The Bride Wore Red Boots (26 page)

“What is that I hear in your voice? A little softness?” He smiled. “I think your time off did you a world of good.”

The tension as she thought about the job she'd be doing, was curling back into her body like it, too, was back from vacation. But it was familiar and good for her. It was what kept her sharp. And ready for anything.

“I haven't changed my philosophy on what makes good doctor, patient, colleague relationships,” she said. “But I have done some thinking about how people react to it.”

“That's just what I want to hear,” he said. “Let's get this show on the road, shall we, Doctor?”

The committee wasn't brutal, but they did grill her. And the session ran for nearly two hours—as if they hadn't already put her through the process during her original interview. What would she do if . . .? What was the most important aspect of . . .? Where would she like to be in one, five, fifteen years? What was her philosophy on . . . everything?

By the time she was finished, she'd kept her cool, explained herself until her answers felt rote, and knew without a doubt she'd gotten what she came for. And when she walked out of the conference room, she had to escape to her office, lock her door, and hide her face in her hands while she shook with excitement and absolute dread. But despite the fearful and gleeful emotion, all she could really think about what how she was going to tell Gabe.

T
HE
T
HANKSGIVING GUEST
list at Paradise Ranch was impressive. When Mia finally set her bag in the front foyer at a little after noon Thanksgiving Day, Rory had to push his way through a lot of tall people in order to reach her. She hugged him as if they'd been apart for weeks.

“I've been riding five times on Bungu. He wasn't crazy at all. And I taught Asta how to roll over.” He bubbled over with his news.

Bungu, evidently a Shoshone word meaning horse, was Skylar's pinto gelding. He was young at age four, but Mia had never heard rumors that he was crazy. She took it to mean Rory's nervousness about riding had abated.

“Sounds like you're becoming an official animal trainer. Do you like the horses?”

“I love them.”

She squeezed him one last time and marveled at the tenderness welling in her heart. He'd made so many strides in just a handful of days. There'd be ups and downs. She couldn't fool herself into thinking Rory had processed all his grief. Right now he was on a high from all the new experiences. Still, she hoped she'd made the right decision for him.

She waded through the hugs and welcomes.

“Hi, sis!” Kelly, newly arrived herself, offered a Rory-worthy hug.

“Kel!” Mia rocked her with joy. “My triplets are a full set. Welcome back! Are you staying a while now?”

“A couple of weeks. I'm sending Grace back. Raquel will probably follow in a week. I have to stay, though, and catch up on my big sister's news. That big, strong hunk of a Gabe. And that amazing little hunk of a Rory. My gosh, your life is . . . ”

“Out of control? Crazy? A little wonderful?”

“Beautiful. You sound so happy.”

“We'll talk. But . . . yeah.”

“Hi, Mia.”

She spun to the front drawing room door and, sitting like a princess in her wheelchair, was Joely. Mia ran the few steps and grabbed her.

“You are absolutely the most beautiful sight in the world,” Mia said. “I am so glad you're here.”

“I am, too.”

Pale but lovely, with her honey-wheat hair and her wide hazel eyes, Joely spoke quietly, almost but not quite without conviction.

“Are you exhausted already?” Mia asked. “Are you hurting anywhere?”

“I am tired. But I feel okay.”

“You do look beautiful.”

“Let's don't go there.” She said it without rancor, but her tone was firm. There'd be no discussion of beauty. The decision was irrevocable.

“Okay we won't. But I for one have found what I'm grateful for this year. My
beautiful
sister safely here with us. I love you.”

“I couldn't have survived without you, Mia.” Joely held open her arms again.

Mia fell into them. “You certainly would have. But I'm glad I could be with you.”

To her surprise, the guests included Brewster, Finney, and Pat who, because they had no other family close, all were there to raise glasses of beer in a welcome home salute. Then she found Leif, Bjorn, and their family, which filled the living room and kitchen. But the one person she really wanted to see, hadn't come to the door to greet her.

