Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (28 page)

Emma
quickly packed her clothes, and then Sophie’s. She returned to the bedroom
where she’d made love with Gabe so many times, all the while hoping he’d fall
in love with her. She glanced around for anything else she needed to ta
ke. She opened the drawer in the table by the bed. When she
came across Gabe’s note, the one he’d written after their first full night
together, she fell apart. Sobs shook her body so hard she thought she’d never
breathe right again. Lying down on the bed,
she cried
until she couldn’t cry anymore.

Why had
she ever thought this sham of a marriage could ever work out? Why? True, they
had a daughter together and his love for Sophie was enormous, but he had no
love for her mother. She chastised herself over and
over again for being a fool.

After a
few minutes more of self-pity, she pulled herself together enough to finish
packing. Once done, she called Olivia and told her she needed to leave Gabe.
Olivia told her to come to the B and B and use her old apartment.
As Emma loaded her car, she prayed Gabe wouldn’t come back
before she had a chance to leave. He didn’t.

When she
pulled up to the back door of the B and B, Olivia met her and helped her carry
her things. Emma walked into her old apartment and placed Sophi
e in the little bassinet she’d brought with her. She sat on
her bed and cried. Olivia hugged her and let her weep. She reached for more
tissues, and then told Olivia what had happened. Olivia didn’t say anything but
simply listened as any good friend would
do.

“I heard
him telling Wyatt it was hard being in a relationship that’s only one sided.”
She gazed up at Olivia with tears clinging on her lashes. “He must know I love
him and since he doesn’t love me back, it’s difficult for him, Liv.” She shook
her he
ad. “I don’t know what to do.”

“If you
have to come back here to live Emma, you know you can. I’ll help you with
Sophie.” Olivia rubbed her back. “Damn men, anyway, especially those Stone men.
Well two of them, that is,
Becca
must have gotten the only good
one.”

Emma
nodded her agreement. “I think I’ll lie down while Sophie’s still sleeping. I’m
so exhausted, and I just woke up a little while ago.”

“Crying
will do that to you. You sleep all you want. I can feed Sophie if you need me
to. I’ll check in on you
both later.” Olivia kissed
her cheek and left her to sob into her pillow until sleep captured her.

* * * *

Gabe pulled his truck
up alongside the barn and yelled for the hands to come out to help him unload
the feed. He was hungry and tired, but he alwa
ys
helped with the unloading. After he finished, he pulled the truck up to the
back porch, parked, and climbed out with a long stretch. When he entered the
kitchen, the empty room surprised him. He’d expected to find Emma busy with
making dinner. It was so
mething he’d grown accustomed
to every evening.

He’d spent most of the
day in town taking care of things, and expected Emma to be cooking dinner when
he returned. It was possible they had plans he’d forgotten about but even as he
wondered where she was, he
was too tired and in need
of a shower to look right now. He entered the mudroom and stripped out of his
dirty clothes.

The house seemed
unusually quiet. He glanced out the back door to where Emma usually parked her
car. It was gone. Maybe she’d taken the
baby to visit
Becca
or Olivia. Gabe glanced to the kitchen
table to see if she’d left a note, but there wasn’t one. It wasn’t like her to
do such a thing, he thought, shaking his head as he headed upstairs.

When he entered their
bedroom, Gabe immediately n
oticed the closet door
open. Suddenly, an alarming sensation rushed over him as he looked to the
closet. He had a bad feeling as he moved slowly toward it and pulled the door
open. Her clothes were gone. His heart nearly stopped when he ran to Sophie’s roo
m and saw her clothes were gone too. What was going on?
Where were his wife and daughter?

Taking a shower in
record time, he quickly dressed, and then ran outside to his truck. Why would
Emma leave him? He thought they had a good marriage and got along gre
at, in and out of bed. They had a daughter together. She
doesn’t love you! The thought echoed through his head.

He hit the steering
wheel with his fist as he steered the truck out onto the main road. He had to
get her back. There was no way he could live w
ithout
her or Sophie. If someone had told him a year ago he was going to fall madly in
love and be happy as a father, he would’ve laughed in their face. Gabe knew of
only two places she would have gone, the B and B or her parents. Neither was a
place he wa
s looking forward to going to for answers.
He’d rather deal with a bear than deal with Olivia, and Emma’s parents would
never let him see her if she didn’t want to see him. He might be able to get
past Olivia…if he groveled enough.

Gabe pulled up to the
ba
ck entrance to the B and B. Olivia stepped out onto
the porch with her arms folded across her chest. Shit! Emma must be here.
Olivia glared at him as he slowly got out of the truck. This wasn’t going to be
easy, but he wanted his wife and daughter back. “W
here
is she, Liv?” he asked her, but Olivia didn’t budge. He put his hands on his
hips. “I asked you a question.”

Olivia continued to
stare him down. She wasn’t easily intimidated. It was time to start groveling.
Gabe walked over to the steps and gazed up
at her.
“Please, Liv. I need to talk to her.”

Olivia sighed and
dropped her arms to her sides. “Right now, she’s sleeping. She wore herself out
with all the crying she did.” Her voice held a hint of anger, but also perhaps
a touch of compassion. Would she
help him?

