“I love your sister,” Gabe said bluntly. He didn’t like what Chris’s behavior was doing to Sara, but he understood his frustration . . . and mistrust. It was the very reason he’d gone to her first, in hopes of setting their minds at ease. “In your position, I would question my intentions as well. Which is why I showed up at your place originally. Unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned. I thought I’d been played. I was shocked when Sara came here. I didn’t think I’d see or speak to her again.”
“You expect me to believe you’d have let her go that easily after claiming to love her?”
“Knowing what I do now, absolutely not. But it wasn’t a situation I ever dreamed I’d find myself in, hence the uncertainty and mishandling.”
Chris was quiet for a long moment before asking, “What do you want from me?”
It wasn’t in his nature to overexplain his feelings, but he sensed his usual approach would only antagonize the other man. Sara needed her family, and Gabe wanted to give them back to her. “I found her on the couch last night crying. She had a dream about Kaylee. Your daughter thought she left because Sara didn’t love her.” He paused at Chris’s harsh intake of breath. “I’ve watched her check that damned phone of hers a dozen times a day, and I’ve seen the sadness when there’s nothing from you or her mother. When we first began talking, it didn’t take me long to see how family oriented she is. Her face would light up each and every time she spoke of her niece.”
“Then why did she take off like that?” Chris snapped in frustration. “Do you have any idea what kind of upheaval it’s caused? I have a daughter who is so upset, she’s not sure who her mother is anymore. And a wife that tells me constantly what a horrible person my sister is. Oh, and then there’s my mother, who complains constantly about picking Kaylee up from school yet gets angry when I mention hiring someone to do it. Since things seem so much better in Alaska, I’m about ready to pack my fucking bags and move in with you as well.”
The pieces were all falling into place for Gabe now. Even though some of what Chris said didn’t make sense, he’d picked up on enough to figure out the main issue. “So . . . you’re not taking Sara’s calls because of your wife. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t thing.”
“Exactly. I’m not blind. I know my wife lets her guilt at being a working mother cloud her judgment where Sara is concerned. Nicole loves Kaylee, but she lacks the maternal instincts that my sister has. She thinks Kaylee should be a little adult, like her friend’s unusual child.”
Gabe really wanted to tell him to grow a pair, but being caught in such emotional chaos had to be tough. He wondered why Sara had stayed with them for so long, with her sister-in-law clearly acting like a bitch to her. For Kaylee. Sara was so selfless. The environment she had lived in for the last three years had been toxic for her soul. Yet she’d stayed so that that little girl knew she was loved unconditionally. If Sara’s own brother and mother hadn’t stuck up for her, hadn’t appreciated her, how on earth was she still so wonderful? How had she remained so incredible through that? It’s time her brother took on the role of a brother. Time he showed his sister how much he valued her. “I realize you’re in a difficult position, but it’s not fair that Sara gets shut out of Kaylee’s life because your wife can’t accept all that she has done for all of you.”
Chris ignored his criticism of his wife. Instead he said, “I knew the day you showed up from out of nowhere that she would leave. She’d been different for a while, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I found out she was talking to some guy, but she wasn’t dating, so it didn’t seem like a big deal. Everything clicked, though, when I saw her reaction to you. I told Nicole that night I was worried about it, and she brushed it aside. But I—just knew. Hell, I was the only one who wasn’t surprised when it happened. I’m sure this sounds absurd, but what are your intentions where she’s concerned?”
“I’m going to marry her,” Gabe replied without hesitation.
“Isn’t that a little fast?” Chris asked skeptically. “She’s been there for less than two weeks.”
“We’ve talked every day for nearly eight months. We know each other better than a lot of people who’ve been married for years.” Better than you and your wife, I bet. The animosity was gone as they continued to converse. He was surprised to see he’d been on the phone for over an hour. Other than Sara, this was a record. He was on the verge of ending the call when a sudden thought occurred to him. It was a long shot, and unlikely to work, but it was worth the effort. Either way, he felt certain that something could be resolved soon. Now that he understood the real problem, he wouldn’t stop until he found a solution. He didn’t know if it was the military way, but it most certainly was the Randall way.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Merry Christmas, Angel,” Gabe murmured as he slid inside her. With what little rational thought she could manage, she marveled at how romantic her life had become. Their Christmas Eve had been spent on the couch making out. After a while, though, she had begun to think he was either teasing or torturing her. When he jumped to his feet a few moments before midnight and carried her to the bedroom, she was baffled by his sudden urgency.
“Were you waiting until—?” She groaned, feeling dangerously close to orgasm after being on the edge for so long.
“Yeah,” he hissed, sounding just as strained. “Should have kept our clothes on longer,” he added as he put a hand under her ass to pull her hips closer. “I love you, Angel.”
“Me too,” she whimpered, so lost in the pleasure wracking her body that she could focus on little else.
Or at least that’s what she thought . . . until Gabe brought her abruptly back to the present. “Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner—shit, what’s the other one’s name?”
What the . . . ? Could extreme horniness cause delusions? He froze as his body shuddered. Then for the first time, he came before her. Had she not been distracted by his ramblings, they would have likely peaked together. He dropped his face into the curve of her neck before muttering wryly, “Blitzen—you little bastard.”
She couldn’t help smiling, even though she had no clue why he felt the need to list all of Santa’s reindeers in the middle of doing her. She ran a soothing hand over his back as she asked, “Something you want to tell me, baby?”
He laughed as he got up to dispose of the condom, and then returned to pull her onto his chest. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he said, “I knew I was going to go quickly after the long buildup. So I went with something festive rather than baseball statistics. But I couldn’t remember the name of the last one in time.”