Page 28

After a long minute of me running out of places to look, my eyes met hers as she tilted her head. “So Gabriel, how long are you actually willing to wait for Fern to decide if she will speak with you or not?”

I set the knife in the sink. “I have practice at noon tomorrow so whether it’s here or in my SUV, I’m waiting.”

I held her gaze before she stood, grabbed another wine glass from the china cabinet behind her, and filled it up. “Well then, you might as well take a load off.”

I joined her at the table. It was good wine.

She popped a brow. “Dave doesn’t know you’re here?”

“No, ma’am.”

“He’s your good friend. Won’t that be a problem?” She moved her glass in a circle, the wine swirling inside.

“There’s nothing to worry about if she won’t speak with me.”

She nodded. “Understood.”

An hour later Jerry arrived home, and I lit the candles in the center of the table while Sharon placed three plates overflowing with my Italian favorite in front of us.

“Hello, Gabe. That last game was a doozy.” He dropped in the chair and looked around. “Is Dave here?”

Sharon cleared her throat. “No, he’s not. Gabriel was in the neighborhood so stopped to say hi.” She gave me a wink. “I insisted he stay for dinner.”

“Is Fern here?” Jerry placed a napkin in his lap.

“She’s doing some work upstairs, not sure if she’s going to join us or not.” Sharon gave Jerry a peck on the cheek. “Can I get you some wine?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he said with a chuckle.

We all sat, Sharon said a prayer, and I embarked on the best spaghetti and meatball dinner I’d ever experienced. “Sharon, this is amazing.”

She smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Gabriel.”

I took a long drink of wine, wishing Fern was in the empty chair beside me.

Jerry pointed his fork in the air. “Now, Gabe, you should be aware that there’s an arctic snap heading or way.” He shook his head. “It’ll be cold as a witch’s tit in a brass bra.”

I coughed on my wine as Jerry chuckled and handed me a napkin.

“Gabriel, you know Jerry is a retired National Weather Service Meteorologist. Yes, the only job where you can be wrong and not get fired.”

Jerry threw his arm in the air. “We don’t make the damn weather, Sharon. We just do our best to keep up with Mother Nature who can be a brutal bitch with multiple personalities.”

Sharon threw her head back and enthusiastically clapped her hands. “Jerry, tell him the seasons of Minnesota.”

“He’s a Minnesota boy, he knows. There’s winter, fool’s spring, second winter, spring of deception, third winter, actual spring, summer, hell’s front porch, false fall and actual fall.”

Sharon burst into laughter and slapped his arm. “Hell’s front porch! That’s when it’s one-hundred-thirteen degrees in the shade. Get it? That’s some funny shit right there.” She snatched the napkin from her lap and fanned her face. “Great, now I’m having a hot flash. Damn you, Jerry.”

I stood just outside the doorway, watching Gabe laughing with my parents over the heavenly aroma of Italian cuisine. It felt like a lifetime in Hell since I’d seen him, heard his deep voice, and felt his energy that gave the room an entirely different vibe. I wanted to hug the air.

I’d spent nearly two hours upstairs, trying to figure out if I should jump from my window into the snow bank below, make a run for it, or risk seeing his beautiful face while my heart was still in pieces. I’d been in a funk since I’d overheard the conversation .

The day after I arrived back home, I pull up Amy’s obituary. There was a bit of relief as we looked nothing alike. And while we had different interests, apparently we had identical tattoos, a love of butterflies, and the car accident, with only me walking away.

Initially, the similarities screamed he was trying to replace his dead wife, his high school sweetheart, and first love. I didn’t want to compete with anyone, especially a woman who was dead. How could I ever live up to someone who would always be young, beautiful, and perfect in his eyes?

I didn’t know why he was there, but his presence made me feel balanced. I liked it even though I shouldn’t.

My mom looked up. “Hello, my little punky. Can I get you a plate?”

“Mom, stop.”

Gabe stood up so fast he had to catch his chair which nearly tumbled to the floor. Shyness swept through my body as I made my way to the table. Gabe pulled out my chair and wore a warm smile.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

My mom is the best at working with awkward silence as she can babble on enough to fill any space so I was counting on her.

“Fern, was Madam Fluffypants up there with you? I haven’t been able to find her for hours.”

I nodded. “Maybe she just needed some alone time, crazy cat lady.”

“I prefer the term dedicated feline enthusiast , Fern.” She walked to the stove and filled a plate. “Can you believe Gabriel helped me prepare the entire dinner? He’s quite the chef.”

