Page 47 of Gabe (Blue Team #2)

My gaze moved from the baby bundle in my arms to Anaya.

She was leaning heavily into Ivy giggling at something Natasha said.

Nat, I came to find out had a dry sense of humor, and laughed at herself often.

She was right then in the middle of telling a story about the first time she’d chopped wood.

In and of itself there was nothing funny, but the way she told it was.

And the copious side commentary about the guys’ reaction to her carrying in an armful of wood declaring she would be keeping them warm with her efforts was funnier.

Even my mom was laughing and I thought that said something considering less than an hour ago she walked into a hospital after traveling to Virginia from Wisconsin after hearing her daughter had been kidnapped.

And if my mom wasn’t freaked enough, I had a mean, ugly argument with my father.

Something that had never happened before.

Sure, I’d argued with my parents plenty especially when I was a teenager, and as an adult less so, but I still butted heads with my dad.

But never ugly. And never, never mean. I loved my parents deeply.

They were good people, great parents. My dad was protective but fair.

But sitting in the crappy hospital cafeteria I wasn’t thinking about why I’d been such a raging bitch to my dad and how I needed to make that right.

I wasn’t thinking about Gabe in a bed a few floors above me.

I wasn’t thinking about how my stomach revolted at the sight of the burger Cooper had placed in front of me.

I was staring at Anaya thinking about how much my friend had changed.

And not in little ways—big, huge, life-changing ways.

I’d known Anaya a long time. She did not touch people and she hated to be touched.

Knowing how she grew up, her history, her aversion to any physical closeness was not a surprise.

It was the opposite actually, seeing her lean close to Ivy on her own volition in a familiar way was shocking.

It was also a blessing. I also knew it was all Kyle’s doing and I would forever be grateful he never gave up on Anaya and found the woman she really was under the layers of scar tissue.

He’d peeled it all away and now my friend shined.

The proof of their love in my arms. Baby Maxine with fuzzy blonde hair, and a cute little nose, and always-puckered lips. She was the testimony that love heals.

At some point during my musing, the topic of conversation had flowed to Anaya’s vacation to Cheyenne and her smile died.

“I’m still mad Kyle didn’t tell me before we left. I wouldn’t have gone.”

“Don’t be,” I said and Anaya’s gaze shot to mine. “What I did was stupid and it potentially put you, Piper, Kalee—hell, anyone close to me in danger. Kyle was right to take you to Wyoming. He knew you’d take my back and that would’ve meant you’d have been in serious danger.”

“I would’ve,” Anaya unnecessarily confirmed. “And it wasn’t cool you were in danger and no one told me. It was totally uncool you didn’t tell me what was going on before you left California.”

Damn. She was still mad at me.

“I thought we talked through this and you weren’t mad at me.”

Anaya righted herself in the chair and gave me a squinty-eyed, pinched face look that told me she pretty much thought I was dim.

“I’m not mad at you. I never was mad at you. I’m mad that you always think you have to take on life by yourself.”

Pot meet kettle. But I didn’t remind Anaya that she’d kept secrets from me and from Piper about her past. Her reasons for doing so were understandable; mine were selfish.

“I didn’t tell you because I knew what I was doing was wrong.

Phantom told me not to look into what happened.

Kalee told me to leave it alone, she was home and happy and just wanted to put it all behind her.

It was me who couldn’t live with what happened.

It was selfish and stupid. I put Kyle in a position to lie to you.

I got Gabe hurt. I pissed off Zane. And now Kevin and Myles are on a wild goose chase trying to find a woman who is a total stranger, who means nothing to any of them, but Zane—having a heart under all that asshole barking—is using his resources, time, and money to find her.

All my fault. It’s a shitshow and I created it all because I couldn’t sleep at night knowing someone was responsible for Kalee’s misery and they were walking around free while she was walking around with demons. ”

Ivy waved her hand, then said, “Don’t worry about my husband.

He’s perpetually pissed about something.

And the guys get antsy when they’re stateside with nothing to do and no one to shoot.

They’re happy to be on a mission. And seriously, don’t worry about the money.

Zane’s loaded—as in load…ed . He bitches about it but he doesn’t mean it.

You know how most men save money for their daughter’s wedding?

Well, after Olivia and Leo went through their thing, and Violet and Jax had theirs, then of course there was mine, Zane saw the trend and put money aside.

He calls it the Prophylactic Fund. It was put to good use with the Gold Team.

Owen and Nat dipped into it. Now, you and Gabe have.

But don’t worry about that either. Abrams is sending Zane a big fat check for his troubles. ”

“What? He’s blackmailing them?”

That didn’t sound good. Actually, that sounded like Zane was asking for a heap of trouble.

“Blackmail’s such an ugly word. This is more like reimbursement for endangering your life. Personally, I think Zane should’ve gone for more because you almost died like five times. Which in my book is worth more than half a million, but I wasn’t part of the negotiations so I didn’t have a say. ”

I heard my mother gasp and I quickly lied, “It wasn’t that bad, Mom.”

“This is one of those times in life where I don’t want to know. You’re sitting next to me. You’re safe. And from what I saw you’re in love and you’re loved in return. I’m focusing on that and nothing more.”

I blinked, then I blinked more. Who was this woman and where was my worrywart mother?

“Mom…” I trailed off because I didn’t know what I was supposed to say.

Pointing out she was the over-worrier in the family didn’t seem wise. But her calm demeanor was freaking me out.

“And speaking of being in love, I’ll talk to your father. He’s out of sorts and not thinking clearly. I know your father and once he sees you’re okay he’ll come to his senses and the two of you can talk and mend fences.”

