Where She Belongs (3 page)

Turning
Shanna down that night was the second most difficult action he’d
taken. The hardest was saying goodbye to his dad. But not even
divorce was on the same level as Shanna Whittikar and rejection.

Before
he could get any deeper into thoughts on his relationship with
Shanna, she appeared in the brightly lit hallway. He walked down the
hall and met her, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. "Hello
Shanna."

"Hi
Gabe. I'm glad you're still here. Thanks for waiting for me."

"Of
course. How was the trip and flight?"

"Exhausting,
it's late here, but the middle of the night for me. So, since they
are bending the rules and letting me in this late, I had better get
in and get out."

"I'll
walk you to the door."

"You
don't have to.” She took a breath. “If there's somewhere
you need to be..."

Nowhere
he'd rather be than in her presence. "It's okay." He put
his hand on her back and they walked down the hallway painted a
calming blue. He should stop touching her. "I'm glad you came."
Without Trenton. Gabe hadn't seen her in nearly two years without her
so-called boyfriend/boss at her side. "How is he? I mean
really?"

"Good.
Really. He's been walking some, not much. And he's eaten, his color
is good. He looks like Bryce, except tired. Y'know?"

She
nodded and leaned into him a little. He moved so his body was
touching hers, wanting to be her support. They stopped outside the
room and she turned to him, her tears shining in her eyes. "Do
they know what caused it?" Her voice was broken and it took a
moment to put the pieces together.

"He's
not in the best shape. He's overweight and doesn't have a great diet.
He's got a stressful job and he doesn't exercise enough." Gabe
shrugged. "They don't really know, but he'll have to take it
easy for a while."

"And
all the responsibility will fall on you."

Gabe
didn't reply to her statement.

He
brushed her blond hair behind her ear and pressed his lips to her
cheek, taking a moment to linger in her warmth. "Goodnight
Shanna." He turned and started walking away. No more touching
after tonight.

"Gabe.”
Her voice trembled.

"Yeah?"
He swiveled on his heel. She looked like a little girl again. He
wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay.
He knew if he went to her she would cry in his arms. And he might
never let her go after that.

"Thank
you again."

"Anything
for you." He beat a hasty retreat before her tears burst over.

*
* *

Shanna
watched Gabe disappear around the corner. She touched the spot on her
face where his lips had touched and with her other hand, she pulled
the door open to her father's room.

He
did look tired laying on the bed, which, given the time, he had every
right to feel. But he also looked a bit frail to her. Maybe that was
her expectations being shattered. Her dad had always been a
larger-than-life character to her, a superhero who would always save
the day. Now that he'd fallen ill, he'd shown himself human. She had
to change everything she knew, start viewing her dad as an adult
would, not as a little girl would.

"Is
something wrong with your cheek?" her mom asked.

Shanna
dropped her hand, realizing she was still caressing the skin Gabe's
lips had touched. "No. It felt like there was something.. Never
mind. I'm here, I'm here. I missed you guys. Trenton sends his love."

She
noticed, as she did every time, the slight drop in their faces when
she mentioned her boyfriend's name. No one liked him. They didn't see
the side of him that she did, because he kept his true self private.
He said it was hard to be himself growing up in the von Brooke
family. There was always someone to impress, to posture for. It had
taken him months to trust her enough to be himself.

Her
mom crossed the room and wrapped Shanna in a hug. "Hello, my
sweet girl. I missed you so much."

Shanna
squeezed her mom in return. "I didn't realize until I saw the
sign. And every moment I'm here, I'll be missing Toronto. Funny
life."

They
parted and Shanna went to the bed. Her dad started to rise. "Lay
down, silly goose. I can bend. Gabe told me you needed to rest."

"I
do."

After
she hugged him, he held her hands. "You look good, healthier."
Her parents had been to Toronto for a week at Christmas.

"The
stress of year end is over. I can relax again." She patted his
forearm.

"Good.
What did Gabe say?"

"Only
that he was glad I was here and that they didn't really know what
caused your attack."

Bryce
smirked. Rita patted his shoulder and fussed with the blanket.
"Alright now, stop fussing," he told his wife of
twenty-eight years.

"I
can't help it."

"I
know. Okay, so Gabe didn't―"

Her
mother cut him off, "I think we should keep that question for
tomorrow, when Shanna has had some rest and food."

Shanna
was dying to know. "Come on, Ma."

"Tomorrow
you can visit and ask all the questions you both want. Right now, I
need to take this girl home and feed her and tuck her into bed."

Shanna
sighed. She knew her mom was right. She was dead on her feet.

Rita
headed for the door. "I need to talk to the nurse and give you a
moment with your dad alone."

"Thanks,
Ma. I'll be out in a few minutes."

She
left the room and Shanna touched her dad's hand again. "I'm glad
you're okay. I worried the whole trip."

"If
it brought you out here, I guess it might be worth it."

"You
could have asked me to visit; make a long weekend."

