Between the Lines (17 page)

As soon
as our order arrives, we leave and take to the road again. I’m pretty sure
there’s a park around here somewhere.

“Are you
close to the rest of your family?”

It’s a
legitimate question. “They don’t speak to me.” He might as well know
everything. “My sister, brother and mother blame me for ruining their lives.
Mom couldn’t go to her country club anymore and she wasn’t invited anywhere,
ever, and lost all of her dearest friends.” I snort. “If they were truly
friends, they would have stuck by her, but that wasn’t the case. They all used
each other to be seen with the right people, at the right events, and all
that.” It was rather disgusting. I don’t think my mother ever had a true
friend. Just people she could use to be more accepted. “My sister, who is six
years older than me, was engaged at the time. Her fiancé broke it off.”

“That
sucks,” Gabe says.

“She
doesn’t deserve your sympathy,” I point out. “Her fiancé said it was because
she was more upset about me destroying the family than she ever was about
Father’s immoral and illegal activities. She wasn’t the person he thought she
was and he couldn’t be with someone like that.” I still shake my head over what
she thought the real problem was, but I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve known her
my entire life and if anyone took after mom in everything, it was my sister.
“Candice simply blames me causing her to lose the love of her life. I think she
was more interested in his bank account and that she wouldn’t have to marry
down, more than she ever was in George.”

“What
about your brother?”

“He was
being groomed to take over when father retired. He ended up testifying to save
his own ass and no other reason.” I grab the chocolate milkshake sitting in my
cup holder. It’s so damn good. “He’s lucky he isn’t in prison too. He knew what
Father was doing and didn’t see anything wrong, though he claimed on the stand
that he didn’t have a choice and was afraid to speak out.”

I take a
sip and the coolness slides down my throat. Perfection.

“I can’t
believe we are the same blood. If I didn’t have proof, I’d insist I was
adopted.”

“Where
are they now, really?”

“Don’t
know. For their testimony they were also offered witness protection. They went
in to start over. I didn’t.”

“You were
close to your grandparents, though,” he reminds me. “Your mom’s parents or your
dad’s?”

“Mom’s,”
I answer. “Father’s died when I was little.”  I grin. “Mom’s parents hated my
dad from the moment Mom brought him home. They did everything they could to
discourage the marriage until the two up and eloped to Las Vegas and never came
back except to visit.”

“Did your
grandparents live in Nevada?”

They
lived in heaven. Or in my mind it was at least close to it. “Napa. They owned
two vineyards.”

Gabe
turns toward me and I look at him out of the corner of my eye. I know what he’s
wondering. “Do you like wine?”

“You own
vineyards?”

“No. They
were sold to couples who helped manage them for the past thirty years. I like
wine, but have no clue how to run a vineyard.” I glance at him, his mouth is
partially open in disbelief. “It’s only right that they take over after all the
years they dedicated to my grandparents and, it’s not like I can visit.” I
really shouldn’t be telling him any of this. Scott told me I couldn’t tell him.
But, Gabe figured it out on his own so he might as well know all of it. “You
aren’t going to tell anyone, are you?”

“They’re
your secrets to tell. Not mine.” He sighs and leans back. “So, how did you end
up in New York?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I had to
get out of Nevada. And, I really want four specific seasons, you know with the
trees changing, snow on the ground, flowers blooming.”

He
laughs. “Did you ever go back?”

“Nope,
and I never will.”

The
entrance of the park is just up ahead and I pull in and find a parking spot.
For it being such a nice day hardly anyone is here. Gabe grabs the sack and I
get the drinks and walk to a close picnic table and open the wrappers to our
food. Gabe tears open little packets of ketchup and squeezes it out.

“It was
hard being so far away from my grandparents though. They visited, but it wasn’t
the same after I moved out. I used to spend weeks at the vineyard until I moved
in with them.”

“You
lived with them?” He seems kind of surprised.

“Well I
couldn’t stay with my family after what I did.”

“Exactly,
what was that?”

Gabe – 27

She goes
silent and bites into her burger and I assume she’s not going to tell me the
how. I get that. Ellen’s probably not supposed to be telling me any of this.
Or, maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. I can’t really blame her.
It must bring up a lot of shitty memories.

But, I
want to know. I want to know everything there is to know about Caroline
Elizabeth Elaine Westbrook, now known as, Ellen West.

“I’m
sorry.”

She
blinks up at me. “For what.”

“For
being an ass in New York.”

She
shakes her head. “You didn’t have the facts.”

“I
shouldn’t have accused you have having Scott on the side. I just got so fucking
jealous. That’s never happened to me before.”

She
giggles. “You were jealous of Scott?”

“He’s a
nice looking guy,” I answer defensively.

“And old
enough to be my father.” She bites into a fry.

Maybe it
isn’t all lost. I’d like a do-over with Ellen. I really would. Those feelings
that were building a few days ago are still there. Maybe when we get back, we
can go to her apartment, stretch out on her bed and see what happens. That’d be
nice. Real fucking nice.

“So, do
you read between the lines a lot?” There’s a twinkle in her eyes and I suspect
she’s done a bit of it herself.

