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“Well, he could have called me.” Lori sniffed.
Hope knew she hadn’t meant it as a slight against her, but still she found herself straightening defensively. “I was available, and more than willing to help.” When Lori leveled her with a sharp, knowing side eye, her cheeks burned.
“I’m sure you were,” Lori said as she finished unloading a series of containers into Gabe’s fridge and turned to stare at Hope. “Look, you seem sweet.” She jerked her chin in the direction of Ruby, who was seated back at the table drawing contentedly. “And Ruby clearly likes you. But if you think you can save Gabe from his own miserable self by getting to him through his daughter, you can think again. Trust me. Many have tried, all have failed.”
Hope jolted back, brows raised in shock. Who the hell did this woman think she was? Okay, she was the protective older sister, but still…
Taking a deliberate step forward to show she wasn’t about to be pushed around, she matched her gaze to Lori’s. “I don’t believe Gabe needs saving. Childcare conundrum aside, he seems to be handling his life and family quite capably from what I can see.”
Lori’s eyes narrowed.
Before she could say differently, Hope lifted her chin and continued. “If anyone was saving anyone, Gabe saved me. He gave me a chance when I needed one. He’s been good to me both as a landlord and an employer, and never once gave the impression that he was anything but absolutely capable.”
All true, she assured herself. If nothing else, Gabe Walsh needed the opposite of saving. He was always in total and utter control. The memory of how easily she’d come undone in his arms came to her. Even then, hot and heavy against each other in the bathroom, it had been Hope who’d lost it, not Gabe.
“Well,” Lori said, her eyes amused and maybe even a bit impressed. “I guess that’s that then.”
Hope crossed her arms and nodded, hoping to convey more confidence than she felt.
With her own curt nod, Lori gathered her empty bags and headed toward the door, pausing to pop a big smacking kiss on top of Ruby’s head. “Sweet pea, there is a chocolate cream pie the size of your daddy’s head in the fridge, as well as a lasagna.”
Ruby’s face broke into an excited smile. “Yum, my favorite. Thanks, Auntie Lori.” She leaned in to hug her aunt, who returned the affection by enveloping Ruby in a warm embrace.
Any resentment Hope might have been feeling dissipated at the obvious display of love between the two. Lori was only trying to protect her family, and Hope couldn’t begrudge anyone that.
“Share with your daddy, okay?” Shooting a look at Hope, Lori added, “And Hope too.” Then, with another kiss and a heartfelt “I love you,” she disappeared out the front door as silently as she’d come in.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
In the supply room at the back of the bar, Gabe paused counting his stock to listen to the buzz of the Thursday night crowd in the background. The sound never failed to bring him a sense of satisfaction.
Sometimes he couldn’t believe that Bowie’s was one of the more popular bars in town. But the noise thrumming through the supply room door was all the proof he needed. To be fair, he’d worked damn hard to build it to this point. Years of dreaming, planning, squirreling away money, putting everything he had on the line to secure that loan so many years ago.
Opening a bar was risky. Many never made it more than a few years, but Bowie’s had held its own, and in recent years had even turned enough of a profit that Gabe was thinking about opening another location across the bridge.
Location was everything. He knew he’d struck gold eight years ago when he found his current one. Back then, he’d also been lucky to secure a loan by finding a bank willing to take a risk on his adolescent dream. His family had supported him. Mostly, he figured his father and sister had just been relieved that he’d managed to get his shit together enough to start building a future for himself instead of following the path that led straight to Deadbeatsville.
He had Carrie to thank for being one of the main catalysts for turning his life around. When they were in their early twenties, he’d met her at a bar similar to this one. She’d been on a girls’ night out with her nursing school friends. Gabe had been with his delinquent buddies, drinking more beer than they could afford and trolling the scene to see which good-girl-gone-wild would let them into her panties that night. He’d been a colossal asshole in those days.
He’d spotted Carrie almost as soon as she’d entered the bar. She’d been laughing, and she looked so damn happy he remembered wanting to drink the sound until he was drunk on her joy. He’d made his way over to her and had been as surprised as anyone when she’d given him the time of day.
They’d been together almost five years when Carrie became pregnant. In their mid-twenties by then, and still very much in love, Gabe decided it was as good a time as any to get hitched, and by some miracle Carrie had agreed. Six months after they were married, Ruby was born.
And six months after that, Carrie had died.
Gabe shoved a case of beer back into place a little harder than necessary, and the bottles rattled ominously. He hated memory lane. Six years after the fact, he could finally admit that none of it was really his fault. Carrie’s death had been an accident. A horrible, preventable accident. Still, he couldn’t help thinking how he could have been the one to prevent it.
“Watch out there, Tyson. You’re about to break the merchandise.”
Turning toward the voice, he came face to face with his sister. How was it Lori always managed to show up on silent feet and when he least wanted her to?
She leaned against the doorjamb and shot him her know-it-all smile.
“Tell the boss to take it off my paycheck,” he said, not in the mood for chitchat.
Lori narrowed her eyes, assessing him. “What’s wrong?”
Damn her. Damn her and her sisterly instinct right down to sibling hell. He hated it when she saw right through him.
