Healing Gabriel (5 page)

She suddenly brightened.  “Oh!  Now I remember – I slipped
in the tub a couple of days ago.  Fell right back against the faucet and wacked
my head a good one on the wall.  I really have to get some of those anti-slip
things for the bottom of the tub.”

He returned to the potatoes.  “I’ve never met anyone who
falls as much as you do.”

“I know right?”  She said cheerily.  “I’m like a darn
cartoon character.  I used to be really embarrassed by it but now I just kind
of go with it.”

“Have you ever broken anything?”

“Oh yes.  I’ve broken my arms - my right one twice - and my
ankle.  Oh, and I cracked my ribs once.  I fell out of my cousin’s tree house.”

“I can’t believe your parents let you go in a tree house.”

“It’s always been just my mom and I.  My dad died when I was
a baby.  She forbade me to go into the tree house.  I decided to do it
anyway.”  She wiggled her eyebrows at him.  “My middle name is Danger.”

He laughed as he added the potatoes to the pot.

“It wasn’t as bad as the time my cousin and I were running
through the park though.  I tripped and fell right into a tree.  One of its
branches snapped off under my weight and stuck me in the side.  Skewered me
like a pig, it did.  Look at this.”

He glanced over as she raised her t-shirt and showed him the
scar on her right side.  “Impressive right?”

He nodded, swallowing thickly.  He wanted to drop to his
knees and kiss the pale, round scar, run his tongue over the slightly raised
flesh while he gripped her firm thighs and inhaled her scent.

He realized she was still talking and forced himself to
concentrate.

“I walked home with this branch sticking out of my side, blood
pouring out and my cousin stopping every five minutes to barf from the sight of
my blood.  My mother nearly had a stroke when we walked through the door.”

She brought him the spices and he added them to the soup as
she stood next to him and watched.  He stirred it carefully and she inhaled
again.  “Oh man, that smells so good.  I skipped lunch.”

“How come you’re not out with Andy tonight?” 

Christ, he hadn’t meant to ask that.

She shrugged.  “I hung out with him last night and Thursday
night.  He wanted to come over but I said no.  I like my space you know?”

He nodded as she boosted herself up and sat on the counter,
swinging her legs idly.  “We’re going to his parent’s house tomorrow night for Sunday
night dinner.”

He grunted in surprise and she raised her eyebrows at him. 
“Too soon yeah?  I mean, we’ve been going out for three weeks and I’m meeting
his parent’s already?  I once dated a guy in the city for nearly eight months
before he introduced me to his parents.  Is moving this quickly a small town guy
thing or what?”

“I wouldn’t know.”  He said honestly.

She sighed.  “I tried to get out of it but he was quite
insistent.  I guess we’ll see if I embarrass myself.  Of course, it’s not like
I haven’t tripped and fallen flat on my face in front of people before.”

The little frown line appeared between her eyes.  “Hmm, I
think I’d better wear pants.  Flashing your underwear does not make a good
impression with the parents.”

“Yeah, probably not.”

She stared at him thoughtfully.  For the first time since
she met him he wasn’t actively trying to hide his scars from her.  She
considered that progress.

“How’s Daisy doing tonight?”  She asked.

“She’s good.  The swelling in her leg is almost gone and the
infection in her eye socket has cleared up nicely.”

The vet had given Daisy a surprisingly good chance and after
only a week, she had improved so much that he was letting her into the pasture
to graze with the sheep.  Every night Morgan went to the barn and visited with
her, feeding her grain and hay and petting her gently.  She was a sweet and
gentle cow and he had to admit it was nice to have a cow in the barn again.

“That’s great.  I’m going to go to the barn in the morning
and give her a good brushing.  You know, I think she recognizes me now.”  She
gave him a grin of delight.

“I’m sure she does.  Cows are much smarter than people
think.”

“Do you think she’ll start producing milk?”  She asked.

“If we breed her and she has a calf, she will.”

“Are you going to breed her?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe.  She’s still pretty young so as long
as she’s healthy enough, it’s a possibility.”

“A baby cow would be so sweet.  If she does have a baby, will
you teach me to milk her?”

“If you’d like.”

“I really would.”  She said enthusiastically.  “My mom would
laugh so hard if she could see me living in the country and learning to milk a
cow.”

“How did your mom die?”  He asked quietly.

She sighed softly.  “Liver cancer.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.  I miss her a lot.”

There was a few moments of silence and then she smiled at
him.  “How old are you?”

“Twenty-nine.  How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven.  And you’ve lived here your entire life?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.  Why did you leave the city?”

She shrugged.  “After my mom died, it just didn’t feel like
home anymore.  The house was too empty and the city felt too – too big you
know?  I found the ad for the job here in Martinvale.  It was a bit unusual
because I started halfway through the year.  I guess the previous teacher had
to move for her husband’s job.  Anyway, I applied and got the job and now here
I am.”

