Gabe sipped his lime margarita and watched the light play with the highlights in Melanie’s hair while she looked over the menu. Their new dishwasher was in the back of the truck, Amanda hadn’t been home when they’d stopped by her house, and they’d made it to the restaurant just in time for their dinner reservation. After such a busy afternoon, it was nice to sit and enjoy Melanie’s company. Hell, just looking at her was a splendid way to spend his evening. It almost allowed him to forget that his life really was a sea of shit at the moment.

“You never told me what Owen and Caitlyn were arguing about,” Gabe said as Melanie debated between the Relleno de Picadillo and Cochinita Pibil. She couldn’t go wrong with either. The food at this restaurant was always top-notch.

“Um . . . I’m not sure he wants you to know that,” she said, flipping the menu over. “Maybe I should close my eyes and point at the menu. Order whatever I land on.” She did just that and opened her eyes to read what her finger had selected. “Enchiladas de Pato. Duck? They have duck enchiladas. Can you believe it?”

“I’m sure they’re delicious,” he said. “Order a couple of things to try. We can always take leftovers home to Nikki.” That comment sent her scouring the menu for dishes Nikki might like, but Gabe hadn’t forgotten that she hadn’t answered his question. “Does Owen and Caitlyn’s disagreement have something to do with Kellen?” He was guessing, but obviously had done a good job, because Melanie went still.

“So you know why Owen’s mad at Kellen?” she asked.

“Of course,” Gabe lied, taking a sip of his margarita because he was a bad liar. “What do you think about their problem?”

“It’s not that big a deal.” Melanie shrugged. “A little unwanted kiss isn’t the end of the world.”

Gabe set his drink down. Hard. “One of them kissed you?”

Melanie’s pretty brow screwed up. “What? No. I’m talking about how Kellen kissed Owen and Owen completely freaked out over it.”

Gabe blinked at her. “Kellen kissed Owen?”

Melanie’s mouth dropped open. “You said you knew. You tricked me.”

“On the mouth?” Gabe asked flatly.

“There are worse places he could have kissed him.” Melanie giggled.

Gabe slapped his forehead. “No wonder Owen flipped the fuck out.”

“Not a big deal.”

“When a grown-ass man kisses you on the mouth, it’s a very big fucking deal,” Gabe said. “If he wanted him to, that’s fine, but . . .” Gabe shook his head, having a hard time grasping that Kellen had the hots for Owen. That was what that kiss had been about, wasn’t it? “What the fuck is happening to my friends? They’ve all lost their damned minds.”

“Are you ready to order?” their server asked.

Of all the bad timing.

“Give us a minute,” Gabe said, perhaps too harshly, because the young man darted away as if the kitchen were on fire.

“At least you’re still sane,” Melanie said, reaching for his hand.

He allowed her to hold it, but didn’t turn his hand over to clasp hers in return. “That’s funny, because I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Why?”

Probably because his usual release of aggression was to flail a pair of sticks against the skins of his drum kit, and he hadn’t so much as held a drumstick in over a week. “I miss performing. I miss the road. I miss my band. I miss my life.”

Melanie went perfectly still, her face transforming into an emotionless mask. He’d never seen her react that way and wasn’t sure what to make of it. She released his hand and sat back in her chair.

“If that’s what you want, I can go back to Kansas.”

“What?” He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant at all. I don’t want those things to replace you. Don’t you see? I want it all.”

“And if you can’t have it all, will I be enough?”

He blinked at her. Was she really asking him that? “Why shouldn’t I be able to have it all?”

“You should,” she said almost too quietly to hear over the din of the noisy restaurant. “But if your band never gets back together, am I enough to make you happy?”

That was a lot of burden to place on one person. It wasn’t her job to make him happy. He was happy when he was with her, but he would always need more in his life. Everyone needed something to call their own. If it wasn’t his band, at the very least Gabe would need a career he could be proud of.

“I’m unequivocally happy when I’m with you,” he said. “But I’m not Nikki.”

She cocked her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re used to someone depending solely on you for their every happiness.” Melanie liked Nikki’s dependence on her. He’d seen the two of them together enough to recognize their dynamic.

“But I don’t want that with you,” she said.

“Are you sure? Because it sure seems that way to me.”

Melanie’s hand balled into a fist on the tabletop, and she lifted it to press it against her eye. “Why are we arguing about this?” She shook her head, then dropped her hand and lifted her gaze to meet his.

“I don’t think you recognize what a difficult time I’m having, Mel. My whole world has been turned upside down.”

