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Just as Stubborn Page 11
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Page 11
I snorted at his reasoning.
He slid his arm underneath my neck and kissed my forehead as he morphed into the personalities I adored and couldn’t resist. Kind, warm, witty Gabe was back.
I locked my gaze on his. I needed to have a serious conversation with him, but I was unfocused.
“You have beautiful eyes. Do you know that I can’t stop looking at them sometimes?” I expected he would deny it.
“You have beautiful boobs,” he drawled into my ear while his thumb grazed my ribs.
“Gabe, oh my god,” I laughed and slapped his hand.
“Hey, I’m being honest. You want me to lie?”
“No, don’t lie,” I said.
“You have luscious curves, Av’ry. How’s that?”
“Too old-fashioned. You can do better,” I said.
“Don’t get me started. I got a list of words a mile and a half long you wouldn’t like,” he told me.
“Shh,” I whispered and tapped his lips. “I really do love your eyes. I forgot what they were like.”
“You sleep with my picture under your pillow. You couldn’t have missed them that much.”
His nose rubbed along my cheek, and he kissed my ear. The fire started in my neck. His picture was all I had to comfort me through the awful months alone. Well, that and our calls and my runaway imagination and all of the dreamy movies I’d created in my mind.
“I missed how you smell and how you talk,” I shared. “When you feel like talking.”
“You like how I smell? How do I talk?”
I rolled my eyes in the shadow, but he caught me.
“You’re the one who talks fast with that accent like some pretentious northerner,” he drawled.
“Be nice,” I told him.
“I am nice.”
I enjoyed his breath tickling my skin, his whispers, the soft stubble on his jaw.
Gabe never failed to make me feel incredible when he acted human. The coolness radiated off of him like vapor and gave me shivers. His moody mood evaporated in the chill of the night. I no longer cared about anything else that was happening when he dropped his lips and lightly pecked the side of my mouth.
“I like how you make me feel all restless,” he said.
I held still as he forced his lips into mine. I didn’t know how he managed to pin my hands to my sides. I was falling a thousand feet without a parachute.
I broke one of my hands out and held his shoulder as he slid himself on top of me and lifted his head to offer a serious gaze.
Everything about touching him exhilarated me.
“What are you looking at? Stop doing that,” I told him.
The goofy smirk on his face was superb. I couldn’t get enough of happy Gabriel Halden.
“I’m looking at a girl with a funky-ass accent.”
I tipped my head. “Do you know you’re the most temperamental person I’ve ever met?”
Gabe’s grin vanished instantly. His eyes tightened, and I considered he might be upset.
“Why thank ya, thank ya very much,” he said in an Elvis impersonation that made me want to laugh.
My torso trembled beneath his. “Be serious,” I said.
“Which is it then? Serious or fun. You know you’re the most temperamental girl I’ve ever met,” he said as he inched himself down me so he could rest his head against my collarbone.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Scratchin’ my ear with my elbow. What do you think I’m doing?” he murmured.
My heart pumped in its cage; my lungs struggled to fill.
His hands were doing things I had only imagined. I didn’t even care that the tent was unzipped. Nobody was home.
Into my shirt, he asked, “How’s the leg? Still itchy?”
I shook my head back and forth in slow motion. My voice ceased to work as I merged all of my focus into what he was doing with the button fly on my jeans—and not what he said. I couldn’t unravel my thoughts. I couldn’t move.
“You there?” he asked, looking up. I had my chin in my chest, eyes watching.
“Uh huh.”
“You sure now?” he drawled with a funny curl to his voice. “Don’t act so excited. I can’t tell. Are you into this?”
“Uh hmm.”
“Uh hmm, what? Yeah, this is what you want? God, you better say something, Av’ry Ross, or I’m just gonna star—”
The swish of the sliding glass door made my heart launch into my throat.
Gabe muttered a curse under his breath as he slid off of my leg onto his back and stomped his feet, one at a time, into the ground.
