me. You know I don’t like it when you’re here by yourself.”

“You can’t be with me every minute. And why should you try?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m not your responsibility.”

The snippy note in her voice annoyed him. She was the one in the wrong, not him. He was doing everything he could to keep her safe, but she wouldn’t cooperate. “You’re my responsibility while you’re under this roof,” he found himself saying.

But she wasn’t impressed by his bluster. “If you want to be useful, get a shovel and start digging a trench around those shrubs instead of growling at me.”

“I’m not growling.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Damn it, Rachel, you ran off without telling me! I didn’t know what had happened. I was worried.”

“Were you?” She cocked her head to the side and gave him a slow smile that melted his bones.

He determinedly shook off the spell she was weaving around him. “You don’t have to look so pleased about it. I’m not exactly happy with you at the moment, and not just because of the way you ran off.” He knew he should let it go at that, but he couldn’t. “From now on, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to psychoanalyze me in front of my family.”