Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (6 page)

“Gabe...”
Emma tore her mouth from his, gasping. He raised his head slowly, gazed into
her eyes, and frowned. “Jake’s calling for me,” she explained. Gabe stepped
back just as Jake walked into the barn. He came to a standstill and glar
ed at Gabe.

“What
are you doing here, Gabe?” Jake stalked toward his brother.

Gabe
scooped his hat up from the floor and slammed it on his head. “I was talking
with Emma as if it’s any of your business, which it isn’t.” Jake moved closer
to Gabe as they gl
ared at each other. Emma stepped
between them. She put her hands on each hard chest. They both looked at her.

“I’m
fine, Jake. I’m a big girl. Gabe and I were just…talking.” She knew her cheeks
were flaming red at the lie, but she couldn’t tell Jake the tr
uth. The two men turned their heads back to stare at each
other again.

“Back
off,” Jake growled between clenched teeth.

Gabe
laughed.
“Or what?
Emma isn’t your little sister,
Jake. She’s a grown woman and it’s none of your business what she does.”

Emma cou
ldn’t believe it when Jake stepped closer. She was being
sandwiched between two huge men. Any other woman would have loved it, but not
her. She glared at Jake. “Let it go, Jake. He’s right. I know what I’m
doing…please,” she added when he didn’t move.

Jake
’s jaw clenched and he continued to glare at his brother.
“She may not be my sister by blood, but we’ve known her practically her entire
life. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“What
makes you think I’d hurt her?” Gabe muttered.

Jake
laughed. “Hell, Gabe. Tha
t’s a real stupid question.
I don’t think you really want me to answer that.”

“Fuck
you, Jake,” Gabe hissed through clenched teeth.

Having
had more than enough of all the testosterone in the space, Emma stepped away
from them, waving her hand at them.
“Fin
e.
Have at it. I’m going in to
dinner.” She walked away leaving the two men glaring at each other.

* * * *

“You
want to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doing?” Jake asked with a finger
punch to Gabe’s shoulder.

Gabe
huffed, and turned away. “Shit,
I don’t know…”

“You
don’t know? Well, you’d better figure it out. I’m not kidding when I say I
don’t want her hurt. Christ! I will personally kick your ass if you hurt her.
You got that?”

Gabe
turned back to Jake, standing toe to toe with him.
“You and wh
at army?”
He sneered.

Jake’s
lips tilted in a slow smile.
“Wyatt’s.”

Gabe
stepped back. “That’s cheating. You know he can kick both our asses.”

The
brothers looked at each other, and then laughed. It was something they knew was
very possible. Just because
Wyatt was the youngest
didn’t mean he wasn’t the meanest. Jake sighed. “You want to come in for
dinner?”

Gabe
shook his head. “No thanks. I need to get some things done. I just came by to…”

“See
Emma, yeah, I get it. She’s beautiful, but Gabe, you aren’t the right man for
her. She wants a family. She tells
Becca
all the time.” Jake shook his
head. “You don’t.”

Gabe
narrowed his eyes at Jake. “You didn’t either at one time. Then a little redhe
ad came into your life and look how happy you are now.
Maybe I want it too, Jake.” Then he strode from the barn, hopped in his truck,
and tore out of the driveway.

Jake was
wrong. Gabe wanted a family. He hadn’t actually realized it until now. The
question
was did he want it with Emma Conner? He was
still angry as he drove toward town. He had errands to run but now he wasn’t
even able to think of what they were. Maybe he should’ve agreed to stay for
dinner. He wondered what the discussion was at that dinner
table. Would Jake lecture Emma on him? Warn her to stay
away from him? Should he stay away from Emma? He knew Jake was right about her
wanting a family. Emma Conner was the kind of woman who dreamed of white picket
fences, and a house filled with children
. When he
reached a crossroad, he turned the truck around and headed back. The only thing
he needed to do right now was go home, grab a beer, and do some serious
thinking.

* * * *

The next
day, Emma sat at the front desk watching the kids run in and out
with a smile on her face. Olivia sat beside her and
growled. “Could they just stay in or out?”

Emma
couldn’t resist chuckling at Olivia’s annoyance. “They’re kids, Liv. Don’t you
remember what it was like being that little?”

Olivia
glanced away from her. “
No. I didn’t have that kind
of childhood, Emma. My childhood consisted of moving from foster home to foster
home, and pissing off the people who took me in.” She shrugged, dropping her
gaze to the register on the desk.

Emma put
her arm around her. “I’m so
sorry. I know you had a
rough time but you’ve never told me how rough.”

Olivia
moved away from her. “I’ll tell you someday, just not today.” She gave her a
sad smile and disappeared into the kitchen. Emma felt horrible reminding Olivia
of her bad childhood. She didn’t know the entire story but from what she’d
gathered, it hadn
’t been a good one until she’d met
Becca
and her parents. Emma had heard
Olivia say
Becca
had saved her. She hoped one day
Olivia would tell her so she might understand her friend better.

She
redirected her attention toward the door with a smile on her lip
s until she saw Gabe enter. The smile immediately left her
face. Her gaze ran over that tall frame, and then she looked around for a place
to hide. Too late, he’d already seen her. Why did he keep showing up? Biting
back a sigh, she sat up straighter and w
aited for him
to get to the desk. He sauntered up, leaned his hip against the counter, and
smiled at her. He nodded his chin toward the kids running in and out. “I wish I
had half their energy.” He chuckled.

