Seven days. No, I wasn’t referencing the horror movie The Ring, although my appearance had started to resemble Samara’s over the last week. I was talking more about how long it had been since I’d seen or heard from Gabe. The last image remained burned into my mind—the one of him hugging Linc before I blew out of the auditorium and started my Forest Gump run to see Kennedy and Ellie.
For the first few days, I continuously checked my phone every other minute to see if he’d reached out to me. After I didn’t receive a text or call for him, I stopped checking every few seconds. Yesterday I’d made it half the morning before I checked.
I wasn’t sure why I expected him to call—I certainly hadn’t left him with any indication that I wanted him to. That day at Linc’s school, we’d both slung enough hurtful words at each other that I wasn’t sure who had said or done worse. For the life of me, I still couldn’t bring myself to be the bigger person and call him. I wanted to tell him I had been wrong about Linc playing the guitar and knew I had completely overreacted about him giving Linc a guitar.
But I didn’t. I moped around the shop and the house. While I barely ate, I did manage to drink a little too much. It was quite unseemly, as Aunt Sadie would say, since I did a lot of it alone in my bedroom.
This day found me sitting outside in the front porch swing. I didn’t know how long I’d been staring into space, when I heard a voice from the doorway. “Would you like some company?”
“I’m not sure I’m one for company these days,” I answered honestly.
Aunt Sadie bobbed her head before ambling down the porch to the swing. Jabbing her cane at me, she said, “Scoot over.”
“Fine,” I muttered.
Once I’d given her adequate room to sit, she plopped down beside me and peered at me with a wry smile. “In a small town, it’s much more proper if you do your grieving inside the walls of your house, rather than on the front porch.”
“Is that what people are saying? That I’m grieving for Gabe?”
“No. I think the people in town are still hung up on the fact that you had a public breakup at the elementary school talent show.”
I groaned. “I figured as much.”
“The part about grieving inside the house came from my meddling Great-Aunt Alva after I lost George in the war.” Aunt Saddie patted the bottom of the swing we sat in. “I don’t know how many months I sat here, hoping against hope, that somehow the military had been wrong and he would come bounding up the sidewalk for me.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Aunt Sadie, and I really mean that. I’ve always felt so sorry for you that you lost the only man you ever loved.”
Aunt Sadie swung her knees over to where they bumped into mine so she could face me. “Do you know why I never married?”
“Because you lost George.”
Slowly, she shook her head back and forth. “George was the first love of my life, but there was a second love, one that almost broke me.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered. Normally, I would’ve tempered my language some in front of Aunt Sadie, but this earth shattering tidbit warranted a little cussing. Leaning closer to her, I asked, “Who was he?”
“His name was Elliot, and he worked at Hart Collision with your father.”
Suddenly, it hit me. I remembered a man name Elliot. He had always had candy for me and my sisters when we were really little and visited my dad at the shop. I also remembered him being at the house once or twice. “Wait, did this happen like over twenty ago? Like before Kennedy, Ellie, and I were in school?”
“No, it was more like forty years ago.”
I furrowed my brows at her. “But I remember an Elliot.”
“As you should. He worked at the shop until he died twenty years ago.” A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips “Just because we broke up, that didn’t mean I had him wiped off the face of the earth or fired from his job. I can be pretty petty, but not that petty.”
“What happened between you two?”
“While there were other men after George, none of them were Elliot.” Drawing her shoulders back, she added, “I’ll cut to the chase and leave out what led to me finding true love again at fifty, because the most important part of the story is how I lost him.”
“Okay,” I said tentatively.
“There was another woman in town, Viola, who Elliot had dated before me. When she saw we were getting serious, she started a campaign to make me believe Elliot still loved her. One day he didn’t come over to walk me to church, and when I went by later to check on him, I found Viola leaving out his back door.”
“Oh, hell no!”
“Yes, I thought as much too.”
“What did you do?”
