April's Promise (Forever Love Series) (12 page)

"Tell
me something, Gabe.  What are your dreams for the future?"

He
could feel his guard going up because he suspected the question was a lead-in
to something else.  "I don't dream any more.  I deal with reality.  My
main goal is to raise Stephie to be a happy person with strong values."

"So
you have dreams for her, but not for yourself?"

"That's
about right."

April seemed
disappointed at his answer.  After a few moments, she put her arms around
Stephie and whispered to her, "Come on, little one, time to go to
bed."

But
Gabe was off the sofa and lifting Stephie into his own arms.  "I'll carry
her up," he said.

As he
mounted the stairs, he realized the one reality he might have to face—the possibility
he wasn't Stephie's father.  He remembered a conversation between the nurses
the night of the accident.  They'd been discussing Larry Powell.  He'd
overheard one say to the other that the man had no relatives to notify.  How
had they known that?  Had Vanessa managed to tell them that before she died? 
Just how well had she known Larry Powell?

So many
questions.

But
Gabe wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers.

****

Chapter
Seven

April
asked Gabe if he wanted to go along to buy Stephie new winter clothes on
Saturday, and to her surprise he agreed.  Maybe he wanted to go along to make
sure she didn't go over budget...or she didn't overspend...or she didn't go
overboard.  But he bought everything she picked up from the faux fur winter
coat in an animal print pattern to the cute little boots with pompoms, from the
denim coveralls to the pink blouse with the ruffle around the neck, to the
bumblebee Halloween costume for the kids' party at the fire company's social
hall next weekend.  It was easy to see he wouldn't deny his daughter anything.

Even if
she wasn't his daughter?

One of
April's major concerns on whether or not she should tell Gabe the truth was
Stephie.  What would telling him do to his relationship with his daughter? 
Because she
was
his daughter in every way that mattered.

Home
from their excursion, Gabe parked in the driveway, opened the back door and
unhitched Stephie from her car seat while April gathered up some of the
packages.

April
was helping Stephie out of her jacket in the living room when Gabe said,
"I'll take all the bags upstairs.  I'm going to change into some old
clothes so I can finish the yard work."

April
was no sooner in the kitchen with Stephie, finding an apple in the refrigerator
to cut up for a snack for her, when the doorbell rang.  Knowing Gabe was
upstairs, she didn't hesitate to answer it.  When she opened it, she found
Debra Evans, the single mom from the preschool open house.  She was taken aback
when she saw April, but then her smile resurfaced.  She was carrying a plate of
something covered with aluminum foil.

Gabe
was coming down the steps by then, and Stephie had run to the door, too.

Since
it was obvious this woman was here to see Gabe, April stepped aside.  Debra's
little girl was beside her and he smiled down at her as he said, "This is
a surprise."

The
woman frowned.  "I left a message on your answering machine.  I told you
I'd stop by around two with some brownies for a play date and you should call
me if there was a problem, otherwise I'd just show up.  So here I am."

Gabe
looked at April, but she just shook her head.  She hadn't checked the machine.

"We
were out all morning, so I missed you message."  Then politely, he said,
"But I'm sure Stephie would like to play with Beverly.  Come on in. 
Brownies are always welcome."

Brownies
are always welcome?  
April thought.

Debra
took the cover from the brownies and held them up to Gabe's nose to take a whiff. 
"Isn't chocolate the best aphrodisiac?"

Gabe
didn't seem comfortable with that idea, and he glanced down at the girls. 
"Stephie, why don't you get out a game for the two of you to play?  Or
dolls...or something."

"Toy
box," Stephie said gleefully, and went to the corner of the living room
where it was kept.  Debra's little girl followed her.

"How
about some coffee to go with this?" Gabe asked amiably, as if the idea of
coffee and brownies might be a good thing.  "We had an early lunch to go
shopping, so I'm sure we're all ready for a snack."  He looked to April
for confirmation of that fact.

She
wasn't confirming anything.  She felt like a third wheel.  This was no place
for her right now.  Not with the flirting that was going to go on.

"I'm
going to go for a jog," she explained.  Then she nodded to the plate. 
"Maybe I'll have one of those later after I earned it."

Debra
looked pleased.  Gabe?   She wasn't sure if he liked Debra's attention and the
idea of a chocolate aphrodisiac or not.

She
couldn't tell what Gabe was feeling, so she ran up the stairs to change her
clothes.  Apparently Gabe's yard work could wait until after brownies and
coffee.  April knew she was going to go for a very
long
jog.

****

When
April returned down the stairs, Stephie and Beverly were sprawled on the floor
in the living room, dolls and their clothes spread around them.  She heard the
low voices of Gabe and Debra in the kitchen.  After a smile for the girls and a
wave good-bye, she hurried outside.

Once on
the front lawn, April stretched.  Five minutes later, she started out at a
walk, then a fast walk, then a jog, then a run.  She felt as if she wanted to
outrun every thought and feeling.  This morning, she and Gabe had been buying
clothes for Stephie.  Innocuous enough, right?

Sure,
until their hands brushed when they felt the fabric...until their elbows hit
each other when they pulled a coat off a rack...until their gazes met and they
remembered kisses from both now and in the past.  They'd accomplished their
goal—fitting Stephie with a winter wardrobe.  Yet under the surface was a
constant tension...under the surface was a knowledge they wanted each
other...under the surface was the fact that they were both holding back.