“And mine hasn’t? I left my family behind, my job, my apartment, and moved a thousand miles to be with you.”

“And with Nikki.”

“Fuck Nikki,” she growled, tossing her hands in the air. “I’m here with you. Are you that jealous of her?”

“No.” Yes, a part of him whispered back. “Do I have a reason to be jealous?”

“Why would you have a reason to be jealous?”

“Because . . . that kiss.” Until that moment, he hadn’t realized seeing Nikki kiss Melanie with more passion than he’d ever seen in his entire life had still been eating at him. He and Melanie had made amends over that incident immediately, but apparently he wasn’t over it.

“That kiss meant nothing to me,” Melanie said.

“But it meant something to her.”

“Do you want me to send her away?”

He shook his head. “No. I want to find my big boy pants and put them on. I just can’t seem to find them right now.”

She smiled and then chuckled. “Sorry for laughing. I’m imagining you with red-striped pants pulled up to your pierced nipples.”

“Yes,” he said. “Those big boy pants. Have you seen them?”

“I threw them out. They clashed with your hair.”

He laughed. “I do love you.”

“And I love you. I’ll try to be better at reading your mind so I know when you’re more upset than you’re letting on. I honestly didn’t realize the breakup was bothering you so much or that you were dwelling on that stupid kiss.”

“I’m an asshole,” he said. “I shouldn’t assume you know what’s going on in my head.”

She reached out for his hand. “You can tell me, you know. It’s never going to change the way I feel about you. It might make me love you even more.”

He lifted a brow. “To know I can’t handle my personal shit? That will make you love me more.”

“Yep,” she said, squeezing his hand. “It makes me feel needed, and you know how obsessed I am with feeling needed.” She winked at him, and he burst out laughing.

“I might not show it as well as Clinger—”

“Clinger?”

“AKA Nikki, but I do need you, Mel. Don’t ever let something stupid I say drive you away. I never want that no matter how twisted my insides get sometimes.”

“They wouldn’t get so twisted if you’d just let it out,” she said. “Now, can we order? I’m starving over here.”

He pushed the complimentary chips and salsa in her direction and signaled the waiter that they were ready to place their order. Melanie decided on cheese enchiladas. Apparently her adventurous side had taken a hike sometime during their little spat. So Gabe ordered three entrees he’d never tried before—the three Melanie had originally been considering, because she had excellent taste and he was feeling a little reckless.

“Hungry?” Melanie asked when the waiter walked away.

“I am,” he said, selecting a chip from their basket and dunking it into salsa.

“Are we going to try Amanda again before we head home?”

He crunched on his chip and asked, “Are you okay with that?”

“I should probably be worried that you’re apparently stalking Jacob’s ex-girlfriend, but I don’t think you plan to kidnap her. At least not when I’m with you. So, yeah, we should stop by to see if she’s home.”

“I hope she knows why Jacob’s acting so erratic. If we know the cause, maybe we can fix him.”

“Someone needs to get him fixed. The jerk should not procreate.”

Gabe snorted. “You only say that because you’ve never seen him with his daughter. That little girl is his entire universe.”

“I don’t understand how any guy who considers women his personal all-he-can-eat buffet can treat a daughter with respect.”

“Woman who don’t demand respect don’t receive it.”

“You’re referring to Nikki, aren’t you?”

“I’m referring to all the women who will do anything to bed him.”

“And do you treat the women who want you with same disregard?”

He looked to his left and then to his right. “My line is a bit shorter than his. After all, I am just the drummer.” A pang of longing twisted his gut. Or maybe it was the spicy salsa. “Or rather, I was just the drummer.”

“You still are.” She sipped at her margarita, her gorgeous hazel eyes never leaving his face.

“Just the drummer,” he said, with a grin.

“You know you’re important to the band,” she said. “But if you want someone to fangirl all over you, you should whine to Nikki.”

“I’m not whining.”

“But you should whine. To Nikki. If you’re feeling down, she’ll lift your spirits to the clouds. I guarantee it.”

“Is that the real reason you keep her around? As an ego fluffer?”

“Try it,” Melanie said, brightening as the kitchen arrived with way too much food for their small table. “You’ll like it.”

As usual, the meal was fantastic and the company even better. Now that Melanie had met one of his sisters, he could share stories about their childhood and how he’d always felt like he was trying to live up to the images of his older siblings. His sisters had always been extremely competitive.

