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There was one more thing that she’d thought of. She didn’t know how Deacon would feel about it since he was in favor of streamlining the event. But she thought that it would add a bit of fun to the event and it could be a big revenue raiser during the afternoon.
“I’ve been going over the plans and I think there’s one more thing we should do.”
Deacon’s face grew serious. “What would that be?”
“A Chinese auction.”
“No.”
She frowned at him. “How can you just readily dismiss the idea?”
“Because the basis of the Chinese auction is to ask others to donate items or services. I don’t want to ask anyone for anything.”
She dropped the pen to the desk and lifted her chin. “Maybe that’s your problem.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that yo
u’re trying to get through this difficult part of your life by yourself—by putting a wall up between you and everyone else.”
He arched a dark eyebrow. “I let you in.”
“No, you didn’t. I made my own way past your walls in spite of you.”
“This is my life, my choices—not yours.”
She glared at him. “And this is my fund-raiser and I’m telling you that there will be a Chinese auction.”
His voice lowered and rumbled with agitation. “Are you always so stubborn?”
“My father says so, but I don’t believe everything he says.” She no longer believed what he said about Deacon.
“And you’re going ahead with this auction no matter what I say?”
“Yes.”
“Then I won’t waste any more time trying to talk you out of it.” He muttered under his breath as he strode out the door.
Something told Gaby that he regretted giving her that flower. But she wasn’t backing down. That was Deacon’s problem. When he growled, everyone backed away. He needed to learn that life was about give and take.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THERE WAS SOMETHING different about Gabrielle.
Something not quite right.
Deacon had kept his distance from her since their disagreement last week. He didn’t know exactly why he’d taken such a strong opposition to her idea of the Chinese auction. It wasn’t a terrible idea. He could think of much worse.
He was left with no choice but to admit the truth to himself. He’d created the disagreement on purpose to put some distance between them. And it was all because of that rose and the other ones he continued to leave at her door each morning.
He had mixed emotions about leaving her yellow roses. Part of him said that it was just a friendly gesture, but another part of him wanted them to mean more. And that made him uncomfortable.
Logic said that there was a fifty-fifty chance he was responsible for the car accident. If he were responsible, Gabrielle wouldn’t want anything to do with him. But even if he were found innocent, would that really do much to change their circumstances? He was still the other party in a two-party accident.
But when he was outside in the rose garden, he would catch glimpses of Gabrielle. And when she didn’t think he was watching, the smile vanished from her face. A glint of worry reflected in her eyes. Was it his fault? Had he upset her that much?
This time he didn’t need to hear her aunt’s voice in his head to know he needed to somehow fix things. Mrs. Kupps was right about Gabrielle being a ray of sunshine in his otherwise gloomy life. And when her light was dimmed, the darkness and shadows were too much for him.
