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She explained their history while the others listened, rapt.
When she finished, Bex whistled. “It sounds like you have serious chemistry,” she said. “It’s not like him to be with the same woman more than once, so there must be something about you that draws him in.”
“I don’t think so.” Gabby’s heart leaped at the possibility, but she shut down the flicker of hope as soon as it appeared. “It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.” She’d tell herself that until she believed it. Better to be disappointed now than heartbroken later.
* * *
On the lastSunday of April, Logan was behind the bar at The Den when he received a call from Gabby. He frowned, surprised. She was babysitting Hunter tonight, while Shane and Faith went on a date night and Dylan was at a friend's, so he hadn’t expected to hear from her.
“My head is killing me,” she complained when he answered. “I’ve thrown up so much my abs feel like I’ve been doing planks. Is there any chance you could come over and keep Hunter entertained?”
“Hold on a minute.” He scanned the bar, noting it was almost empty, and turned to Corinne. “Gabby needs help with Hunter. Are you okay to hold down the fort here?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “It’ll be good practice for you to spend some time with Hunter.”
Yeah. He supposed so. Although now that she said it, he felt a whole lot more pressure to do well.
“Thanks, Mum.” He put the phone back to his ear. “I’ll be there soon.”
He hugged his mum, grabbed his jacket, and hurried out to the car. It didn’t take long to get to Shane and Faith’s place. He parked outside and debated whether to knock, but went ahead and let himself in. Hunter thundered up the hall toward him, his mouth turned down.
“I’m hungry,” he complained. “Aunt Gabby won’t leave the bathroom to make dinner.”
Oh, dear.
“Go to the living room, buddy,” Logan said. “I’ll be there in a minute and we’ll get you something to eat.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Hunter reluctantly walked away, looking back over his shoulder. Logan made his way down the hall, stopping when he glanced into the bathroom and saw Gabby leaning over the toilet. She raised her head to look at him; her eyes were glassy, and her complexion was gray.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she said. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He winced. Her position didn’t look comfortable. “Have you had your anti-nausea pills?”
“Yeah, but I keep throwing them back up.”
“Ah.” There wasn’t much he could do about that.
She struggled to get to her feet. “If you keep Hunter busy, I’ll make him something to eat.”
“Uh-uh.” He scowled. “No way. All you’re going to do is lie down and rest.”
“But he needs dinner.”
“I’m sure I can figure something out.” How hard could it be to feed a six-year-old? “Is there a bucket around here?”
“In the laundry.”
“Okay.” He wrapped his arm around her back to steady her. “Let’s get you to bed.” He steered her into Shane and Faith’s bedroom and helped her sit down. “Get comfortable. I’ve got everything under control.”
She looked at him with way more trust than he deserved. “Thanks.”
He nodded, and headed to the laundry to get that bucket in case she needed to be sick again. He poured a glass of water, gathered her purse, which hopefully contained her medication, and found a box of chocolates in the pantry. He carted it all to the bedroom and set each item on the nightstand, except for the bucket, which went on the floor.
“If there’s anything else you need, just call for me.”
