Lucky Charm (6 page)

Though she was disappointed, she reminded herself she hadn't expected him to be here tonight. Still, she'd be a liar if she didn't admit that she'd hoped the kiss had stayed with him long enough to lure him out, anyway.

Shaking off her disappointment, she began an animated talk. She started off stating the amount of study she'd done in the area of the paranormal and followed by discussing how it related to her books. In
Future Stars,
she'd debunked fortune-tellers and in
Her Mind's Eye,
she questioned the validity of psychics.

She continued her speech by addressing curses, which she'd dealt with peripherally in
Disenchanted,
last year. She referred to theories such as the Theory of Suggestibility, which detailed how people experiencing intense emotions regarding certain subjects, like a curse, were more receptive to ideas surrounding them. Referring to the towns of Perkins and Stewart, she explained that the emotions surrounding the curse were so high, any event that seemed to meet the criteria of the curse was automatically pegged as a result. She also explained the notion of crowd psychology and how group mentality often came to overrule an individual's personal thought and belief system.

Though careful not to mention the Corwins or the Perkins families by name, and even more cautious not to meet Mary's and Elizabeth Perkins's stares, Gabrielle finished by pulling together the towns' collective experience with the curse. She tried to impart the notion that just because every male within a cursed family line that had fallen in love had suffered financial loss and emotional devastation didn't mean the curse existed. Individual circumstances coincidentally met the same criteria as the curse, and it was possible that even the power of suggestion played a role in the choices key players made.

Gabrielle received a standing ovation for her talk, then she took questions. Finally, she glanced at the clock and realized an hour had passed.

“Last question?” A quick glance at the back row told her Mary Perkins had left unnoticed. However, when she turned her gaze to the back door, she was surprised to see Derek and his father had arrived at some point, as well.

Pleasure wrapped over her at the sight of him. In nothing more than dark jeans and a basic T-shirt, he still stood out in a crowd.

His gaze met hers and heat stirred in her belly, distracting her from anything except him. Her lips curved into a smile.

Suddenly he raised his hand, which reminded her she'd been about to take her last question. She swallowed hard. “Yes?” she asked, pointing to him. “Derek?”

“I was wondering what your next book was going to be about.”

Wow. She'd expected the question at some point. Just not from him.

“Thank you for asking.” His interest warmed her as much as the fact that he'd shown his face at a public discussion on curses. But she didn't know how he'd take the answer to his question. “Growing up here, I'm well acquainted with the rich history of the area, and of Salem in particular.” Again, she had to tread carefully for Derek's family's sake. “I plan to take a look at specific family curses.”

An overwhelming round of applause followed. Apparently people liked the idea of her taking on a subject so close to home. Gabrielle hoped that meant they'd be open to being questioned about their ancestors.

Derek listened to her answer in dismay. He wouldn't have asked had he known the answer ahead of time. He couldn't believe she'd be delving into something so deep and personal. Yet, who was he to interfere in her career? He didn't have to like it, but apparently the crowd did.

“The hell you are!” Derek's father stepped up from behind him.

Derek glared at his father. Though Hank had been the one insisting they show up tonight, he'd been fidgety for most of the lecture. Close to the end, he'd slunk out and Derek assumed his father had gone to the men's room. He'd been relieved, and he'd hoped his father would stay there for the duration of Gabrielle's talk.

“Is there a problem?” Gabrielle asked.

“Darn straight there's a problem!” Hank bypassed Derek and waved his hands as he spoke to both Gabrielle and the crowd. “It's bad enough you're standing up there trying to tell everyone curses don't exist when my family's living, breathing proof they do. But now you're going to make money off of our story?”

Gabrielle's cheeks flushed red. As red as her temper, Derek would bet, cringing at his father's accusation.

She drew her shoulders back straighter. “Excuse me, Mr. Corwin, but I object to the notion that I'm out to make money off of other people's misery. I write about factual situations and how the choices people make play into the outcome. The hope is that other people will learn lessons from these situations they can apply to their own life. In this case, I want people to see that the power of suggestion is as strong as any curse.”

“Sounds to me like you're mocking us, as sure as anybody who tells tales about us around town,” Hank said.

“Mr. Corwin, I assure you, I'm doing no such thing,” Gabrielle said hotly.

“Hah! If you mock the curse, something worse will happen to us. You just watch.” Hank turned beet-red.

Derek was surprised his father wasn't foaming at the mouth. He placed a calming hand on his dad's shoulders. “Getting worked up isn't good for your blood pressure,” he said quietly but sternly, warning his father to back off.

“I'm not mocking anyone or anything,” Gabrielle said. “What I'm doing is debunking something that has ruled your family's life for too many years.”

Derek knew Gabrielle. She wasn't about to back down.

“Hah!” Hank said, obviously warming up for another tirade.

Without warning, Sharon stood up in the center of the room. “Relax, Mr. Corwin, or I'll have Roger show you out,” she said, pointing to the uniformed officer who'd only come in case he needed to direct traffic.

“It's a public library, missy. I can stay and have my say.”

“It's
my
library and you're insulting my guest!” Sharon perched her hands on her hips.

Before things could get any more out of hand, Derek grabbed his father's arm. “Shut up and leave on your own before you embarrass us any further.” Derek clenched his jaw.

Hank muttered under his breath.

And Holly inched closer to Derek's leg.

“That's my point!” Hank said, not finished arguing. “Look how she's humiliating us in public!”