“Here you are.”  He echoed softly.

“Did the sheep have their babies yet?”  She asked curiously
as he stirred the soup.

“The one did.  I think the other one will probably give
birth sometime this week.”

“Really?  When did she give birth?” 

He smiled at the excitement in her voice.  “Friday night. 
She had twins.”

“Oh my gosh!  Could I see them?”

“Sure.  I’ll take you out to the barn after supper.” 

She jumped down from the counter and squeezed his upper
arm.  “Thanks Gabe!”

He nodded, his skin tingling from her touch even through his
long-sleeve shirt, and stirred the soup again.

“I’m going to go see if my laundry is done.”  She left the
kitchen and he let his breath out in a harsh rush.  He didn’t want to admit to
himself how much he was enjoying her company but it was getting harder to deny.

He sighed and tasted the soup.  There was no harm in being
friends with her and if he had a little crush – so what?  It was to be
expected.  She was pretty and friendly and the first woman who didn’t stare at
him with a combination of pity and disgust.  In fact, he had the oddest feeling
that she didn’t even really notice the scars on his face. 

He snorted; she might be used to the scars on his face but
they were mild compared to the ones on his arm and his upper body.  He would be
wise to remember just how grotesque he looked before he started imagining
touching Morgan and having her touch him in return.  Besides, she was dating Andy.

Gabe stood and stretched before calling the dogs.  It was Sunday
night and he wanted to check on Molly one last time before he went to bed.  He
didn’t expect her to give birth tonight, but it wouldn’t hurt to check on her
once more.

He left the house, the dogs trotting in front of him.  He
looked to the carriage house, like he always did now, and frowned when he saw a
small glowing ember in the darkness.  What was that?  He paused and then headed
towards it.  He knew Morgan was home, he had heard her car pulling into the
driveway close to an hour ago, but the carriage house was dark. 

The dogs ran ahead of him, and his heart sped up in his
chest when he heard Morgan’s soft voice.

“Hello puppies.”

He climbed the steps; his eyes had adjusted to the dark and
he could see Morgan sitting on one of the wicker chairs.  His mouth dropped
open when he realized the glowing ember he had seen was from the cigarette she
was smoking.

He dropped into the chair beside hers.  “Hey Morgan.”

“Hello Gabe.”  She replied listlessly.  She took a deep drag
of the cigarette and he watched as she blew smoke rings out.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You seem upset.”

She shrugged.  “Yeah, maybe.”

He drummed his fingers nervously on the arm of his chair. 
“I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I’ve smoked off and on since I was eighteen.”  She inhaled
deeply on the cigarette and blew the smoke out before staring moodily into the
darkness.

He stayed silent and after a moment, she glanced at him. 
“Surprised?”

“Yeah.  You seem so – so…”

“Goody-two shoes?  Little miss sweetie pie?”  She arched her
eyebrow at him.

He nodded.  “Pretty much.  I’ve never even heard you curse.”

“When you work with kids it’s best to keep the swearing to a
minimum.”  She stubbed the cigarette out and reached for the pack sitting on
the table.  She struck a match and lit another.  Before she blew the match out
he had enough time to see that she had been crying.

“Please tell me what’s wrong Morgan.”  He said quietly.

She took another drag on the cigarette and blew it out in a
harsh rush.  “Andy dumped me tonight.”

He blinked in surprise.  “What?  Why?”

“He said it was because I didn’t seem interested enough in
him.  That if I liked him as much as he liked me, I would want to spend more
time with him.”

She took another angry drag.  “Apparently old Andy felt we
should be surgically attached at the hip.”

She stared at him.  “I’m not supposed to enjoy my alone time
when I’m in a new relationship?  That makes me some kind of freak?”

He shook his head.  “No, I don’t think so.”

“Yeah.”  She pulled her feet up and wrapped her arms around
her knees.  “He’s a big fat liar swimming in horse poop.”

He laughed, he couldn’t help it, and she gave him a mock
scowl.  “He is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, his reasons for breaking up with me are big fat
lies.”  She puffed on her cigarette.  “You want to know the real reason the
butthead broke up with me?”

“Sure.”

“I wouldn’t have sex with him.”

He jerked a little but she didn’t notice.  “You want to know
the ironic part?  I probably would have slept with him if he hadn’t made it so
apparent that he expected me to sleep with him. According to him, city girls
are tramps who can’t resist jumping a sweet old country boy’s bones.”

She scoffed and took one final drag before stubbing her
cigarette out.  “Do you expect a girl to sleep with you in the first three
weeks?”

“I – uh…”

She sighed.  “Never mind.  It’s not fair to compare you to
him – you’re a sweetheart and he’s a butthead.”

