Chapter 5
‡
“Wow. This place is like a Thomas Kinkaid painting come to life,” Adriana commented as she turned a full circle on the walking bridge they’d stopped on to gaze at the river.
They were surrounded by a panoramic vista of absolutely breathtaking scenery. The Sierra Nevadas provided the backdrop to this small town while the rushing river below them completed the stunning setting. There were tall pine trees and colorful aspens that dotted the landscape and a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds. It truly was like standing in a real-life portrait.
Gabe inhaled the fresh, crisp mountain air. “I’ve wanted to live here since I was a kid. Every time we visited my aunt and uncle I would get so sad when we would leave. It’s always felt like home.”
“Do your aunt and uncle still live here?”
Gabe had always tried to keep his family out of the press, but this past hour that he and Adriana had been walking along the Riverside Rec area, he’d opened up to her about things he’d never shared with anyone. He’d talked about his treatment and the toll it had taken on him, about how he’d isolated himself, and about the numbness that he still felt.
After the brief, yet humiliating aberration of his Shakespeare impersonation, he’d managed to get things back on track, and they’d had a really nice time talking. In the back of his head he knew that she’d be writing all of it up for her blog, but for some reason, it didn’t bother him.
It didn’t feel like any interview he’d ever given. It felt as if Adriana was genuinely interested in getting to know him. The real him. Not the sensationalized hero firefighter or the cancer-beating MMA champion. When she looked at him, he felt as if she was seeing him. Gabe Maguire, the man. That’s it.
Because of that, he’d probably revealed a lot more than he should’ve, but right now he didn’t care about that. He didn’t care about anything but this moment and being with Adriana.
“Yeah, my family’s still here. My aunt and uncle and my cousins Eric, Nikki, Amy, and Jake.”
“Jake?” She repeated. “Did you say Jake?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“No reason.” Her lips pursed and the strangest expression flashed on her beautiful face.
He dropped it, even though he felt like there was something significant there. “They’re all married and live here with their families. Eric is the chief of police and Jake is the fire chief. I’ve been working with him. Amy is a school teacher, and Nikki runs a non-profit with her husband that offers computer programs that help at-risk kids across the nation get a better educational start.”
“Wow. They all sound amazing.” Her lips turned up in a wide smile and it was like the sun was shining through a cloudy day.
He had to actively stop himself from telling her that. Just like he’d had to bite his tongue when her hair brushed his arm and it reminded him of silk. Or when she’d laughed, and it sounded as heavenly as a choir of angels.
In all of his twenty-eight years, he’d never had a problem charming the opposite sex. But he’d never felt like this. His game had never been so corny or overly sentimental. It had also never been so sincerely earnest.
Her smile dropped, and she squinted past him. “Is that a dog walking down the middle of the street?”
Before he even turned around, he had a pretty good idea of what he’d see. When he did, his suspicion was confirmed. From the bridge they had a perfect view of a Great Dane waltzing down Main Street.
“That’s Scooby. He’s my cousin Amy’s dog.”
“We have to get him.” She rushed past him with alarm. “He’s gonna get hit by a car!”
“He’s fine. He’s going to get an ice cream cone.”
That had her stopping on a dime.
“What?” She glanced back over her shoulder. “Did you say ice cream?”
“He walks to Two Scoops, the ice cream parlor we passed with the striped awning, and they give him a scoop of vanilla ice cream.”
“Seriously?” Her eyes narrowed in disbelief.
He didn’t blame her; it was almost as ridiculous as those hokey compliments he’d spouted. “Yep. And sometimes he even brings her sister Nikki’s Chihuahua, Scrappy-Doo, with him.”
“Scooby and Scrappy-Doo? I love it!” she enthused with pure, unadulterated wonder and excitement but it was quickly clouded by worry. Her cheek hollowed as she bit the inside of her mouth nervously and looked back toward the street. “Are you sure he’s okay, though?”
He could tell her yes, but he figured he might as well show her. “Let’s go find out.”
“Okay, good.” She let out a sigh of relief.
As they walked the short distance back over the bridge and up across the recreation area that ran up and down the river, he felt the ice around his heart begin to melt. Being with Adriana was like waking up after sleepwalking through life.
When he’d finished his treatment, he’d gone into a fairly deep funk and his doctor had put him on antidepressants for about a year. They’d helped. He no longer had the lows that he’d had before. But he also didn’t have any of the highs. Once he got off of the medication, neither came back. It took him a little bit to realize it, but when he did, he figured that it was a permanent condition. He’d assumed that the medication, or the disease, or both had changed his body’s chemistry and he’d never be the same again.
