CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CeCe
“You have to cook the chicken until it’s tender enough to shred,” Marisol explains, pulling a chicken breast from the sizzling pan and placing it on the cutting board. She takes a fork, using the prongs to pull back layers. “Ya see how easy it falls apart now?”
I nod and pretend I get it but really I’m just trying not to remember how that piece of meat looked before she cooked it.
Shudder.
I shove aside my disgust though because this is for Gabe. The man who has not only claimed every inch of my body but also my heart. He’s come to mean a lot to me in such a short amount of time and I find myself wanting to leave my comfort zone and do something special for him. Something I’ve never done for anyone else before. And that’s learning to cook his favorite meal. I’m going to surprise him with it tonight after he finishes his shift at the station.
Marisol shoves the fork into my hand. “You keep shredding and I’ll get the rest of our ingredients together.”
I try not to gag over how rubbery it feels. Meat is not something I’ve ever had a problem with but that was before I saw it raw.
“Like this?” I ask, showing her what I’m doing to make sure I’m not screwing it up.
“Yes, that’s perfect,” she says, patting my shoulder.
Feeling proud, I continue my task at hand. “Thank you again for helping me with this. I’m close to my mother but she’s about as knowledgeable in the kitchen as I am. We bond over shopping, not cooking.”
“No thanks needed. I was thrilled when you called, and I know my Gabriel will love this surprise.”
Her excitement fuels my own.
“He likes you a lot, you know,” she adds, her knowing eyes seeking mine.
“You think so?”
“I know so. I saw the way he watched you playing with the children. He had love in his eyes.”
Hope warms in my chest, spreading throughout my entire body. I’m beginning to more than like that man, so to hear her say that means a lot.
“He said the two of you met on one of his calls,” she says, digging for more information.
“We did, but trust me when I tell you our first encounter was not a pretty one. Gabe thought I was a stuck-up spoiled rich girl. The last thing I ever expected was a date with him,” I divulge with a snicker, recalling that first night.
How times have changed.
“Sadly, this does not surprise me.” She sighs, an almost sad note edging her voice. “That’s his own issues though. It had nothing to do with you.”
My curiosity piques. “What do you mean?”
A moment of silence ensues before she looks over at me, revealing a stark pain in her eyes. “Has he told you about his father?”
“No. I asked about him once before but he said he was off limits. I take it their relationship is strained?” I ask, even though I shouldn’t. The last thing I want to do is betray Gabe’s trust but I’d be lying if I said I’m not curious to know more, especially after her comment.
Her gaze shifts back down to her hands as she continues cutting up the vegetables, the knife slicing into the cutting board fills the tense silence.
I begin to feel bad and think I’ve overstepped but before I’m able to apologize, she speaks.
“Gabriel’s father left us when Luis was just a baby. He fell in love with another woman.”
My fork stills from its shredding, my heart breaking at the agony in her voice.
“She’s very wealthy. My husband was her gardener and I cleaned her home.”
Oh my god.
My chest seizes with anger, betrayal slicing through me on this family’s behalf.
“He walked away from us without ever looking back. We haven’t seen him in almost fifteen years.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, reaching out to touch her hand.
Her eyes finally lift to mine and the unshed tears there are unmistakable. It’s obvious that even after all this time she still harbors heartache over this.
“I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but knowing my son, he never will. He doesn’t like to talk about him. It was a rough time for us and we were all very hurt but Gabriel hurt so much more. He and his father were very close and when he walked away like that…” She shakes her head. “Gabriel has never been the same.”
Pain infiltrates my heart to think about Gabe hurting in any way, but to lose a father so abruptly, I can certainly relate to that.
“He stepped up and became the man of the house, even at eleven years old. He mowed lawns and did whatever jobs he could to help pay the bills. Our family would not have survived the way we did without him. Even now, he still takes care of us,” she says, a small smile lifting her sad lips. “He’s paying for me to go to school ya know. So I can live my dream to be a teacher.”
I return her smile. “He said something about that.”
Of course he left out the important fact that he’s paying for it.
“I think it’s very admirable that you are following your dreams,” I tell her.
“Thank you, but I couldn’t do it without my Gabriel. The other boys are good too and help out, but not like Gabe. He’s been our rock.”
Hearing all this only makes me fall that much harder for him. There’s no denying the man is a hothead at times, but he’s a good man. Next to my father, he’s the best I’ve ever known.
“Over the years, the pain of his father walking out on us has turned to anger. A very deep anger,” she says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the reason why he misjudged you at first.”
After knowing all this I have to agree, but the thought of him thinking for even a second that I was anything like the woman his father left them for hurts me something fierce. Catalina’s remark to him last weekend now suddenly makes sense. It leaves me feeling angry on Gabe’s behalf yet also nauseous to be grouped into the same category as that home wrecker.
I’m pulled out of my tormented thoughts when Marisol touches the side of my face. “My Gabriel may have misjudged you at first but I know he sees you for the wonderful woman you are. He’s a good man, his anger just misguides him sometimes because of the pain he buries inside,” she says, tapping my chest.
If anyone can understand what it’s like to harbor pain, it’s me. There are moments in our life that irrevocably change us and no matter how much we wish we could go back and change the past to spare us that kind of heartbreak there’s no going back. All we can do is learn how to live with that loss every day.
“You have a beautiful family,” I tell her on a whisper. “Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
“You don’t need to thank me. Now that you are with Gabriel, my family is yours. As much as I love my boys, I always wanted a girl to do all the girly things with. Maybe now I will get to.”
“I can definitely help with that. You don’t get much more girly than me.”
She chuckles and delivers a love tap on my cheek, much the same way all the women seem to do in this family. “Then that’s settled. Today I teach you how to cook my Gabriel’s favorite, next time you take me shopping and teach me all the fashion tips.”
It’s this precise moment that I know without a doubt that this woman and I are going to be great friends.