One Night with her Bachelor(19)

Their mom looked up, and her face transformed with a huge smile. She tapped her toe against the machine, and it turned off. “Gabriel!”

“Hi, Mom.” He gave her a big hug. “What’s with the vacuuming?”

“It’s always dinnertime when you come over.”

He and Camila exchanged confused looks.

“You can’t see the dirt after dark. I wanted to make sure everything was nice and clean for you.”

“O-kay.” He was hardly a neat freak. If she’d ever come out to his cabin, she would know that.

“Anyway, sit down. Take a load off. Lunch’ll be ready in ten minutes.” She shouted over her shoulder as she put the vacuum away in the hall closet and then went into the kitchen. “Just a tuna casserole, I’m afraid. And a salad and pickled beets. And mashed potatoes. And broccoli. And apple pie for dessert. Or cherry pie, if you’d rather have that. I hope that’ll be enough. I have cold cuts if it isn’t.”

“It’s just us, Mom,” Camila shouted back. “Not Gabriel’s squadron.”

They ate and chatted, but halfway through the meal the doorbell rang. Ann stood. “Who on earth?”

She disappeared into the hall, and Gabriel heard her talking to a woman. He didn’t recognize the voice, but his mom’s voice suddenly turned excited, carrying through the living room and into the kitchen as she said, “What a coincidence! He’s right here.”

Dread pooled in Gabriel’s belly. Someone was looking for him? Never a good thing—except that one time, when Molly had sought him out. But look how that had turned out.

Determined to face the intruder bravely, he got up from the table and went to the door, where one of Marietta’s most whispered-about residents stood wearing a triumphant smile.

Whenever he’d come home on leave, he’d heard talk about Lily Taylor. They’d never actually met, but he’d caught sight of her a few times when he was in town with Scott, who couldn’t shut up about her. Even before Lily had moved to town, Scott had lain in his bunk in Afghanistan, reading a letter from Molly, and said, “I need to get back to Marietta. My sister’s friend is moving from Billings. Buddy, you wouldn’t believe this woman. Smokin’ hot doesn’t do her justice. She’s a ball-buster, and I’d happily give her mine to do anything she wanted.”

Yeah, she was pretty. Stacked and self-assured. But she’d never done anything for Gabriel. So why was she looking for him?

“Hi, Gabriel. We’ve never officially met, but I’m Lily Taylor.” She stuck out her hand, and he reached around his mom to shake it. He didn’t say anything.

“You’re a difficult man to track down.”

“Can’t see why. I’m almost always at my cabin.”

“Huh. Anyway, I heard a rumor you were in town today, so I thought I’d try my luck. I think you know my friend here.” She stepped to the side and his heart thudded violently when he laid eyes on the boy in the massive chair.

“Josh.” His voice was gruff, its strength stolen by his shock.

Josh grinned. “Hi, Gabriel.”

“How are you?”

“Freezing my nuts off.”

Gabriel bit back a smile. “Yeah, me too. Let’s get you inside.”

The house had two steps in front of the door, so Gabriel walked out and lifted Josh, chair and all. Shocked, the boy grabbed his armrests, but then his loud burst of laughter made a drift of snow fall from the roof. “So cool!”

They invited the guests into the living room, where he introduced Lily and Josh to Camila. His mom got Lily a cup of coffee and Josh a glass of orange juice while Gabriel tried to surreptitiously watch the boy. Other than the accident, when Josh had been gray and in shock, Gabriel hadn’t spent much time around Josh. He and Scott had taken him fishing a couple times and had sneaked him out to McDonald’s, where Josh had stuffed his face with four Big Macs. Gabriel knew him as a kid who never stopped moving. He laughed easily and, as Gabriel discovered that day at McDonald’s, had a stomach that couldn’t handle more than three Big Macs. But seconds after puking in the bushes, Josh had bounced back and asked if he could get some fries.

He was a rough-and-tumble kid whose life had hit Shitville hard a few months ago. But he still laughed easily. He still fidgeted, still glanced all around the room as if he didn’t want to miss a thing that was going on.

He’d been wounded, but he was still Josh.

Gabriel glanced away and caught Lily watching him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as she took a sip of coffee.

“Gabriel, you strike me as a man of action.”

He froze. Was she hitting on him?

“So let me cut to the chase. How would you like to make a little boy very happy?”

His brows rose. “That’s the chase? Sounds like the set-up to me.”

But her attention was on Josh. “I said, how would you like to make a little boy very happy?”

“Oh!” The natural smile fell from Josh’s lips and he slumped in the chair, giving Gabriel the most pathetic look ever.

“We’ll work on that,” Lily murmured. Then she focused on Gabriel again. “Well?”

“Am I buying him acting lessons?”

“No, but it’s not a bad idea. Look,” she said, setting her cup down on the coffee table, “Molly doesn’t know we’re here, and she will probably kill me for doing this, but I have to do something. I can’t just sit back and wait for her to ask for help because she never will. She’s too proud—stupidly proud sometimes. And this is one of those times.”