He’d had small glimpses of happiness. When Aubrey was born. When Nunez agreed to the fight. When he won the fight. But those were such extremes. In his day-to-day life, he was just going through the motions. He maintained his drive and discipline, but there was no passion.
Being with Adriana had awakened all of that passion in him. Maybe even a little too much if his poetic recital was any indication.
“There he is!” She pointed down the street as soon as they stepped onto the wooden sidewalk.
Sure enough, Scooby was standing at the take-out window at Two Scoops. They were just in time to see a hand emerge with a small vanilla ice cream cone. It was gone in two bites.
Gabe looked down to see Adriana staring in shocked amazement. “I can’t believe…I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Scooby licked his lips and started back down the street. Gabe pressed his lips together and whistled to get the dog’s attention. When he did, the Great Dane happily trotted over to them.
“Hi, Scooby!” Adriana reached down and petted Scooby’s head. She scratched him behind his ears and asked, “Did you get an ice cream cone?”
The dog looked up at her like he was in love. If it were a cartoon, there’d be hearts flying around his head. Gabe was so entranced watching them that he didn’t notice his cousins approach them.
“Scooby!” Amy spoke his name in admonishment as Nikki chuckled beside her sister. “How did you get out this time? I swear he’s an escape artist.”
“I see you made a friend,” Nikki patted Scooby’s head but spoke directly to Gabe.
“Amy, Nikki, this is Adriana. Adriana these are my cousins.”
Adriana greeted his cousins but immediately turned her attention to the twins, lowering her voice as she bent down and admired the girls who were asleep in their double stroller. “And who are these beauties?”
Amy’s proud-momma smile reached across her face. “These are my nuggets, Peyton and Paige.”
“They are little dolls.” Adriana fawned over them before clutching her hand to her chest. “It makes me miss when my twins were this little.”
“You have twins?” Both Gabe and Nikki asked in shocked unison.
“Yep.” Adriana nodded as she stood back up. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as an almost mirror image of Amy’s proud-mama grin pulled at her lips. “Laney and Lexi. They’re going to be four next month. How old are Peyton and Paige?”
She has twins? He hadn’t even thought to ask her if she had kids. Or a boyfriend. Or a husband. But now that’s all he wanted to know.
“They’re going to be two next week,” Amy replied.
“It goes so fast,” Adriana said wistfully.
“It does,” Amy agreed as the girls started squirming in their seats at the same time Scooby flopped down on his belly and stretched his legs out in front of him. “I better get them home to finish their nap. It was nice meeting you.”
“You, too.” Adriana smiled as Amy pulled on Scooby’s collar so he would stand and they started down the sidewalk.
“Yeah, it was great to meet you.” Nikki shot Gabe a look that said she was going to be following up on this interaction later before she caught up to Amy who was already halfway down the block.
Adriana lifted her hand to wave as she said, “They seem really nice.”
“Yeah, they are.” Gabe had spent the last hour answering her questions. Now he hoped that she would answer his. Because he wanted to know everything he could about her. “So you have twins?”
*
Adriana’s palms dampened as nerves pinged in her body. Gabe was looking at her with a heightened level of focus that she felt all the way down to her toes. The look in his eyes heated her body from the inside out, and she was sure that she was flushing from the sensation.
“I do.” She swallowed, and inside her head, it sounded like a gulp. “I have twins.”
“Twins are a lot of work.” He nodded with an air of casual indifference that didn’t match the intensity in his stare. “I hope your husband, boyfriend, partner or whatever helps out.”
“It’s just me.” Adriana could tell that he was fishing for information. She knew that this was as good a time as any to bring up Jonah, but she still felt herself hesitating. In the back of her mind, she thought that if she did, he would see right through her. The jig would be up. That he’d know that she’d been lying to him because she suspected he was Jonah’s father. She knew that was ridiculous, though. “And I’m also the guardian of my cousin’s son. Jonah. He’s nine.”
“Your cousin’s son?”
“Yes.” Her brain was screaming that this was it, he was going to know what she was doing here. “She passed away six months ago.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.” He rocked back slightly on his heels. “I thought it was your sister.”
“You thought who was my sister?”
“I thought that Maxi said you write the blog in honor of your sister.”
Right. The blog. The reason he was letting her follow him around and ask questions.
Wait. That meant that the real “Rena” had lost her sister and was writing the blog in her honor? A sick feeling settled in Adriana’s stomach. She’d already felt guilty about lying, and now she felt like the worst person in the world.
