Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (22 page)

“Who wouldn’t vote for
Sam? I know I would.” Olivia sighed. “He’s so hot.”

Emma and
Becca
agreed. “Anyway, Brody asked Madilyn to
g
o with him but she refused. I’m not sure what her
reasons were, but he left without her. I spent some time with Madilyn after he
left and she was a real mess. She kept saying she should have gone with him.
She said she’d rather have a little time with him
than
none at all. I tried to talk her into going after him, but she wouldn’t do it.
She’d just cry and say she’d never forgive him for leaving her. I remember the
day he tore out of here on that Harley of his.”

“Ooh, he has a Harley.
That’s hot too,” Olivi
a cooed, making
Becca
and Emma laugh.

“I should get going. I
told Gabe we wouldn’t be out all afternoon and…” Emma glanced at her watch.
“Well, we’ve been out all afternoon.” She laughed, feeling mischievous.

A few days later, Emma
called Madilyn and arran
ged to meet for lunch. She
missed her friend. They used to be close until Brody left and Madilyn crawled
into a hole, and seemingly disappeared. She sat in the booth watching for
Madilyn. Her eyes scanned the diner for Charles Harris, but he was nowhere ar
ound. She breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d left town,
if they were lucky. She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to show his face here
while he was a prisoner on the run. Apparently, the man had no scruples. She
shuddered at the thought of the damage h
e’d already
caused. She supposed not seeing him was a good thing.

She smiled with
delight when she saw Madilyn enter the diner. The lovely redhead smiled when
she spotted her in the booth. Emma watched Madilyn weave her way through the
tables, stopping occ
asionally when someone spoke to
her. Finally, she made it to the booth and took a seat across from her.

“Hi Emma, I’m so sorry
I’m late. Katie and I are so busy at the shop, which is good but tiring,”
Madilyn exclaimed with a bright smile.

“It’s okay, I ha
ven’t been here long.” Emma picked up the menu and scanned
it. Closing it, she laid it on the table. “Do you know what you want? I just
realized I’m starving.” She ran her hands over her swollen belly.

“I do.” Madilyn
summoned Connie over to them.

Emma gaz
ed up at Connie. “I want one of everything.” She smiled
when Connie burst out laughing. “Just a burger and fries for me, Connie…oh, and
a vanilla coke. I’ll get dessert later.” Madilyn and Connie laughed as she
shrugged and grinned.

“You are eating for
two
after all,
Em
,” Madilyn reminded her.

“That’s as good an
excuse as any,” Connie said with humor behind her wink.

Emma giggled. “I’ll
tell Gabe that when I weigh three hundred pounds.”

“Oh, Emma, Gabe will
love you no matter what. You have a great man
there,”
Madilyn told her. Emma did her best to keep the smile on her face. She didn’t
want any reminder of how much Gabe didn’t love her. She blinked quickly to keep
the tears at bay. Madilyn touched her hand. “What is it? What did I say?” she
whispered.

“
Nothing…I,” Emma murmured while shaking her head. “It’s
nothing.”

“You can tell me
anything, Emma. I know we haven’t seen each other a lot lately and that’s my
fault, but you’re my friend and I love you.”

She sighed. “Gabe and
I only got married because of
the baby.” She shook
her head. “He doesn’t love me, Madilyn.”

“Bullshit. I’ve seen
that man looking at you. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is,” Madilyn
exclaimed, and then glancing around lowered her voice. “He loves you.”

She tried to smile.
“He l
oves the baby.”

Madilyn snorted. “No
one has to get married nowadays.”

“He wanted to be a
part—”

Madilyn burst out
laughing. “Please do not say he wanted to make sure he could be a part of the
baby’s life, like he couldn’t be if you weren’t married. This t
own is so small it would be no problem for him to be a part
of the baby’s life. He didn’t have to marry you.”

Emma nibbled on her
bottom lip. No one knew how Gabe had practically forced her into marriage. They
didn’t understand just how much he wanted to
be a
part of his child’s life. She smiled at Madilyn. It was time to change the
subject. “So, how have you been, Madilyn? I’ve missed you.” She noticed how the
light seemed to go out of her friend’s eyes.

“I’m all right.”
Madilyn shrugged and smiled at her
.

“Are you really? I
know it’s been a while since…” Emma paused. She knew by the look on Madilyn’s
face that she’d said the wrong thing.

“I’m fine, Emma.
Brody’s been gone for a long time and I’ve gotten over him,” Madilyn said not
looking at her, but inst
ead looking down at her
folded hands.

Emma frowned. “You can
tell anyone else that but don’t try it on me. I know you. I know how bad you
took it when he left.”

Madilyn sighed. “I’ve
learned to live without him. That’s all I can say about it, Emma.”

“I kno
w how hurt you were when he left. You two were such a hot
couple.
And so in love.”
She leaned forward and touched her hand
to hers. “You should have gone with him, Madilyn.”

“I used to think so. A
few days after he was gone, remember? I wanted to go after
him but then I realized he didn’t care enough to stay, why
should I care enough to go?”

“He had a dream. To
become a US Marshal.” Emma shrugged. “You had no one here. You should have gone
with him. I’m your friend and I can say this to you. Just because yo
ur dad was killed on duty, didn’t mean Brody would be. Now
you’re alone. Your dad’s gone, and so is Brody.”