“Why I marched right up the front steps and banged on the door. When I confronted Elliot, he promised me nothing had happened, said he’d been sick and stayed home from church then when he woke up, he found her there in his house.” Narrowing her eyes, she said, “He tried to say she still had a key from when they had dated, but I wasn’t buying it. I told him he must have thought I was an idiot to believe such a story, and I left. For days after that, Elliott pleaded with me to believe him. He swore on his life that nothing had happened with Viola and said he could never love anyone like he loved me. Finally, he got so frustrated, he stopped calling or coming by. Although I would see him in town from time to time, he never talked to me again.”
Since I knew how the story ended, I asked, “Why couldn’t you believe him?”
“Plain and simple stubbornness.” She gave me a knowing look. “The same kind of a stubbornness that is keeping you from calling Gabe and trying to make things work.”
“Wait a minute. What happened between you and Elliott is not the same as what happened between Gabe and me,” I protested.
“Is it not?”
“No. You believed a lie of betrayal perpetuated by a jealous woman where Gabe truly betrayed me.”
“Betrayal is a pretty strong word for what Gabe actually did.”
“Aunt Sadie, I told Gabe my history. He knew about Ryan and Mom, and how because of music, they had left me. He knew how I felt about Lincoln having a guitar, and how I feared I would lose Linc too. Is that irrational? Now, I can probably say yes. But at the time, I was terrified. Linc is my world. How do I trust someone who didn’t show any remorse for helping my son to not only disobey his mom, but to do so publically?”
“Yes, I’m well aware of that.”
“Are you sure you are because it doesn’t seem that way from what you’re saying.”
Aunt Sadie pursed her lips at me. “Yes, Gabe broke your trust. And yes, in the moment, he claimed he didn’t feel any remorse. But you and I both know in the heat of the moment, we say things we really don’t mean. Perhaps time has tempered his anger. Maybe he’s had time to contemplate more about the complexities of parenting a child, and how the adults must stand by each other’s decisions, and never sabotage them.”
I contemplated what Aunt Sadie was saying. “I guess.”
“You have to remember that Gabe’s insensitivity comes from the fact he’s never been a parent. It was his ignorance that led him to say and do the things he did. The Gabe I know would never knowingly hurt you or Linc.”
“I really don’t think he meant to hurt us either,” I said softly.
She nodded. “Relationships are hard and people make mistakes. Sometimes they make colossal mistakes, and sometimes they are minute ones. In the end, it isn’t the mistakes themselves, but it’s how you handle them. It’s the ability to look past the mistake and see the heart and motive behind it.”
Reaching over, she cupped my chin. “Reagan, I love you very much. I’ve always been immensely proud of you for finishing high school and going to college when the chips were stacked against you. Not only are you a wonderful mother, but you’re also a very good businesswoman.”
I swallowed hard. Although the words seemed inadequate for how I was feeling, I replied, “Thank you, Aunt Sadie.”
“So hear me out. You’re being a stubborn idiot over this mess with Gabe.” When I opened my mouth to protest, she shook her head. “And he is too, because he hasn’t tried to reach out to you. But you know as well as I do that men are emotional babies. Trust me, you don’t want to end up like me—alone and having to live each day with regret. I’ll never know what could have been with Elliot where you have the chance with Gabe. You need to decide if you can look past the mistake. He needs to decide if he can learn from it and avoid making it again. And then you both need to begin to forgive and heal.”
After surveying her words, I slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll try to talk to Gabe.”
Relief filled her eyes. “I’m so glad you saw things my way.”
I laughed. “You certainly didn’t give me much choice. I was waiting for you to beat some sense into me with your cane.”
She gave me a sly smile. “Well, that was my plan B.”
“I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”
“Me too.” She reached over and patted my leg. “I’m so glad you said you would talk to Gabe.”
“Really?”
With a nod, she replied, “Well, firstly, he’s terribly handsome.”
“Aunt Sadie!” I laughed.
“But mostly because he’s on his way here.”
My stomach plummeted to my feet. “Excuse me?”
“I said Gabe is on his way to see you.”
“But…what? I mean, how do you know that?”
