Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (24 page)

“You
didn’t tell her did you?” Gabe asked softly.

“No, I
couldn’t bring myself to do it.” She sighed.
“I hated
to see the look on her face if I told her. She’s not going to take it well at
all, Gabe. She loved Brody with all her heart. In fact, she still loves him.”

Gabe
nodded in silent agreement. “Yeah, I heard her. I don’t envy Sam telling her.”

“Poor S
am, she’s always blamed him for Brody going into the
Marshals Service.”

“It
wasn’t Sam’s fault. Madilyn knows that,” Gabe said.

“She
admitted that, but only after Brody left. She honestly thought Brody wouldn’t
leave her.” She gazed at Gabe and thought abo
ut him
leaving her. No one ever thinks it will happen to her until it does. “No one
thought he would, but it about killed her. You didn’t see her after he left. I
was so afraid she was going to do something stupid. It was that bad. I was with
her every day
and night for two weeks before she
finally stopped crying.”

“I
remember not seeing her for a while and being worried about her. Jake, Wyatt,
and I went over to her apartment one day to check on her and she seemed fine. A
little distant with us, but other
than that she
seemed on the mend.”

“I feel
so bad for her loving him like she does and not having him.”

“Did I
hear her say she was dating Johnson?” At Emma’s nod, he went on. “What the fuck
is she thinking?”

Emma
laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know.
If Brody
does come back, I can see trouble brewing.”

“Hell yeah!
Brody will kill him.”

She
stood. “I need to put Sophie to bed and I think I’ll take a nap too. I’m
tired.”

Gabe
gently kissed her and caressed Sophie’s head. “All right, darlin’. I’m going b
ack to the barn. I have a client coming in fifteen minutes,
but I’ll see you later.”

* * * *

A week
later, Gabe walked past the living room to head upstairs to grab a shower when
he halted in midstride. Emma was standing on a chair while a woman on her knees
stuck pins in the gown his wife was wearing.
Becca
sat nearby on the sofa holding Sophie.
When Emma glanced in his direction, she smiled with delight
and then frowned. “Gabe? Are you all right?” she asked.

He
swallowed hard, and nodded. He couldn’t drag his eyes from the vision before
him. “What are you doing?”

Emma
grinned as if proud of
herself. “My bridesmaid gown
needs to be taken in. Isn’t it pretty?”

He
nodded. Pretty? It was fucking beautiful. The blue matched Emma’s eyes
perfectly and made her skin glow. She had told him
Becca
had chosen her attendants gowns to match their eyes. He
knew Olivia’s gown was amethyst. They were all the same
design with skinny spaghetti straps, a tight bodice, and a flowing skirt, but
he hadn’t expected Emma to look so amazing in hers. He shook his head trying to
push the sudden sinful thoughts away, thou
ghts, which
filled his head and his jeans. He turned toward the stairs. “I need a shower,”
he muttered.
“A cold one.”
He heard the women laugh. Not
funny, he thought.

Chapter Thirteen

Everyone
was meeting at the church for rehearsal Friday evening. I
nside the church, everyone was laughing and having a good
time. At one point, Jake threw
Becca
over his shoulder and announced,
“The hell with this, we’re going to Vegas.” Of course,
Becca
argued against it, even though Gabe was sure Jake was
kidding. Afte
rwards, they all went over to Gabe and
Emma’s for the dinner Emma had meticulously prepared. As the party began to
wind down, he came up behind his beautiful wife, wrapped his arms around her,
and kissed her temple.

“I know
he’s out there somewhere,” Emma
whispered leaning
back against his chest.

“Sam
will find him. Don’t worry,” he said with stern conviction.

Emma
sighed. “I’m sure he will, but I can’t help but worry.”

“You two
need to get a room,” Gabe said over his shoulder with a chuckle when he noticed
Jake passionately kissing
Becca
in the hallway.

Jake
laughed. “We have a room, at home.”

“I’m
staying with Olivia tonight, remember?”
Becca
teased, and then laughed when Jake swore under his breath.
Everyone laughed.

When
Wyatt grabbed his hat and coat to
head out, Gabe
stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Be careful,” he told his younger brother.
Wyatt nodded his understanding and headed out into the night.

“He’s
always going to be a Marine, Gabe,” Jake reminded him.

“He was
a Marine?” Olivia asked with c
uriosity.

“He is a
Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine. He was a sniper and the best in his
outfit.” Jake glanced at
Becca
and sighed. “It’s a good thing
he was.” he said with a smile.

“Why is
that?” Emma asked.

“You
didn’t tell them?” Jake asked
Becca
.