Hank was the only one humiliating the Corwin family, but before Derek could let his father in on that fact, Chaz, the town drunk who showed up at any public gathering in case there was free liquor, rose to his feet.

“Maybe that's because Derek dumped her before he went off to college,” Chaz said.

The dig got chuckles from the crowd. Chaz had been in Derek and Gabrielle's graduating class. And even though he'd been drunk for most of his life, he was right about what had happened.

Derek didn't appreciate the public reminder and clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides.

“You did?” Holly pulled at his shirt. “You dumped Gabrielle?” his daughter asked.

Derek groaned. “Way to go, Pop.”

“What'd I do?” Hank asked.

Derek shook his head. It was useless. His father wouldn't understand that he had taken a calm, quiet talk and turned it into a mudslinging, embarrassing mess. Not until he'd calmed down and reflected on it, Derek thought.

Gabrielle cleared her throat. “Tonight's lecture is finished. Thank you all for coming,” she said, as she collected her notes from the podium in front of her.

“Daddy?”

Derek bent closer to his daughter. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Tonight was more exciting than I thought it would be!”

At least she seemed unfazed.

“Tell me about you and Gabrielle,” Holly said, wide-eyed.

“Listen, I told you that Gabrielle and I were friends in high school. I'll explain more to you later, but right now I need to talk to her and make sure she isn't upset.”

Holly nodded, wise for her years. “Please do. I'm sure Grandpa didn't mean to hurt her feelings.”

Derek gave his naive daughter a hug, then rose. “Dad? Take Holly home for me.”

“How will you get home? You drove here with us,” Holly reminded him.

Derek cupped her chin in his hand. “I can get a ride with somebody here. Don't worry, okay?”

Holly shrugged. “Okay. But tell Gabrielle I said hello?”

“I will. I'm sure she'll really appreciate it.” He kissed her forehead and placed her hand in her grandfather's. “Take her home.”

“I only meant to protect our good name,” Hank said, his bluster gone.

With people still snickering around them, Hank seemed to realize he'd embarrassed himself, the family and Gabrielle.

“She was always a nice girl. I never meant—”

“I know.” Derek ran a hand through his hair. “Take Holly home. I'll handle things here.” He'd done it before.

Like his cousins, Michael and Jason, Derek had spent most of his youth responding to kids making fun of his family—how they weren't real men since they couldn't hold on to a woman. When Derek couldn't ignore the taunts any longer, he'd fought back. While he didn't appreciate his father's approach, he totally understood the reasons for it.

Derek watched his father wrap his arm around Holly's shoulder and lead her out of the library, not pausing to talk to anyone.

He blew out a deep breath and made a beeline for Gabrielle. Her friends, Sharon and Richard Stern, had circled around her in protective fashion, preventing anyone from heckling her further.

Derek wasn't just anyone. “Hi, Sharon.”

She narrowed her gaze. “Derek. Haven't you and your family done enough? Wouldn't it be smarter to just go home?”

“Give a guy a break. I just want to make sure she's okay.” He gestured to Gabrielle by tipping his head toward her.

Sharon frowned, keeping her body between Derek and her best friend. Even in high school, she'd been Gabrielle's protector, even though Gabrielle hadn't needed anything of the sort. These two women had a bond the likes of which he'd never seen. Though Sharon had been friendly enough to him since his return, now that Gabrielle was back in town, Sharon left no doubt as to where her loyalty lay. She'd shown it tonight.

Still, he wasn't about to let anyone dictate whether or not he could see Gabrielle. He and Sharon wanted the same thing—what was best for Gabrielle.

With a determined step, he strode around Sharon and came up behind Gabrielle. “Gabby?” he asked, calling for her attention.

She turned toward him.

He spoke before she could say a word. “I'm sorry for my father's behavior.”

She waved off his apology, her expression warm despite the circumstances. “You aren't responsible for what someone else does.”

It didn't feel that way to him. “I tried to convince Dad to stay home.”

“His shotgun might have hurt less,” she said, laughing.

He stepped closer. “You're really okay?”

She nodded. “Sticks and stones and all that. I'm tougher than I look. But thanks for asking.”

He nodded, knowing when to let something go. “Holly said to tell you she says hi. She was here, but I sent her home with my father.”

“I didn't see her in the crowd.”

“She's short.”

“I'm so sorry she heard all that.” Gabrielle sobered quickly.

Derek nodded in understanding. “She's been through a lot, but she's tough. She'll deal with it. I'm more worried about whether I can handle her questions later,” he said, only half joking.

Gabrielle smiled. “I'm not an expert with kids, but she seems pretty smart to me.”

“Which is why I'll have to do some fancy footwork in answering.” He couldn't very well admit that Gabrielle was his first and only true love to his daughter.

She playfully tapped his face with her hand. “I'm sure you can handle it.”

He grinned, meeting her gaze. The heat smoldered, reminding him of their kiss earlier today. The one he'd promised himself he couldn't repeat. But, man, how he wanted to.

“The room's emptied out.” Sharon joined them, diffusing the sexual tension.

At least for the moment, Derek thought.

“I appreciate you running interference for me,” Gabrielle said to her friend.

Sharon nodded. “I invited you here to speak, not to get thrown to the wolves.” She scowled at Derek. “Can't you control your father?”

He cocked his head to one side. “Would you believe me if I said I tried? Short of tying him up, there wasn't much I could do.”