Where She Belongs (14 page)

He
smiled at her a moment before turning to her parents. He launched
into a discussion with Rita and Bryce, pretending as if everything
were normal. As if he wasn’t dying to pull her into his arms
and kiss the hell out of her.

*
* *

Because
of the time difference and family obligations, Shanna had to put off
her friend's response to her jealousy inquiry. "Call me,"
was what Carmen said. Shanna replied she would, as soon as she had a
free moment.

That
turned out to be Monday evening. Shanna sat on the back porch while
she called. She hung her legs off the side and let the neighborhood
sounds filter over her. There was the occasional car, but it wasn't
constant traffic. There were voices, and laughter and the smell of
outdoors and backyard fires.

"What's
happening, bitch?" Carmen answered.

"Oh
you know, back in Alberta, filling in for my Dad while he's
recovering from his heart attack."

"I
know, I heard. I also heard that Trenton's replaced you with Kendall
Cooper."

"Just
for the next week and just at the office.”

"Okay,
so explain this whole not-jealous thing again to me."

"Look,
strict confidence. You remember me telling you about the older guy I
had a crush on for forever, Gabe?"

"Older,
hot guy you kissed a few years ago and he said no. Yeah, but only
because you showed me his picture and I would not forgot that face.
That and you mention him like all the time, unless Trenton is around,
because you are still totally hot for him."

"Yeah
that one." Fuck, was she that transparent? "He's been
making noises that he'd like to be more than friends."

"He
knows you are practically engaged to Trenton?"

"That’s
the next part. Okay, so I asked Trenton if he ever kissed anyone else
while we dated. He told me he kissed and almost got back with his ex,
Micaden."

"God,
why would he choose her over you?"

"Apparently,
both their families expected it. Anyway, I didn't care, I don't care
in the least that he kissed someone else, that he almost went back to
her. In fact, I may wish he had gotten back with her. Is that like
fucked up or really fucked up?"

"It's
not a good sign, I'll tell you, babe. I like that you managed to
justify that you kissed hot Gabe and not feel guilty about it. Good
on you."

"I
didn't kiss Gabe."

"Oh,
you did so, or you wouldn't be asking Trenton if he's ever kissed
someone else."

Shanna
considered for a moment maybe she needed therapy. "Yeah, fine.
I'll give you that."

"What
did you tell Trenton?"

"That
it was a friend having a similar problem. It's not like I'm married
to Trenton."

Carmen
made a strangled sound. “He believed that?”

“
Should
I be surprised that he did?”

"Maybe.
Here's a question for you to ponder. If you found Trenton with
Kendall while you were gone, would you be upset? Or would you view it
as justification to do what you wanted and move to Alberta and be
with Gabe?"

"I'd
be upset. Trenton all but proposed to me Saturday night. We've had
four years. He's good and stable."

"Really?
You think you'd be upset? It sounds as though you are saying that. I
don’t think you feel it."

"Well,
I think I'd be upset. It's not as if I can predict how I feel based
on a hypothetical situation."

"If
I were you, I'd move back to Alberta, become head of a company and
marry the guy of my dreams. That's just me."

"He
was the guy of my dreams. Now Trenton is."

"Okay.
Then marry Trenton. Can I marry Gabe?"

"No."

Carmen
laughed. She had a throaty, sexy laugh that made Shanna jealous.
"Right. I'll leave you with that then. Have a good evening,
Shanna. And don't stay away too long, I wouldn't trust Kendall
Cooper. She's a bit of a snake."

"Goodnight
Carmen. If you ever need to vent, feel free to call me."

Carmen
ended the call.

She
swung her legs a few times. The conversation brought up a bunch of
things she did not want to think about. Perhaps she and Trenton had
hit the point where she felt comfortable; where she didn't need to
get jealous because she trusted him so completely.

Why
then did the image of Gabe with someone else bother her so much?

She
didn't have an answer. Across the fence she could see Mrs. Victor in
the backyard. Shanna waved at her neighbor. "Isn't it beautiful
out?" she called as she crossed toward the fence.

"We
heard you were back in town, Shanna. How is your Dad feeling?"

"He's
good. He has to take it easy for a while. You know Dad, not much will
keep him out of the office."

"So
are you back for good?"

"No,
no. A quick visit while I fill in for Dad at work. I have to go back
to my boyfriend and job in Toronto on the weekend."

"I'm
sure your folks are sorry to see you go. How is your boyfriend?
Trent, wasn't it?"

"Trenton.
He's good. We are talking about marriage, starting a family."

"You
going to stay in that big city and raise kids? Sounds stuffy.
Unhealthy with all those cars and high-rise apartments."

"Maybe
we'll buy a house and move to the suburbs."

“
What
about being close to your parents? They miss you.”

Mrs.
Victor did have her with that one. The longer she was away, the more
she missed her mom’s comfort and her dad’s wisdom.
Trenton’s parents weren’t exactly the warm,
cookie-baking, weekend barbecue type. They were too busy with
fund-raisers for universities and getting spa treatments.