“I know that, Emma.”
Madilyn practically growled the words. “I’ve been dating again, and I’m ready
for a new relationship. Brody Morgan is my past a
nd
I’m moving on.”

Emma knew there was no
more to say. She wanted to suggest Madilyn try to contact Brody, but she knew
her friend had made up her mind. Brody was in the past. She mentally shook her
head and wondered how two people so in love could just wa
lk away from one another? It made her think of how easy it
would be for Gabe to walk away from her since there wasn’t anything but the
baby keeping them together.

Chapter Twelve

Emma
parked near the back door, and after clumsily climbing out of the d
river’s side seat, she waddled through the back door into
the kitchen. There she found Gabe seated at the kitchen table with Sam. “Is
there something wrong?” she asked.

“No. I
didn’t mean to alarm you, Emma. I was just out this way and stopped in,” Sam
said as he stood to greet her. Gabe took her things from
her and hung them up.

She let
out a sigh of relief. “I didn’t even notice the cruiser.”

“I was
out front when Sam pulled up.” Gabe shrugged. “He’s parked out there down from
the porch.”

She
nodded he
r understanding, poured herself a cup of
coffee, and once she settled herself into a seat at the table, the men took
their seats again. Emma smiled as she sipped her coffee.
Gotta
love cowboys
and their good manners.
“Anything on Harris?” she asked while t
he coffee warmed her insides.

Sam
shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still around.”

“Did you
have a good time at lunch, Emma?” Gabe asked. She was sure he was still annoyed
she’d gone to lunch in town without him, or the girls.

“It was
goo
d to see Madilyn again.” She nodded and smiled.

“You had
lunch with Madilyn?” Sam smiled at her.

“I did.
It’s the first time we’ve gotten together since…” Emma’s voice faded away.

“Since Brody left?”
Gabe gazed at her. “Surely not
that long.”

“Yes.
We’ve
seen each other but never got together. I was
there for her when he first left, but then she pulled away from me.” She blew
out a breath of frustration. “I even asked her to be my maid of honor at our
wedding, but she flat out refused.”

“She
pulled away fr
om everyone. She blamed me for a long
while,” Sam said in a quiet voice.

“I know
she did. But she realized you didn’t force him to leave, Sam.”

“Well,
she’s certainly not going to like me when she finds out he’s coming back,” Sam
muttered.

“What?
Brody’s c
oming back? Here?
When?”
Emma stared at Sam in disbelief.

Sam
sighed.
“In a month or two.
I’m not sure what’s going on,
but he quit the Marshals Service. I talked to him last week and he needs a
job.” Sam shrugged. “I need another deputy, so I hired him.”

“Holy hell, Sam!
Madilyn’s going to freak out,”
Gabe told him.

“I know.
I’m not looking forward to it,” Sam murmured not looking at either of them.

Emma
stared at Sam. “How long have you known he was coming back?” She watched as Sam
ran his hand over his j
aw rubbing it as if she’d just
slapped him.

“A
while,” he admitted and then shook his head. “What was I supposed to do? He’s a
friend. He needs a job and I need a deputy. And he asked me not to say
anything.”

She
groaned and then smiled briefly. “I’m not b
laming you
for anything, Sam. It’s just that I know how it’s going to affect Madilyn when
he comes back.”

“I know
and I mentioned that to him. He said he’d figure it out when he got here.” Sam
stood. “I need to get going. I want to check with Rick on Harri
s.” Sam looked down at her. “I’ll get him, Emma, one way or
another.”

Emma
reached her hands up and Sam leaned down. She hugged him. “I know you will,
Sam.” He gave her a nod, shook Gabe’s hand, and left through the back door.

She
yawned and smiled at Gabe
. “I’m so tired. It seems
like all I ever want to do is take a nap.”

Gabe
smiled a devilish grin. “Well, come on then, darlin’, let’s take one.” He
scooped her out of her chair and carried her up to bed. She didn’t complain.

* * * *

It was
the third week
of April and Emma couldn’t believe her
baby still hadn’t come yet.
Becca’s
wedding was at the end of May.
At this rate, she may still be pregnant, or at least as big as cow. She sat at
the kitchen table drinking iced tea. The baby kicked, making her groan
. “Why won’t you come out of there?”

Gabe
strolled into the kitchen, stopped at the fridge, and grabbed an apple. He took
a bite, and then offered it to her. She frowned at him. “Will it make this baby
come out?”

Gabe
chuckled and leaned back against the c
ounter. “You
know I heard sex can induce labor.”

She
climbed out of her chair, her big belly leading the way. “Oh yeah, well let’s
go. Get those pants off.” She headed toward the living room. Gabe grabbed her
by the arm stopping her.

“I
can’t, baby, Wyatt’
s here and although I’m sure it’ll
only take a few minutes, we’re waiting on a client who has two horses he wants
us to train. Besides, you said your back hurt.” Gabe hugged her to him.

“I don’t
even need a few minutes, Gabe. If sex will get her out, let’s
get to it. I’ll suffer with my back if it will get this
baby out.”

Gabe
burst out laughing then kissed her. “Later, darlin’, I promise.” Still
chuckling, he walked out the door.