“He called about an hour ago to make sure you were here.” Winking, she added, “I was going to have to fake a stroke or something if you tried to leave.”
I bolted out of the swing. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me until now. I can’t let Gabe see me like this!” I gesticulated wildly to my grease-pit hair, lack of makeup, and the Star Wars pajama pants I was wearing.
“He was in Ball Ground when he called.”
“Oh shit! That means he could be here any minute. Shit!”
“Go ahead and get in the shower, honey. I’ll stall him for you.”
As Aunt Sadie sat there leaning on her cane, I couldn’t help but think how much she reminded of me of Olenna Tyrell from Game of Thrones. All she needed was the medieval headdress thing and she could be her twin.
“Okay. You do that.” I sprinted away from Aunt Sadie and into the house.
“Mom, can you—” Linc started to ask.
“Nope, can’t. Ask one of your aunts.” While I did momentarily pause to make sure he wasn’t maimed or bleeding, I blew on past down the hall to the bathroom. Once again, I wouldn’t be winning any Mother of the Year awards any time soon.
I was pretty sure there hadn’t ever been a time I’d managed to shower and wash my hair in under ten minutes. Maybe back when I was playing for the league because I’d always feared some creep had put cameras in the showers in the locker room—it had happened to one of the other teams—but I was almost certain this time was a personal record.
After my shower, I left my hair wet while I slathered on foundation and eyeliner as fast as I could. Once I finished with my makeup, I dried my hair. Since I had yet to decide what to wear, I wrapped a towel around me. I burst out of the bathroom door and into a wall of hard flesh.
Oh shit. It took me less than a second to realize who I had bumped into. When I jerked away, I glanced up into Gabe’s eyes, and I saw so many emotions burning in his baby blues: fear, amusement, hurt, anger. I was sure the same emotions were reflected in my own.
“Um, hello.”
God, I’d missed hearing his voice. The deep, rumbling timbre that could make me feel comforted in one minute and incredibly horny the next.
Drawing my towel tighter around me, I said, “Hello.”
“I’m assuming since you don’t seem too shocked to see me, Sadie must’ve mentioned I was coming.”
Double damn. He knew I knew, which meant he knew I had just fixed up for him. “Yes, she mentioned it.” Smooth, Rae. Very smooth.
“You look good.”
“Excuse me?”
Gabe winced. “I mean, you look like you’re doing good.”
“Thank you.”
After jerking a hand through his hair, Gabe exhaled a ragged breath. “Why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll wait for you in the living room?”
“Maybe we should sit outside so we can be alone.”
The corners of Gabe’s lips quirked. “We are alone. The others just piled into Kennedy’s car and left.”
Well, wasn’t that an interesting development? I was standing in front of Gabe half-naked while we were completely alone in the house. “I see.”
“I suppose they felt we needed some privacy.”
“I guess so.” Before things could get any more awkward between us, I said, “Okay, I’ll go get dressed, and you make yourself comfortable in the living room.”
“Okay, I will.”
Gabe and I then proceeded to do that awkward two-step where one person moves forward and the other one does at the same time. Each time we tried to outwit each other, we ended up bumping together again. Finally, Gabe pressed himself up against the wall and motioned for me to go. I hauled ass into my room and then slammed the door.
Since Gabe had seen me in a towel, I figured there was no point worrying about what I was going to wear. I threw on my nicest pair of jeans along with a Hart and Daughter sweatshirt. After taking a deep breath, I opened my door and started down the hall to the living room.
When I got there, Gabe was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. At the sound of me entering the room, he jerked up. After opening and closing his mouth several times like a fish, he blurted out, “I’m a fucking asshole.”
I blinked at him. “Nothing like cutting to the chase.”
Shaking his head, Gabe said, “I’m sorry. My head is spinning with all the things I want to say to you. While it wasn’t the most eloquent thing I could have come up with, it certainly expresses how I feel.”
Easing down beside Gabe on the couch, I said, “I suppose we can start with that. You’re an asshole, and I’m a bitch.”