“I need to apologize. I was out of line,” I admitted.

“You both were,” she agreed and my heart squeezed. “But the two you are the same. You love open and fierce. And sometimes that love blinds you both. Your dad will see. Trust me. He just needs a day or two.”

“See what?”

“That the man who woke up after almost dying spoke to you like you were the most precious thing in the world. The first thing he did was ask if you were all right. Not what happened. Not if he was going to be okay. Not how he got to the hospital. How long he was out. He wanted you close. And once you were he didn’t delay complimenting your bravery.

That’s what your father saw. That’s what I saw.

That’s what everyone in the room saw. And that is exactly the man your father wants for you.

Give him time to get over that his only child was drugged, kidnapped, and witnessed something traumatic. ”

I swallowed back the tears that threatened and waited for the emotion that clogged my throat to subside.

This took a good length of time. And through it, my mom held my eyes.

Warm and sweet. Loving and kind. That was my mom.

Just because she had a knack for making nothing into something then worrying about it until she was in a tizzy didn’t mean she wasn’t understanding.

She was also astute and was very much attuned to the feelings of those she loved—namely my dad and me.

Often she caught on to what I needed before I did.

Case in point—right then. She’d said everything I needed to hear to let the last vestiges of fear go.

Gabe wouldn’t push me away or be mad at me.

Deep down I knew that but there had been that twinge of fear.

That nagging thought that Gabe had gone his whole life avoiding a commitment, not wanting the responsibility of a relationship.

And then I happened and commitment and responsibility turned into a pain in his ass—or a pain in his head as it were.

But I should’ve known better. I should’ve trusted him instead of spending two days in my head scared he’d toss me out.

And that fear led me to latch on to him.

No, that wasn’t the only reason I’d refused to leave his side.

I’d made him a promise I’d see him through, and in my mind, that job wasn’t done.

But I couldn’t deny that I took things to an extreme because I’d doubted him.

Damn.

Then I lashed out at my dad.

Double damn.

“I haven’t known him long—” I jerked in surprise when my mom burst out laughing. I waited patiently for her to stop but with no end in sight I asked, “What’s funny?”

“Sorry.” She waved her hands in front of her face and fanned herself. “I’ll let your dad explain what’s funny.”

“I’m not sure Dad’s in the mood to find anything funny. Why don’t you tell me?”

My mom smiled, a wide, happy smile that took me aback. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen my mother smile like that before.

“You should ask your dad when he asked me to marry him,” she bizarrely told me.

“I know the story, Mom. Your engagement picture is on the mantel. Dad asked you at your family reunion in Eagle River. It was fall, the leaves had turned, and he asked you in front of the whole family on the dock.”

“No, Evette. That was the time I said, yes,” she told me. “The first time was an hour into our first date. Then he asked again on our third. By the time I said yes, he’d asked thirty-two times in three months.”

Um, what? My dad asked my mom to marry him on their first date? How did I not know this?

“How don’t I know this?” I vocalized my thoughts. “And why did you say no thirty-two times?”

“Actually, I said no thirty-one times. I said yes to the thirty-second proposal. And I said no thirty-one times because he didn’t have a ring.”

I stared at my mother in complete shock. Then I dissolved into a fit of laughter.

See, my mom was smart.

Holding out for a ring.

“I would’ve said yes an hour into our first date.

I would’ve said yes if he’d asked me five minutes into that date.

You see, I saw your father from across a crowded room.

We were at a wedding reception. I came late and missed the ceremony.

He was a groomsman sitting at the bridal party table.

I wasn’t there two minutes looking through the crush of people searching for my friends when our eyes locked.

Right then I knew he was the man for me.

Your dad put his fork down on the table, stood, and made his way to me.

I didn’t move a muscle. I don’t even remember breathing until he stopped in front of me.

He didn’t tell me his name, didn’t ask my name, he simply smiled—”

“And I thought to myself this is the woman I am going to spend the rest of my life making happy.” My dad finished from behind me.

My mom’s smile beamed.

I felt my dad’s hand rest on my shoulder and since I was cuddling a squishy, sleeping baby I didn’t have a free hand, so I lifted my shoulder and tipped my head until I could nuzzle his hand with my cheek.

“And that’s what you feel, isn’t it?” my mom asked.

“Yes,” I admitted. “I was so scared when I got to Maryland. But the second I saw Gabe I felt…”

I couldn’t put into words how I felt. There was no way to describe it, no words that would do it justice.

“At peace,” my dad filled in .

And since that was the best way to define the way I’d felt though it still didn’t fully encompass the enormity of my feelings, I agreed.

“Yes, Dad. I felt at peace. I felt like my life had changed in all the best ways. I felt like the man I was meant to make happy for the rest of my life was right in front of me. And I knew without a word spoken he was the man who was meant to make me happy.”

My dad was silent and so was my mom. Ivy was looking at her lap, smiling. Anaya had tears in her eyes. But Natasha was staring at me with a knowing gaze.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” Natasha whispered.

Not trusting my voice I nodded.

“Don’t let go. It only gets better,” she continued.

My dad’s fingers curled around my shoulder twitched, then he kissed the top of my head. And I knew all was forgiven. Though, I’d still apologize. And maybe tease him about asking my mother to marry him so many times.

The ball of unease had loosened but I still wanted to get back to Gabe.

“Can someone please wrap up this burger so I can eat it later? And when Gabe grills me about what I ate I expect all of you to have my back and tell him I finished my fries and ate a bag of chips.”

“We got you, sister.” Ivy smiled.

I still barely knew her but I believed her.

Anaya grabbed Ivy’s hand and added, “We totally got your back.”