“One Father’s Day they decided to get Dad ties. He has always dressed rather tame—being a physics professor and all—but on occasion he’ll wear an over-the-top tie. So Jennifer got him a tie that lit up with bright LED stripes that periodically changed color and Leslie got him . . .” Gabe laughed as the memory sprang vividly to mind. “. . . a tie with a dog’s ass. It had a tail that wagged in response to clapping. His students had a grand time with that one.”

Melanie laughed. “Oh my God. I cannot imagine him wearing something like that.”

“My sisters based their victory on how many times he wore each tie, so of course he had to wear them both regularly and equally. I wonder how hard it was on my parents to have such ultracompetitive children.” He’d never thought about how their sibling rivalry might affect his parents. He’d always been caught up in the contest.

“So what kind of tie did you get him?” she asked.

“I’m the black sheep, so I didn’t get him a tie at all.” He winked at her. “I cheated and bought him a new fishing lure.”

Melanie stole a triangle of his duck quesadilla and nibbled on one point. “Did he wear the lure around his neck when he taught class? He didn’t leave you out, did he?”

“No. He took me fishing, and of course I insisted we go every time he wore a sister’s tie that year, so win-win for me.”

“You’re such a rebel.” She fed him a bite of her delicious creamy enchiladas, her gaze riveted to his mouth as he accepted her offering. “I guess I’m glad I was an only child. I got more parental attention than I could ever want.”

“I’m sure that was tough at times too.”

She shrugged. “Can’t really complain. I never had to wonder if I was loved.”

“I never wondered that either. I just never felt like I was the best.”

“You’ll always be their best son,” she pointed out. “No matter what you do.”

And he wasn’t sure why that had never occurred to him. “That’s why we need four kids, two boys and two girls. Let the sibling rivalry begin.” He expected her to laugh, but she kept her gaze on her plate. He was starting to learn her cues, and this one said that something was bothering her. “I might be able to handle a couple more, but twenty-four is definitely the max.”

“Twenty-four?” Her eyes went wide. “You’ll have to knock up a couple dozen groupies if you want that many.”

“But I want only you to have my babies,” he said.

She relaxed her shoulders slightly. He guessed she was worried about the paternity test, and when she asked when he’d get the results about Lindsey’s baby, he knew he was right.

“Three to five business days,” he repeated what he’d been told at his appointment. “I can even look it up online.”

“And it’s accurate? The baby hasn’t even been born yet.”

“I guess some of the baby’s DNA gets into the mother’s bloodstream, and they have a way to separate baby DNA from mom DNA. That’s why Lindsey had to give blood, not just a cheek-cell sample.”

Melanie nodded and then invaded his dinner again to sample the delicious pork cooked in a banana leaf that he was glad he’d ordered.

“Help yourself,” he said, capturing her fork with his.

She glanced up. “I’m sorry. Does it bother you to share food? I’ll stop.”

“I have no problem sharing my food,” he said, capturing the bite she’d been after on his own fork. “But allow me.”

He lifted the morsel to her mouth and carefully fed her the bite. She covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed. “Fantastic. I’ve never had such authentic Mexican food before. Everything is so flavorful and aromatic.”

Gabe grinned.

“What are you grinning at?”

“I’ve never dated a woman who would use a word like aromatic in everyday conversation.”

“That’s why you aren’t just dating me,” she said. “You’re marrying me.”

“One of a million reasons why.”

After dinner they headed across town to see if Amanda had returned home. Melanie was holding several to-go trays in a large plastic sack, the remnants of her meal. When they pulled into Amanda’s drive, her lights were on and, for once, her car was there.

“I was starting to think she’d moved out of the country,” Gabe said as he switched off the ignition.

A curtain near the front door moved, and then the lights inside immediately went off.

“I think she’s avoiding you,” Melanie said.

Even so, Amanda was in there, and he wouldn’t leave until she talked to him or called the cops to have him removed from her property.

“Probably, but I’m not sure why she would,” he said.

“Do you want me to come to the door with you? Maybe you’ll look less threatening if I’m there.”

He turned his head to stare at her in astonishment. “You think I’m threatening?”

“I don’t, but if I didn’t know you well and you showed up at my door after dark, I doubt I’d open it.”

“Amanda knows me. I first met her at Jacob’s wedding more than five years ago.”

“Well, maybe she forgot who you are.”

“Uh, I saw her backstage last week. She hasn’t forgotten.”

Melanie grinned at him. “You are pretty unforgettable. So should I go with you?”

“I’ll try on my own. If I need you, I’ll wave. I think she’d be less likely to talk in front of you, to be honest.”