The tent flaps separated.
“Trick-or-treat? Party start without me?”
“Get out,” Gabe said as he kicked Caleb’s shin.
My chest constricted when Caleb dropped into the tent like a falling tree and landed between me and Gabe.
“You two are as friendly as fire ants. It’s a three-man tent. I’ll behave,” he said.
“Get the freak out.” Gabe lifted onto his elbows and jerked Caleb’s shoulder.
Caleb rolled into me and said, “He wants me to go away, but all those girls out there made some lame pledge not to hang with guys like me.”
“Sleep on that chair. You’ve slept in worse,” Gabe snapped louder.
Caleb didn’t move other than to adjust his arm under his neck and tip his cap over his eyes.
“G’night, legs. Don’t be getting us mixed up again.”
* * *
I peered out the small gap in the tent the following morning and spotted Gabe lying on his stomach on a sleeping bag. His hand rested inside the tent.
My nose was cold. The outside air left the skin around my eyes puffy and sore. Caleb had curled up against the fence, partially in my line of vision.
The Halden brothers tried to beat the crap out of each other for the second day in a row. For all I knew, they did it regularly. It was more of a wrestling match, but had Tessa been home, she probably would have called the police to break them up before they broke up her home. I had watched from the tent’s opening and cringed as they rolled and kicked and hissed, until Caleb’s nose bled down his shirt. That’s when I screamed at them and crawled back inside.
The rest of the night I shivered alone.
I closed my eyes and tried to figure out what time it was. I pulled my arms into my shirt and snuggled deeper into the sleeping bag. I listened to Tessa move around inside her apartment. I imagined she was fixing her bed back into the couch since she didn’t have a typical bedroom.
Gabe’s hand slid farther into the tent as he rolled onto his side. I wasn’t sure he was awake, so I kept my noises to a minimum. His eyes were closed, but he could have been fooling. I wasn’t happy with the way he handled Caleb’s teasing. I hadn’t decided if I would let it go. But as I stared at his lashes resting against his tan skin, I couldn’t imagine staying mad for long. No matter how many times I looked at his face, I still thought he was stunning. I wondered if we would ever finish what we started.
The glass door slid open, and I looked out to check if Caleb was leaving. When I shot a glance over Gabe’s head, I spotted glittery shoelaces standing beside his elbow.
I stared in question.
They were definitely not Caleb’s feet.
Gabe jerked awake, and my heart rate took an unexpected leap. His hand wrapped around the ankle as it lifted to step over him. The leg shook and kicked until he let go. I held a hand over my mouth to trap my scream inside.
Gabe shouted, “Caleb! Wake up already. I’m twisted up in this dang sleeping bag. Get her, dammit. That’s her!”
Six
I yanked the sleeping bag off Gabe’s boot, and straightaway he lunged for the door, missing the girl’s leg by inches. My gaze shot to Caleb as he inched his way up the fence into a standing position and rubbed his eyes. I noted a trace of blood on his upper lip.
“How did she get in here? How did she know we were here?” I asked dumbfounded.
>
“I have no freakin’ clue, but I’ll find out,” Gabe shouted.
I had a mini panic attack as he climbed onto a patio chair, vaulted over the fence and took off for the front yard. I knew he wouldn’t stop until he had his hands on the girl again. I just didn’t know how far or to what length he’d go.
“Go after him!” I yelled at Caleb. “Aren’t you gonna help?”
“Nah. I got my boots on. She’s too quick. She already proved that.”
“He’s going to do something stupid,” I exclaimed.
“You’re right about that one, legs. But she’ll be back. She obviously wants something from us.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “Let Sherlock figure it out. You and me can go get breakfast.”
I changed my clothes in Tessa’s bathroom and cleaned up the sleeping bags, while Caleb waited out front. I made sure he packed Gabe’s bag with his. The patio showed no sign of a squabble or overnight guests.
