Julia hugged him again. “See? That didn’t hurt at all.”
She kissed his cheek and exited the bedroom, hurrying down the hall so she could finally enjoy her Thanksgiving dinner.
Gabriel lifted his daughter and gazed into her big blue eyes. “Daddy will buy you a better bunny.”
Clare laughed.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Come take a walk with me,” Gabriel whispered.
Julia was standing in the kitchen, holding Clare, having just finished clearing the table. She noticed that Gabriel was holding a familiar-looking blanket.
She looked out the kitchen windows over the back deck and toward the old orchard that stood behind the house. The orchard was one of Gabriel’s favorite places on earth. And in its center was a clearing he revered like a cathedral.
They’d spent their first night together, chastely, in that orchard, years ago when she was a teenager. Gabriel had asked her to marry him in that same sacred place. And they’d made love there once or twice. Or more. She’d lost count.
Gabriel’s eyes were solemn. Something lurked beneath their sapphire depths.
“I need to help clean up.” Julia gestured at the pots and pans and dishes that were stacked all over the counters.
“We’ve got it.” Rachel made a shooing motion with the dish towel she was holding. “Go.”
“Go ahead.” Richard nodded. “Most of the dishes will go in the dishwasher.”
Julia bounced Clare in her arms, making eye contact with Gabriel.
“We’ll help when we come back,” he offered.
“And I can take the baby.” Tammy held her arms out and Julia transferred Clare to her.
Tammy hugged the child close. “I’ve missed having a baby. I can’t wait to have another one.”
“What?” Scott came up behind her, touching Clare’s head.
“I miss having a baby.” Tammy’s expression grew hopeful.
“You never said anything,” Scott whispered, touching her face. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear.
“So yeah, you guys can go for a walk.” Rachel lifted her voice, trying to draw attention away from the private exchange between Scott and Tammy.
“Are you sure?” Julia asked.
“Go.” Once again, Rachel waved her dish towel like a flag.
“I left my coat in the car,” Julia said to Gabriel.
“One minute.” He kissed her cheek and disappeared out the front door.
As he walked to the SUV that was parked in the driveway, he felt something eerie behind him. He turned his head slowly and saw a black Nissan idling three houses down, across the street.
Gabriel examined the car out of the corner of his eye. When he was satisfied it matched the car he’d seen in Cambridge, he calmly walked the length of the driveway to the old garage and opened the door.
No more than thirty seconds later, he emerged from the garage carrying an aluminum baseball bat.
He broke into a run as soon as his feet hit the sidewalk, sprinting toward the black Nissan.
The driver revved the engine and peeled out, leaving tire marks on the asphalt.
Gabriel switched the bat to his other hand and picked up a large rock. He threw it hard. The rock hit the car’s rear window, shattering it on impact.
The car swerved as the glass spilled out over the trunk and onto the road.
Gabriel watched as the driver turned down a side street, speeding out of sight.
After taking a moment to calm down, Gabriel walked nonchalantly back to the house, not caring if any of Richard’s neighbors had witnessed the altercation. He retrieved Julia’s coat from the car, depositing the baseball bat in the back of the SUV, just in case.
Chapter Thirty-Three
It’s warmer than I expected.” Julia unbuttoned her coat as they walked across the back lawn. The inky sky stretched above them, and the stars and moon shone down. But the temperature was unseasonably warm, especially given Gabriel’s determined walking pace.
He shined a flashlight to illuminate the way, gripping Julia’s hand tightly.
She kept pace with him despite the discomfort in her leg. The numbness hadn’t gone away, although it varied in intensity. Still, she’d hidden it from Gabriel, and Dr. Rubio, and everyone else. Somehow she hoped it would simply disappear.
They entered the woods, picking their way over fallen branches and sticks to embark on a well-trodden path.
Julia wondered about her recent issues with memory. She was still sleep-deprived, despite dropping Clare’s two-o’clock-in-the-morning feeding. Getting more sleep had aided Julia’s memory, but she still struggled to assimilate new information. Ever since coming home from the hospital, she’d found she needed to read and reread academic books and articles, in a way she never had before. Novels were different. Late at night or early in the morning, Julia would read ebooks on her cell phone.
“Careful.” Gabriel shined the flashlight over a large fallen branch. He stopped, grabbed Julia by the waist, and lifted her over it.
She laughed in surprise, although she appreciated his gallantry.
She’d been in these woods hundreds of times, most of them with Gabriel. She was fairly sure she could find her way back to the house, even under the cover of darkness. Although she remembered with horror the time she’d gotten lost. . . .
It occurred to her that perhaps the human memory was like the sea. It moved with regularity, carrying bits of things on a current. But when the tempest came, that which was long forgotten bubbled to the surface. Julia never thought about being lost in the woods, if she could help it. But the memory would bubble up unbidden or trouble her in dreams. She clasped Gabriel’s arm, moving her body closer to his as the orchard swallowed them up.
“Not far now.” His tone was comforting.
A few more steps and they stood at the edge of the clearing.
Gabriel sighed. “Paradise.”
He led Julia to the center of the clearing and spread the blanket. Then he tugged her to recline atop it, switching off the flashlight. He held her hand as they gazed up at the stars and beyond. “Katherine emailed me.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked if she could spend Christmas with us and Clare. I didn’t respond. I wanted to ask you first.”
“That’s all right with me, if it’s all right with Richard.”
“I’ll ask him.” Gabriel paused. “You know that Katherine will find out about Cecilia.”