Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (94 page)

'Only to love you.  It's my only purpose.'

'You have a wife and kids.  You need your head examined.'

'I won't forsake my children.'

'Thought they weren't yours.'

'Clever darling.  I'm leaving now.  Enjoy your gift.'

'If I come outside and make out with Nick in front of you will you take it away?'

'I don't think your neighbors need an encore.  But no.'

'I'll let them tow it.'

'I already talked to your manager.  Gave him quite a hefty tip.'

'I'll let Nick and Carson take a bat to it.  Slash all the tires.  They'll have to tow it.'

'Don't be foolish.  Would you rather I park it at my house?'

'Yes.  Gabe please just leave me alone.  I'm begging you.'

Nick was standing at the window again.  "He's in the parking lot.  I'm going out there."

"No Nick.  He said he bought the truck for me.  I'm trying to convince him to take it away."

She read Gabe's next message.  'No need to beg.  I only enjoy begging when you're naked and in my arms.'

'Stop it.'

Nick was waiting for her to say something else.  "Hold on a minute." He looked about as frustrated as she felt.

'I will.  I will leave your keys in the office and drive your truck away with my keys.'

'Why would I trust driving something that you have keys to?'

'I would never hurt you.  It will sit and wait for you.  As I will.'

'Don't.'

'Nothing you say will change my mind.  I will keep an eye on you until you are ready for me.'

'I'll never be ready for you.'

'Believe as you want.  I know the truth.  Goodbye my love.  I'll see you Saturday.'

He was going to see her Saturday she thought?  What a wonderful idea.  Her thumb was starting to hurt from all the texting.  She handed the phone to Nick.  "Read it all if you want.  I'm getting dressed."

She went into the bedroom and didn't bother to shut the door.  She got dressed and brushed her hair and went back out to the living room.  Nick was still going through the messages.  She sat on the couch and lit a cigarette.

He smiled a little.  She wondered if he was reading the part about sleeping with Carson rather than Gabe.  She hadn't really meant it the way it sounded.  She had a lot of respect for Carson, sure as hell a lot more than she had the first time she met him.  She just wasn't attracted to him.

She had finished her cigarette.  He was still reading through the messages.  Finally when she had finished putting on her shoes, he handed her the phone back.

"I can't believe he bought you that SUV.  Thing must have cost $50,000.  Though I guess that explains the plates." He looked thoughtful.

"Well, since he bought me a $15,000 necklace and a $50,000 car that I don't want at least I shouldn't expect any more gifts right?"

"I don't know Ami.  Sometimes if you push him on something, he gives in.  Like telling him you're not going back to work, or telling him that you're going to destroy the truck.  The only thing he doesn't seem to give up on is the fact that he's going to have you."

"It's disgusting."

"It's something else yeah.  I think he's going to watch you even if you don't know he's there.  He might not call you or text you, but he'll know what's going on.  If he lets up for too long, I'm sure you can expect something big."

"Great.  What can be bigger than a car that cost five times what mine did?"

"I don't know honey.  Let's go get Ali and get the hell out of here.  I think we all need a break from this bullshit."

"I feel so bad for bringing all of you into this."

"It's what people that care about you do.  Don't worry about it." He touched her face briefly.

She put her arms around him.  He held her briefly and then opened the door.  The SUV was indeed gone.

She could be glad of one thing at least she thought.

They went downstairs.  When Alicia opened the door, her hair was messy and she looked half asleep.

"Mornin' guys."

"Good morning Ali.  You ready to go?" Nick said.

"Let me brush my hair.  I fell asleep on the couch.  Carson told me you were going to be our escort today.  Come in guys."

They went inside and shut the door.  Alicia returned, brush in hand.  "When's this shit gonna quit Nick?"

"I don't know.  It might be just a few days.  He's letting Saturday be her last night at the bar.  But he bought her a fancy SUV with plates that say 'Only You'."