We hadn’t traveled far from Tessa’s street to find a restaurant. I spent the entire meal listening to Caleb talk while I worried about Gabe and looked over my shoulder out the window in case he came back for me. While I was paying attention, I learned that Caleb was more concerned about Molly having a baby than he originally let on.
I climbed into the truck cab after we finished eating. Gabe was nowhere. “Can I try your phone again? Why can’t we ever get through to Meggie?” I asked.
“You think it’s gonna work on the nine millionth try? Go for it. Storms do this all the time. But reception’s usually good on the property since the lieutenant put in his own cell tower.”
Caleb set his hand behind my head, and I could have sworn he touched me on purpose. I inched toward the door and stared out the window. His fingers tangled in my hair. He left his arm on the back of the seat. Less than a minute later, he tapped his fingertips against my neck. I shot my head around and glared at him. He looked forward, not a smirk or a grin crossed his face.
“Something bothering you, legs?”
“Yes. Can we look for Gabe? Where do you think he went? He doesn’t know this place very well.” I recognized the restaurant and bar when Caleb took the corner.
“Point me to the jail. That kid could start a fight in an empty house.”
I huffed under my breath. He was by far the funniest brother. Still I would never compliment him. He exasperated me too much.
“You know you provoke him every single time. He’d be so much calmer if you let him be,” I said.
“Don’t fret. He won’t leave me alone with you for too long. One of these days you’ll figure out what you really want. I know you’re smarter than you let on.” We pulled into the parking lot of Red’s Stomp Box.
I climbed down from the truck and noticed a tall man with a balding head at the front door of Red’s. He drew his eyes all over us and held a hand out in front of me when I approached.
“We’re not open,” he said in a deep voice.
“Tessa is expecting us.” I didn’t even know her last name.
“She’s eighteen. Don’t sweat it. We’re expected. Like the lady said,” Caleb assured.
I followed him into the bar where I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. It smelled like new construction and wet paint. It was more like a lounge with tables, chairs, and a stage with a bar along the side wall. One of the walls had a guitar mural papered with signed photographs and sheet music. The words Stomp Box decorated the front of the stage.
Tessa was nowhere. Gabe was nowhere.
Caleb flipped three chairs off the table in the center of the room, slid into a seat, and propped his foot up on a chair as though he owned the place. He waved me over, and I sat across from him, facing the door so I could see Gabe when he entered.
“What should we do?” I asked.
“Nothing at all. If I don’t have to lift a finger, I won’t. Looks like somebody already did the dirty work,” he said in a twangy way only the Haldens could make sound sexy.
“Plant yourself and keep me company, legs. Your boy toy will be along.”
“Don’t call him that,” I scolded.
“You sure are delicate this time around. He’s reeled you in,” he said with a wink that forced his cheek into his eye.
I resisted rolling my eyes and continued to stare at the door while listening to the commotion grow behind me. I wasn’t sensitive. I could double his fat lip if the occasion arose.
My arms crossed over my chest and I glared at him.
“What do I have to do to get you to stop?”
“You’d have to go home. But I sure wouldn’t like that,” he said with a straight face as his gaze locked on the stage behind me.
Quickly, his expression fell.
I swung around to see if Tessa or the mysterious girl had returned. Two women were on the stage arranging stools and setting up a microphone. I returned my attention to the door.
“Should we go look for Gabe? He’s not coming. Where do you think Tessa is?”
Caleb didn’t make a move to answer. His eyes fixed to the stage like a man under a trance. He wasn’t typically drawn to a female twice his age. But then again, I had spotted him having a staring contest with Tessa the previous night.
“Fine, we’ll wait,” I muttered as a guitar strummed a few stanzas behind me. The skin on my neck tightened as I sat with my back to the stage. The guitarist was brilliant. I turned my chair and tried not to make noise on the floor. My thoughts drifted to Gabe playing guitar underneath my window in Williston. I’d never forget that first summer night. I’d never heard anyone play as beautifully as he did—until the woman began.
