Just Kate: His Only Wife (Bestselling Author Collection) (40 page)

Watching her, Gage found it hard to believe they shared the same humble beginnings. Not that he disliked his former mother-in-law. Far from it. While Carol May hadn’t exactly welcomed him into the family fold, she hadn’t opposed his and Aubrey’s marriage, either.

“Hi, Mom.” Aubrey met her mother in the center of the living room, and the two hugged fondly.

“Small-town living must suit you,” Carol May gushed. “You look wonderful. Doesn’t she look wonderful, Alex?” Holding Aubrey’s hand, she stepped back and beamed.

“She does indeed.” Dr. Stuart’s glance darted from Aubrey to Gage, and he shifted uncomfortably. Finding his ex-son-in-law on the front porch with his tongue halfway down his daughter’s throat was probably just as awkward for him as it was for Gage.

Carol May tugged Aubrey toward the couch, where they both sat. “I can’t believe how well Mother is doing.” She cast a fond glance at Rose, who sat across from them in her favorite recliner.

“Aubrey’s to be commended,” Rose said. “She’s a top-notch nurse.”

Dr. Stuart moved to stand at the end of the couch beside Aubrey. A sentinel guarding the treasure, thought Gage. She’d told him her father hadn’t wanted her to leave her job for six weeks and come to Blue Ridge. Was he afraid Gage might try and talk her into staying?

Well, hadn’t he done exactly that? So, maybe Dr. Stuart did have a legit reason to worry.

“I can’t take all the credit. Grandma is an easy patient.”

“That’s not what you told me last week,” Rose complained with good-natured humor. “Or the week before.”

Aubrey’s posture relaxed for the first time since the porch light came on unexpectedly during her and Gage’s kiss. “Well, there were days...”

“Gage, it’s wonderful to see you again.” Carol May aimed her radiant smile at him. “I hear you’ve become a wilderness firefighter.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“He was promoted to crew leader today,” Aubrey chimed in.

“Congratulations.” Carol May appeared impressed.

Her husband less so. “That’s a very dangerous occupation,” Dr. Stuart said. “How does your mother feel about it?”

“She’s pretty supportive, really.” Gage studied the dynamics of the room and chose to stand by the side table near the entry, specifically because it put him opposite Dr. Stuart.

“And your father? Is he pretty supportive, too?”

“He’s coming around.” Gage would rip his fingernails out one by one with a pair of rusty pliers before discussing his family situation with Dr. Stuart.

“Hannah’s attending Pineville College.” Aubrey perched on the edge of her couch cushion. “She’s taking over management of the ranch when she graduates.”

Her efforts to diffuse the tension in the room were wasted. The invisible daggers shooting from one man to the other would fell anyone accidentally crossing the line of fire.

“Good for Hannah,” Carol May said.

Small talk continued for the next twenty minutes, though Carol May, Aubrey and Rose dominated the conversation. When he wasn’t being asked a question, Gage studied the Stuarts, Aubrey and her father in particular.

She loved him, that much was undeniable. And respected him. She also craved his approval, though if asked, she might deny it. But Gage knew Aubrey about as well as anyone did, and he’d witnessed her relationship with her father firsthand over the years. The once insecure little girl had grown into a woman who wanted to pick her own path, regardless of how her father felt or what, in his opinion, was best for her.

The trouble was, Dr. Stuart hadn’t quite learned to let go.

Then again, Gage asked himself, was his relationship with his own father any different?

Not much.

When he and Aubrey eloped ten years ago, they should have stayed in Las Vegas and away from their dads. Maybe they’d still be married.

“Dolores Garcia announced she’s retiring in two months,” Dr. Stuart said abruptly.

“She is?” Aubrey swivelled on her cushion to stare up at her father with undisguised excitement.

“Really, Alex?” Carol May arched her delicately penciled eyebrows. “You didn’t mention that on the ride up here.”

“Who’s Dolores Garcia?” Rose asked.

That’s what Gage wanted to know, and why Aubrey seemed so fired up about her retirement.

“She’s the nursing supervisor in the E.R.” Dr. Stuart answered Rose, but it was Aubrey he looked at. “Been at Tucson General for twenty-something years.”

“She’s my boss,” Aubrey clarified. She swung back around to face the room, though her attention was clearly elsewhere.