"How come all the rich guys that want to buy you stuff are crazy?" Alicia said.

Nick laughed.

Ami didn't find it particularly funny, but she was quickly tiring of the somber mood that had begun to surround her.  Gabe would give up eventually wouldn't he she thought?

She certainly hoped so.

Alicia finished with her hair and put on her shoes.  Nick wouldn't tell them what he had planned for their day, other than that he hoped it would take everyone's mind off of Gabe.

The stop at his apartment was quick.  He was in and out of the shower quickly.  Ami was glad.  He had begun to distract her again.

Their day started with a picnic at the park.  They shared sandwiches and goodies around a picnic table that was in almost as bad shape as the one at the apartment building.

They walked around the park for a while.  There were a few mothers with children, and two fathers.  Seeing people with their children didn't normally do anything for Ami.  She already missed her son enough for it to have long since stopped getting to her.  Nick and Ali both seemed affected though.  Ali cooed over a pair of three months old twins and Nick looked at the children like he wondered what it would be like if they were his own.  Ami caught him glancing back and forth between an adorable child and her and managed not to smile.

They wandered around downtown for a while, stopping whenever something in a window interested one of them.  Nick tried to drag them into a museum but neither woman was interested.

Nick's surprise was an old gas station that he had been looking at as a possibility for opening his own mechanic shop.  There were two in town and both left a lot to desire.  He said that he was far from taking the actual step yet but that this was the place that had looked the best to him.

There was no sign of Gabe.  Ami was on the lookout for either his truck or hers.  Though she never saw him, she always had a feeling that he was there.  She thought that maybe she was being paranoid, but he had certainly done enough in the last couple of days to warrant her feelings.

They finished the afternoon at the town's sorry excuse for a mall.  Ami was able to find a dress to wear to Ali and Carson's wedding though, so the trip wasn't a total bust.

They headed back to the apartment shortly before five.  The office was closed so she couldn't pick up the keys to "her" truck from Jenkins.  She'd wanted to bury them in the dumpster she had buried the flowers in but Nick had convinced her to leave them with him.

Carson wasn't home yet so Nick set up the barbecue.  He made Ali and Ami go inside though it hardly made sense to them since the door was open and he was ten feet away.

Carson got home around five thirty and helped Nick finish up dinner after taking a shower.

They ate outside and then gathered in the apartment's tiny living room to watch the movies that Carson had remembered this time to pick up.

Nick insisted on staying with her again, though there hadn't been any sign of Gabe since that morning.

He set himself up on the couch.  Ami would much rather have had him back in her bed but she didn't want to push her luck.  He'd let her take his hand twice during the day and lean her head on him when they were watching movies.

He gave her a warm hug and kiss goodnight, though the kiss was barely more than a peck.

She heard him tossing and turning, getting up every now and then to go to the window and check for Gabe.  But there was nothing and both drifted off to sleep a little after eleven o'clock.

Chapter 15

Nick made them breakfast and then headed off to work, telling her he'd call her later.

She had a long day ahead with Ali and Carson.  They had two houses to look at and Alicia had a meeting to trade baby clothes with an organization in the area that worked with families.

Brian had cousins in the area that had given them tons of baby clothes, but most of them had boys.  Of course a lot of the clothes were suitable for baby girls as well, but Alicia wanted to add some more feminine touches to the child's wardrobe.  Carson teased her because she already had what he jokingly called two years’ worth of girlie clothes stock piled but he let it go.

After the last fitting of her dress which had been rescheduled from yesterday, during which Carson was made to sit in the car, they headed for their last stop.  Carson was getting a haircut.

Ami was bored stiff by the time the day was over.  It wasn't that she didn't enjoy spending time with her friends; it was just that she felt she shouldn't be there for about 90% of what they did that day.

When they were back at the apartment, Ali offered to have her over for dinner but she was overloaded.  She needed time to herself and she politely bowed out.  Gabe hadn't made an appearance.  Ami hoped that after dealing with him tomorrow that things would go back to some semblance of normal.