“It smells delicious.” My heart was pitter-pattering so fast it hurt. Calm the hell down!

She placed the plate in front of me, and I realized slurping down spaghetti wasn’t a thing I pulled off well. I carefully took my utensils and cut the long noodles into inch-sized bites. I couldn’t screw that up, could I?

My dad squeezed my hand. “Nice to see you. It’s like you’ve been trapped in your bedroom for weeks.”

Crimson swept up my neck. Great, now Gabe knew I’d been laying in my bed miserable since I’d left his cabin. “I’ve had a lot of computer work for my upcoming nursing spot.” My head bobbed up and down. “Tons of stuff to do.”

“I can imagine.” My dad looked at Gabe. “Do you even know what a talented nurse Fern is? She can cut holes in tracheas, pull out hearts, and fix them with her bare hands.”

“Oh, I believe it.” Gabe’s smiling voice filled the room. “I’d bet she’s steady as a rock when dealing with everything from gun shots to glass.”

My temp jumped up five degrees.

“Those doctors would be lost without her.” Pride settled on my father’s face. “Our Fern graduated first in her nursing class and has saved thousands and thousands of people.”

“Dad, please.”

My mother was trying to speak to me with her eyes but instead looked like a deranged asylum escapee. “Jerry, after dinner we need to run and pick up those things from that place.”

His eyes narrowed. “What from what? I don’t understand you.”

“Women are meant to be loved, not understood.” My mother dabbed the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “I’ll show you. Just finish your dinner.”

I ate a few bites and pushed pasta around my plate, almost afraid to look at Gabe.

He was at the kitchen table with me. He was in my childhood home to see me.

I’d reconciled with the fact that he hadn’t tried to replace his dead wife with me at the cabin.

Yes, it was stranger than strange, but I realized he wasn’t crazy.

Since I’d been home, I made the grown-up decision that I had to move forward and not look back.

We were never going to be a thing anyway.

Any connection I felt to him was the equivalent to me stepping off a curb in front of a bus…

something that would likely take me out altogether.

Was he here to make sure lovesick Fern had survived post-Gabe life? Was he looking for another weekend pass? Or just hoping to get lucky?

I couldn’t do that again. Nope, I now knew what it felt like after being with him, and it hurt. I’m talking physical pain in my chest. I was leaving after the wedding. He was a player, and there was nothing for us to do.

With my chin down, I peeked up, and my chest caved when my eyes met his. He was sitting up in his chair, holding a fork, with a sincere grin that tickled my tummy.

Well shit, one panty-dropping smile and I was ready to tear off my shirt and do a dance for him right there in the kitchen. Well, in that scenario my parents had vanished into thin air, of course. Not dead, just into a different, happy place.

I lost all rational thought when it came to him. I should tell him he needs to leave, but I’d never wanted anyone to stay more in my life. He was my…my crack cocaine addiction.

I knew with every fiber of my being that he was bad for me. When he was absent, I had started to move forward even though it was like a brutal beating. But the sight of him brought back feelings of ecstasy and a high my body craved.

My mom was yapping on about her friend Janet, whose husband died many years ago and was now becoming a cougar and dating a Sumo wrestler. Are there even Sumo wrestlers in Minnesota? Seemed like a stretch.

I was struck by Gabe’s attentiveness to her story.

He nodded. “I say good for her. Do they have a lot in common? What kind of things do they like?”

My mom jumped off her chair, walked to window, picked up the binoculars that were sitting on the windowsill, and put them over her eyes. “Welp, it looks like they’re working out.” She giggled. “Or warming up for something later.”

Gabe shot out of his seat and stood next to her. “What? Janet lives across the street? Are you serious right now?”

She passed him the spy-in-your-cougar-friend’s-living-room spectacles, and he gasped.

“Look at Janet go. This is so good for her, Sharon. He’s teaching her how to do lunges, I think.

” After another moment, he quickly put the binoculars back on the sill.

“Nope, not teaching her lunges.” He shook his head at my mother.

“Don’t look over there. It’ll burn your corneas. ”

My mom crossed her arms over her chest. “Damn Sumo wrestler is turning her into a loosey goosey gal.”

Gabe and my dad snickered.

“Alright, Sharon, if we need to do whatever the hell you said earlier, let’s go so we can get this over with.”

“You two leave the dishes, and I’ll get them when I return.” She grabbed my shoulders, kissed my cheek and whispered, “Be nice to him, Boo.”

My dad shook Gabe’s hand. “Nice to see you again. I look forward to watching you kick Dallas in the balls later in the week.”

“It’ll be my pleasure.”