Gabby Revealed (Finding Perfect) (8 page)

Chapter Ten

Gabby did her best to pretend she didn’t hear him entering the room. Turning the hot water back on, she rinsed the plate in her hand. Without looking at the door, she felt his presence
as he walked through it. There wasn’t any possible way to deny the connection they had.

His long fingers took the plate from her. Glancing to the side, she paused, watching him dry the fragile plate years older than either of them with the embroidered tea towel even older than the plate. No words, no questions,
only simple motions. Slowly she released the breath she’d held and reached for the third and final plate hidden in the suds. Working as a team in silence, the kitchen was sparkling, the pots and pans, the dishes all back in their proper places before Gabby was ready.
She needed another chore to keep her too busy to talk to Shane, but the damn kitchen was sparkling.

John’s back door was just a few feet away, if only she could make her feet move, she’d escape. Staring through the glass upper half of the door, she concentrated on the beauty of John’s garden. The colors blended like a living work of art. Even though his age and stroke had slowed him, the love he showed each flower still bloomed brightly. Flashes of time scrolled through her memory. Her and her grandmother helping Edith tend to the garden, Gabby couldn’t have been much more than six. Then at eight, listening as John described each flower, talking to her as an equal.

Two hands clasped her waist
, and the childhood memories she was lost in vanished. Stilled momentarily, her heart started again, pounding almost double-time. Shane’s fingers gripped tighter as he closed the space between them, her back pulled against his chest, exactly as he had earlier.

His cologne. She’d always wondered what he would smell like when they spoke on the phone.
Dreamed of it when she’d been typing, always managing to make her heroes on paper sound like him, smell and look like she envisioned him. All without intending to, and what was scary was how close to the real man her details had been all these years.

“Don’t push me away,” he whispered over her left shoulder. “Say something.”

She hated to admit how his voice soothed her, how his touch excited her, yet at the same time calmed her. After several more long moments of quiet, his fingers loosened, but instead of pulling away, he pulled her tighter into his hold. The movement, the meaning wasn’t lost on her. She wanted this to be true, but even Maggie had said it. She wasn’t the girl for him. She was a nobody. Always had been, always would be.

“I know you
, Gabby. Better than anyone.”

She shook her head. There was no way. The names she’d been called, the rumors that still hurt, he didn’t know her. But she knew him. She never asked. But over the years, he’d shared story after story, pictures
of his cold family and lonely childhood drawn out vividly for her, though he never complained. He mentioned enough for her to know exactly what his Manhattan apartment must look like. Living with the poor fern he was slowly bringing back to life with her help. Dumb man. She took pity and told him what to do when he described its sad state. Another one of his ploys to flirt and keep her on the phone, she wasn’t stupid, but a plant’s life had been at stake.

“I know deep down you believe in happily ever after, Gabby.” Again she shook her head. There was no such thing. Except in books. Not hers though. “You write heart-gripping, well
-researched stories that are a rollercoaster of emotions. But your audience loves them. Your endings—no one can ever predict them. But I can…and do. I know you write reality. Real pain, real drama, real emotion, however there’s also good, Gabby. Good men who fall for the girl. She does get a happy ending.”

His phone was always on silent, but she was close enough to feel it vibrate. “They need you in New York, Shane. I’m not blind. Your phone has been burning up since you’ve been here.”

“Work has nothing to do with us.”

She twisted in his arms to argue. Sucking in a sharp breath, instantly she regretted the move. Mere inches from his face, she watched his jaw work. “Work has everything to do with us. And be real for once.
Quit flirting and being funny. Your life is in Manhattan. Mine is here—”

“But let me ask you—” he interrupted
. “Do you feel the same way? I’ve fallen for you, Gabby. I know you see it, feel it. I haven’t hidden my feelings. No games. No pretenses. Do you feel the same way?”

Her heart choked her, the lie stopped on the tip of her tongue.

“Your silence tells me everything I need to know.” Shane leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose.

Turning he walked back through the swinging door and she listened to him tell John goodbye. Both voices lowered, the rest of their conversation muffled. It didn’t matter. He’d been clear. Crystal. He was leaving. Leaving John’s, leaving Renlend—leaving her.

Chapter Eleven

“I can’t talk you out of this?” Doug asked, peeking his head in Shane’s office door.

Shane was in overdrive. For over a week he’d been leaving messages for Gabby, texts, even becoming worried enough about her silence to disregard the time of night he called. No answer, just nothing.