She made herself a sandwich and tried to read but she couldn't concentrate.  She was still thinking too much.  Thinking about Nick.  Thinking about Gabe.

Nick called a little after seven, but the conversation was short.  He asked about Gabe, though she figured he already knew from Carson that they hadn't seen him.  He offered to follow her home from work the next night.  That was pretty much the end of it.

There was still no sign of Gabe.  She slept better that night.

She awoke early the next morning to the chime of a text message.  She opened it, reaching distractedly for a cigarette.  It was Ali.  It said 'The baby's here!'

She was alarmed for a minute because Alicia was too far from her due date for her to be excited about her baby coming, but then her tired mind realized that she had to be talking about Carson's son.

She yawned and typed out 'That's great.'

Before she could send the message Ali sent her a picture.  It was Carson and an adorable blonde little boy.  Father and son were both grinning from ear to ear.

She sent the first message and then typed out 'He's adorable.'

'Cause he looks like his Daddy.  Come meet him Auntie Ami.'

'Auntie Ami?  I'll be down in a bit.'

'This poor baby is starving for love.  He hasn't climbed down off Carson's lap once.'

'That's too bad.'

'We're gonna make it better.'

'I know.  I'll be down soon.'

She started a pot of coffee and drank a cup to wake herself up before she headed downstairs.

Carson, Elijah and Ali were outside.  Carson and Elijah were bouncing a ball and Ali was taping it.  She turned the camera to Ami and gave her friend a smile.  "Mornin, Ami."

"Good morning Ali.”

Carson turned to her.  "Ami this is my boy, Eli."

Elijah was shy suddenly.  He peeked at her from behind his Dad's leg.  Then he smiled and gave her a little wave saying "Hi."

But his attention was soon away from her when he said "The park Daddy.”

"Okay little man.  You ready babe?"

"Yeah.  You want to come Ami?"

"No thanks." She didn't want to intrude.

"Okay.  Well, if we don't see you again today, we will see you tomorrow.  The wedding's at noon, but you might want to come a little early.  No real reception, just lunch at Madison's downtown.  No gifts please.  We already have enough stuff.  If you want to get us something, feel free to do so when we finally have our own place."

Ami held back a laugh.  "You guys have fun."

Elijah smiled, not quite as shy anymore.  He looked so happy to be with his Dad.  How could his mom have kept him away she wondered?  She felt a little stab, thinking about her own son.

The day seemed to fly by.  It was soon time for her to head to work.  She smoked two cigarettes as she sat in the parking lot of the bar, still not wanting to go inside.

She only cared because Candy was waiting for her and the parking lot had already begun to fill up.

When she was inside Candy said "Hey Ami.  Sorry to hear that you're leaving us."

"Me, too.  Well, I like working with you and Rick anyway."

"Is it him?"

"Who?" But she knew who Candy was talking about.

"You know who.  If we get a chance later, I'll tell you a story."

"Okay."

They didn't get a chance to talk until 10:00.  It only slowed down because there was something going on at the other bar in town, but both Ami and Candy were glad for the break.  Candy motioned for Ami to sit down on the only chair behind the bar.  She said she liked to pace when she was talking.

"So," Candy said.  "I won’t make you tell me about it, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s Gabe that’s chasing you away."

"Yeah."

“I’ll try to make this quick because who knows when we might get hit with a crowd, but I’d like to give you a little background okay?"

Ami nodded.