Her words surprised
him. “Why is she crying?”

Olivia walked down a
step. “Because she heard you on the phone this morning with Wyatt, telling him
about how hard it was being in a one sided relationship.”

Gabe glanced at his
feet and kicked at the
gravel with the toe of his
boot. “I see. So she left because she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings.”

“What? Hurt your
feelings? What are you talking about?” Olivia looked at him as if he’d suddenly
gone crazy.

He shook his head. “It
doesn’t matter. I thoug
ht eventually she would come
to love me. We’re good together, I thought anyway, but you can’t make someone
love you.” Feeling dejected, he turned to head back to his truck.

Olivia ran down the
steps and grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute. You love her?”

“Yes,
more than life,” Gabe whispered even as his heart felt
like it was being torn from his chest.

“Did you tell her
that?” Olivia stood in front of him, blocking his path.

“No. I kept meaning
to, but I-I didn’t want to hear her say she didn’t love me,” he mut
tered.

“How can two people be
so fucking blind? I knew you were in love with her by the way you look at her,
and I know she loves you because she told me,” Olivia shouted at him. “How
could you not know?”

Gabe’s head jerked up.
“She loves me?”

She nodded.
“She’s been in love with you for years, Gabe.”

He glanced toward the
old house and then back at Olivia. Gabe set her aside and took the steps to the
door two at a time. When he reached the door, he turned to look back at her.
“I’m going to see her now, Liv
, whether you like it
or not.” She didn’t say anything. She simply stood leaning against his truck
with her arms folded across her chest.

“Does it look like I’m
going to stop you?” Olivia said with a big grin. He smiled, opened the door,
and went inside.

* * * *

Emma lay on her side
facing away from the door. She heard it open and assumed it was Olivia coming
to check on her and Sophie. She felt the bed dip. “I’m okay, Liv. So is Sophie.
We’ll be up in a little while.” When she didn’t feel Olivia leave th
e bed, Emma rolled over. She gasped when she saw Gabe
sitting there. She climbed off the bed on the other side.

“What are you doing
here?” she asked in a quiet yet stern voice to keep from waking Sophie. She
folded her arms across her chest and glared at h
im.

Gabe lay back on the
bed, making himself more than comfortable. He clasped his hands behind his
head. “Don’t you think it’s time you came home, darlin’?”

She turned away from
him and fought the onslaught of new tears. “No. Leave, Gabe.”

“I will, but on
ly when you and Sophie go with me.”

“I’m not going home
with you.” She felt tears clouding her vision, but she refused to cry in front
of him.

“Why is that?”

“Because…” She bit her
bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

“Because why, Emma?”

“It doesn’t matt
er. You need to leave.” She wiped her eyes and turned to
face him.

“I told you, I’ll go
when you and Sophie go with me.” Gabe flashed a smile at her. She put her hands
on her hips and glared down at him. How could he smile at a time like this?
Their marria
ge was over. There was nothing to smile
about now, or ever again.

“And I told you, I’m
not going with you.” She stomped her foot and turned away from him again
because tears threatened once more.

“I’d like to know why,
darlin’.” His voice was like a soothi
ng hand along
her spine but as much as she wanted him, she had to be strong. She had to make
the break.

“As I said, it doesn’t
matter. Go away and leave us alone.” She bit her lip harder to stop it from
trembling.

“I can’t do that,
Emma. I won’t leave here
without you and Sophie.” His
voice was a low sultry whisper and it pained her to hear him plead.

She spun away from him
and toward the door. “I-I can’t go home with you.” Her voice cracked, her
resolve was beginning to crumble.

“Why
not?
I deserve to know
why you took my daughter and left
me. No note.
Nothing.
I have a right to know, Emma.”

She spun around to
glare at him, her hurt turning to anger. “You really want to know?” He nodded.
“Because it’s a little hard being in a relationship that’s one sided.”
She choked back a sob on the last word.

“Is it one sided,
Emma?”

She couldn’t believe
how infuriating he was. She folded her arms over her chest. “Yes it is, and you
know it,” she hissed in anger, wanting to shout but Sophie was asleep just feet
away. She
watched him rub the whiskers on his chin.
Why must he always be so sexy?

“Really?
On whose side is it one sided?” Gabe
stared up at her.

She stomped her foot
again, this time in frustration rather than anger. “Why are you being such a
jerk?”

Gabe’s eyes w
idened.
“A
jerk?
I’m being a jerk?” He rose up on his elbows.

She stalked over to
him and slapped at one of his arms, making him roll away slightly. “You know
you are.”

“No, I don’t know it.
On whose side is it one sided, Emma?” Gabe asked her again.

“You
want to know on whose side it’s one sided?” He nodded. She
took a deep breath. “Mine. Okay. It’s mine. It’s one sided on my side. Are you
happy now?” Emma shouted then quickly quieted, looking to see if she’d
disturbed the baby.

Gabe lay back down,
claspin
g his hands behind his head again and grinned
up at her. “I’m ecstatic.”

She frowned at him,
confused by his words. “What? What do you mean?”

Gabe swung his legs
over the side of the bed and pulled her between his thighs. “I’m ecstatic
because it’s one sid
ed on my side too.”