He shook his head as his boss walked in and sat opposite him. “I’m sorry. I owe you everything, Doug. More than just what you’ve taught me here. But—”

“Don’t worry about that, or the rest. You’ll always be like family to me. Door’s always open. You know that
, man.”

“Thanks.”

“So, let me ask you, how serious is this? You thinking about a ring serious—or just moving halfway across the country to date the girl?”

Shane closed his bottom desk drawer, the files his replacement would need were all there meticulously in order. At least for the few clients he was turning over to her. The movers had loaded his belongings from his shoebox-sized apartment yesterday and headed west to a storage unit. His reservation at Dianna’s bed and breakfast in Renlend was made, open-ended. All he had left here in New York was two suitcases at Doug’s house, to finish tying up loose ends here at the office and dinner tonight with Doug and his wife.

“Oh my God…you son of a bitch!” Doug slapped the wood desk top with a roar of laughter. “You do—don’t you?”

“Do what?” Shane asked with a raised eyebrow, masking his emotions.
Schooling his excitement, he tried to keep his friend in the dark.

“You already have a ring? You’re going back to the middle of nowhere with a fucking ring.”

There was the big brother shit Shane was used to from Doug. His brash teasing eased the knot in his stomach. “She has no clue, so keep your trap shut if she calls.”

“Still no word?”

Shane shook his head. He had tried telling himself she was hiding in a book. She did that. When she was in the thick of a book, he wouldn’t be able to break through to her until she was done writing. But he knew otherwise.

“So what are you going to do if she shoots you down? I mean, you’ve got serious balls to pick up, move across the country
, and get down on one knee—all for a girl who won’t return your calls.”

Doug wasn’t joking anymore. “That’s why I have to move there. I have to show her I’m offering her the real thing. She’s not a gambler. Everyone, or well her friend John at least, referred to her being hurt. She’s scared. You’ve read her books. She isn’t your typical woman waiting for her happy ending. She doesn’t
even fucking believe in that. I have to do something big to show her. As for a ring—yes. She doesn’t know, and I’m not going to go in and freak her out. I’ve gotta give her time to get used to me in her space. Get used to the idea.”

“I’m going to miss seeing your ugly face
every day.”

Shane flipped his boss off
. “So how do you think this partnership is going to work, you know, with you here and me in Kansas?”

“
We’ll figure it out as we go. You’ll just continue to look for new talent. Once established, any clients you want to hand over to the staff here, you’ll do so. I’ll keep up on the business end. It’s the best of both worlds, and you’re name will be on the building. We’ll make this the top literary agency in the country. We’ve already got the New York address, now we can boast multiple locations. And I’ll still get to harass your ass as often as I please.”

“Nice rhyme old man.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks.” Shane laughed. “She’s way prettier than you.”

“What are you going to do when she finds out how boring you are? I mean dull, as in old man fucking boring. And you call me old. All you ever do is read. Even in your free time.”

“I’m quite sure we can find some extra-curricular activities
she and I will both enjoy.”

“You remember what to do? I mean it’s been months.”

“You’re an ass!” Shane half-laughed. Doug’s joke was funny. The truth, not so much. He’d gotten back to Manhattan with a picture of Gabby permanently imprinted in his head, leaving him with a dangerous case of blue balls. “Yeah…I think I can handle putting a smile on her face.”

“Just checking.” Doug grinned. “Oh hey, got a printer ordered yet?”

“Yeah, it should be at the B and B when I get there.”

“All right,
you’ve got your company card, just send me receipts.”

“I hate to admit this to you because you’re such an egotistical jackass already
—” Shane chuckled. “But I really am going to miss this.” He motioned between them. “There’s nothing else here I’d ever come back for, ever. Except to see you.”

Doug nodded. “Does
the Queen of Hell even know you’re moving?”

“Mother? Fuck no. I haven’t spoken to her since the day of his funeral. She made sure everyone there knew I was the reason my father had a heart attack and died. All because I was smart enough to do what I loved instead of following him around like the rest of the crowd pleasers did.”

“You suppose she’s changed the will?”

“No. I’m still in contact with his attorney
. He handles my affairs as well. Everything is still as he had it drawn up a decade ago.”

“Well if the cold bitch forgets about it, you’ll be a rich bastard one of these days.”

“Yeah. ’Cause that makes up for it.”

“I know man. I’d take my poor
shoebox full of love and laughter to your solitary ice mansion any day. But you got me now, you filled Todd’s shoes when he passed and sounds like you’ve got a firecracker in Kansas who needs you as much as you need her.”