"I wasn’t always a woman that a man like Rick can be proud to say is his.  I messed around.  I was naive and I was one of those girls who couldn't stand to be without a man.  I had my first miscarriage when I was eighteen.  I was crushed, but not as crushed as the baby's father.  He was older.  I met him when I was seventeen and moved in with him the day after I graduated high school.  We were going to get married.  I was happy, thought I had it all.  He was so happy when I got pregnant.  But when I lost the baby, he walked away.  He left me with a house that he'd told me he owned, which I found out he was only renting when the landlord came knocking on the door.  It turned out that his father was some rich guy that put a stipulation in his trust fund, in his will.  He'd only get half of Daddy's money if he didn't produce a male heir by the time the old man kicked the bucket.  If he had a son, he'd get 3/4 and the rest would go into trust for his son.  His mom had been dead for years, he was an only child.  I found out he had a couple ex-wives.  One had given him three daughters and the other ended up not being able to have kids.  I definitely started out my life in the real world on the wrong foot.  I moved back in with my parents for a while but it didn't work well.  So I stayed with friends here and there, worked crappy jobs.  I was twenty-four when I started doing drugs, and I'm just now a little over a year and a half totally clean.  Rick's been my savior.  Let me tell you how I met him.  I was really down at the time.  I'd been sleeping on people's couches, basically homeless.  As much as I hate to admit it, there were a couple of times I had sex with a guy or gave him a blow job so that I'd have a roof over my head for the night.  But things were turning around.  I'd gotten a steady job and was lucky enough to run into a girl I'd gone to high school with.  She said I could stay with her and her old man and their kids as long as I kicked in on the rent and food as soon as I could and didn't mind watching the kids now and then.  That was heaven compared to what I'd been used to so of course I took her up on it.  Right around that time I found out I was pregnant.  I was happy but with the timing I didn't know who the father was.  I'd been so high all the time when I would have gotten pregnant that there were men I probably don't even remember.  Who wants to worry about birth control or a rubber when all you're worried about is your next fix?  I was apprehensive because of my first pregnancy but I went to the doctor and they said everything looked fine.  One thing I can say about my parents is that no matter how much they may not like me at the time, they've always made sure I had health insurance.  Well, everything was going good.  My friend was happy for me.  She was a little worried too, though.  She'd had a couple of miscarriages herself.  Ran in her family.  I was at work, this was a Friday.  I'd been spotting a little bit that morning but didn't think it was a big deal.  I went into work and everything was fine until about halfway through my shift.  I was just past twelve weeks at that time, excited because I'd heard the baby's heartbeat.  I thought I was going to be sick so I went to the bathroom.  I was bleeding again, but this time it was heavier.  I freaked out, told my boss, called my friend.  It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before I was at the hospital, but it was too late.  My baby was gone.  I cried for a full day after.  They could have sent me home but they were worried about my mental health.  I was worried about my mental health.  I may not have known who the daddy was but it was going to be me and my baby.  I felt so empty.  The second day I woke up and saw this angel.  You can laugh if you want because it sounds stupid, but it was true.  He was a CNA then, changing out sheets and emptying bed pans.  He was trying to fix my blinds.  I was sure he was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.  I must have stared at him for a good five minutes before I decided I had to hear his voice.  I cleared my throat, but he didn't turn around.  So I asked him what he was doing.  He turned around and smiled at me.  Rick doesn't usually smile with his mouth open because he has a little gap between his front teeth that he's self-conscious about and won't get fixed because he hates the dentist.  But he did that time.  He was beautiful.  Sounds funny to call a man who is 6'7" and almost three hundred pounds beautiful, but to me he was.  And he has been my angel.  That man has made me believe in myself, believe that I can be better than the shit that I did.  He told me no the first ten times I asked him out.  People still ask how we have sex."

Candy smiled. 

"I tell them it's none of their business.  It can get interesting though.  Now I know I've probably blabbed to you enough and you're probably tired of hearing my voice, but let me tell you one last thing about Rick before I get into the shit about Gabe.  There are two types of men.  A man that would hit a woman and a man that never would.  You can disagree because there's got to be a gray area, but let me tell you my thoughts.  My Rick is a man that would never hit a woman.  We've been in plenty of screaming matches, most of them I'll admit have probably been my fault.  But never once have I been scared of him.  He's close to three times my weight and almost a foot and a half taller than me, but he wouldn't ever hurt me.  He couldn't live with himself.  He can't even stand to hit another man.  He broke a guy's nose once and he felt so bad about it.  This guy deserved it.  He'd kicked him out of the bar because he was being rowdy, starting fights, had tried to feel up some other dude's wife.  This guy waited outside for Rick.  He was drunker than shit, but he thought he was going to be smart.  He had a bat, and all kinds of other dirty little coward’s tricks.  Rick says he pulled his punch, and he probably did," Candy smiled again. 