“No.”
Becca
looked at Emma, and then Olivia.
“Wyatt is the one who killed Steve as I was running away from him.” She shook
her head as if wishing she could forget that event. “I thought Steve was
shooting at me, but it was actually Wyatt shooting Steve. I
don’t know how he did it. He had to shoot past me to hit
Steve,”
Becca
told them with an expression of
astonishment.

“I can’t
believe you didn’t tell us,” Olivia exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips in
annoyance.

“I was
too busy worrying about Jake, a
nd then taking care of
him.”
Becca
shrugged. “Eventually, it
slipped my mind, I guess.” She suddenly moved toward the back door.

“Where
are you going?” Emma asked her.

Becca
smiled. “I never thanked him.” She disappeared out the
door with Jake following cl
ose behind her.

* * * *

The day
of
Becca’s
wedding dawned with the sun
shining brightly down on the town of Clifton. The women were meeting at Gabe
and Emma’s home. Stan Watson, the foreman on
Becca’s
property, was walking her down the aisle and
giving h
er away. Since her parents died six years ago
in an auto accident, the only family she had, before meeting Jake, was her best
friend Olivia. Now, she had Emma and Jake’s families, as well as the ranch
hands at the B and B to call family too. They had all g
rown close since
Becca
had moved to Clifton.

Olivia
and Emma helped
Becca
into her gown, and a beautiful
gown it was with a tight bodice covered in lace and tiny pearls. The long
sleeves were lace, a silk ribbon of green wrapped around her waist, and the
skirt was full with a long train behind it. The back of the bodice was
ope
n,
clasping at the neck so the
shape was like a heart.

“You
look so gorgeous. Do you want something to drink?” Emma asked her.
Becca
shook her head.

“Did you
sleep well?” Olivia asked her.
Becca
shook her head again.

“Are you
nervous?” Emma asked
,
trying n
ot to laugh as
Becca
shook her head yet again.

Olivia
took her friend’s chin in her hand and forced
Becca
to look at her. “Are you just going to keep nodding and
shaking your head?”

Becca
started to nod, and then stopped. “I’m getting married
today,” she s
aid, her voice filled with awe.

Emma
laughed. “Yes, we know. We’re in the wedding, remember?”

“I’m not
really nervous. I love that man more than I thought possible, but…I’m getting
married today,”
Becca
repeated making Olivia and Emma
laugh.

“Come
on, let’
s get downstairs,” Emma told her, sliding her
arm through
Becca’s
and steering her toward the
door. The women carefully descended the stairs, and went into the kitchen to
wait for Stan. The back door opened and Gabe walked in, looking gorgeous and
sexy in
a black western-cut suit. The jacket hung
open showing a black silk vest covering a white shirt with a bolo tie. On his
feet were shiny black cowboy boots, and a black felt Stetson sat handsomely and
oh so, very sexy on his head.

Emma
strolled over to him
and kissed him quickly on his
lips. He reached for her but she stepped back, and shook her finger at him.
“That’s all you get, you’ll mess up my makeup.”

She
watched with appreciation as Gabe allowed his gaze to roam leisurely over her.
When his eyes met h
ers, he grinned. “You look
beautiful, darlin’.”

She
blushed and smiled up at him. “You look very handsome too, Gabriel Stone.”

Gabe
chuckled and glanced toward
Becca
. “How are you doing,
Becca
?”

“I’m
fine. Is Jake all right?”
Becca
asked fidgeting with her
skirt.

“He’s
fine and ready to marry the woman he loves,” Gabe told her with a big smile.

“How
does it feel having three women in your kitchen so early in the day?” Olivia
teased.

Gabe
laughed. “Three beautiful women,” he said as if correcting her. “One i
s my wife, one is my future sister in-law, and then there’s
you.” He pointed at Olivia. “I haven’t figured you out yet.”

Olivia
laughed. “You never will.”

Emma
gazed up into his gorgeous face. “You need to get going so you can get Jake to
the church on time.” He nodded, gave her a quick kiss, and then she watched as
he walked over to
Becca
, and stopped in front of her. He
took her hands in his.

“You
look abs
olutely amazing. Jake won’t be able to
breathe.” He leaned down and in a voice too loud to be a whisper said, “It’s
not too late to back out.” The women gasped and Gabe laughed. “I’m kidding.”

Becca
grinned. “There is no way I’m letting my cowboy get away.
I love him way too much.”

Gabe
kissed her cheek. “Good. Just keep that beautiful smile on your face.” After
kissing Emma quickly once more, he headed out the door.

She
looked to
Becca
. “Are you ready?”

Becca
nodded just as Stan walked in the back door. He
looked so handsome in his black suit. He walked over to
Becca
and took her hands in his.
“Hattie would be thrilled to death that you’re marrying Jake. She loved you
both so much.”

Emma saw
tears well up in
Becca’s
eyes and quickly handed her a
tissue. “Do
n’t ruin your makeup.”