Where She Belongs (15 page)

"Because
you love working here as much as he does."

She
was starting to understand that part as well. She looked forward to
mornings and to work, to spending the day with Gabe. When was the
last time she felt excited about work?

She
thought her lack of enthusiasm for her job in Toronto was the need
for a vacation. That’s what everyone else said. They worked
insane hours so they could have crazy vacations. Everyone always
talked about needing a vacation.

“
Do
you ever feel like you want to get away from here? Like a vacation?”

“
Hmm.
There are places in the world I’d like to visit. But lacking
someone to share it with, not really.” He looked at her with
those damn soul-searching eyes.

Shanna
looked away. “You never need to get away from the office?”

“
I
get away evenings and weekends.”

“
All
I can think about when I’m at work is going on vacation.”

He
didn’t reply as they walked the last hallway to the conference
room. He pulled open the door. "Ladies first."

She
knew she should make a smart ass comment, but ignored it. He popped
the end off the tube and unrolled the paper on the table. Shanna
grabbed a corner.

"He
must have had this drawn up when you were a kid. I dunno why he
didn't build it then. About three years ago he came in saying the
perfect piece of land for the house came for sale, and he bought it.
But he let it sit until about six months ago."

"Why?"

"I
have no idea. I asked him, but all he told me was it was the right
time."

"Okay,
did you think about taking him into see a doctor and check for
dementia? Did he go fucking crazy?"

"No,
wait. One night we were sitting up here drinking, I think we were
waiting on a late delivery. He'd had a few. This was before we bought
the land, you were in the middle of your degree. He'd hoped to build
the house as a wedding present for you."

"That
really doesn't make any sense that he'd start work on in the last few
months. I've told him repeatedly and I know he has trouble listening,
but I am not moving back."

"Bryce
doesn't really listen unless it's his own idea, then nothing on
heaven or Earth will stop him."

"I
know." And she understood his line of thinking. Her father had
decided that she wasn't going to marry Trenton, that he could
manipulate her, or make her see reason, or whatever twisted thinking
happened in his head, and she would come back and marry Gabe. Which
explained Gabe's name being on the property deed. She was surprised
her name wasn't on it as well. Hell, for all she knew, it was on it,
she hadn't seen the reference yet.

"I
never asked to be made owner. And when he insisted, I tried to pay
for half. In case you are worried about me trying to steal your
parents' money."

"You'd
never do something like that, Gabriel."

He
moved to stand behind her and put his arm around her shoulders. "I
like when you say my name."

"We
have always considered you part of the family. I wouldn't be upset if
they left you half of everything."

"It's
all yours, Shanna. You are their pride and joy."

"I
always wished they could have had more children."

"They
did as well, I know, but it wasn't meant to be. He was never sorry
you were his only, though. Look around his office. It's covered in
photographs of you. He never missed a thing you did. When you
graduated, he wanted to get a billboard done."

She
looked at the blueprints in front of her. Two stories, a basement.
She tried to count the bedrooms, but got lost in the lines. "Will
you take me to where he wanted the house built?"

"Will
you go out for supper with me?" he countered in a soft voice.
She shivered.

She
touched the papers. "Tomorrow?"

"Right
after work, I'll take you. And dress nice, we'll go fancy."

"You
came to my office to talk with me?"

"I
came to ask you to supper, actually. I wanted to spend one night
before you go. As best friends who have been apart for a long time. I
will be a perfect gentleman.”

Her
heart jumped at the thought of supper alone with him. Fancy dinner.
She hadn't been out to dinner with Gabe since her first year of
university, when he came to Toronto that fateful night. She
understood his actions now. but it did not help her feel less hurt.
Where would have they be if he hadn't said no?

He
kissed the top of her head now. Something had changed in him since
she arrived. She hated that he regretted his actions five years ago.
She wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. She couldn’t
be the one to do it. She was going to marry Trenton and live her
life. He would have to figure out another plan for his.

"I
should get back to work," she said.

He
pulled her closer and nuzzled her shoulder.

"Gabe…"
her words drifted off to a sigh.

"You
belong here, Shanna. You belong with me."

She
shook her head and tried to step out of his hold. "I have a
life―”

"I
know you think you have a life back there. And I know you only have a
little while before you go back. I need you here."

"Trenton
needs me, too. And I need him."

"What
does he have that I can't give you here?"

"The
city. Lights, excitement, a job where I'm my own person, where I'm
not Bryce's daughter."

He
kissed her cheek. "If you were mine, you'd never want for
anything. I'd give you everything, Shanna. Even if we had to close
down the factory tomorrow, I would have enough to last several years
if I didn't want to work."

Shanna
felt a riot of emotions churn inside her. She stumbled through
feelings she didn't know how to express. She chewed a fingernail off
her pinky. "Gabe, you don't feel that way about me, do you?"