Shane slipped his hand into the inside pocked of his suit jacket. Pulling out the ring, he eased back, stacked his ankles on his desk and opened the box.

Chapter Twelve

The bells above the door jingled, but Gabby didn’t bother to look up. Her fingers were starting to cramp, but she never slowed her typing down. It wasn’t that this book was flowing out of her. It kept her from feeling, from thinking of him.

“Gabby?”

Shit. So much for trying to concentrate. Glancing up to the female voice, she harnessed her bad attitude. “Hey, Mrs. Miller.”

“Hi
, dear. Do you have the new release from G. Jamieson?”

Her cell rang, saving her from her latest excuse as to why not. Putting up a finger to Mrs. Miller seeing John’s number flash on the screen
. “John? I tried to call you a little bit ago. You’re late, how come you weren’t here waiting on me this morning?”

No one replied,
only a shaky deep breathing.

“John!”

“Ga—”

“I’ll be right there!”
Gabby caught her hip on the corner of her antique glass counter as she flew around it. “Mrs. Miller—get and ambulance to John’s for me.”

The older woman had been one of Gabby’s favorite English
teachers; there wasn’t any reason to tell her a last name or John’s address. Not in a town the size of a dot. She ran through her maze of shelving, yanked open the front door of the store, and took off at a dead run down the block, her boots pounding as hard on the sidewalk as her heart was in her chest. She didn’t bother to watch for traffic at the four-way stop, she simply assumed the car at the intersection would halt.

Taking John’s front steps two-at-a-time she pulled open his screen door, the other was locked. Pounding her fist on the wood she cussed loudly. “Fuck. John? John!” Turning, she let the screen door slam behind her, ran down the four wood steps of his porch and rounded the house to the back door. Her shirt caught on the beloved rose bushes, but she kept running, ripping the cotton.

Entering the porch, Gabby sprinted to the back door knowing it’d be unlocked. “John?” She yelled through the tiny home. “It’s me. John, where are you?” There was no sign of his early breakfast, even though she made she sure he had simple things to make for himself like toast or a donut. Her pulse spiked as she glanced at each room, making her way to the bedroom.

His solid cherry door was open wide, the room bathed in sunlight. “Oh my God, John!” She ran to his side. Only last night they’d eaten dinner together, as they did every night. She’d sorted his pills out for the next morning, but in the pale blue bedroom under the worn quilt, he looked frail.

Like an Olympic athlete, she dashed to the front door hearing a siren in the distance, unlocked it, and ran back to his bedside. His eyes were still closed, his breathing shallow. Dialing his daughter’s number on her cell, Gabby clasped his hand, barking at him, “Don’t you leave me, John. Don’t you dare. Laura—it’s your dad. Come now…and hurry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t gotten up yet. The ambulance is on the way. Just come!”

“I’ll call my brother and meet you at the hospital. Please Gabby…don’t leave him.”

Hearing Laura’s choked plea brought a lump to her throat. “No,” Gabby whispered. “I won’t.” She ended the call. “John? Please.” She lay over his chest, her ear pressed against his heart trying to hear it beat. “Talk to me. Wake up and talk to me.”

No words, but a fragile hand petted her hair. A lone tear escaped down her cheek to his
nightshirt. “Tell…the kids…I love them.” He paused, his breathing becoming more and more labored. “And you. You’ve made me…proud.” The dam broke and Gabby could no longer hold back the tears. “Promise me…your young man…he loves you, Gab—Gabby. Like…I loved…my Edith. I’ve missed…her…so much. I love you dear. I…love…you.”

“John! John—no.” The front door opened. “They’re here, stay with me, John.” Gabby’s arms tightened around the old man, pulling his frail body closer to hers. She was draped over him, but his hand fell away from her head to the bed.

A loud rushing noise muffled the voices and movements around her. Keeping her eyes clenched shut, she felt the paramedics working around her, felt a hand against her back as they took his pulse. The stethoscope grazed her forehead as they listened for a heartbeat.

They never dragged her off him, never told her to move. They all knew.

“Gabby. Gabby, honey?” The voice came nearer and her mother’s perfume wafted through the sadness. Without opening her eyes, she allowed herself to be gathered into her mother’s arms. Suddenly she felt like she was walking in wet concrete, but let her mother lead her from the bedroom to the sofa. Nothing was as it was supposed to be, the way it was last night. Playing the evening over again in her mind, Gabby tried to remember if John seemed different, sicker, a sign she missed that could’ve saved him while she half-listened to her mother’s words. Something about being grateful Jeanie Miller had called her after she called for medical help.