“I see.” Gage’s attention was also wandering, and he didn’t like the direction it had taken.

“You need to put in your application right away.” Dr. Stuart squeezed Aubrey’s shoulder. “Your first day back at work. It’s this Tuesday, right?”

Gage’s head shot up. He waited for Aubrey to tell her father she was contemplating staying in Blue Ridge.

“Dad, I’m not qualified to be nursing supervisor. They won’t give me the job.”

She’d avoided the question, supporting Gage’s bad feeling that more was happening than met the eye.

“No,” Dr. Stuart concurred. “As head nurses, Clair Rittenbacher or Karen Karpinski will probably be recruited to replace her. But you
are
qualified for either of their positions,” he added.

All at once the puzzle pieces clicked into place. Dr. Stuart hadn’t made the trip to Blue Ridge solely to check on Rose. He had a second agenda, which was to facilitate Aubrey’s return to her job so she could take that next important step up the career ladder.

Not altogether different from the night he’d shown up at the motor home, suggesting she return to school and switch her major to nursing, and he’d then provided her with the means to do it.

Gage’s anger mounted. Aubrey talked by phone regularly with her family. Had Dr. Stuart noticed a recent change in his daughter’s attitude? Or had he gotten wind from Carol May’s conversations with Rose?

She fidgeted beneath Gage’s scrutiny, unable or unwilling to offer a comment. And while it wasn’t his place to speak for her, he was just mad enough at her father to overstep his boundaries.

“As it turns out,” Gage said, “Aubrey might not be returning to Tucson. She’s considering moving in with me.”

“What!”

If Gage had been hoping to throw his former father-in-law for a loop, his plan was a rousing success.

“Is this true?” Dr. Stuart came around the corner of the couch to face Aubrey.

Seeking to restore the balance of power, Gage advanced several steps toward Aubrey.

“Why, that’s wonderful,” Rose exclaimed, the only person in the room besides Gage tickled at Aubrey’s potential change of residence.

Aubrey certainly wasn’t tickled. The frown she shot Gage shouted in no uncertain terms that she didn’t appreciate his interference. Three seconds later he understood why.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” her father demanded.

“Dad—”

“You can’t be seriously thinking of abandoning a promising career to live in this backwater town with him.”

“Now, wait a minute, Alex.” Carol May stiffened. “I was raised in this same backwater town.”

“And fled the day you turned eighteen. Wisely, I might add.” He ignored Rose’s softly uttered protest.

Carol May didn’t. “Was that necessary?”

“Whether I stay here or return to Tucson is my decision to make.” Aubrey stood, her movements deliberate. “And I’ll ask you to leave me to it.”

Gage smiled. The Aubrey he’d known ten years ago didn’t have the gumption to stand up to her father. Proud of her courage and maturity, he silently cheered her on.

Dr. Stuart, however, wasn’t someone who relented easily and proceeded to make his case. “Head nurse would put you in a nice position for future promotions. Who knows when another opportunity like this one will come along?”

“You’re right.” Aubrey settled back on her heels. “Which is why I’ll be returning to Tucson in two days. Not because it’s what you want,” she added, cutting off her father when he would have said more.

The smile on Gage’s lips died. “What do you mean, returning to Tucson? Not thirty minutes ago you agreed to think seriously about staying in Blue Ridge.”

“And I will.” Conviction and determination were decidedly lacking in her voice.

Hope for a future with Aubrey seeped slowly out of Gage. He’d been a fool to believe he could counter Dr. Stuart’s powers of persuasion. “It sounds to me like you’ve already decided.”

She hesitated too long before answering. “Not...entirely.”

Who was she kidding?

Who was
he
kidding? Aubrey might have toyed with the idea of moving in with him, but she was never serious about it. Not like him.

“I’m glad to see you’re being sensible.” Dr. Stuart visibly relaxed.

And why not? He’d won. Again.

Yet it was Aubrey and not her father Gage directed his anger at. She’d strung him along these past weeks, and, like an eager-to-please puppy, he’d obliged her. Fresh resentment mingled with a decade-old sense of betrayal.

“Have you ever seen a commitment through to the end?” he bit out. “Just once?”

She drew herself up in mild shock. “Excuse me?”

“You quit school when you were a freshman because you couldn’t cope with the pressure and came running here. We get married and after six short weeks, you hightailed it back home the second Daddy came around and crooked his little finger.”

