AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sean had been right when he’d said that Gabe had had a few rough years. He didn’t think he’d be this fucking scared at the prospect of moving on.
But it wasn’t just fear. More than anything he wanted to protect Ruby. The little bubble they’d created since Carrie died was safe. Lonely, but safe. Adding Hope into the bubble felt natural, but it triggered his anxiety like he hadn’t anticipated.
Was it worth adding another person into their lives who they couldn’t stomach the thought of losing? What had felt so blatantly clear in one moment became blurry the next.
Fuck, he wished he could turn off his brain.
Frustrated with himself and the whole situation, he decided to push it all aside for a few more hours and buried himself in work. He was neck deep in income taxes when he heard a loud bang coming from the kitchen, followed by an ear-piercing shriek.Shit.This could not be good.
Gabe was up from his desk and down the hallway to the kitchen in under ten seconds. The scene in front of him was apocalyptic.
Water gushed out of the industrial dishwasher, with steam billowing to the ceiling. The shriek had come from Harvey, his almost three-hundred-pound, six foot seven, normally badass, chef.
Harvey had become a man in LA’s underground boxing rings in the 80s and 90s. He discovered a love for cooking after he got clocked one too many times on the side of the head, rendering him deaf in one ear.
If the scene before him could make Harvey shriek like a schoolkid on Halloween night, then Gabe knew it was worse than it looked.
“It just blew.” Harvey shook his beefy finger at the blubbering dishwasher that now spewed suds. Sweat trickled down his thick neck, and his eyes were wide as saucers. “The motherfucker just blew.”
“Shit. Fuck.” Gabe ran to grab as many towels as he could and threw them on the floor where the water was accumulating. Then he bolted to the electric room to turn off the main water source.
For the next half hour, he and Harvey did as much damage control as they could until the emergency plumber, who was going to cost him a bloody fortune, arrived on the scene.
The next time he looked at the clock, it was 2:30.
Shit. Shit.Shit.Ruby. He had to get her from school.
He let out a slew of curse words under his breath, since that was the only vocabulary he seemed capable of at that moment. It was a ten-minute drive to Ruby’s school, but he still hadn’t packed her sleepover bag.
He grabbed his phone and hit the redial button on his last call.
“Hello?” The apprehension in Hope’s voice almost gutted him, but he didn’t have time to dwell on how that was all his fault.
“I need a favor.”
“Whatever you need,” she said with no question as to what she was about to get into, why, or for how long. Simply a willingness to be there for him in any way he needed at the drop of a hat.
Knowing that reaffirmed what he already knew in his heart. He could trust her with what he’d not trusted anyone else with since Carrie died.
“I need you to go to my apartment and pack an overnight bag for Ruby. There’s an extra set of keys to the Bronco in the kitchen drawer next to the stove. You can take those and—” He paused for a second, years of fearing this moment catching up with him. He pushed the fear aside. “Then I need you to pick up Ruby from school and drive her to my sister’s for a slumber party.”
“I’m on it,” Hope said. She probably heard the chaos in the background and made the wise decision not to ask any questions.
But he couldn’t hang up without telling her one thing.
“Hope…” Shit, this was hard. In six years, no one had driven Ruby in a car but him. Not even his own damn father. Not even Lori. “Be careful,” he finally said, hoping that he didn’t sound as terrified as he felt. His heart was literally seizing his chest at the thought of having the transportation of his daughter in someone else’s hands. The last time that happened—
Trauma may be closer than it appears.
He couldn’t think about the past. He had to trust Hope with his future.
“I’ll call when I leave the school and when we arrive at Lori’s. I’ll drive slowly. I promise. I’ve got her, Gabe.”
As soon as she spoke the words, he knew they were true. She had Ruby. And she had him.
And on the wave of that realization clarity washed over him, taking away any apprehension and panic he’d had earlier. Peace and certainty filled him. He was in love with Hope Morgan. His heart flooded with the feeling until it overflowed. This woman, who had become everything to his family, had his heart.
Ruby would be fine. Nothing bad was going to happen. Hope wouldn’t let it. He knew it. He felt it. And the three words aching in his chest nearly left his mouth, but he heard Harvey yelling in the kitchen again, so he said goodbye instead.
