Rough Justice (Cainsville 5.5)

"Yeah, because I love being coddled." I set the tray down with a clack.

"He doesn't do that, Liv."

I turned to her. "I didn't come to discuss Gabriel's motives. I came to discuss yours."

"Mine?"

"First, just so there isn't any confusion, no one tattled. I was speaking to Patrick, and I mentioned, off-hand, that Gabriel was struggling with his visits to Seanna, and I've convinced him to take a break from them. I meant the times Gabriel and I visit Seanna for tea. Patrick thought I meant the other times--the ones I didn't know about. An innocent mistake. But Patrick did make it clear he really wasn't happy about the situation. So did Grace. In other words, I get the feeling that both of them thought Gabriel should tell me. If you had also counseled him to tell me, that would have been the tipping point. But he didn't. Therefore, you didn't."

Her blue eyes frosted.

Before she could speak, I said, "Yes, I'm crossing a line. Family business. None of mine. But you and Patrick both tell me how good I am for Gabriel. How much he needs someone who supports him unconditionally. Who watches out for his best interests. Yet if watching out for those interests means crossing a line with you or Patrick? That's when I get my hand slapped."

"I'm not slapping your hand, Liv. I just don't like the way you seem to be suggesting that I don't have his best interests at heart."

"Oh, but you do. Can I be totally presumptuous here and hazard a guess at your motive?"

She reached for the teapot, her voice still cool as she said, "Please do."

"You want reconciliation between Seanna and Gabriel. Or maybe reconciliation is too strong a word. You want Seanna to find peace, to be as happy as she can be in her present state. And you want Gabriel to find peace, too. To come to see another side of Seanna, one he never got to see as a child."

Rose didn't answer for a moment. Then she said, "You say he's upset. I think you're mistaken. You expect him to be upset, so you see it. I don't."

I nodded. "Okay. Sure, I'm the one who lives with him, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe when I suggested he stop our tea visits, he only agreed because he's busy."

Her mouth opened.

I kept going. "I know he's taking off at night. I'm guessing he's going to deal with Seanna. Grace hinted that Seanna isn't always as quiet as when I see her. So something happens, she wakes up agitated, and Gabriel goes to help you calm her, and he's not telling me because he knows I'll worry that I've supported the wrong course of action with Seanna, that in balancing your needs and his, I weighed too heavily in your favor."

She pulled back. Took a cookie. Broke off a piece and then stared at it before putting it, uneaten, onto her saucer.

"Yes, she wakes upset," Rose said. "Very upset and calling for Gabriel."

I tensed. "Calling for him?"

"He's the only one she wants. The only one who can calm her down."

"So he's not going as additional help. He's going because he has to."

Her mouth tightened. "I've told him he doesn't need to--"

"And make you handle her tantrums? Never. If you need him, he's there. What happens after he shows up?"

"They talk. She acts like a mother. In those moments, she actually behaves like Gabriel's mother."

Which was what Rose wanted to see. Desperately.

"For example...?" I prodded.

"She asks him about work. She brings up things from their past. Memories. Good ones."

I bit my tongue against saying there were no good ones.

"Such as...?" I prodded again.

"The playground. She mentioned that she remembered taking him to playgrounds."

My gut went cold. Rose kept talking, something about suspecting Seanna hadn't been there pushing him on the swings, but this showed that she'd been trying.