April
jogged often but she was usually focused, intent on where she was going,
completely aware of everything around her and in front of her.  Today, however,
she was distracted.  She felt the leaves under her running shoes.  She knew
they moved, some of them still slick from another rain earlier in the week.  But
she'd run on all surfaces.  She'd splashed through puddles.  She'd even jogged
on ice.

The sun
was bright today as she ran to the corner.  It flashed off of the windshield of
a parked car, practically blinding her.  However, she didn't slow down.  She
couldn't.  She didn't want to.

That
was when it happened.

Her
right foot slipped.  Her feet felt like they were sliding out from under her,
and she fell hard on her left knee.  She'd worn her jogging shorts because
she'd been in a hurry.  Even though she'd grabbed her warm-up jacket, her legs were
bare.  She was breathing hard from the run, trying to absorb what had happened
in the fall, gasping for breath she couldn't seem to find.  She closed her eyes
and calmed herself, told herself all she had to do was breath.  But pain was
shooting up her leg, and she felt the brushburns and scrapes below her knee. 
Finally opening her eyes, she looked at her leg.  Dirty and ugly-looking, she
knew she was going to have bruises as well as scrapes and brushburns.

Her jog
had ended.  It might have ended for the next week or so.  That depended on if
anything else hurt.

She
slowly rose to her feet, expecting pain in her knee.   It ached a little, but surprisingly,
it wasn't bad.  Fortunately, for the most part, her leg had taken the brunt of
it.  It felt as if it was on fire and hurt like the dickens.  Since she had
jogged about a mile from Gabe's house, this was going to be a long walk home.

****

Gabe
had said good-bye to Debra as soon as it was feasible to do so.  Fortunately
Stephie had given him the perfect out.  She and Beverly had squabbled over
something and Stephie had begun crying.  Without a nap, she'd gotten over-tired. 
He'd told Debra they'd have to cut the playdate short today.

He'd
just come downstairs after settling Stephie in her room, when he saw April
limping up the front path to the door.  He didn't think twice about rushing to
the door and opening it for her.

When he
saw her leg, he felt his jaw tighten, but he managed to unclench it.  "What
happened?"

"What
does it look like?" she asked, limping to the chair and holding onto the
arm before she sat.

"It
looks like you took a pretty bad fall.  You've got to get that cleaned
up."

"I
just walked a mile after the fall, so give me a minute, okay?"

He was
handling this all wrong.  He'd always handled April all wrong.  Maybe it was
because he felt too much when he was around her.  Maybe it was because he'd
always wondered what they could have had.  Maybe it was because he'd committed
himself to another woman and hadn't wanted to regret it.

"Did
you hurt your knee?"

"I
think the knee's okay, maybe just bruised a little."

"I'll
be right back," he muttered, going into the kitchen.

He kept
an ice bag in the freezer for basketball strains and, once in a while,
Stephie's boo-boos.  He grabbed that, wrapped it in a towel and poured a glass
of orange juice.  Then he took both into April.  After handing her the orange
juice, he gently laid the ice bag on her knee.  She sighed and looked up at him
with wide brown eyes.  "Thank you."

Her
voice sounded a little thick and he suspected the pain was getting to her.

"Why
didn't you phone me?"

"Because
I didn't have my cell phone along."

"That's
because you shot out of here like a rabbit with a hunter after it."

"Don't
be silly.  I just wanted to get out of your way."

At that
he shook his head.  "You weren't in my way.  In fact, if you'd been here,
the whole scenario would have been a lot more comfortable."

"I
wasn't going to sit here and watch you flirt with her in front of me."

"April." 
Her name was a scolding warning.

"Tell
me she didn't flirt with you, and you didn't flirt back."

"I
didn't flirt back."  He enunciated each word so she'd get his drift.

"She
wants to go out with you."

"Tell
me something I don't know.  I didn't invite her here today, April.  She invited
herself.  So I don't know why you're angry at
me
."

"I'm
not angry at you."

He
hiked up his brows.

She
shook her head.  "Oh, Gabe, everything between us is always so
complicated."

She was
definitely right about that.  There was silence for a little while as she
finished the juice.

But
once she did, he said, "You really need to get this leg cleaned up.  I'll
carry you upstairs."

"You
will not.  Can't I just bandage it down here?"

"I
ran out of antiseptic down here, and the antibacterial soap is upstairs, too. 
My bathroom.  Come on, let's get this done."

"You're
bossy," she murmured.

"No,
I'm the best part of your good sense.  It's telling you what you should
do."

A cloud
seemed to cross April's face and he wondered if she suddenly felt a jolt of
pain.

"I
have ibuprofen upstairs, too," he cajoled.

"Blackmail."

"Whatever
works."

April
had a stubborn streak and he knew he had to get past that.  He also had to get
past her sense of independence and her resolution that she didn't need anyone
else.

When he
took the ice pack from her knee, April stood.  "It feels better
already."

"That's
just because it's numb.  If you won't let me help, take your time on the
stairs."

When she
didn't reply to that, it took everything in him not to sweep her up into his
arms and carry her up there.  But he didn't.  He did stand by, though, just in
case her knee buckled, just in case the pain took her down.

Walking
beside her until she reached the stairs, he stood behind her, making sure she
could handle what she was trying to do.  He knew she hurt.  He knew the stairs
weren't easy.  He knew she wouldn't complain.  But he did see her wince with
each step, and each of those winces hurt him.

At the
top she was breathing heavy but he could see she was glad she'd made it without
his assistance.  That was April.

She
took off her warm-up jacket though because the exertion had obviously
overheated her.  He took it from her and she didn't protest.

"I
guess Stephie's taking a nap?" she almost whispered as they walked down
the hall.