She opened her mouth to come clean and tell him that she wasn’t the blogger. She was an impostor. She needed to tell him the real reason that she was here. This recon mission had taken a drastic turn and now felt like a runaway train that she desperately needed to jump off. But when she tried to speak nothing came out. She froze.
Was she in too deep?
If she told him now, would he even agree to the paternity test?
Would he think she was a liar and not believe anything she said now?
It didn’t matter. He needed to know the truth.
She sucked in a breath of courage even as a lump formed in her throat and started to speak when he looked down and cursed beneath his breath.
Had he figured out that she wasn’t who she was pretending to be?
“What’s wrong?” she asked timidly.
“I’m supposed to be somewhere.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was vibrating. “I’ve gotta get going.”
“Oh.” An odd mixture of relief and disappointment washed over her.
He had to go, which saved her from having the conversation she didn’t know how she was supposed to have. But he had to go, which meant their time together was over.
His phone started vibrating again. He answered it, “Hey, sorry, man. I’ll be right there.”
He hung up, and the energy between them shifted once more. “I have to take care of some paperwork at the station, but how about we meet up after?”
“After?” Uncertainty and hesitation settled in the pit of her stomach.
As much as she wanted to see him again, she was beginning to think the right thing to do would be just to tell him why she was here now. Before this charade went any further, she felt an urgency to set the record straight.
His face grew concerned. “You did say that you’re staying the weekend, right?”
“That’s the plan.”
She’d told him that she was too tired to drive home today, so she was going to make a weekend out of it and take a mini-vacation. That “too tired” part was true enough. She was exhausted. But the mini-vacay was a cover story in case he saw her around town. Which was highly likely since Hope Falls seemed about the size of a postage stamp.
“Great.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?”
She rattled it off as he typed it in his phone.
“I’ll text you when I’m free,” he promised with a smile that spread through her like a shot of whiskey before he headed across the street.
Adriana stood motionless, staring at Gabe’s retreating form. She was unable to look away. During the time they’d spent together Adriana had been so preoccupied with the secret that she was keeping, the ruse she was perpetrating, and being flat-out overwhelmed by his charisma, looks, and sheer presence that her mind hadn’t had a quiet moment. Now, it did as she let all of those things sink in while she enjoyed the view.
The white cotton of his T-shirt pulled taut against the span of his upper back. The thin material advertised the strength and tensile beauty of his exquisite musculature. Sex appeal oozed off of him. Not just because he was in peak physical condition, but also because of the confidence in his movements.
Adriana was just about to turn around and head back to Sue Ann’s when she saw two young women rush up to Gabe. She was too far away to hear what the conversation was but they obviously recognized him. During the “interview,” several people had excitedly approached him, and he’d been so kind and gracious. It was just another sexy thing about him.
Gabe rushed off after obliging them with several pictures and the second he rounded the corner, the girls collapsed against each other, one pretending to pass out and the other waving her hand wildly in front of her face. It was an entirely natural response to being in his presence.
In an article she’d read about him, he’d been described as the kind of guy men wanted to be, and women wanted to be with. She hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but now that she’d met him, she’d have to agree with the writer.
Seconds after he’d disappeared around the corner, she heard the ding of an incoming text. When she took out her phone, she had a text from a number she didn’t recognize. It read:
Roses are red. Violets are blue. I have to go now, but I hope I see you soon.
Your Poet That Didn’t Know It.
The smile that spread on her face was automatic and out of her control. Her facial muscles were acting of their own accord. A shudder of anticipation ran through her and she shook out her arms in an attempt to reset her senses. She needed to stop focusing on Gabe as a man and only focus on Gabe as Jonah’s possible father. He wasn’t making it easy. He was the kind of distraction that would make a nun blush—but that was no excuse.
With a renewed resolve, she headed back to Sue Ann’s Café. Two of her four objectives had been accomplished. Now she just needed to find a place to stay and get Gabe to agree to take the paternity test.
Yes, she’d gone out of order, crossing off number two, which was to find Gabe, and number three, establish that he is a good guy. She’d managed to meet Gabe, and been able to assess that he was decent. Obviously, she wasn’t at the point where she could be a character witness in a trial, but she did feel confident that she wouldn’t be inviting a wolf in sheep’s clothing into her flock.
He’d been through so much these past few years, and he’d never given up on his dreams and his future. A lot of people in his situation might’ve given up on fighting, but he hadn’t. He’d told her that the idea of getting back to the sport had kept him going. He’d also talked about withdrawing from his family, his friends, and his coaches during his treatment, explaining that it was the only way he knew how to get through it.