"Never
enough time, sweetheart." He smiled at her and she thought he
looked wane.

"I
know. I love and hate Toronto for that."

"They
have lots of big companies in Calgary. Or here."

"There
is only one medium-sized company here that would take me. I know you
don't like him, but I'm sticking with Trenton. He's going to ask me
to marry him."

"He's
not good enough for you."

"No
one would ever be good enough in your eyes, Dad."

"That's
not true. I think you and Gabe would be perfect together."

Gabe?
Her eyes widened. Gabe? She'd tried that once, five years ago. He'd
turned her down flat. At the time, she'd been inexperienced and "in
love" with him since she was a girl. In a lonely and vulnerable
moment, while he visited her in Toronto, she had kissed him. He
kissed her back and when she tried to make it go further, he refused.

She
left his room, her tail between her legs and her heart broken. She
couldn't recall his exact words any longer, but it was something
like, "You're too young and not ready for what this would mean."

She
put it out of her mind, as she needed Gabe to remain her best friend
and confidant. But there were times when she thought about that
moment and the pain seared her heart.

"Gabe
and I would be nothing but a disaster as a couple. He's my best
friend. I talk to him about everything. But I am not interested in
him romantically."

"Alright,
dear. I'll talk to you tomorrow. You had better go before Mom thinks
you are working me up."

"I
hate leaving you here."

"I
know. I don't want to stay, but until we know I'm out of the woods
for sure, it's best. Go on now, and get some food and sleep. I'm glad
you came for me."

She
hugged him again. "Thank you, Daddy. I'm glad I'm here as well.
And I love you more than anything."

Shanna
let go of him and hurried out of the room, afraid she'd never leave
if she looked back at him laying on the bed. Shanna met her mom
outside the depressing hospital room as she returned. Shanna grabbed
the older woman around the waist. "Come on. Want to get some
guilt-free junk food? Because you know when Dad gets home, you'll
have to stop eating all the good stuff. For his health."

Rita
sighed. "I don't like your tone, but you are right. Let's get
some burgers and fries."

"And
milkshakes. I haven't had a really good milkshake in ages."

Outside
the hospital, Shanna listened to the quiet. No more hushed whispers
and beeping machines. There wasn't any constant traffic either.

She
was home and she could breath again.

Chapter 2

Gabe
hesitated outside Bryce's room. After a short inner debate, he pushed
open the door.

He
could see the back of Shanna's head, as she waved it around. "A
month? I can't leave my job for a month on a whim. What about my
life? A week,maybe."

He
was about to back out of the room when she whirled, ready to storm
out of the room, he assumed. Instead, she stopped short and stared at
him. "I suppose you have something to do with this?" She
jabbed her finger in the air toward him.

He
held up his hands. "I told them not to do it, for what it's
worth."

"Oh,
well." She dropped her hands and turned around. "Sorry for
freaking there. You really caught me off guard. I thought this would
be minor, that you'd be home today, I'd stick around ‘til after
the weekend, and then return. Trenton is expecting me. We have work
to do. I have a job."

"I
know it's asking a lot of you. But a bit of time for me is all I'm
asking. I could rest easier knowing you were in there taking care of
things. They said I really need to relax or I am at risk for another
attack."

"Then
do what you should be doing and hire someone else. Gabe can take over
your responsibilities. He is more than competent."

“
There
will still be a gap while we fill Gabriel's position."

She
sighed and looked at Gabe. As if he would help her cause. But neither
would he say anything for Bryce. He just shook his head.

"Come
on, you're ganging up on me."

"It'd
be easier to agree," he said. So much for remaining impartial.
"Sorry, I meant to stay out of this, but I'd love to have you in
the office. I helped you with your work in school. I know how
brilliant you are. And you could start at the top here. No working
your way up."

"That's
really fair to the middle managers– Toby, Fitch– the ones
who have been working hard. They are way more qualified than I am."

"Shan,
you've been in that office since you could walk. You know better than
anyone how to run the place," Bryce said.

"I
don't know anything about running an office."

"Oh,
please. You've been running Trenton's office for more than a year.
I'll teach you what you don't know," Gabe added.

She
stomped her foot lightly. "This isn't fair."

"I
know, life rarely is. Can you try it for a week? Trenton can live
without you for that long. You said you were staying almost a week
anyway."

She
sighed. "Fine, I'll go call him."

She
left the room and Bryce grinned. "See, I told you we could do
it."

"Don't
make me culpable in this. I swore I wasn't going to get into your
little game."

"Yes.
But it's not a game, if we can make her realize what talent she has.
What she could do here."

"She
did have a point about the other managers."

"Posh,
everyone knew she'd take over someday. I always told you that was my
plan."

"Yeah,
until she stayed in Toronto after graduation."

"Well,
look at it this way, if she doesn’t agree, we will discuss our
other options. Especially if this forces me to retire. That's not a
for sure yet. I don't intend to stay away forever."

"If
this goes badly, we are all to blame."

"Rita
left it to me, crafty woman."