Gabe (Steele Brothers #6) (18 page)

***

Gabe

Few people made me nervous, and I wouldn’t count Kendra’s parents among those people who did, but that didn’t mean their opinion of me wasn’t important. It was. Especially since I hoped to be a part of their daughter’s life for a
very
long time.

“So, you went with Kendra to the training seminar?” Sara asked, leading me into the kitchen.

“Not exactly. I kind of surprised her.”

“I see.” She pointed to the kitchen table, inviting me to sit down while she set out a pitcher of lemonade and took some glasses from the cupboard, placing them on a colorful plastic tray.

“I’m sure you have some questions about us.”

“I do.” She nodded as she placed a glass in front of me along with some pinwheel pastries that appeared to be jam-filled. “Especially since she seemed pretty upset when she dropped Char off with us. Her dad and I were both worried about her, but we didn’t want to pry. We learned a long time ago that when Kendra’s ready to talk, she will. Until then, we try to respect her privacy.”

Though I’d been young when our mother died, I remembered she had the same philosophy. She always gave us just enough rope and prayed we didn’t hang ourselves. “I’m sure she appreciates that.”

“But we love her so much and we do worry.” Her expression was grave when she sat down next to me. “It’s been a rough couple of years for her and that precious little girl of hers and I’d hate for her to have to go through anymore heartache.”

“And you’re worried that’s what I’m setting her up for?” I asked, appreciating her honesty. “More heartache?”

“Gabe, please don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, tracing patterns on the embroidered placemat before meeting my eyes. “I think you’re a very nice young man. My husband and I both do, in fact…”

“But?” When she didn’t respond, I said, “You’re worried that Kendra may not be ready for another serious relationship?” I couldn’t blame them, since she wasn’t even divorced yet. Had one of my brothers been in her position I would have cautioned them to proceed slowly too.

“I think she has a long and messy road ahead of her with Jason. I know that man. He didn’t appreciate his family when he had them, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to let them go without a fight.”

“I know Jason too,” I said, taking a sip of my lemonade. “Though I’m sure you know a side of him that I may not.”

“I just think that having you in the picture may complicate things for my daughter.” She sighed. “It pains me to say this because I know how much she cares about you, but I’m just looking out for her best interests.”

“I can appreciate that.” Since I’d had the same concerns, I couldn’t blame her for voicing hers. “But I’m prepared to stand by Kendra. No matter what Jason tries to pull, I’m not going to let him get away with hurting her again.”

She smiled, patting my hand. “That’s sweet of you to say, but some things are beyond our control, aren’t they?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just don’t want to see Kendra get caught up in a long, nasty divorce that drains her, emotionally and financially. Not to mention a custody battle.” She shivered. “The possibility of losing Char would destroy her.”

I knew it was time to lay my cards on the table. “Here’s the deal,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Ever since your daughter moved in next door to me, I’ve been fighting my feelings for her. I knew it was the worst possible time for her to get involved with someone, especially someone who has a personal and professional relationship with Jason, but—”

“You can’t help the way you feel.” She shook her head. “I know, honey. I understand that.”

“It’s not that I haven’t tried to put the brakes on. Believe me, I have. Countless times, but we’re at the point where I can’t imagine my life without her.” Being truthful with Kendra’s mom was hard, but I knew it was necessary to put her mind at ease. “So even though the last thing I want is to make her life harder, and in fact, I’d do anything in my power to make it easier, I can’t walk away from her again. I’d never forgive myself. And more importantly, she’d never forgive me.”

“It’s a mother’s job to worry,” she said slowly. “That doesn’t stop when you’re children are grown. I hope you don’t think I was out of line for bringing this up.”

“Of course not. I understand completely.” I leaned forward, curling my hand around her shoulder. “I can’t promise you that Jason will be reasonable or that he’ll make this easy for her, simply because that’s the right thing to do. But what I can tell you is that I’ll do whatever I can to protect her. No matter what, I won’t let him hurt her again, Sara.”

She stood, leaning in to pat my cheek. “Thank you, Gabe. Hearing you say that does make me feel better.”