This caught her so off guard. It wasn’t like she’d never lost a loved one, but John was unique. There was a huge weight of failure settling over her. She’d taken him
on; he’d become her confidant, her sounding board from the beginning of her writing career. She’d returned the favor with companionship and food for her elderly friend. He’d become her responsibility.

And she’d lost him.

***

Looking up, Doug was in Shane’s office doorway—again. “You’ve spent more time in here today than actually doing your own shit.” He grinned.

Shrugging, Doug tapped the doorframe, “I thought I’d see if you wanted to grab lunch? You know, one last decent meal before you disappear to the boondocks.”

“You’re hysterical
, smartass.” His desk phone rang. Seeing her number lifted his worry and a smile washed over his face. “Hello, darling, you’ve been avoiding me. I’ve missed you. It’s mutual, correct?” He heard her swallow, she sniffed, then sucked in a choked breath. “Gabby? Gabby…darling what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“No
,” she whispered. “It’s…it’s John.”

Shane’s heart plummeted. For a long moment neither spoke, but he could hear her barely holding herself together. Her voice was hoarse and he caught her quietly whimpering. He knew they were close and she was there for the elderly man more than either of his children. “Gabrielle, is he
…” Shane breathed in deeply, not able to ask.

“He…he called me this morning. I tried to get him to the hospital, but—”
Her voice squeaked, a side of her he’d never seen, a side that was ripping his heart to shreds. “But they didn’t get to us in time.”

“At least you were there. He wasn’t alone sweetheart.”

“No,” she replied and paused, her voice trembling. “He was in my arms.”

Oh God. He couldn’t even begin to imagine. She sniffed again, quietly but Shane could tell. His fire and sass girl he’d fallen for was crumbling. “Oh
, baby.” Holding the phone to his shoulder. “I’ve got to get on the next flight out of here.”

Doug sprang from the seat he’d taken when things had turned serious. “On it. I’ll have Melissa pack your stuff at the house and meet
you at the train station with it. And I’ll have my assistant book your flight, she won’t screw it up like your airhead might.”

He was trying to make a hard situation lighter, but for Shane it didn’t work. “Thanks.”

Doug shook his head then nodded at the phone. “Just take care of her.”

“Where are you?” Shane asked.

“Home,” she whispered.

“I’m on my way.”

“No. I didn’t mean to—I shouldn’t have even bothered you. I don’t even know why I called. You answered before it even registered what I was doing.”

“Gabrielle, let me in. Let me be there for you.”

“I…don’t.” Her fight stalled.

“I’m not those other people. I won’t hurt you.”

“But, you…you’re in New York.”

Her statement was heavier, more loaded than
just referring to their locations at that precise moment. “Don’t worry about that. Just stay where you are, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She was silent for a long moment, but her breathing
was still coming across the line. “Thanks, Shane. I didn’t know who else to call.”

“I’m so glad it was me. I’m hurrying.”

“K.”

“Rest for now, I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.”

She ended the call and feelings from every
direction slammed into him. Shane hadn’t known John long, but had really developed a kinship with him quickly. It was more than obvious the elderly man thought enough of him to play matchmaker, and brave enough to pull that shit with Gabby. He chuckled despite the sadness. It was something Shane was sure no one else would have ever attempted to do with her.

The man
hadn’t been in the greatest health, but his death still came as a shock. Even more so than the fact Gabby had turned to him. Her admission of dialing subconsciously might insult a different type of man, however, Shane saw it for what it was and his pulse jumped. She thought more of him than she let on, and that was a good thing since he was moving his entire life across several states to have a chance with the woman he’d come to know as his.

Shane’s laptop finally shut down, he ripped the power cable from the outlet and shoved all of it into his leather bag. He pulled out a few files to lighten his load, placed them on top of a stack of manuscripts. “Lana, come here please.” The brunette entered immediately, pushing her glasses up on her nose. “Here, go ahead and box this all up and mail it to that address I gave you in Renlend. Actually, send it UPS ground so we can track it
, please. “

“Yes
, sir.”

“I’m rushing out, something’s come up, but thank you. You’ve done well, I hope you like it here and continue to stay on.”

She grinned then turned, her arms loaded down. Lana wasn’t an airhead as Doug often referred to her as. She was self-conscious and nervous. Given time and patience, she’d be fine. With his laptop bag slung over his shoulder, he made long strides toward his friend and now partner’s office.