Gabe’s brows shot up. “You are?”
“Don’t tell me you thought I was blameless in what happened between us?”
“No, I just wouldn’t put you in the bitch league.”
“Oh yeah, I belong there. I was a bitch to both you and Linc.” I drew in a deep breath. “Not only was I a bitch, I was wrong.”
“About what?”
“Linc playing the guitar. He isn’t his dad just like I’m not my mom.”
At the mention of my mom, Gabe winced. “Rae, I’m so fucking sorry I compared you to your mom. I was so hurt by you that I wanted to hurt you too.”
“Deep down, I know you didn’t mean it. It was just hard for me to hear.”
“Please know that I’ve regretted it every single day. It was the reason why I haven’t called you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was afraid that because of the things I said, you’d never forgive me.”
I widened my eyes at him. “I thought you hadn’t called because you didn’t want to forgive me.”
Gabe smiled. “It sounds like we could really improve on our communication skills.”
“I’d say so.”
“You know, I wrote a song for you about what happened between us.”
“You did?”
“Yes, but it’s terrible.”
I smiled. “That’s what you always say, but your songs are always works of art.”
Gabe chuckled. “No. Trust me. This one was so bad that Eli made me swear I wouldn’t sing it to you.”
“You’re kidding?”
“I wish I was. He thinks I could probably sell it to one of those screamer bands or some goth group.”
“Sounds like it was pretty dark.”
With a nod, Gabe said, “It was reflecting where I’ve been the past week without you. More than anything in the world, I wanted to make a grand gesture to show you how sorry I was, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make the right words come, the words beautiful enough to show you just how much I care for you.”
I swallowed hard. “You got writer’s block again?”
“I just can’t seem to write a song without you, Rae.”
With a sigh, I countered, “I can’t be with you just so you can write songs.”
“I’m well aware of that, and it’s not the reason I came to see you.” Leaning forward, he took my hand in his. “I can’t seem to do life without you.”
“You can’t?” I questioned softly as I fought to regulate my out-of-control heartbeat.
“If there’s one thing that has become abundantly clear this week, it’s that I love you.”
Oh God. He had said those three little words—the ones that any woman desires to hear from the man she cares about. Not only was my heart beating erratically, but now I found it hard to breathe as well.
Cupping my chin, Gabe tilted my head to look at him. “I love you, and I don’t want to be without you. I don’t know if you can ever forgive me for what I did, but I want you to know how sorry I am. If you do give me a second chance, I swear I will never undermine your parenting ever again. I will always be upfront and honest with you about even the tiniest detail of my private life. I promise that I’ll—”
“I love you, too, Gabe!”
A beaming smile lit up his handsome face. “You do?”
“Yes, I really do.”
“And you can forgive me?”
“Yes, but it’s going to take some time.”
Gabe’s elated expression slowly faded. “It is?”
“Just because we said we’re sorry to each other doesn’t mean our trust in each other is magically repaired. It’s going to take a little time to build it back. To look beyond our mistakes.”
“You’re right, it will.” With a grin, he added, “I’ll do everything I can to speed the process along.”
“I hope so.”
Taking my face in his hands, Gabe said, “I love you so much, Rae Hart.”
“And I love you, Gabe Renard.”
He tilted his head in thought. “How long do you think it’ll be before we’ll be able to get things back working in the bedroom department?”
I laughed. “Why am I not surprised you brought that up?”
“Some things never change.”
“We do have the house to ourselves…”
While Gabe appeared to be momentarily lost in lascivious thoughts, he shook his head. “No. I believe we need a little romance first.”
“We do?”
“Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Then I think the two of us should have a night out on the town in Hayesville.”
“Which would be dinner at The Hitching Post and in bed by nine o’clock,” I replied with a smile.
“It sounds wonderful.” Gabe rose off the couch and then offered me his hand. “Are you in?”
“Yes, I’m in.”
As we started to the door, Gabe flashed me a wicked grin. “They don’t have any horse-drawn carriages around here, do they?”