One Night with her Bachelor (9 page)

“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.”

Her sharp gaze communicated everything her words couldn’t, and when she subtly tipped her head toward Josh, he understood exactly what she was saying. Molly was struggling, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of help she needed. “How much?”

Lily shook her head. “It’s not like that. We’re talking lots and lots—more than one person around here could give. But lots of people getting together to do their part, now
that’s
what we need.”

He took a deep breath and let it out, relieved because as much as he wanted to help he didn’t exactly have deep pockets.

“Are you ready to face the biggest challenge of your life, soldier?”

“I’m not a soldier.”

“Retired soldier?”

“Nope. Air Force, not Army. You can call me battlefield airman, pararescueman or PJ.”

“PJ?” She drew back with a look of disgust. “That sounds… cuddly.”

“That’s me,” he said with a fake smile before turning serious again. “What do you need me to do?”

“Josh is the details man. I’m just the one with the vision. Josh?”

Somehow he doubted that. Five minutes in Lily Taylor’s company had taught him never, ever to underestimate her.

Josh clapped his hands together. “Here’s the thing, Gabriel. We need a few good men, and we’re especially looking for men with your qualifications.”

He shook his head in bafflement. “I know I haven’t been around much lately, but has Marietta turned into a combat zone?”

“No, but it might next Saturday night. You see, Aunt Lily’s organizing an auction, and we’re looking for the best of the best. Aunt Lily wants
you
—” He pointed at Gabriel as if he were posing for an Uncle Sam poster. “—to enlist in our bachelor auction.”

The words took a few seconds to sink in. His panicked gaze shot to Lily, who gave him a no-one-says-no-to-me grin of satisfaction. “Oh,
hell
no.”

‡

G
abriel opened the
door to Grey’s and had to force himself not to turn and bolt for his truck. The old saloon was packed to the rafters with women. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Maybe even bordering on a million.

There were men too, a few poor saps who’d either been suckered into coming or—more likely—hoped to get lucky with women who were outbid and eager to work out their raucous energy with someone who hadn’t put himself up on the auction block.

Felt more like the chopping block to him.

But he was here for Molly. She needed him, and he wouldn’t let her down.

The bar looked to be doing a brisk trade in frou-frou drinks and some kind of shot. Alcohol—he needed some of that. He mumbled his excuses as he wound through the crowd, trying not to step on any cowgirl boots. Last thing he needed was a pointy boot up his ass for his carelessness. Why did walking through this wall of women feel so much harder than rescuing Josh had?

Out of practice, that’s all.

As he tried to get to the bar, a gnarled hand wrapped around his biceps and an elderly woman yanked him to a halt. He barely had a chance to recognize her as his second-grade teacher, Mrs. Schwartz, when she shouted, “Want a blowjob?” He froze and she shoved a shot glass in his face. “Half price!”

She and her friends bent over and slapped their thighs with laughter, showing off big gaps of missing teeth.

Oh God.
He scanned the crowd for Lily, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing here, but his gaze snagged on the woman talking to Buck, the cattle auctioneer, by the stage.

Molly.

Before he could tell his feet to do any different, he was striding toward her. She faced away from him and hadn’t seen him yet, giving him a chance to watch her without her knowing. Her dark, wavy hair hung loose over her shoulders. She wore a tight green shirt that hugged her curves and made him silently beg for her to turn around. Would the neckline be high, covering her like an unconsciously sexy schoolmarm? Or would it plunge and give him glimpses of the breasts that had taunted his dreams for months?

Her skirt went down to her ankles, and she wore flimsy-looking boots. She was a vegetarian, and Scott had told him once she tried to avoid leather. How she managed that here, he had no idea. Other than the useless boots, she was a hometown girl with a body he would kill to get his hands on again. A sweet and sultry cowgirl, too proud to ask for help but not too shy to try her hand at seduction. His belly tightened with longing. Her touch had made him come alive. He’d been dead too long. He needed that feeling again.

A hand on his arm stopped him a few feet from Molly. “Gabriel! You shaved!”

He glanced down and found Lily smiling up at him. “Yeah. As soon as I figured out what lumbersexual meant, I decided I didn’t want to be it.”

“That’s good, because you weren’t exactly killing it, I’ll be honest with you.”

He chuckled, surprising himself with the sound. His main reason for shaving was that he didn’t want to be humiliated tonight. Camo pants, jeans, plaid shirts, and plain T-shirts took up all the space in his closet. He’d chosen his nicest clothes—soft, faded jeans and a red plaid shirt that an ex had said accentuated his dark, brooding sexuality. He had no idea what that meant, but he figured it was a good thing, since she’d gone down on him with gusto right afterward. But he wasn’t aiming to get sex tonight. He just hoped to raise some money for Molly.