Melanie shrugged. “Whatever works for you. I’m easy.”

“Just a little,” he teased before kissing her. He slid out of the open truck door before she could slug him.

Cicadas chirruped loudly as he walked the path to Amanda’s front door. He contemplated his options, trying to figure out how to get her to talk to him. He did know her, but they weren’t exactly close, and she’d likely have to betray her own sister’s trust to tell him what he needed to know. She might be okay with that, though. As much as he and his siblings squabbled, their rivalry came nowhere close to the discord between the Lange sisters.

When he knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, there was no answer. Not that he was surprised. On his second attempt a small cat came to sit in the windowsill near the front door and stared at him with large amber eyes.

“Amanda,” Gabe called, knocking a third time. “I know you’re in there. I saw you turn out the lights.”

“Maybe they’re on a timer,” she said, followed by, “Shit!” After a few seconds she said, “What do you want, Gabe? I’m not up for company.”

“Did you hear about the band breaking up?”

“And I suppose you think it’s all my fault because I broke him.”

He heard her sniff through the door.

“I didn’t mean to break him.”

So she had broken Jacob’s heart. Jacob had hinted to as much when Gabe had seen him the afternoon before he’d declared the band split and abandoned the tour bus. But Jacob had been through heartache before. It wasn’t likely that he’d destroy his career over any woman, no matter how much he loved her.

“So you broke up with him. Big deal.” Gabe tried to play down Amanda’s role in Jacob’s undoing. “Why is he back with your sister? That’s what I want to know.”

“I said terrible things to him, Gabe. I even insulted his intelligence. You know how sensitive he is about his lack of education.”

“Will you open the door?” Gabe said. “I can keep talking loud enough to wake your neighbors, but maybe you don’t want them hearing this.”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment. A light switched on, and the curtain in the window near the door moved again. The curious cat was scooped off the sill by a feminine hand.

“I don’t know anything,” she said. “Just leave me to mourn in peace.”

Gabe’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you mourning? Did something happen to Julie?” That seed that Owen had planted about Julie’s possible illness had apparently sprouted and taken root.

“I’m mourning the loss of the man I love—have loved for years. I can’t believe he fucking went back to her,” she shouted at the other side of the door.

“Wait. I thought you broke up with him.”

“I did. Not because I wanted to.”

He heard the door unlock, a chain slide in its track, and then the creak of the door hinges as she opened the heavy slab of wood about a foot. She had the cat securely in her grasp, but strangers apparently spooked the fur ball, and it struggled to be set down. As soon as its paws touched the floor, it sped off deep into the house.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Amanda looked like hell. Her clothes were crumpled, her dirty-blond hair was actually dirty, and her eyes were bloodshot above tear-stained cheeks. What was worse was that she had the same misery in her eyes that Jacob had shown the last time Gabe had seen him.

She shrugged and hugged her arms around her body, rubbing her arms. “I didn’t die,” she said. “Just wish I had.”

Gabe squeezed her shoulder. “If the two of you were meant to be together, you’ll end up together.”

“Tina won’t let me see Julie,” she blurted. “She says it’s to keep me away from Jacob, but I offered to take my niece to the park, the way I do—did—almost every day since she was born and . . .” Her hands were shaking as she wiped away fresh tears. “If I had just kept loving him from afar as I had for all those years, then . . .”

Gabe’s heart couldn’t stand seeing a woman in tears. He had no choice but to pull her out onto the front step and into a comforting embrace. The truck door slammed behind him, and hurried footsteps came up the path. Amanda pulled away, using the hem of her rather grubby T-shirt to wipe her face.

“Hi, Amanda,” Melanie said. “I’m not sure if you remember me.”

Amanda nodded miserably. “Melanie, right?” At Melanie’s nod, Amanda added, “Excuse me, but I need to go inside.” She turned to look longingly into her cozy little cottage.

“Can we come in?” Gabe asked. He still didn’t have the answers he wanted. Amanda said she hadn’t wanted to break up with Jacob, and she was obviously as confused about Jacob returning to his ex as Gabe was, but there had to be some piece to this puzzle that Amanda knew and he didn’t. Luckily for him, Amanda’s ingrained Texan hospitality wouldn’t let her turn them away.

Amanda opened the door all the way and said, “Yeah, come on in. Forgive the mess. Would you like some coffee? Tea? Tequila?” They followed her into the house, and she muttered, “Actually, no. I finished the tequila this morning. I might have some cheap wine around here somewhere.”