She stopped and tapped on the microphone and then propped her hip on the stool. I couldn’t see much detail about her except her curly hair piled on her head. She was attractive as far as I cared.
I flashed a glance at Caleb. The woman made another go at her tune, and the corner of his lip curled so slightly that nobody looking at him would notice. I wanted to tap his shoulder and ask what had him so mesmerized. It was kind of funny; he never sat still for anything, and he never kept to himself for longer than thirty seconds.
Maybe he recognized the tune she played.
“Whoops,” she said as she tapped the microphone and giggled, making a cringe-worthy noise that boomed through the room and then squeaked until it pierced my ears. She ironed a hand over her forehead.
Caleb snorted as if he was rehashing a private joke to himself.
The woman tuned her instrument, strummed the chords, making slight adjustments while I inspected Caleb in my peripheral vision. When she started playing again, his eyes lit significantly. I drew all of my attention to his face. I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. His posture shifted, and he pulled his boot off the chair and leaned into his knees to stare at the stage.
He looked so much like Gabe when he was absorbed in thought.
“Do you know this song?” I asked without taking my eyes off of his profile. He lifted his HalRem hat and set it on the seat beside him. “Caleb, wake up.” I nudged him.
I didn’t like him ignoring me. But I didn’t like his attention either.
“Caleb.”
“Hmm…what?” he mumbled and snapped out of his trance to glare at me. Immediately, he returned his attention to the stage.
“Caleb, what’s gotten into you?”
The music continued to set a peaceful mood. It was magical and light.
My shoulders jumped when he reached out and slid my chair into his without removing his eyes from the stage. When my knee bumped his leg, he turned to look at me. The widest grin surfaced.
I blinked away my surprise and crumpled my brow in question.
“When’s Gabe getting here?” he asked in a comical voice higher than his own. I began to worry.
The woman stopped playing and rotated on her stool, preoccupied with her sound test. When she hunched over to sift through her guitar case, light streamed in behind me and the door slamm
ed.
Gabe. “Did you catch her? Where is she?” I jumped up to meet him as he wound through the tables and came to stand behind Caleb. He had a cap in his back pocket.
“You set this all up without my help?” Gabe glanced around at the tables. “Show me your muscles.”
This wasn’t the Gabe Halden who jumped a fence, dead set on catching a peeping, truck thief.
“No. Answer me. I didn’t think you were coming back,” I told him.
“Did you get my bag and my book?” he asked.
I exhaled hard. “Yes. Where is she? Did you find the girl?”
He set a hand on my arm, and I stared with question at his windblown hair. He looked amazing and flushed. He smelled better than ever.
“She ran.”
“That’s it?” I asked. I knew there was more to tell.
“What else would there be?”
“Are you high on something?” I asked.
“Technically no.” He chuckled and squeezed my elbow. “But I got something to show you outside.”
“Gabe,” I whined. “Where were you? Why are you all happy now?”
Gabe crooked his neck to peer at Caleb around my shoulder. “What’s he got, a fever or something?” he asked.
I tossed a glance over my shoulder. “He’s acting odd. Tell me what happened with the girl. Did you even talk to her? You didn’t kill her, did you?”
Caleb shook his head in his hands, scratched above his ears. Maybe he was sick. Maybe he was hung over.
“Where’s Tessa?” Gabe asked, completely ignoring me. “Did you ask her why the doggone girl was watching us sleep?”
“She’s not here yet. Or maybe she’s in the back. We didn’t want to interrupt,” I shared.
“Interrupt what?” Gabe said loudly.
A lone chuckle escaped Caleb’s throat, and when he looked up, his hair stood on end. His eyes didn’t blink. I thought his skin looked ashen.
“Interrupt what?” Gabe repeated.
Caleb got up and stood almost toe to toe with Gabe and shook his head from side to side as if to scold him.
Gabe slapped the HalRem cap backward on his head and made a twisted grin at Caleb.
“What’s up with you?” he asked.