She forgave him the instant she found him in the kitchen, helping Cole pull two of the biggest turkeys Mia had ever seen from the double-decker oven.

“Hey, you,” she called.

His head popped up and for an instant, his eyes lit with a combination of passion, joy, and lust she hoped only she could read. Then he smiled, and shutters of reserve, still warm but unmistakable, darkened his honey-colored eyes. “Hey, Doc. Welcome home.”

Home. She liked that he'd said it.

“Give me two minutes,” he added, hoisting his turkey roaster from its oven rack and following Cole to the massive island counter.

“To the master of the bird, I'll give all the time he wants.”

When the roasters were safely on the counter, Gabe and Cole worked in tandem with two heavy duty spatulas each to move the golden brown birds to platters. The aroma was exquisite. And when the guys shook hands to congratulate each other, Mia slipped behind Gabe and snaked her arms around his torso. “That was male skill at its finest.”

He loosened her hands so that he could turn and face her. “You have very low standards,” he said. “Easy to live up to.”

“I try not to make it too difficult.”

“How'd it go?” His question held a hint of wariness. Or maybe she was projecting out of nervousness.

“It went really well. I got what I wanted.”

He kissed her on the top of the head and pushed her away again. “I'm really glad. It's good to have you back.”

He said the words, but he certainly didn't show them. Slightly wounded, she kissed him once on the mouth. “It's good to be back. New York showed me her most crowded and feisty, noisy side this trip. Kind of an obnoxious lady.”

“It's Christmas season. I expect a place like New York would be insane.”

She sighed. He was still annoyed. In fact, he was dull, almost uninterested. She missed his spark and the underlying comic bursting to come out.

“Everything all right?” She probed for him to open up and, in fact, he shook himself slightly out of his lifelessness.

“Yeah, sure. Everything's great.” He finally kissed her properly, but he wasn't really back.

Dinner was jovial and loud, filled with the laughter and chatter of twenty people. Grandpa Sebastian had known what he was doing when he'd made a table that could seat nine on a side. But the family boisterousness didn't infect Gabe either. At the end of the meal, when two turkeys had been thoroughly decimated, the sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, stuffing, and cranberries were memory, and nobody had room for pumpkin pie but clamored for it anyway, Mia rose with her sisters. Gathering around Joely's chair, they lifted half-finished glasses of wine in a pre-arranged toast.

“Something a little different from a year ago,” Harper said, wrangling everyone's attention with her sweet voice. “A salute—to new family members. Damien, Jason, and Pat, whom we've adopted.”

“To Cole!” Kelly said. “He's not new, but now he's officially part of the family.”

“Gabe,” Mia said with a flush of pride. “He's wormed his way in. And, of course, a very special new member, the newest guy in my life, Rory.”

“Now everyone fill up your glass again,” Harper said. “Just like these guys fill up our lives.”

The schmaltzy show was a huge success. Cheers rang out and glasses were filled with wine, water, and juice. When the hubbub died down again, Leif took a turn calling for attention.

“We haven't had a new young person around her for a long time,” he said. “And he's been pretty quick to adopt us all. One thing Skylar has discovered is that Rory here has been bitten by the horse flu. He likes his rides. So, we have an early Christmas present out front. Rory, you want to come and see?”

When Rory saw the black-and-white pony tied to one of the huge old pin oaks on the front lawn, his mouth hung in a silent O.

“One of our neighbors has been keeping this guy since his own kids got too big to ride him. He wanted a good home where someone could really use him again. Rory, that's you. Think you want to learn to get along with a pony named Panda?”

Mia had more tears in her eyes than Rory did when he took Skylar's hand and followed her with hesitant disbelief. He looked quickly back at Mia and she nodded. When he reached Panda, he stared a minute, then threw his arms around the pony's neck.

“Really?” he asked. “Really?”

“Yup, really,” Skylar said. “He's here for you whenever you come and visit.”