***

Char was quiet on the short drive back from her grandparents’ house, but I assumed that’s because she was tired. So I was surprised when she showed up on my doorstep less than an hour after I dropped them off at home.

“Mommy said she didn’t think you’d mind if I came over to see Poncho,” she said, lacing her hands behind her back as she looked up at me, wide-eyed. “I missed him.”

“Of course, I don’t mind,” I said, stepping back. “Come on in.” I gestured to the pup, who was sprawled out in front of the stone fireplace. “But he’s pretty tired. Looks like your friends wore him out while we were gone.”

She sat down on the rug, patting the dog. “Why’d you go with Mommy?”

I knew this question would come up, but without Kendra here to help me field it, I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Uh, I got a few days off from work. I thought a change of scenery would do me good.” It had, seeing Kendra’s beautiful face every day had done wonders for my mood.

Char looked up at me, her eyes narrowed. “You went ’cause you wanted to be with my mommy, right?”

I swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous. It took a lot to get me rattled, and I never expected a pint-sized cutie with blond ringlets to be up to the task. “Um, yeah. I guess you could say that.” I promised myself I’d never lie to Kendra or her daughter, so while I didn’t welcome an inquisition without Kendra by my side to help me avoid the landmines, I wasn’t going to dodge Char’s direct questions. She deserved one man in her life she could trust to be honest with her, and if Jason couldn’t be that man, I could.

“You like her.”

It wasn’t a question, but I treated it as one. “I do. A lot. I like you too, sweetie. I hope you know that.”

“But the way you like mommy is different.”

God help me. “Yes, it is.”

“You don’t like her like a friend.”

“She is my friend,” I said, trying to be cautious. “But she’s more than that, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Do you love her?” she asked, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. “Are you going to marry her?”

I sucked in a sharp breath, totally caught off guard by her vulnerability. Over the past year and a half, I’d come to love this sweet, innocent little girl, who’d been dealt a tough hand. Hurting her with words she wasn’t ready to hear would kill me.

“We haven’t talked about the future yet, Char. Right now, we’re just enjoying being together.”

Her bottom lip trembled as she looked down at the dog. As though he sensed her distress, he climbed into her lap, licking her chubby cheeks. “I want my daddy back.”

My heart clenched. I knew I wasn’t the reason for her pain, but the fact she thought I might be cut deep. “I know you do.”

“But he can’t come back if Mommy has a new boyfriend.”

Her eyes slayed me, especially when tears spilled down her cheeks. “Honey, I don’t think your dad would come back even if I wasn’t in the picture.” Damn, I wished Kendra was here to field this topic, but suggesting she ask her mother questions she’d felt comfortable enough to ask me would make me look and feel like a coward. “Your mom will always care about him because he’s your dad. But I don’t think she wants to be married to him anymore.”

“Because of you!” Char shouted, jumping up. She thrust her little finger at me, swiping her tears away with the back of her hand. “You’re the reason we can’t go back home. I hate you! I wish we’d never met you!”

I dropped my head into my hands as she ran out the front door, letting it slam behind her. I considered whether to go after her or at least give Kendra a heads up about our
talk
, but in the end, I sank back into the cushions, praying tomorrow would be a better day.

Gabe

When Jason walked into my office without knocking the next day, I thought about tearing his head off. But I knew that wouldn’t solve my problems. “What do you want?” I asked, glaring at him.

He looked smug as he made himself at home in the chair across from me. “I heard you got into it with my little girl yesterday.”

“How the hell did you hear about that?” I’d called Kendra to talk about it long after Char went to sleep and she promised she’d try to broach the subject delicately when she felt the time was right.

“How do you think?” He slipped his cell phone into the front pocket of his shirt. “Char told me she really let you have it.”

The warning bells started going off in my head as I dropped my pen. “Did you put her up to that?”

He shrugged, not looking the least bit remorseful for using his daughter as a pawn. “What can I say? We both want the same thing, to put our family back together. Kendra’s the lone holdout. But don’t worry. I’ve got a foolproof plan for getting my wife back onside.”