Gabe had been so open and honest, and the entire time she’d been lying through her teeth.
It’s for a good cause, she reminded herself. If it turns out that Gabe was Jonah’s father, surely he’d have to see why she’d done what she had. He’d given Emily his cousin’s name and she was sure he had his reasons for doing that. Hopefully, he’d understand hers.
If it turned out Gabe wasn’t Jonah’s father, it wouldn’t be an issue. He’d never have to see her again.
That thought made her stomach drop like the time Em had forced her to go on the Drop Zone, a 200–foot-tall, vertical thrill ride that slowly pulls you to the top before plummeting you back to the ground.
In an attempt to ignore her body’s response, she concentrated on her external senses. Sounds, sights, and smells.
The wooden boards below her feet creaked as she made her way along Main Street and for the first time since she’d arrived, she took in the downtown area. She passed Two Scoops, the fifties-style ice cream parlor that had given Scooby his treat. Beside it was Read Between the Lines, a used bookstore that pre-twins Adriana could’ve lost herself for hours in, and a yoga studio named Just Breathe. All of the charming shops were surrounded by the beautiful mountain vistas, blue skies, and green pine trees. And the air was the freshest that she’d ever inhaled.
Hope Falls held a nostalgia that was pure enchantment.
Adriana felt like she’d been transported into one of the fairytale books she read to the twins. It was as if she was Mary Poppins jumping into the sidewalk painting. She felt inspired in a way that she hadn’t for the past year.
Since starting her business, Love by Design, she’d come out with a spring and fall line each year. This past year she hadn’t had a new spring collection. Things had been too crazy with Emily’s diagnosis, care, and untimely death. Now the clock was ticking on a fall launch deadline.
She’d tried to put one together, but her creativity felt like it had been extinguished and no matter what she did or tried there had just been no way to reignite it. Now, everywhere she looked she found inspiration.
As soon as she was able to cross number one on her to-do list off and she had her accommodations secured, she planned on pulling out a pad and paper and sketching all of the images that were populating her mind’s eye.
When the short walk back to the café came to an end, Adriana was filled with something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Hope. For her business and for getting her life back on track. She could see a small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that she’d been starting to believe would be darkened for the rest of her life.
She stepped into the cozy restaurant and before the door even closed behind her, she was greeted by a grandmotherly woman who was dressed in a long, flowy skirt and cardigan.
“Well, hello there. I’m so glad you came back. I was headed over to your table when you skedaddled with Gabe.”
Skedaddled? Adriana hadn’t heard that word in…ever. It was just as charming as the town.
The woman continued, “I’m Sue Ann Perkins. Welcome.”
“Oh, Sue Ann, great!” Adriana was beginning to think that this town or at least this café was actually magical. Every time she walked through the door she found exactly the person she was looking for. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Adriana. I’m going to be staying in Hope Falls for a couple of days, and I was told you might have an apartment or room that I could rent.”
Sue Ann clapped her hands. “Well, you are in luck, young lady. I just got a cancellation. It was the woman that was coming up here to interview Gabe. Some sort of car trouble or something, so she couldn’t make it.”
“Oh,” Adriana felt some of her guilt evaporate.
Yes, she’d still lied to Gabe, but at least the real blogger hadn’t shown up, so it wasn’t as if she’d hijacked her interview.
“I can show you the room now if you’d like.” Sue Ann offered.
“Great!”
Adriana followed her through the back hallway and up the stairs to the one-bedroom apartment above the café. After chatting with Sue Ann and filling out the check-in paperwork, Adriana ran down to her car and grabbed her overnight bag and computer. On the way back up the stairs, she was overtaken by a wave of exhaustion. The gravitational pull of it caused her feet to feel as if she was wearing sandbags as shoes as she walked up the final few steps.
Since the twins were born, her body had gotten used to functioning on little or no sleep. On a regular basis, she’d go days, sometimes weeks, with only a few hours of sleep per night. Then, inevitably, she’d hit a wall. All of her energy would be depleted, and she’d crash. That’s where she found herself now.
She went inside and dropped her bags on the floor. She eyed the entrance to the short hallway that led to the bedroom but decided the extra steps that were needed to make it there was just asking too much. So instead, she walked the three steps to the couch, collapsed onto it, and closed her eyes.
Must get a sample of Gabe’s DNA, was the last thought that drifted through her mind before it was lights out.