He didn’t know what to say to that so he cleared his throat
and stood.  “I was just going to check on Molly.”

“I’ll come with you.”  She stood and followed him down the
steps and across the yard.  As they crossed the driveway towards the barn, the
moon went behind the clouds and they were plunged into darkness.  She reached
for his hand.  He took it automatically; she took his hand so often it seemed
almost natural now.  He glanced down at their entwined hands and she squeezed
his briefly.

“Sorry, it’s pretty dark and I’ll fall for sure if I don’t
hold your hand.”  She said apologetically. 

“It’s fine.”  He held her hand firmly and kept her from
falling when she tripped at the entrance to the sheep shed.

He flicked the lights on.  His small flock of sheep blinked
sleepily from their large pen and they walked past them to the back where the
jugs were.  They were still holding hands despite the light, but he had already
decided he wasn’t letting go until she did.

He looked into Molly’s pen.  Morgan squeezed his hand
excitedly.  “She had her babies!”

He stared at the two lambs suckling at Molly’s udder.  “I’m
surprised she had them tonight.”

“They’re so sweet, so little.”  Morgan leaned over the pen
and stared at them.  “Such a good mama Molly, feeding your babies.”

They saw the little one at the same time.  Morgan gave a
moan of dismay as Gabe dropped her hand and quickly unlatched the pen.  The
third baby was lying still in the corner of the pen, its fur still wet and its
eyes closed.

“Oh no!”  Morgan had followed him in and she dropped to her
knees in front of the tiny lamb.  “Is it dead?”

He knelt beside her and rubbed the baby roughly.  It was
cold to the touch but it twitched and its mouth opened in a silent cry.

“We have to help it!”  Morgan was nearly crying now and he
picked the cold little baby up.  He cradled it against his chest and carried it
out of the pen.  Morgan followed him, latching the pen firmly behind her.

“Gabe?  Shouldn’t we give it to Molly?”

“No.  She’s rejected it.  We need to get it warmed up and
get some colostrum and milk into it.”

He walked rapidly to the house.  The dogs were sniffing
excitedly at his pants, jumping to try and smell the lamb as he walked. 
“Enough.”  He said sharply and they quieted.

There was a thud behind him and he turned to see Morgan on
her hands and knees on the ground.  She scrambled to her feet, motioning him to
go on.

“I’m fine.  Keep going.”

Once they were in the kitchen, he grabbed some towels from
the laundry room and handed them to Morgan.  She unfolded one of them as he
checked the baby’s sex and then placed the lamb in the towel in her arms. 
“Start drying her off.  Don’t be too rough but try and wipe as much of the
afterbirth off her as you can.”

She nodded and sat down on the floor of the kitchen. The
dogs crowded around her as she began to dry the baby and she gave them the hand
command she had seen Gabe use to make them lie down.  They obeyed her
immediately and she muttered, “Good puppies,” before continuing to dry the
lamb.

Gabe, collecting the bottle, nipple and a large syringe from
the cupboard, blinked in surprise.  The dogs rarely obeyed commands from anyone
but him.  He shook his head and opened the drawer that held the bag of powdered
colostrum and the bag of powdered sheep milk.  Working quickly, he mixed the
colostrum with warm water and sucked it up with the syringe.

“I think she’s starting to warm up.”  Morgan said.  The lamb
was moving in her lap and she held it a little closer.  “That’s a good sign
right?”

“Yes.”  He sat down across from her.  “Give her to me.”

She handed the baby over and watched fascinated as he tucked
it under his arm and used his hand to open its mouth.  He carefully syringed
the colostrum into its mouth, grunting with satisfaction when the baby
swallowed it.

“She’s eating it!”  Morgan scooted closer and petted the
lamb’s back.  “Is that milk?”

“No, it’s colostrum.  The baby needs it in the first 18
hours or so.  It has antibiotics and other important stuff in it.  Normally
they would get it from mom but the powder stuff will do in a pinch.  Can you
make up a bottle of milk?”

“Yes.”  She bounded to her feet.

“Just follow the instructions on the bag.  It will tell you on
the bag how much powder to water ratio.”

She quickly mixed the bottle as he syringed the rest of the
colostrum into the lamb’s mouth.  She sat down next to him and handed him the
bottle.  He put the nipple into the lamb’s mouth and waited.  It didn’t start
to suck and Morgan made a soft groan. 

“It’s not eating.”

“It doesn’t know how to suck from a bottle.  The instinct is
to look for mom’s nipple.”  He squeezed the bottle and some milk dripped from
the nipple onto the baby’s tongue.

“C’mon little baby, c’mon…” Morgan whispered pleadingly. 
She was leaning against him, her hands resting on his thigh and her hair
falling over one shoulder to brush lightly against his shirt sleeve.