She
cleared her throat. “The city is not so bad.”

"I'd
rather raise them somewhere like here. Less cars, less noise, less
pollution. And they can head down the street to the park alone and
you know your neighbors will be watching. With your family around.”

"I
know. There are lots of advantages. But in the city we have the zoo
and museums and science centers..."

"Kids
don't need more structure, they need less. I saw on the news the
other day that in lots of these urban places, kids don't even know
where their food comes from; that vegetables are grown in the ground.
Will you get enough yard in that city to have a garden like your mom
always plants?"

"I'm
not really the gardening type. They could garden with her when they
visit." God, why was she arguing this with her seventy-year-old
neighbor? She didn't need to justify anything to her. "I'll
consider your words, Mrs. Victor."

"Fair
enough, dear."

"I
had better get back inside."

"Goodnight
dear."

"Night,
ma'am."

Shanna
retreated inside. Her mom was standing near the patio doors. "What
were you talking with Mrs. Victor about? I haven't seen her flail her
arms like that since she argued with your dad over politics during
the last election."

Shanna
laughed. "She was telling me that Toronto is no place to raise
children. Do you think if I married Trenton and raised kids in the
city they'd turn out okay?"

"Well,
there's nothing like a small town for raising kids. Of course, I’d
like you and any grandchildren to be closer.” She patted her
daughter’s shoulder. “Lots of kids are raised in the
city, in condos and they turn out fine.”

Shanna’s
heart clenched. She blinked back unwelcome tears at the thought of
raising kids so far from her parents.

When
her emotions had cleared, she managed to keep her voice calm. "Mmm.
I guess I should go finish my summary for Trenton."

"All
right, dear. I'll bring you some tea. You should get to bed early
tonight. You've been running on empty the past few days, working the
Cabinets during the day and your Toronto job at night."

"Things
will slow down a bit this week. Trenton hired someone for the office
for the rest of the week, someone who can take over my usual jobs. He
wanted to take some stress off me."

"That
was nice of him."

Shanna
patted her mom's shoulder then went up the stairs to her bedroom. As
she sat at her old desk, waiting for the computer to boot, she
thought about raising kids in the city versus a smaller town. Score
one more point for home, she thought bitterly. She'd never imagined
raising children in a big city, without the big backyard for them to
play in. So she could either get a bigger backyard and force Trenton
to commute into the city, or she'd have no backyard.

Chapter 8

Shanna
double clicked an accounting file she'd found in her father's
documents labeled personal. She knew she probably shouldn't snoop,
but she couldn't help it. The company did well. The early days hadn't
been easy, but the company had more than twenty-five years. In fact,
they were planning their thirty-year promotions for a couple of years
down the road.

She
played with the pendant on the necklace Gabe had given her on the
weekend. It was beautiful, she had to admit. Gabe knew how to shop.
This morning he'd left a coffee and a to-do list on her desk, and she
hadn't seen him yet. It was nearly noon now. His absence had only
made her think more about him.

She
sat up straight and grabbed the mouse. She found the total amount in
their bank accounts with a few clicks. That didn't even include the
property values or other investments.

Holy
shit.

She
counted digits, seven digits that began with a five.

What?
A checking account, savings, investments, properties with money
owing. Why didn't she know they owned property? Several properties.
Two listed Gabriel Brande as co owner.

Her
parents were worth millions.

She
closed the file and shoved away from the desk. A knock on the door
startled her, and before she could say anything, the door opened.
There was the man himself standing in the doorway.

He
rushed to her side, putting his papers on the desk. "Are you
okay?"

She
closed her hanging mouth. "Yeah,.I found out my parents are
really rich."

"Is
that a problem?"

"It's
strange. I thought Dad did well... I mean, he did pay for my entire
college education including room and board with no loans. But they
own property. They have investments all over the place. I haven't
added it all up."

"Bryce
never told you any of this?"

"No.
Not a word about anything. What do you own with them?"

"The
apartments and the land."

"What
land?"

"Outside
of town. Your dad bought this piece of land. He told me he was
putting me as owner, although he didn't ask for any money to go with
it. He started developing it for this dream house he always wanted to
build."

Shanna
frowned. "Why did he never tell me about any of this?"

"The
blueprints are around here, probably in the closet. You want me to
look?"

"Sure."
Why would her father keep this all secret from her? It was really
none of her business, but it was still weird.

"This
one is marked 'house blueprints' so it must be the right one."
Gabe came out of the closet holding a round cardboard tube. "We
can go look at them in the conference room. There's more room to
spread out there."

She
followed him dazedly to the conference room. She had three days left
of work here, then she would fly back to her life in Toronto. It was
strange to think about. She'd only started to understand how her
dad's company worked, and she was leaving already.

"How's
your Dad doing at home?"

"Driving
Mom crazy. He tried to sneak into my car this morning, but Mom caught
him. Not sure why he thought I'd be a willing accomplice."