“I'm not coming to visit. I'm staying right here with him.”

She felt Gabe's presence without a single touch from him. He stood behind her and, finally, put a hand on her shoulder. She leaned against his chest and tilted her head back to gaze at the underside of his chin. Stiff, sexy stubble shadowed his skin.

“Is this a good idea?” he asked.

Surprised, she frowned. “Look at him. It's a wonderful idea.”

“You're rooting him to this place. Isn't it going to be hard on him to leave?”

She smiled secretively. “About that.”

“Now's not the time to talk about it.”

A tiny bubble of frustration rose in her chest and threatened to blossom into anger. “What's wrong with you?”

“Not a thing.”

“I might not be a therapist, but I know bullshit when I hear it.”

It was his turn to look stunned. “That was rude.”

“You're being a little bit rude yourself. Care to explain, or do you want me to tell you what I think?”

“Mia . . . ” He spun her around and shook his head. “I'm sorry. I . . . ”

“You're wrong.” She cut him off. “This is a perfect time to end this.”

“End . . .?”

She'd been purposely obtuse, but he deserved the look of utter destruction in his eyes. Mia whispered to Harper that she had something else for Rory and she and Gabe were going to the barn to get it. A blatant lie, but desperate times . . .

She grabbed Gabriel's hand and pulled him after her, headed for the barn.

“Mia, what—”

“No talking yet.”

She led him all the way to the door of the cabin and finally stopped. With a deep breath she faced him. “Now,” she said. “Talk.”

“I'm trying to reconcile you leaving with all the sugarcoated family stuff everyone is gobbling up back there. A pony, for God's sake.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Nothing. Nothing, Mia. I just want to know why you're making you and Rory slipping back out of my life so damn painful. It's like promising him Santa is real when he's not.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe Santa is real?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, Gabriel, that this could work, you and me. If you want it to.”

“Long distance doesn't work. Not over the long haul. You can't have someone two thousand miles away asking you to divide your passions.”

“That's it? That's what you have to offer me?”

“I'm not standing in the way of your dream. I refuse.”

“I don't believe it. Where are the balls you said you grew that day Rory arrived? What about having my back?”

He shuffled on his feet, the fierce light of anger flaring in his eyes, reddening his cheeks even more than the cold air. Mia found the door key and let them into the cabin.

“I have your back,” he said. “I want your dreams for you—they're a lot older than the little attraction we've started here. I'm not going to make another mistake by letting you make a mistake.”

She'd come down here to surprise him. To let him be depressed until she made it all better. But this? This was a decision carefully thought through and planned. The idiot was breaking up with her before even discussing the matter. It stunned her how painful the wound was.

“I don't believe it. Ever since I met you you've been fighting for something. You're like this Energizer Bunny Warrior for every underdog you meet. My sister, my mother, your squad of misfits who nearly got you fired before they figured it out. You don't care—you're a safety net for everyone. But here I come, with problems that aren't even problems and you pack it in without lifting a finger much less a sword to rescue us. Where's the fight for us? Where's my safety net?”

“You have more safety nets than I could ever provide,” he said, anger still flashing. “Your job, a child who needs you, a city full of sophisticated prospects. I belong here—with the misfits. You have a world there. You belong to it. Go grab the future.”

She almost let tears fall, but she held resolutely firm. Her decisions and all the plans she'd been so excited to tell him about suddenly felt very unsteady, but her anger remained true.

“My father used to tell me what I should do and where I belonged, Gabriel. Don't you dare go there. How about
I
finally get to decide where I belong?”

“Fine.”

She scoffed in retort. “Fine. You talk about grabbing the future. What about yours? When are you going to grab it by fixing the past? When are you going to send those letters you're so afraid of? Don't make all these plans for me when you're—”

“I sent them two weeks ago.”

His voice had quieted. His words weren't strong or even proud. He just told her.

“You . . . you did?”

“The day before Rory arrived.”