“The
truth is always in what isn’t said,” I say. “The news went to great lengths
discussing the various testimony of the witnesses, except you were an enigma,
testifying in private. They discussed how the story was broken, but nobody had
an answer. Half of the reporters are convinced it was you. The other half
dismissed the possibility on account of your age and relationship to the
defendant.”

She’s
nodding. “They all thought I was so innocent and trusting. More interested in
ballet than anything else. It worked, for some at least.”

“Well, it
was obvious to me.”

“I don’t
think anyone, my family included, ever gave me enough credit. Even after what
had happened. I made everything worse for my family. Not enough common sense to
keep my mouth shut. Yet, they never once blamed my father.”

“Except
for your grandparents,” I remind her

A sad
smile pulls at her lips. “Yeah, my grandparents.” She looks up and into my
eyes. “You’re really not going to tell me anything about Baxter are you? I’m
going to have to work for it?”

“Just
read between the lines, Ellen. That’s all you have to do.”

Ellen

I’ve tried
but there are none. At least not what I’ve seen. 

“Did you
research Mag and her family?”

“Yeah.” I
tell him what I learned last night.

He’s
nodding.

“Is the
connection between the suicide and the school, or just a coincidence?”

Gabe just
shrugs.

Damn him.
Why won’t he just answer a straight question? “Between the lines, huh?”

Again he
nods.

“Okay,
why aren’t you really at work today?  I know you’re needed, you’re not sick and
I don’t think you’d call in sick if you weren’t.” Not that I know that for sure.

Gabe just
smiles before biting into his burger.

“Fine!” I
hiss. “We’ll do this your way.”

He takes
a sip of his Coke not saying a word.

“I saw
you in your fourth hour class. I kind of think that was okay, except there was
arguing before I got there.”

He
straightens. “What did you hear?”

“Just
raised voices. I couldn’t make out what was being said.”

He
relaxes again.

“A
counselor stays behind and then the two of you come into lunch.”

He takes
another bite of his burger, not adding anything.

“You were
still pissed at me, didn’t want to talk and left a half-eaten lunch and stormed
out.”

“I didn’t
storm out.”

“Yes you
did.” I wink at him.

He just
takes another bite, shaking his head.

“Then, I
saw you during your last class – for the newspaper.”

He
crumples up the hamburger paper and tosses it in the sack.

“Then
that kid, Isaac, comes in and things got strange.”

“It was
just a surprise to see him.”

I stare at
Gabe. Between the lines he said. Every single person in the room, except me,
even the kids, got tense and silent when Isaac and Gabe knew each other. I
still don’t get why it’s a big deal. But that is one key. “You’re not at school
because of Isaac.”

His eyes
shift away from me, but Gabe says nothing.

“You
didn’t get fired did you?”

“Nope.”

“Laid
off.”

“No.”

“Paid
leave?” I’m fishing and guessing.

He says
nothing but looks me directly in the eye.

Now we’re
getting somewhere. “Why?”

Gabe just
shakes his head.

“Is he
the same Isaac who was in a coma after the lightning strike?”

Gabe’s
jaw tenses and his nostrils flare, but he says absolutely nothing. Of course,
he doesn’t have to. His answer is in the hard planes of his sculpted face.

“Will you
get fired if you tell me?”

“Most
definitely.”

Well,
that sucks. I’m dying of curiosity. It’s the journalist in me, but I’m not
going to put his job in jeopardy.

“When you
have time, just think back over your observances yesterday.” He grabs the sack
with our garbage and tosses it in a can. “Don’t think about it now, let’s just
try and have fun.”

I look up
at him. “You still want to have fun with me.”

There’s a
softening in his blue eyes. “If you can forgive me for being such an ass?”

“And you
forgive me for slapping you?”

“Forgive
me for being secretive about Baxter, and don’t press?”

“Forgive
me for not be honest about who I am?”

He places
his hands against my cheeks, caressing them with his thumbs, looking into my
eyes before he lowers his mouth. My heart melts and everything calms the moment
his lips touch mine. Once again, everything is how it should be. How I need and
want it to be. I let him linger, tasting him as he tastes me, and tears spring
to the back of my eyes as I pull away.

“What’s
wrong?”

“We can’t
be together.” He deserves the truth.

“Why the
hell not?”

Taking
his hand, we walk, and I explain the reason Scott needed to see me. How they
will use anyone I care about if they can, to hurt me, or make me recant my
story. “My family took the offer to disappear. Nobody can find them, but they
could find you.” By the time he’s finished, Gabe is stiff and a bit angry, but
I don’t think it’s at me.

“I’ll
decide what is safe for me and what’s not.” He kisses me again. “This, whatever
it is, is not going to be ruined by a criminal. I want to be with you, Ellen.”

“Even if
you could get hurt?”

He
laughs. “If lightning doesn’t kill me, nothing will.”

“So, was
that the second injury? The articles didn’t exactly say how you were injured.”

“Knocked
me right off of my feet and I came down on my knee.”

“You’re
lucky that’s all that happened.”

He
sobers. “Yeah, I was the lucky one.”