The Widow and the Orphan (7 page)

Back to her usual ways, Pepper went on the offensive as soon as he’d had a shower, a meal, and a fairly good night’s sleep. As they prepared to go to work the next day, in spite of all her protests, she tossed out barbs and her two cents relentlessly.

“You need to see a doctor.”

“How many times are you going to pass out before you make an appointment?”

“Maybe you should conk out on the other side, so you have matching lumps on the back of your head?”

Each time, Gabe just laughed or jabbed back with something he knew would piss her off.

“Perhaps you should spend your time learning wifely duties.”

“Maybe it’s time to concentrate on wedding planning.”

“I’m not sure if you realize it, but I’m an adult. A grown man.”

When he left, Gabe kissed her on the forehead and promised he would call her later. Pepper shot a quick text to Aiden to make sure he was at the office. She would keep him enlisted as her spy and informant on Gabe’s every move. Of course, Aiden was already at work when he responded, assuring her he would keep an eye on her guy.

Pepper knew she had no other choice but go into work herself, so she called Vivienne on her way.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with him,” she sighed when Vivienne answered the phone.

“Tell me everything.”

Pepper related all of the events since they last spoke.

“Where is he now?” Vivienne asked when Pepper finally stopped talking.

“On his way to the office. I tried to talk him into staying home an extra day or so, just to rest and get back on LA time, but he totally refused. Wouldn’t hear of it.”

Vivienne clucked her tongue, but said nothing.

“I badgered him all morning to see a doctor, but he just ignored me. He’d give me that little smirk. Or, he’d answer back with some smartass comment of his own. I honestly don’t know what the hell to do.” Pepper listened as Vivienne cooed to Jane in the background and waited for advice.

“I think you’ll probably have to charm him into it, then. Typical Pepper pushiness isn’t going to work this time,” Vivienne finally said. “You will catch your fly with honey, not vinegar.”

“Thanks, you make me sound like a freakin’ spider.” Pepper chuckled in spite of herself.

“Well? If the web fits. Seriously, give him today to think about everything. Tonight, go out to a nice dinner, or bring something he really loves in, and try to sweet talk him into making an appointment.”

Pepper pursed her lips, thinking it over. “It’s worth a shot, I guess.”

She managed to get through the rest of the day with only a half a dozen texts to Gabe directly, two dozen back and forth with Aiden, and taking care of a few things that Lisa insisted were important. Pepper tried to think of a way to beguile Gabe into making an appointment with the doctor, but she just didn’t think she could do it.
If pushing him won’t work, I think I’ll just have to be sneaky
.

At about four o’clock, she texted Aiden one more time.

Is he still there?

Yes, leaving at 5:30.

Cool. Text if he leaves sooner.

Pepper called Thai Boom from the car and placed a carryout for all of Gabe’s favorites to bring home. After picking up the food, she raced home to spread it out on the table so that dinner would be ready for him the minute he walked in the door. While she waited for him to get home, Pepper showered, changed into some yoga pants and a tank, and then busied herself with feeding and playing with the kittens.

When Gabe arrived, he found her sitting cross legged on the floor, waving a feathered toy on a stick around for the boys to pounce on. She smiled up at him and accepted his welcoming kiss.

“You’re a vision, sitting on the floor with our fur children.”

Pepper huffed and hoisted herself up. “Thanks, I think. Are you hungry? I got dinner.”

Gabe dropped his briefcase and turned to look at the dining room table across the room. Pepper was surprised he hadn’t already noticed all the food laid out on the table.

“Not particularly, but, of course, let’s eat.”

Pepper had had plenty of time to think about a plan of attack to convince Gabe to see a doctor. Unfortunately, she couldn’t come up with anything that would have seemed reasonable enough. If her usual over the top, pushy personality wasn’t going to be able to get him in front of an MD, then he would know immediately if she tried to sweet talk him. Instead, she figured she was going to have to trap him into it. Earlier in the day, she had made an appointment with her general practitioner for Gabe.

“Babe, I made an appointment for us to go and get massages on Friday.”

Gabe eyed her as he played with a fork full of noodles but didn’t eat it. “I suppose we could do that. Why Friday?”

She lifted her own shoulders in response. “Fridays are usually pretty quiet for me, and I checked with Aiden first. He said you didn’t have anything on your schedule yet. Seems like a nice way to start off the weekend. The appointment is at three o’clock.”

“Okay.”

* * * * *

The rest of the week passed in a rush, with Pepper’s nerves becoming more and more frayed as the clandestine appointment with the doctor approached. Gabe’s appetite was definitely off and it was like mud wrestling a pig to get him to eat an entire meal. He complained about his back aching, too. He took ibuprofen from time to time to ease the pain, and looked forward to the massage he assumed he was getting to fix him up.

Friday morning, as they both walked to their cars to leave for work, Pepper placed a nervous kiss on his cheek. “I’ll meet you back here at two, so we can change. Okay?”

“I’ll see you then, love.”

Pepper could barely keep her mind on work the entire morning and found herself snapping at her assistant over the stupidest things. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when she barked about an insignificant detail she’d already asked about a dozen times.

“What the
hell
, Pepper?” Lisa snapped back, slapping her notepad closed as she sat across the desk from her boss.

Pepper’s eyes narrowed at Lisa’s tone, but she slumped in her chair remorsefully. She put her hands up in front of her. “I’m so sorry, hun. Really. I just have a lot on my mind.”

Lisa pursed her lips, but leaned back in the chair and relaxed. “It’s okay. I’m just not used to you giving me so much grief. Is there anything wrong?”