And escape with his manhood intact.

She finally turned and noticed him. Excusing herself from Buck, she walked over and one of his questions was answered—deep V-neck and one of those necklaces that had several strands of small beads, drawing his gaze to her otherwise bare upper chest. The spit dried from his mouth. He wanted her so badly he was ready to swipe his arm across the nearest table and toss her onto it.

You’re such a romantic.

Molly deserved a hell of a lot better than a broken guy like him.

“Gabriel.”

“Hey, Molly.”

She gave him a soft smile. It looked like it hurt her, like it didn’t come naturally anymore. What would he do to make it her lips’ default position again?

Anything.

Lily let out a long breath, her brows shooting up her forehead. “Hooo, look at the time. I better go see if the rest of the meat has arrived yet.”

And then she slipped away into the crowd.

Molly scrunched up her face apologetically. “Thank you for doing this. It wasn’t my idea at all—”

“I know. Lily explained.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ve gone over this moment a million times in my head—what I would say to you, all the things I want to tell you. They flew away as soon as I saw you.”

He so badly wanted to grab her hands and give them a gentle squeeze. He shoved his fists into his jeans pockets instead. “It’s okay. I got your letter.”

He’d kept it, tacked it up next to his bed so it was the first and last thing he saw every day.

She looked embarrassed. “I wish I could’ve put it into words better. And then all the gas, the ramp… Gabriel, I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s okay,” he repeated. “I wanted to do those things.” They’d given him purpose, something to do. If he’d been brave enough to face her, he could’ve found out about her money problems earlier and tried to help with those, too.

She swallowed hard, her gaze never leaving his. “I haven’t been allowed to see the menu. What are you offering?”

“Menu?”

Her lips twitched again. “Josh put together a menu of the dates you guys are selling. What’s yours?”

“Before I tell you, do you know what the other guys are offering?”

“I’ve heard rumors floating around the room. A day of skiing, a helicopter ride, a house cleaner for a day…”

“Helicopter?” Damn. His date sucked.

She laughed, and his heart stuttered. “The house cleaner was the one I would’ve gone for, if I could bid. I’m sure there aren’t any rules against
you
bidding, though, if you really want that helicopter ride.”

“Baby, my helicopter days are behind me.”

Her face fell as she probably remembered why. “Yeah. Makes sense.”

He could’ve punched himself for reminding her of Scott’s death. Tonight was a night for partying, for celebrating the fact Josh was alive and maybe not kicking but still being himself. It was a night to make sure Molly got what she needed to help her raise him right.

Lily swept back over to them, her hand briefly drifting across his arm as she passed. “I need all bachelors upstairs pronto. Sorry, Mol.”

Upstairs. Shit.
He hated stairs. He jerked his head to show he’d heard, but his dread ratcheted up.

Molly plastered another uncomfortable-looking smile on her face. “Good luck, Gabriel. I’ve also heard rumors that there’s a lot of interest in you.”

He drew back in surprise. “In me? Why?”

“Might have something to do with me telling everyone what a hero you are.”

Jesus, she shouldn’t say things like that. It made him feel like such a fraud. How could he be a hero when it took a monumental effort just to wash himself? What was heroic about avoiding human contact, especially during daylight hours because everyone was rushing around, going to their jobs, taking care of their families and serving a purpose?

He averted his gaze. “I’d better go. Good luck to you, too. If—”

If you need something, let me know.
But he knew she wouldn’t, even if he made it easier for people to contact him. He would have to rely on snippets of conversation he heard on his weekly trips to town and on his own intuition of what she might need. He didn’t try to come up with a different ending to his sentence. He just let it dangle as he walked to the stairs, laid his hand on the banister and tried to make his ascent look casual rather than careful.

Grey’s had been an institution in Marietta since the nineteenth century. Generations of Mariettans—including Gabriel—had had their first legal drink here. Their first bar fight. Their last bar fight. Tonight, a second bar had been set up in the overflow area upstairs. Rumor had it the rooms up here had been used by Old West prostitutes to entertain miners, cowboys, and gunslingers. Tonight, Gabriel joined Lily’s other suckers on a balcony overlooking the stage below. He introduced himself, noting the men’s varying reactions to being offered up as slabs of man meat. Some watched the crowd with quiet confidence. Others with annoyance, as if they still couldn’t believe they’d agreed to this. At least one was an out-of-towner, and Gabriel gave him extra points for putting his body on the line for a stranger and her son.

These men were his competition, and the familiar mantra echoed in his head:
Never quit
. There could only be so much money in the room tonight, and he was near the end of the auction order. He would do whatever it took to avoid bringing in the least amount.