Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars, #4)(114)

Rachel would rather have hidden in the bathroom than face such a biased jury, but she shrugged. “I haven’t run from a fight yet, lover.”

Ethan and Cal both stiffened. She gave herself a mental pat on the back. They were too easy.

Gabe regarded her with mild exasperation, then turned to his brothers. “All right. Here’s the way it’s going to be . . .”

Ethan cut him off. “Before you get started, you need to know how concerned Cal and I have been about the effect your relationship with Rachel’s had on you.” He paused. “Although Cal did go a little far last night.”

“Yeah? Well, you weren’t around to hold a prayer service!” Cal retorted.

Gabe exploded. “I’m not ten years old, for God’s sake! And I damn well want to be able to fall asleep at night without worrying that one of you is going to have Rachel strung up while I’m not watching!” He shot his index finger at them. “She hasn’t done one thing to either of you, but you’ve both treated her like dirt, and by damn, it’s going to stop right now!”

Jane had returned to the kitchen. She patted Gabe’s arm as she passed him, then went to stand beside her husband and stroke him.

Cal’s jaw jutted. “This isn’t about what she’s done to us, and you know it. You’re the one we’re worried about!”

“Well, stop worrying!” Gabe shouted.

Rosie froze and blinked her eyes. Gabe drew a deep breath and dropped his voice. “Rachel’s right. You’re both like a couple of mother hens, and I can’t stand it any longer.”

Ethan said, “Look, Gabe . . . I have some experience here. I’ve done a lot of grief counseling, and you have to understand—”

“No! You’re the one who has to understand. If either of you—either one of you ever hurts Rachel again—you’re going to regret it. If you so much as frown at her, you’ll have to deal with me. Do both of you understand?”

Cal shoved his hands in his pockets and looked uncomfortable. “I wasn’t going to tell you this, but I don’t seem to have a choice. You’re not going to like hearing it, but you’re blind where she’s concerned, and you need to know the truth.” He drew a breath. “I offered Rachel twenty-five thousand dollars to leave town, and she took it.”

Jane sighed. “Oh, Cal . . .”

Gabe turned to Rachel and studied her silently for several seconds. Finally, he lifted one inquisitive eyebrow.

She shrugged, then nodded.

He gave her a faint smile. “Good for you.”

This time Cal was the one who exploded. “What do you mean, good for her! She let herself be bought!”


At the angry sound of her father’s voice, Rosie’s face puckered. Cal gathered her up and kissed her, all the time looking like a summer storm cloud.

Gabe was accustomed to his older brother’s blustering, and it didn’t bother him a bit. “Rachel survives any way she can. It’s a quality I’m just starting to learn from her.”

Cal hadn’t gotten the response he wanted, and, with Rosie tucked into the crook of his arm like a Super Bowl game ball, he gathered his forces for another attack. “How can you forget what she did at the drive-in?”

That sparked Gabe’s temper all over again. “Tell me something, big brother. What would you do if you came home one night and found out I’d had Jane thrown into jail?”

Jane regarded him with interest while Cal’s face reddened with outrage. “It’s not the same thing at all. Jane’s my wife!”

“Yeah, well, last week I asked Rachel to marry me.”

“You did what?”

“You heard me.”

Ethan and Cal stared at her. Earlier at the drive-in, she’d told Cal exactly this, but he hadn’t believed her.

Rosie poked her tiny index finger in her father’s mouth. Cal studied his brother and slowly withdrew her hand. “You’re going to marry her?”

For the first time, Gabe seemed to lose some steam. “I don’t know. She’s still thinking about it.”

This time when Cal confronted her, he seemed more confused than angry. “If he asked you to marry him, why did you trash the drive-in?”

She started to tell him she hadn’t done it, but Gabe spoke first.

“Because Rachel’s heart is bigger than her brain.” He curled his hand around the back of her neck and rubbed the nape with his thumb. “She knew the drive-in wasn’t good for me, but I wouldn’t listen to her. Rachel is . . . She’s pretty much a street fighter when it comes to people she cares about, and this was her own peculiar form of warfare.”

For a moment she thought Gabe had decided to tell his third lie of the day, and then she realized he wasn’t lying. He honestly thought she’d done it. The weasel! But just as she worked up a little righteous indignation, the gentle understanding she saw in his eyes took it right out of her. Even believing this, he was still on her side.

“Gabe! Gabe!” Edward squealed from the next room. “Gabe, you gotta see this!”

He hesitated, and she fully expected him to tell Edward to wait, but he surprised her. Spearing his brothers with another intimidating glare, he said, “Don’t either of you go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” He turned to Jane. “Guard her from them, will you?”