“I know you wouldn’t,” he said, his voice deep and husky. Warm and inviting. Understanding.
She shivered beneath the sun.
“Derek, the barbecue won’t light!” Hank called out to him.
“I have to help him if we’re going to eat. Make yourself at home.”
Make yourself at home.
She wondered if he knew how deep his words sliced. She’d done that once. And though he hadn’t promised her anything, she hadn’t realized until she’d had to pack up and leave immediately after the fire, how much she’d counted on changing his mind about them.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and headed to a cooler that held cans of soda. She filled a cup with ice, then poured herself a cold drink before settling into a chair overlooking the back of the old barn.
“Mind if I join you?”
Gabrielle glanced up at Marlene, who’d walked up to her. “Of course not,” she said warily.
Their last meeting hadn’t exactly been warm and friendly. And considering the other woman had threatened to use Gabrielle as a means to pry Holly away from her father, Gabrielle worried about what the other woman wanted now. But it couldn’t hurt to find out.
“I owe you an apology,” Marlene said, taking Gabrielle off guard. “I wasn’t all that pleasant the first time we met.”
“It’s okay.” Gabrielle shrugged casually. “I’m really not one to hold a grudge.”
Marlene smiled. “I’m glad. Because my daughter adores you and I’d like it if you’d give me another chance.”
Gabrielle wasn’t sure where this sudden peace offering was coming from, but she owed it to Holly to be civil with her mother. Besides, after today they wouldn’t be seeing each other all that often.
Gabrielle swerved in her seat so she could face Marlene. “You have a wonderful child, so I have to assume you’re a good person, too.”
“Thank you. I think she’s special.”
Their gazes drifted to Holly, holding court among a circle of her friends.
/> “I didn’t think she knew that many people in town,” Gabrielle said.
“She doesn’t. John and I brought her closest friends with us for the weekend to celebrate Holly’s birthday.”
Gabrielle nodded. “Aah, that explains the big group.”
An awkward silence followed, punctuated by occasional giggles and girlish screams across the way.
“I wanted to hate you,” Marlene said at last.
Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, startled by the other woman’s blunt words. “Excuse me?”
Marlene tucked her short hair behind one ear. “I wanted to hate you. Maybe I needed to, because for all the years I was married, you still had the one thing I wanted.”
Gabrielle shook her head, confused. “I really don’t understand.”
“You had his heart. His love. The one thing I desperately wanted, belonged to you.”
Gabrielle opened her mouth, then closed it again, struggling to find the right words. “I was alone, trying to find a life and a world that could make me happy. But…you had him. And you had his child. All the things I wanted but could never have,” Gabrielle said, admitting the painful truth out loud.
“I guess neither one of us had the whole package,” Marlene murmured.
Gabrielle nodded in agreement. Her throat grew thick and her eyes damp. She turned away to compose herself before glancing back at Marlene. “But you have that now?” she asked.
The other woman nodded. Her fingers went to the diamond ring and matching wedding band. “I’m very lucky. I think I forgot that for a minute. The night you walked into the house beside Derek, all the wonderful things in my life flew out the window and I went back in time.” She shook her head, her cheeks pink. “Anyway, I just wanted to apologize. I appreciate you letting me explain.”