Gabe had only been inside Amanda’s house a few times. He found the short ceilings and small rooms a tad claustrophobic with their country-style furnishings, yet at the same time, each room was quaint and homey.

“Please,” Amanda said. “Have a seat.”

He and Melanie sat side by side on a loveseat while Amanda ventured further into the house. Her small calico cat peered out at them from beneath a chair in the corner.

“Here, kitty,” Melanie said, extending her hand in the general direction of the cat. Her gesture of goodwill was completely ignored.

“Do you like cats?” Gabe was a dog person through and through. He preferred cats that were the outdoorsy type and kept rodents in check.

“I like all animals.”

“Even spiders and lizards?”

Her nose crinkled. “Make that I like all mammals.”

Amanda returned with three glasses of white wine. As she distributed them, he couldn’t help but notice that her glass was over twice as full as theirs.

“Should I be concerned that you’re on your way to alcoholism?” Gabe asked, nodding toward her glass.

“I’ve had a rough week,” she said.

“I don’t think you’re allowed to feel this lousy when you’re the one who did the breaking up.” He was attempting to get more information out of her, but she didn’t fall for his ploy.

“I’m allowed to feel as lousy I want.”

“So you want to feel lousy?” Melanie asked, taking a small sip of wine.

“I deserve to feel lousy.” Amanda tossed back her wine in several gulps and set her empty glass on the coffee table before leaning back in the armchair she was sitting in and covering her eyes with both palms. “My sister deserves to feel even lousier, and instead, she gets everything she wants.”

A touch of bitterness there. Not that he blamed her. Tina did seem to get everything she wanted.

“Why does she even want Jacob back?” Gabe asked. “She hated him when they were married.”

“She only hated that she couldn’t control him. Now she thinks that she can.”

“And you don’t?” Gabe asked. Because Gabe was pretty sure Jacob was not in control of the situation.

“Maybe. I don’t know. He’s different when he’s with her.”

“Yeah, he’s miserable. That’s what miserable Jacob looks like,” Gabe said. “But last week, when he was with you, he seemed happy.”

Amanda removed her hands from her face to look at him. “And I went and fucked that up.”

“Why?” Melanie asked.

Amanda contemplated her guests for a long moment before closing her eyes again. “Because I’m a coward. At least this way he gets to be with Julie.”

“Julie isn’t sick, is she? She doesn’t have cancer or some other horrible disease, does she?” Gabe needed to put that ugly thought to rest once and for all.

Amanda scowled at him. “No. Why would you ask that? Why would you even think that?”

“We’re just trying to make sense of Jacob’s actions,” Gabe said. “Nothing he’s done since last weekend makes a bit of sense.”

“And what does Julie being sick have to do with Jacob’s lack of sense?”

“It might explain why he’s willing to go back with Tina. I honestly can’t think of any reason but Julie that would make him consider her worth his time.”

“I don’t know why he went back to Tina. All I know is that she threatened to take Julie away from him if I didn’t break up with him.” Amanda covered her mouth with her hand and said in a muffled voice, “Damn wine.”

“So that’s why you broke up with him. Tina made you do it?”

“That’s horrible,” Melanie said.

“What’s horrible is knowing how much I must have hurt him,” Amanda said. Her eyes were glassy when she bit the side of her finger.

“Don’t do that to yourself,” Melanie said, leaning forward and placing a comforting hand on Amanda’s knee. “Tina is definitely the horrible one for putting you in that position.”

“But what can I do about it?” Amanda said. “If I try to talk to Jacob—even to tell him how sorry I am—I know Tina will use his feelings for Julie to keep him in check. To hurt him even more.”

“Someone needs to tell him the truth,” Gabe said, a plan finally forming in his previously blank mind. “What if I told him what a manipulative bitch he’s currently living with?” Not that Jacob would be astonished by that revelation. He happened to know better than anyone on the planet what kind of person Tina was. “What if I told him that you haven’t stopped caring about him? That Tina threatened you so you can’t set things right, even though you want to.”

Amanda’s eyes widened. “You can’t!”

“Why not?” Melanie asked. “At least he’ll know what he’s up against.”

“You’ve never met my sister,” Amanda pointed out, “and you already know what she’s capable of. If she finds out—”

“Who’s going to tell her?” Gabe asked. “Jacob?”

“She probably has him bugged.”

Actually, Gabe would not put that past Tina, but surely she wouldn’t go to that much trouble to keep Jacob under her thumb. Then again . . . 

“You know the band can’t go on without him,” Gabe said. “You know that.”

