Penny Richards - Wolf Creek Homecoming

When the dishes were done, Rachel and Mary Emerson put the little ones down for naps. The men went to the parlor, where Rachel suspected there might be as much afternoon dozing as dominoes and conversation. The older children played with their new toys while Mary Emerson supervised, giving Rachel and Abby time for some uninterrupted “woman talk.”

Rachel cut two pieces of pumpkin pie, poured two mugs of coffee and went to Abby’s bedroom, to find her once again propped up in bed.

“Thank you,” she said, as Rachel handed her the pie and set the mug of coffee on a bedside table. “It’s been a lovely day, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Rachel agreed. “And you got the best Christmas present of all, albeit a couple of days early.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Abby said with a smile, glancing at the baby all snug in his cradle. She took a bite of pie and washed it down with a sip of coffee.

“What does Caleb think of Eli now that he’s here and you’re both well?” Rachel asked.

Since Caleb’s first wife had died in childbirth the previous winter, Caleb had been terrified when Abby told him she was expecting his child.

“He’s beside himself with happiness—and pride,” she said with a satisfied grin.

“Well, his fear was certainly understandable,” Rachel said.

“I agree.”

“You’re happy, aren’t you, Abby?” Rachel asked, unaware of the wistful note in her voice.

“I am.” There was no denying her contentment. “I loved William, but what I felt for him pales in comparison to what I feel for Caleb.”

“I’m really happy for you.”

Abby reached out a hand to her friend. “Don’t look so sad. There’s someone out there for you. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I know so.” Abby’s eyes brightened at a sudden thought. “What about Gabe?”

“What about Gabe?” she asked with a lift of her dark eyebrows.

“As a potential husband, goose! If you married him we’d be sisters-in-law.”

Rachel felt the color drain from her face, felt the stiffness in her cheeks as she forced a smile. “Thank you but no thank you,” she said. “Gabriel Gentry is not the marrying type.”

“You sound very sure of that.”

“Haven’t you heard the gossip?”

Abby nodded. “Caleb’s told me everything about Gabe, but people do change. Caleb is proof of that.”

Not everything.

“It must have been hard for both of them growing up,” Abby mused. “Caleb told me that until he married Emily, Christmas was just another day.”

Rachel registered her friend’s comment with a bit of a shock. With the Gentry money, she would have thought Lucas would have seen to it his boys had anything they wanted. What kind of man would deprive children of a bit of happiness once a year?

“Well, Lucas didn’t pretend to be anything but who he was,” she said. “I don’t imagine he was too interested in conforming to society’s expectations. Dad says that for all his unreasonableness, Lucas had a reputation for being hardworking. At least he passed that on to Caleb.”

“But not Gabe, from what I hear.”

“No. Not Gabe.”

“Did you know him?” Abby queried, taking another forkful of pie.

“Yes,” Rachel said, concentrating on the steam rising from her mug. “Gabe was two years younger than I, though, and we didn’t share the same circle of friends.”

“Caleb said he was...spoiled.” Abby said the word almost apologetically.

“To put it mildly,” Rachel said, struggling to suppress the sarcasm in her voice.

“I’ve heard he’s very handsome.”

“He’s also wild, dangerous and has no sense of decency...from what I hear,” Rachel tacked on.

Abby wondered why her friend was so irritated by the topic of Gabriel Gentry. “So I’ve heard from Caleb. As I said, people do change. I suppose only time will tell if Gabe has.”

Rachel took a sip of coffee before answering. “He did tell me he came back to try to make amends.”

“That’s promising, but I’m here to say that Caleb is struggling with the idea that Gabe is even back after so long. There’s been a lot of bad blood between them.”

Rachel nodded. “I certainly understand how he feels.” Perhaps more than Caleb.

* * *

That conversation stayed with Rachel as she drove the buggy back to town. Like Caleb, she was having a hard time accepting Gabe’s return. Because he broke your heart and trampled your woman’s pride beneath his fancy handmade boots.

True enough. That aside, surely she was mature enough to put the past into perspective. As terrible as it had been, she had learned from the experience. She was a better person. Stronger and more tolerant of others’ mistakes. So why not Gabe’s?

No doubt about it, she thought, giving her head a shake. She was a terrible, terrible person! Not forgiving wasn’t an option to a Christian, but like Caleb’s, her forgiveness of Gabe would come hard.

She prayed he would heal and move on soon. If he chose to stay, she wasn’t sure how she would deal with seeing him on a regular basis. Stop borrowing trouble, Rachel Stone. No one had any idea what he would do once his injuries healed. Still, there was the remote possibility that he would stay in the area, which meant her father had a point. She had to tell Danny and pray he understood.

But not today.

* * *

To her dismay, she and Danny found Edward and Gabe sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of chess. Gabe sat ramrod straight in the chair. He looked awful. He was far too pale, and there was no masking the pain shadowing his sapphire-hued eyes or the challenge in them as he looked at her. He expected her to rail at him for being out of bed, but she was too weary for another battle and kept silent.

“Can I play, Pops?” Danny wheedled, shoving his small body beneath Edward’s arm so he could get a better look at the board.

Intent on the game pieces, Edward gave the boy a distracted hug. “Not this game, Danny.”

“No one ever wants to play with me,” he said, his shoulders slumping.

“That isn’t true,” Rachel told him, hanging her coat by the door. She turned and took two plates out of the basket she’d carried in. “Pops plays with you all the time.”

“Supper?” Edward asked, spying the plates.

“Turkey and all the trimmings,” she replied. “I’ll stick them in the oven for a bit,” she said, doing just that. “They’ll be hot in no time.”

Finally reaching a decision, Edward moved a piece and then gave his attention to his daughter. “Makes my mouth water just thinking about Mary’s dressing.”

“I wasn’t sure if you liked turkey or not, so I brought ham, too,” she said to Gabe. Even as she spoke the words, she regretted showing any concern for his likes or dislikes.

“Either is fine, thank you. And I’ll play a game with you sometime, Danny, but I think I’d best get back to bed after I eat.”

The unexpected thanks and offer to Danny took Rachel by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. Gabe Gentry epitomized charm and grace and friendliness.

What he lacked was integrity and common decency.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.