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“Of course not.” Gaylen laughed again, the sound strained. “Well.” He wiped his hand over his jowls. “Guess I’ll get back to my table.” He looked at Sabella. “Your father-in-law is having dinner with us tonight, Belle. You should stop by and say hi.”
Sabella clenched her fists in her lap. She stared up at Gaylen, the strike going deep.
“I think Grant Malone can do without my greetings tonight,” she told him firmly.
“Family, Belle.” Gaylen shook his head. “Making amends wouldn’t be that hard.”
“In this case, no amends are needed.” Her smile was tight. “It was good talking to you again, Gaylen. Thank you for stopping by.” But please get the hell away from me.
“Come out and see us sometime, girl,” he boomed, his laughter so false it grated on her senses. “Take care of her, boy.” The look he shot Noah was filled with dislike.
“Of course I will.” Noah smiled. All teeth. “It’s uppermost in my mind.”
Gaylen nodded then and waddled back to the door.
“Grant Malone?” Noah’s voice was perfectly bland. “Your husband’s father?”
She nodded.
“So you’re estranged from your in-laws?”
“They’re in-laws,” she whispered. “Rory stayed around, but you know how it is. We didn’t have children. In-laws don’t stay close in those cases.”
“Rory’s grandfather comes to the garage,” he reminded her.
Sabella smiled at the thought. “Grandpop Rory. He’s a sweetie. Rory and I don’t stress him out over things. I still visit sometimes. Sometimes he stops by the house or garage. He still calls me his ‘girl’ whenever he sees me.”
She loved Grandpop. She wondered if Noah had been to see him since Grandpop had shown up at the garage, if he had told the old man he was alive. He had told Rory, why wouldn’t he tell Grandpop?
She was saved from answering any more questions when Sally’s daughter Katy stepped out to take their order. Conversation was slower after that. Sabella sipped her wine and fought against the need to ask him, to beg him for answers.
She watched everyone that came onto the patio. A few stopped to chat, to say hello. Most were just curious, others, like Gaylen, sliced where they could.
It made dinner a nerve-racking experience and she wished she had directed him to Odessa instead. That was where she and Nathan had normally gone to eat. They didn’t have to socialize in Odessa. Here, in his hometown, Nathan had been popular. Dinner out meant too many other couples gathering around their table when they just wanted to eat, enjoy an evening out.
“Are you ready?” Noah asked as she played with her wine after dinner and frowned down at her glass.
“Whenever you are.” She slid the glass back as he rose from his chair and tossed a tip on the table. A rather large one, she noticed. She liked that he was generous with the tip, considering Sally had given them their meals on the house.
He guided her out of the restaurant, and she noticed that not even once had he glanced at Gaylen’s table where his father was staring after them.
Sometimes, she actually felt sorry for Grant Malone. There were times during the two years she’d had with Nathan that she had sensed more feelings from the other man than he showed his son. Things he held back. Nathan had been convinced his father felt nothing for him, that nothing mattered to Grant but his ranch. And after Nathan had “died,” he’d been determined to acquire what Nathan owned as well, though Sabella had never understood why. He’d been as determined to acquire it as Gaylen Patrick and Mike Conrad had been. As though it were a symbol of something. She’d never understood it, had wo
ndered if she even wanted to understand it.
There had been so many times over the past years that she had wondered why the hell she had stayed here. Why she had fought, why she had tried to continue on without Nathan.
Now she knew why, and the knowledge had the power to shake her to her core. She’d stayed because she knew he would be back.
The truck was parked close to the entrance to the restaurant. They were quiet as he helped her in then moved around to the driver’s side.
Getting in, he started the motor then stared at the restaurant for long, silent moments. It took her a second, but Sabella finally saw what he was looking at.
Grant Malone had followed them out. He stood on the porch of the restaurant, arms at his sides, his blue eyes narrowed and staring at the truck.
“Your father-in-law?” he asked carefully.
Sabella nodded, her gaze connecting with Grant’s for long moments. What she saw in his eyes was confusing. She could have sworn she saw grief.