I’d been in a foul mood all day and looking at his self-satisfied mug only made it worse. I’d never been tempted to punch out one of my team members before, but Jason gave me good reason to consider it.

“Kendra doesn’t want to be your wife anymore. You’re the one who needs to get a clue, man.”

“Here’s the deal, boss man,” he said, his tone suddenly lethal. “You’re going to stop seeing
my
wife.”

“Get the hell out my sight,” I said, pointing to the door.

“I’m not done with you,” he said, clenching his jaw. “But you’re gonna be done with Kendra when you see this.” He withdrew his phone and swiped his finger across the screen a couple of times before turning it to face me.

The video that flashed across the screen turned my stomach. It was a video of Kendra having sex with Jason, only Jason’s back was to the screen, so her face was the only one visible. “Turn. It. Off.”

“Oh, there’s more.” He swiped his finger across the screen again.

This time the video was of Kendra pleasuring herself, talking dirty, obviously for Jason’s benefit. “What the hell are you doing with that shit? And what makes you think I’d want to see it? You think it’s gonna turn me off? I know Kendra was married to you, asshole. Obviously, you had sex.”

“But that’s not all.” Jason turned the phone toward me, swiping his finger across the screen as a multitude of pictures of a naked Kendra, posing, and engaged in sexual acts, played across his screen. “She wanted to spice things up towards the end,” he said, glaring at me. “She didn’t know I was messing around on her. She thought our marriage was just getting stale and this might heat things up.”

“What’s your point?” I asked through gritted teeth. I hated that he’d used Kendra’s commitment to their marriage against her while he’d been sleeping around.

“See, I’ve got all this evidence of what a dirty girl my sexy wife is. But you already know that, don’t you?”

“I’m gonna kick your ass if you don’t make your point and get the hell out of my office.”

“Is that a threat, boss?” He tsked, shaking his head. “I could file a report claiming you threatened me. But I’m not going to. Do you know why?”

Losing my job might be a small price to pay for knocking his teeth out. “Why?”

“Because you’re going to do what you’re told, without making me resort to those measures.”

“I’m going to do what I’m told?” I leaned forward, wondering if this guy was high. Who the hell did he think he was talking to?

“Yeah, because if you don’t I’m going to turn your girlfriend’s whole world upside down.” He smiled as he swiped his finger across the screen, licking his lips as he looked at the photos of Kendra. “Damn, she is one sweet piece, isn’t she?”

“If you don’t get out of here right now—”

“Hey, I’m not done.” Holding his phone up, he said, “You dump her, hard and fast, or I post theses photos and videos online and send links to everyone in Kendra’s life, from her boss to her parents, her friends, your brothers… Maybe even Char’s teachers, principal, and the other parents. Not to mention the lawyer I’m gonna hire if she insists on moving forward with the divorce. You think any judge would give custody of a little girl to some Internet porn star?”

My heart started racing as I considered the implications for Kendra and her daughter. “A porn star? You’re out of your mind. No one would believe that.”

“Here’s the thing, buddy. Anyone can post shit on those trashy online porn sites—”

“You’d know. You probably troll them all the time, you loser.”

His face turned red, the veins in his neck bulging as he leaned forward. “The point is, once they’re up there for the world to see, Kendra’s life will never be the same. She won’t know what the hell hit her. She won’t be able to show her face again, not at work, at Char’s school—”

“How could you even threaten to do this, you dirtbag? Haven’t you hurt her enough already?”

He slammed his fist down on the desk. “Did you really think I was going to let you have her? She’s mine! She’ll always be mine.”

“And this is how you want to keep her?” I asked, gesturing to the phone. “So what’s the plan? You get me out of the picture, then you use this shit to blackmail Kendra into staying with you?” Just the thought that he had the ammunition to accomplish that made me sick.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to get my family back.” He stood, slipping his phone back in his pocket. “Oh, and don’t worry about us working together after this. I’ve already put in for a transfer.”

I was more concerned about how I was going to find the self-control not to kill him.