Angel's Rest(112)

“Larry said Gabe wanted to talk to you first. He didn’t want to change the boxer’s name if it would be a problem for the dog.”

Nic took another long look at the elaborate doghouse and shook her head. “Clarence?”

She heard the familiar whistle as Gabe came around the back corner of her house. He wore faded jeans and a paint-stained blue chambray work shirt that had two artist’s brushes sticking up from the pocket. Seeing the women, he stopped abruptly. His gaze moved hungrily over Nic. “You look beautiful, Nic. Welcome home.”

She was tired and uncomfortable and cranky. Overwhelmed. She wasn’t prepared to deal with Gabe right now. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“I was finishing up a project inside. I thought you were coming home tomorrow, not today. I’m so glad—” He paused when Tiger came running up, then stopped beside Nic and barked at Gabe. His lips twisted in a sad smile and he finished, “It’s good to see you, Nic.”

She felt bad for him. She couldn’t help it. She knew that coming back to Eternity Springs meant she had to deal with him, to allow him a place of some sort in her life. She knew that coming home was a tacit agreement to allow him to be part of the babies’ births. And yet she didn’t have the energy to tackle the problem of Gabe Callahan right now. She wanted to go inside, take a bath in her own bathtub, and have a nap in her own bed.

“Gabe, I’m tired. Give me a little time, and then we’ll talk. Okay?”

“Sure.”

He nodded to Sarah and Sage, then walked away. Nic told herself that her urge to cry was a result of fatigue, even though she didn’t really believe it.

Walking into her house cheered her. Someone had cleaned and dusted the place—she smelled lemon on the air. Celeste or Ali, perhaps? Or had that been the project Gabe mentioned? Somehow she couldn’t see him wielding a feather duster.

Sage and Sarah carried her bags inside for her, then prepared to leave. “See you at Angel’s Rest tomorrow?” Sage asked.

“Absolutely. I still can’t believe Celeste delayed the grand opening a week to give me a chance to be there.”

“If you’re not busy doing something else, that is,” Sarah said, giving her belly a pat.

“Thanks for all the help, you guys. I love you both.”

“Glad to do it.” Sarah headed for the door. “Love you, too, little mama.”

Feeling anything but little, Nic stuck out her tongue at her best friend in the world.

Sage laughed and said, “Call me if you have any questions or concerns and I’ll be here in a jiffy. Otherwise, see you tomorrow.”

Alone, Nic climbed the stairs to her bedroom, where she found the furniture rearranged to accommodate the two cradles, now trimmed with yellow gingham bedding that matched the window curtains in her room. “Oh,” she murmured. “It’s perfect. They’re perfect.”

That made her want to play with her shower gifts. Walking to the guest room she expected to use as a nursery, she found it as she’d left it and empty of presents. Thinking he must have put her shower gifts in the room he’d used before they began sharing a bed, she looked there next. But no, nothing there, either.

“Where’s my stuff?” she grumbled aloud, feeling put out. “What did he—”

She broke off abruptly. Gabe. Paintbrushes in his pocket. Finishing up a project inside. In that moment, she knew where she’d find her gifts.

Nic walked to the end of the hallway and opened the door that led to the unfinished attic. She flipped on the light switch and gasped aloud. The attic wasn’t merely finished. It had been transformed.

He’d chosen a mountain wildlife theme for the nursery that suited the space to a T, and he’d included two sets of everything—two cribs, two dressers, two changing tables, and even two full-size rocking chairs. Both rockers sported cushions that had been embroidered with two words: Mama Bear on one, Papa Bear on the other.

“Oh, Gabe,” she said with a sigh. She sat in the Mama Bear rocker, rubbed her belly, and that’s when she saw the mural on the wall. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, two Baby Bears, and a crooked-tailed boxer sprawled at their feet. Papa Bear held a T-square. Mama Bear had a stethoscope draped around her neck. In the sky to the right, a happy-faced sun shined down upon them. In the sky to the left, two silhouettes with angel wings sat perched at the apex of a rainbow.


Gabe walked as far as St. Stephen’s church before turning around. Although he was determined to be patient and give Nic the time she needed to trust him again, he was up against a deadline that in the past few weeks had become vitally important to him. He desperately wanted to witness the birth of his children.