"That
way? Romantic? Attracted to you? When you were twelve it was easier.
Around fifteen, you started changing, becoming a woman. Some guy, I
don’t recall who, commented on your body and I nearly took him
out. You were Bryce’s daughter, you were off-limits for
touching. You should have been off limits for me thinking about,
fantasizing. So I married the first available woman." Not
exactly, he’d had opportunities before Lisa.

His
words hit her in the stomach. She wanted him for as long as she could
remember. "I wanted you once, Gabe, and you turned me down. I
don't want you."

"You
sure don't act like it."

She
pushed away from him. He let her go this time. "That's merely
unresolved issues." Shanna headed for the door. "Maybe I'll
ask Dad about the land and skip dinner."

"You
won't. He hasn't let go of that dream and stomping on it might put
him back in the hospital. I'll behave like a complete gentleman
tomorrow."

A
better woman could resist the depths of his brown eyes and boyish
smile. "You're right. I can't risk Dad's health. If you are
anything less than a gentleman, I will call my mother to come pick me
up."

He
pinned her with his gaze and she felt that flutter in her stomach.

Damn
him to hell. She left him to roll up the blueprints back into their
cardboard tube.

Later
Rachel brought them in to her office. "What did you do to put
him in a mood?"

"He's
treating me like a child."

"Oh,
you two. He's only treating you like a child because you are acting
like one. I half expect to see you pull each other's hair or put a
snake in his desk. Hopefully you'll realize that you love each other
before it’s too late. You don't want to divorce someone, it's
not good." Rachel put the tube containing her father's prized
blueprints on the table.

"Why
do you think we love each other?"

"I
used to see you around here, mooning after him as a teen, and even
when you'd come home from college. For a while, I didn't know if he
returned your feelings. The last few months, he hasn't been seen with
anyone. Besides, no one but you, Gabe and Bryce could love this
company. You should see the worker's out there on the floor."

"Well,
I haven't done that much."

"It
was the change in pace. They felt listened to, and they know they are
getting what they need to continue putting out a superior product and
to be safe. You could make the company grow even further. I know you
think Toronto has tons of great things. But so does this place."

Rachel
left the room. Shanna sat at her desk with a sigh.

The
universe wasn’t going to make this one easy for her.

*
* *

Shanna
stretched her body on the basement sofa. Her iPod played soft music
from the coffee table. She wondered when the television had
disappeared. She pulled her phone from her pocket.

Her
parents had gone to bed, blissfully early. She was too restless to do
anything productive.

She
stared at her phone for a while, thinking about Trenton. She should
call him, but chances were that he would demand something from her.
Everyone had demands for her these days. Trenton wanted work help.
Her dad wanted her to be trapped at the cabinet factory. Gabe wanted
her to change all her plans for him.

Granted,
he also wanted to ‘give her everything’.

The
warm memory of being held in his arms, his lips against hers, the
sound of his voice in her ear, filled her head. His hands held the
promise of fulfilling all her fantasies and how desperately she
wanted him.

She’d
never felt shivers when she thought about Trenton’s kisses.

“
Fine,
I love Gabriel,” she said, to the universe itself. So what? She
had made promises to Trenton about their future. And she’d been
stung by Gabe once before. Who was to say he wouldn’t change
his mind once he got what he wanted from her.

Trenton
was steady, her constant, her rock. She dialed Trenton’s number
on her cell.

“
Hello?”
his voice rumbled in her ear.

She
held in her sigh. His voice didn’t rumble, it sounded panicked
and worried. “Hello, lover.”

“
Hi,
Shanna. How are you?”

She
sighed out loud this time. “I’m tired. I miss you.”
She missed when her life made sense.

“
Me,
too, sweetie. It was good that I stayed home for the weekend instead
of flying out. I thought about surprising you.”

“
That
would have been nice. What did you do instead?” Shanna wanted
to grumble. Why couldn't he have done something romantic like that?

“
I
worked the entire weekend.”

“
I
know I got your e-mails. I didn’t have time to reply. I worked
here as well... the office here and Dad is home, so I was busy.”

"Kendall
was asking if we'd been ring shopping yet. I told her we’d only
really talked marriage a few times before your dad got ill. But when
you get back, I want to go ring shopping. I want to propose.”

Shanna
couldn’t help her sadness. Of course, they’d talked about
marrying, and Trenton was more practical than romantic. But this was
not romantic, this was not how she expected this moment to happen.
She sighed. “Alright, I guess. You could pick something out
you’d think I’d like.”

“
I
don’t want something I think you’d like. I want to know
you’d like it before I buy it. I’m going to spend several
thousand on this purchase.”

Shanna
coughed, suddenly choking on the air. “Several thousand? I
don’t think, I mean, that’s…” She sighed.

“
I
talked with some guys at work, and the bar. Jeremy got engaged to his
girlfriend and he spent twelve thousand on the ring.”

Shanna
looked at the window across the room. She had no idea what to say,
how to react. People bought cars for less in Claresholm. In Trenton’s
world ,twelve thousand dollars was a really good weekend celebrating
life. Or an engagement ring.