“That’s not true.” Fists planted firmly on her hips, she stared at him with incredulity.

“How else would you describe it?”

“We were miserable.”

“We were newlyweds. Adjusting to the change. And we weren’t miserable every second.” He could tell from the slight widening of her eyes she’d caught his meaning. “Then, two months ago, we have what amounts to the same scenario. Only instead of college, it’s your job you can’t handle. So, just like before, you leave Tucson and head here. Surprise, surprise, Daddy shows up, and he convinces you it’s in your best interest to go back with him. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“Can’t handle your job? What’s he talking about, Aubrey?” Carol May demanded. Clearly she hadn’t been included in the loop regarding Aubrey’s career crisis.

“My grandmother needed me,” Aubrey said, addressing Gage, not her mother.

“Your grandmother needed a nurse. Not necessarily you.” Somewhere in the back of his mind Gage realized he should shut up, but once started, he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—stop. His pain ran too deep, he hurt too much. “Face it, Aubrey, you grabbed the first available excuse to bail on another commitment. Just like you’re doing tonight.”

“You’re...wrong.”

“Is having a relationship with me really that scary?”

“Of course not.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

She pushed an unruly lock of hair back from her face with unnecessary impatience. “You know how important my career is to me and how few job options there are for nurses in Blue Ridge.”

“You couldn’t wait eighteen months? I said I’d move to Tucson when Hannah graduated.”

“The emergency department at Tucson General isn’t all that big,” Dr. Stuart interjected. “There may not be another head nurse position open for years. If you care about her, you won’t hold her back.”

“He’s pressuring you into leaving, Aubrey,” Gage said. “Can’t you see it?”

“He’s not the only one,” she snapped. “
You’re
pressuring me into staying.”

“Like I pressured you into marriage? Like your father pressured you to go back to school and is doing essentially the same thing now with your job? Can’t you ever make up your own mind about anything?”

“I...” Her face crumbled, proof his accusations stung.

Gage sighed. He’d made his point, but the victory was hollow. “All I asked you for was two days. Two days to consider the possibilities. You didn’t last an hour.”

Carol May rose from the couch. “Why don’t we retire to the kitchen and give Aubrey and Gage some privacy.” Over her shoulder she said, “Alex?”

He didn’t budge.

“Don’t bother.” Gage whirled around and headed for the front door. Privacy wasn’t going to help resolve the problems between him and Aubrey. At this point, nothing would.

She followed him to the door. “Gage. Wait...”

He stopped and stared down at her. “Give me one reason to.”

She was so pretty. And vulnerable. He could see she hated the fact they were arguing, and it tore him up inside. Yet as mad as he was, if she gave even the tiniest indication she’d stay, he’d sweep her in his arms, kiss her soundly and forget their fight ever happened.

She wasn’t about to do any such thing. He could see that, too.

“You’re being stubborn.” She sniffed, blinked back tears.

“Yeah, I am. You know why? Because I want all of you. Not just the part your dad isn’t controlling.”

“What about your dad? He controls you.”

“He sure as hell tries to. But the difference between you and me is I recognize it, admit it, and am doing my dead level best to fight it.” He pushed open the screen door and hit the porch.

“My dad is right about some things,” she called after him.

Gage stopped at the bottom step but didn’t turn around.

“Becoming a nurse was a good career choice me,” she said to his back. “And we weren’t ready for marriage.”

He rubbed his neck, which was stiff and sore. “Doesn’t appear like we’re any more ready now.”

She opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. “I’m sorry.”

Before he could respond, his radio went off. He listened to the dispatch, then reached for his cell phone.

“Gage?”

“I have to go,” he said and jogged to his truck.

For the first time since running into Aubrey two months ago at the convenience store in Pineville, he was glad to be called to a fire.

* * *

On impulse, Aubrey pulled the twin bed she’d been sleeping in the past two months away from the wall. With one hand on the windowsill, she bent and peered into the narrow space she’d created between the wall and the wooden headboard. What she saw brought a smile to her lips and bittersweet sadness to her heart.

There, lined up in a not quite straight row, were fourteen
X
s carved into the back of the headboard. One for each summer she and Annie had stayed with their grandparents. It had been a tradition for the girls to carve a new
X
on the matching twin headboards their last day there before starting the drive home.