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She didn't want to be alone with Gabe and his Boy Scout's sense of duty. She needed honest love, not sacrifice. And after loving Cherry Bonner, how could he love someone as flawed as she was? She'd wanted so very much to protect herself from a long good-bye, but now it was being forced on her.
She glanced around the room, searching for an ally, but her most likely one now looked vague, as if she'd tumbled back into the world of subatomic particles. The little munchkin in Rachel's arms was adorable, but entirely useless in this situation. Her son had computers and football on his mind. And that left the Bonner brothers.
Her gaze flew from Cal's face to Ethan's and back again. What she saw there made her stomach sink. It had been bad enough to have these men regard her as Gabe's enemy, but now they seemed to have decided she was good for their brother. She shuddered as she contemplated where that might lead them.
"It's fine with your mother," Ethan said.
"She doesn't mind one bit if you stay here," Cal added.
Only Gabe paid any attention to her wishes. "It is all right, isn't it?"
She couldn't say no without looking like an ogre, so she nodded.
"Yippee!" he squealed. "Rosie, I get to stay!"
Rosie celebrated by slapping Rachel's cheeks with her small wet hands.
Gabe began to steer her toward the door, only to have Jane finally come out of her trance. "Rachel, would you like to borrow some shoes? I think I have a pair of sandals that—"
"She won't need them," Gabe said.
They reached the front door, and Cal shot forward. "Rachel?"
She stiffened, determined to throw every word of his sniveling apology right back in his face.
But instead of apologizing, he gave her a lady-killer grin that made her understand exactly how a brilliant woman like Jane could have fallen in love with someone so bullheaded.
"I know you hate my guts, and it'll probably take you a lifetime to forgive me, but…" He scratched his chin. "Could I please have Rosie back?"
Chapter Twenty-Five
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Gabe turned off the shower in the cottage, grabbed a towel, and quickly dried himself. He couldn't blow this. No matter what, he had to knock some sense into that sweet stubborn head of hers. His life depended on it.
Wrapping the towel around his hips, he stepped out into the hallway. "Rach?"
No answer.
Panic raced through him. She'd suggested he take his shower first. What if she'd been trying to get rid of him so she could fetch Chip and leave town?
He flew down the hallway, poked his nose into Chip's bedroom and his own, then into hers.
She hadn't gone anywhere. Instead, she'd fallen asleep on top of the quilt, her wrinkled dress bunched around her legs, grubby toes peeking out.
His shoulders slumped with relief. He smiled, got dressed, and spent much of the afternoon just sitting next to her bed and watching her sleep. It was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.
Three hours later, she finally stirred, but he wasn't there because he'd gone out to check on Tweety Bird. It was a good thing.
"Rach! Rachel, wake up! I need you!"
"We should have told them we got M-A-R-R-I-E-D." Kristy spelled out the word as she gazed across the interior of Jane's Range Rover at her new husband. "But they looked too frazzled to handle any more drama. I still can't believe Cal threw Rachel into jail."
"What I can't believe is that we offered to baby-sit these two little imps when we haven't even been M-A-R-R-I-E-D for a full day."
He glanced in the rearview mirror at Rosie and Chip. While Chip inspected a scab on his elbow, Rosie chewed contentedly on Horse's paw. They had borrowed the Range Rover because it was easier than moving Rosie's car seat. Now both children were sandy from their afternoon outing at the park.
"Cal and Jane have had them all morning," Kristy pointed out, "and we only took them for an hour."