Pepper smiled at her, wishing she could unload all of her worries, but didn’t think it would be right to burden the girl with her private crap. It was just another way she was trying to learn how to have boundaries.
Baby steps, Pepper
.

“No, Lisa, I’m fine. Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off, too? We’ve got everything pretty much under control.”

Lisa looked skeptical, but Pepper knew she wouldn’t turn down a few extra hours off. “All right. I need another half hour to finish my phone calls and send out some emails. Then we’ll head out together.” Lisa stood up and walked to the door of Pepper’s office. “I hope that massage does you some good.” She winked and then left to go back to her own desk.

Pepper normally would have chuckled at her assistant’s joke, but all she could think about was how she was going to explain to Gabe when they went to the doctor instead of the masseuse.

* * * * *

Gabe had his nose buried in his phone while Pepper drove to the building where her doctor’s office was located. It wasn’t until she parked the car that Gabe looked up and around.

“Where are we? I thought we were going for massages?”

Pepper had fully intended on walking him straight into the office before telling him the truth, believing he would have been too much of a gentleman to cause a scene in front of strangers. But now that she had him this close, she felt guilty and ashamed at having perpetrated such a scam.

“I have to tell you the truth.” She turned in her seat so she could face him, hoping she didn’t look as nervous and guilty as she felt. Keeping a calm and pleasant face might convince him that she had only acted in his best interests.

“What is it?” Gabe’s expression was filled with worry. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Pepper assured him. “But I didn’t exactly tell you the truth about where we were going today.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed and he frowned. “What’s going on, Pepper?”

Pepper’s mouth dried up like when the dentist uses the suction on your cheek to sop up the drool. She swallowed hard and the click in her barren throat was audible in the too quiet car. “We don’t really have appointments for massages. I actually brought you to my doctor’s office.”

She snapped her eyes shut, waiting for the explosion she was sure would happen. When it didn’t, she cracked one eye open. Gabe had his own eyes closed, but his fists were clenched in his lap.
Oh crap
. That was way worse than a volcanic reaction.

“Dammit, Pepper,” he finally managed, his tone frigid. “I told you I am
fine
.”

Pepper’s gut wrenched and her heart flip flopped with anxiety, making her feel sweaty and nervous. “I know but–”

“But nothing!” Gabe finally shouted. “I’m a grown man. An
adult
. I think I know when I need to see a doctor and when I don’t!”

Tears sprung to Pepper’s eyes and she tried to keep the sniff quiet. In all their time together, Gabe had never once raised his voice to her, no matter what asinine stunt she had pulled or stupid thing she had said. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I was only trying to–”

With a remorseful sigh, Gabe unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned toward her. “I know what you were trying to do.”

There’s my Gabe
. His voice was back to being soft and pleasant, and Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry, darling. I shouldn’t have shouted. But what you’ve done makes me feel more like your child than your partner.”

Pepper hadn’t been able to look at him until then. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I just worry, okay?”

“I understand.”

She scowled and felt the “old” Pepper feistiness making an appearance. “I don’t think you do, Gabe. You collapsed in our shower and wouldn’t do anything about it. Then you passed out in Japan and don’t let anyone there do anything about it. You haven’t given me one good reason for not being scared yourself and running straight to the doctor.”

Sighing, Gabe sat back in the seat and removed his sunglasses. “I hate them.”

Pepper stared at him, dumbfounded. “You hate doctors.”

“Yes. I detest them. I
loathe
them.”

Pepper didn’t know whether to laugh or scream or cry. She certainly knew there were people out there who would ignore any sign of medical distress, not caring if they died in the process, but she never in a million years would have imagined that Gabe would be one of them. She reached for his hands and tangled her fingers with his.

“Well, if that’s–” Pepper stopped.
Get a grip, girl.
She took a deep breath and started over. “I’m sorry you hate doctors, babe. Tell me why.” Gabe’s head tilted to the side as he considered her. Pepper waited patiently, her hands still in his. She squeezed his fingers and nodded. “What happened that made you hate doctors so much?”

Gabe lowered his chin until it almost rested on his chest. He didn’t say anything for a long while, but Pepper was determined to wait him out if she was going to get what she wanted.

“I spent entirely too much time with physicians when I was younger. I caught every virus and bug that came down the wire. My parents were sickly people. The smell, the sounds, it’s all very displeasing to me,” Gabe said finally. “I have never known any good news to come from a doctor visit.”

Pepper controlled her urge to growl with a strength she didn’t know she had. It didn’t matter that she thought his reasoning was silly. He was the one with the issue and he would have to overcome it. But he wasn’t going to do it unless she was kind and supportive. “I don’t know if that’s totally true. Viv got good news when she got her pregnancy test results back, right?”

Gabe smiled a little and she could see some of the tension in his shoulders relax the tiniest bit.

“What happens if you don’t go to the doctor and then something else happens that’s worse than just passing out?” Pepper pleaded with him with her eyes and her words. “Wouldn’t you rather have a doctor give you bad news with hope to fix the problem?”

Sighing, Gabe nodded. “I see your point.”

Pepper reached to put her hand on his face. “Besides, it’s probably nothing, just like you’ve been saying. Maybe you’re diabetic. Maybe it’s a vitamin deficiency. It could be any number of stupid little things that could be taken care of with a change in diet or a single pill every day. Won’t you please go in and keep the appointment I made?”

Gabe leaned into her palm and closed his eyes. “All right,” he said after a very long while. “But don’t you ever lie to me again, Pepper.”