"But this guy had been raggin' on him half the night and they'd been in the parking lot for another fifteen minutes or so, so maybe he didn't pull his punch as much as he said he did.  A man can only take so much.  But anyway.  Gabe falls into the other category.  He may not have hit a woman yet, and he may not, but it's still in there, waiting to come out.  Sorry, one last story.  You hear about Tandra yet?"

Ami nodded. 

"Well, that night that Gabe walked in on Andy smackin’ her around, and this is coming straight from her mouth, okay?  Andy was cocky and asked Gabe if he wanted to join in.  Tandra was thinking that Gabe's gonna take Andy out so she sat up.  But she said he paused a second too long, got this look that flashed through his eyes before he ended up beatin’ Andy's sorry ass.  That he was a little rougher than usual when they had sex that night.  But it's not just that.  Gabe has got a lot of rage pent up inside.  He came from a poor family and his wife's family is rolling in dough.  He may say that he doesn't care if Leslie fucks around but he does.  I think what he does with the girls that he hires is partly to get back at Leslie and partly to prove that he's the man, that he can keep some poor girl under his thumb.  So that brings me to me and Gabe.  Rick doesn't know because if he did, it would be the end of Gabe and Rick couldn't live with that.  I had only been working here about a week.  Rick and I were fighting like crazy.  I had taken off my engagement ring and lost it and he flipped out.  I can't blame him but it pissed me off at the time.  I'm stubborn; I'm a fighter at heart.  Finally it got to be too much and Rick said he was going to move out.  I was
mad but deep down I was really scared of losing him.  He said he still wanted to be together, but I wasn't listening.  I happened to hear some dumb ass say something that night about him flirting with one of his teachers at school.  That's not Rick and I know it but it still pissed me off.  That man is completely oblivious to the fact that women find him attractive.  Eric was still working nights then so I was closing with him.  He begged me to let him go early because he had a date.  I let him go.  I wanted to be alone anyway.  I'm almost done when Gabe walks in.  He asked me where Eric was.  I lied and said he felt sick.  Gabe laughed.  He knows Eric.  He asked me if I was okay.  I said yeah, I just wanted to get home even though I knew Rick probably wouldn't be there.  He gets this look in his eyes and asks me if I want a drink.  I tell him no, but then he tells me there's something he wants to talk to me about.  I thought I was getting fired.  So I said what the hell.  Now what happened between me and Gabe wasn't rape, not exactly.  We both got pretty drunk and I may have been the one that made the first move.  I didn't tell him to stop until about halfway through.  He did but the look he gave me made me sick to my stomach.  It was like he was telling me that he may not have had me all the way that time, but he would have me whenever he wanted from then on.  I wanted to quit.  I must have taken three showers that night and I was actually glad that Rick wasn't home.  I couldn't look at Gabe.  I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror.  I felt so dirty.  And he wanted me to feel dirty.  He gave me a dollar raise and my paycheck was $500 more than it should have been.  I didn't say anything.  I was looking for another job, practically begging Rick to come home.  Gabe was calling me all hours of the night.  He'd sit outside our house for hours.  It was a week and a half later when Rick came home.  Gabe stopped calling, quit coming by.  Now you'd think it never happened.  But it did.  I don't know exactly what happened between you and Gabe, but I don't blame you for wanting to be out of this place.  I'm counting the days girl.  Won't break my heart none if the doctor says I need to quit early for the sake of the baby."