Emma
smiled but didn’t say anything. She kept he
r face
down, pretending to look at the reservation book. Out of the corner of her eye,
she saw Gabe rest his elbows on the desk. “Are you going to continue to ignore
me, Emma?” The timbre of his voice slid over her like warm honey making her
want to melt i
nto his arms. She gazed up at him and
just as fast, wished she hadn’t. Her heart hit her stomach like a rock.

“I’m not
ignoring you, Gabe. Why would I do that?”

He
raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea, but you seem to be doing just that.”

Emma
sighed in frus
tration. “Why are you here? Did you
need something?” She watched as he straightened up, and walked around the desk
to her. She backed up as he moved toward her.

“Yes, I
do need something. Do you want to know what it is?” When she shook her head to
indicate
no, he chuckled.
“Too bad.”
He cupped her face in his hands
and leaned his face down to hers. “I need this,” he whispered before pressing
his lips to hers. She moaned in response. “Open your mouth for me, darlin’.”
When she did, he groaned low in his thro
at as he
wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. Her hands moved up his
chest to his neck and wrapped around his shoulders. Gabe pushed his arousal
against her.

Good
Lord! She needed this. She needed Gabe. He pulled back from her and looked
down into her eyes.

“Gabe…I…”
She stopped when he placed a finger over her lips and shook his head. He
started to say something but stopped, and stepped away instead. She didn’t
understand why until Olivia entered the room. Gabe had heard her and Emma had
n’t. She was glad he had. Her cheeks were already on fire.
If Olivia had caught them, she’d never live it down.

Olivia
stood there looking at them with a cookie in her hand. She tilted her head and
looked as if she were trying not to laugh. She raised a bl
ack eyebrow at Gabe being on the wrong side of the desk and
Emma leaning against the wall. Gabe cleared his throat. “I’ll talk to you
later, Emma. Bye Liv.” He muttered something under his breath as he went out
the door. Once he was gone, Emma let out a lo
ng
breath and sat down.

Olivia
continued to stare at her. “Is everything okay, Emma?”

Emma
nodded. “I…uh…have to start dinner.” As she left the foyer, she heard Olivia
say, “Interesting.”

* * * *

A day
had passed since Gabe’s strange visit behind the fro
nt
desk. Emma stood in the kitchen whisking up chocolate batter for a little
girl’s birthday cake and lost in thought, trying not to think about Gabe when
someone tapped her on the shoulder. She screamed and dropped the metal bowl.
When the bowl hit the fl
oor, the batter shot into the
air and splattered all over her. It covered her hair and the front of her
apron. She glanced around to see
Becca
with her hand over her mouth
trying not to laugh, but it bubbled out anyway. Emma looked down at herself,
and the
n at
Becca
. Tears were filling
Becca’s
eyes from pent up laughter. Emma
grinned. She scooped chocolate off her apron and threw it at her friend,
hitting her in the face.
Becca
gasped making Emma laugh.

Olivia
came running into the kitchen, Emma presumed be
cause
she’d heard her scream. She skidded to a halt when she saw Emma and
Becca
with batter all over them. She
started laughing, but gasped when Emma smeared chocolate on her face. She
glared at both women. Then the battle began. They were scooping the bat
ter from the floor, the bowl, or each other, and smearing
it all over the other. The batter on the floor made it impossible to keep their
footing. They slipped, fell, and rolled around trying to get the better of each
other. Screams and laughter echoed thr
ough the
kitchen. None of them noticed Jake, Gabe, and Wyatt standing in the doorway
watching them. When they heard Jake speak, in unison they stopped to look
toward the doorway. “This is better than Jell-O wrestling,” Jake exclaimed with
a happy smile.

The
women looked at each other and burst out laughing. Jake helped
Becca
up. She stuck a finger in his
mouth. “You know I love chocolate, Red, especially if you’re covered in it.” He
sucked the chocolate from her finger. “Come on, let’s get you home, and c
leaned up.” Together they disappeared out the back door.

Emma
felt Gabe’s eyes on her. She gazed up at him. “Do you need help cleaning up,
Emma?” He grinned at her. Shaking her head, she understood his insinuation. She
didn’t need his help but every time s
he tried to
stand, she’d slide around the floor, making Olivia
laugh
harder.

Emma
finally got herself up with a loud huff. “I’m taking a shower,” she told them.
When Gabe started to speak, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Alone.” Gabe
chuckled. Before Emma s
tarted for her apartment, she
watched as Olivia flirted with Wyatt.

“Help me
up, Cowboy?” Olivia raised her hand. Wyatt pulled her up then stepped back from
her. She grinned at him. “Want to lick the chocolate off me?” Although, he
didn’t move, Emma notice
d the distance he put between
them.

“I don’t
like chocolate,” he said before walking out the back door. After one last
glance at Emma, Gabe followed him.

Emma
didn’t know what to say when Olivia looked at her then back toward the door.
Her heart was breaki
ng for her friend. She put her
arm around Olivia. “How about after we shower, we watch a movie?” Olivia
nodded, but her eyes kept glancing toward the door. Emma felt her take a deep
breath before letting out a sigh. Emma started cleaning up the mess on the
floor. Olivia helped her until the kitchen was once again
spotless. Once finished, they retreated to their own apartments to shower and
afterward, meet up for a movie.