Amanda nodded solemnly. “And I’m truly sorry to have added to the strain that sent Jacob over the edge, but I don’t think telling him I didn’t really want to break up with him will change anything. It might even make things worse for him. At least this way he won’t jeopardize his relationship with his daughter by contacting me.”

“Aren’t there laws against this kind of manipulation?” Melanie asked. She looked completely dumbfounded.

“Only if there are also laws against people being easily led.”

“But she’s using that little girl,” Melanie said. “It’s just . . . just wrong.”

“I agree,” Gabe said, and he wasn’t going to stand by and let it continue to happen. “Sorry to drop in and run, Amanda, but it’s getting late.” He stood and patted Amanda’s shoulder. “Hang in there. If you need anything, please call or text me. Don’t make me show up on your doorstep unannounced.”

She grinned. “You are obnoxiously persistent when you have your mind set on something.”

“I’ve noticed that too,” Melanie said.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gabe said, and after saying goodbye, he showed himself and Melanie to the door.

“You’re going to let this go?” Melanie asked as they strolled toward the truck at the end of the driveway.

“Hell no. I hope you didn’t have your heart set on making it home at a decent hour.”

She snorted and shook her head. “We’re going to Jacob’s house, aren’t we?”

“Naturally.”

*****

A light glowed in a room near the front of Jacob’s house. It was well after nine o’clock, and Gabe would feel bad if he woke Julie, so he walked quietly to the front door and knocked rather than ringing the doorbell. He’d left Melanie to wait in the truck, figuring Jacob would be less likely to listen in front of a witness he didn’t know well. Gabe’s summons was answered after his second attempt, but Jacob didn’t look overly happy to see him.

“A little late to drop by unannounced, don’t you think?” Jacob asked, a heavy scowl crinkling his brow. “You’re disturbing my family.”

“I just came from Amanda’s house,” Gabe said.

A flicker of pain crossed over Jacob’s face, but it was gone so quickly that Gabe thought maybe he imagined it.

“How nice for you,” Jacob said, closing the door.

Gabe blocked the action with his foot, wincing as the door caught his toe.

“I thought you might want to know why she broke up with you.”

“She told me why,” Jacob said, his breath hitching with anguish. “I’m not smart enough for her. But you might be, Mr. Physics Major.” Jacob pushed on the door, and Gabe lifted his forearm against it for added leverage.

“Amanda doesn’t think that of you. Not at all.” Gabe lowered his voice to a whisper in case someone was listening in. “Tina threatened to keep you from seeing Julie if Amanda didn’t dump you.”

Jacob’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that so?”

“Who’s at the door?” Tina’s voice came from inside the house.

“Jehovah’s Witness,” Jacob called back.

“At this hour?” she questioned.

“You need to go,” Jacob said to Gabe. “You’ll ruin everything.”

“I’ll ruin everything?” Astonished, Gabe almost made the mistake of stepping back. “Did you hear what I said? Amanda still cares about you. You need to toss this ex of yours once and for all—”

“Since when is Gabe Banner a Jehovah’s Witness?” Tina asked, coming around Jacob’s broad body to stand next to him. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe as she glared at Jacob. “Well?”

“I was trying to get rid of him,” Jacob said.

“Why?” Tina said. “You should invite him in. How do you ever expect to get Sole Regret back together if you don’t patch things up with your bandmates?”

Gabe blinked, trying to register her words. She wanted Sole Regret to get back together? Wait—that didn’t make sense.

“His girlfriend is waiting in the truck,” Jacob said. “I’m sure he wants to get her home soon. He just stopped by to tell me something.”

Gabe’s head stopped reeling long enough for him to snap out of his confusion. “Uh, yeah. Remember what I told you, Jacob.” He stared beseechingly into his eyes. “And act on it.” Then again, maybe he should be trying to negotiate with Tina. Did her encouragement mean that it was Jacob who wanted the band to end? Gabe’s tattered hope for reconciliation shredded further.

“Thanks for stopping by,” Jacob said, closing the door in Gabe’s face. Gabe leaned in close to the door to listen in on Tina’s conversation with Jacob.

“What was that all about?” Tina asked, her voice muffled.

“Nothing important.”

Nothing important?

Jacob said something else, but he was now too far from the door for Gabe to make out the words. Gabe released a frustrated breath and spun on his heel to return to the truck. The problem with bands was that they were made up of more than one person.

He was pretty sure he had Adam on board with making amends, but now he wasn’t sure that Jacob would even hear him out. Maybe the lot of them weren’t worth Gabe’s headache.