He squeezed the bottle again and more milk dripped onto the
baby’s tongue.  It moved its mouth weakly and Morgan inhaled sharply.  Her
small hands squeezed his thigh as she stared at the lamb.  “Please baby.”

“If she can’t figure it out, we’ll syringe it into her.”  He
reassured her.

The baby began to suck and Morgan gave a small cry of
delight.  “She’s doing it!”

He smiled.  “Yeah, she is.”

She studied the lamb carefully.  She was white with grey
legs and a grey spot on her forehead.  As Gabe continued to feed the lamb, she
carefully wiped down its legs with another towel until its coat was completely
dry.

“How often will we have to feed her?”

“About every two to three hours.”  The lamb was starting to
tire and he pulled the bottle from its mouth.

“Do you want me to stay here tonight?  I can take a few of
the night shifts.”  She offered.

He shook his head.  It would be torture to have her sleeping
in the same house as him.  “No, that’s okay.”

“I don’t mind, really.”

“You’ll be tired tomorrow and you have to go to work.  I can
nap during the day if need be.”  He smiled at her.

“I’ll come by first thing in the morning and do one of the
feedings okay?”

He nodded.  “Sure.”

“What should we name her?”

He gave her a cautious look.  “Maybe we should wait until
tomorrow.  She might not make it through the night Morgan.”

She smiled at him.  “She’ll make it.  She needs a name.”

He returned her smile.  “Do you have any suggestions?”

She stared at the tiny baby for a few minutes.  “Lemon.”

“Lemon?”

She flushed a little.  “Well, she’s kind of a lemon right? 
Is that a stupid name?”

“No.  It’s a good name.”

Morgan petted the now-sleeping lamb and kissed the top of
its head.  “Sweet little Lemon – be strong baby girl.”

She sighed and stood up.  “I’d better get to bed.  It’s
getting late.  I’ll come by before work tomorrow okay?”

“Okay.”

She squeezed his shoulder briefly.  “Good night Gabe.”

“Good night Morgan.”

* * *

“Well, would you look at that?”  Peter nudged Lacey and she
turned from where she was setting out the bowls of chips on the patio table.

“Oh my God.”  She breathed lightly.

Gabe’s truck had just pulled into the driveway and he and
Morgan were climbing out.

Morgan glanced up at Gabe as they started towards the back
yard of his sister’s place.

“Okay?”  She asked softly.

“Yeah.  A little nervous.”  He admitted.

“It’ll be fine.  Lacey said it’s all people you guys went to
school with.”

“I haven’t seen most of them since high school.”  His side was
hurting.  He didn’t think it was nerves.  It had been painful and throbbing for
over a week now, and he had lost most of his appetite.  He’d even thrown up
this morning after breakfast.  He sighed.  He would have to go to the doctor
and just the thought of going was making him even more nauseous.  Ever since
the accident, anyone wearing a white lab coat made him want to puke.

“Are you sure you’re okay Gabe?  You’re pale.”  Morgan was
frowning at him.

“I’m fine.”

“If you don’t want to do this, we don’t have to.  You know
that right?”  She had been surprised when he said he was going to the
barbeque.  She knew that he had started to come out of his shell, especially
with her, but he hadn’t made any move until today to socialize with other
people.

“I know.  I – I want to.”  He lied.  He didn’t want to but
he also hadn’t wanted to sit at home alone while Morgan went to the barbeque. 
They spent nearly every Saturday together now.  He made her dinner while she
did her laundry, and they usually watched a movie after dinner. 

He had told her he was going to Lacey’s on impulse – an
impulse he was now deeply regretting.

Lacey held her breath as she watched Morgan and Gabe pause
outside of the yard.  She had a feeling that Gabe was about to turn and bolt
and she reached for Peter’s hand.  He took it and squeezed reassuringly. 

“I don’t think he’s going to stay.”  She murmured.

“He will.”  Peter kissed her temple.  “And if he doesn’t –
at least he tried.  That’s more than he’s done in years.”

Lacey watched as Morgan suddenly reached up and put her hand
on Gabe’s forehead and then his cheeks.  He didn’t flinch or draw away from her
and Lacey’s eyes widened.  He never let her or Natalia touch any part of his
face, and Morgan had just touched the scarred side like it was no big deal.

She glanced at Peter.  “Did you see that?” 

“See what?”  Peter asked.

“He – he let her touch him.”

“Gabe, you’re really pale and sweaty.”  Morgan frowned and
reached up to lay her hand on his forehead, before moving it to first his right
cheek and then his left.  He closed his eyes at her touch.  He wasn’t even
thinking about the fact that she was touching his scars; he was too wrapped up
in the slow burn of excitement in his belly that always happened when she
touched him.  It even blotted out the pain.