Taking the Heat (Jackson: Girls' Night Out 3)

And Veronica didn’t need him. How could she? She barely knew him.

She cried for a few more minutes, thankful that it was pitch-dark on this street. When she finally managed to wipe away enough of her tears that she could see, she wrote back. Such good news! she typed with damp fingers. I’m so, so happy that he’s improving. I’m keeping all of you in my thoughts. Get some sleep and things will look even better in the morning. Good night.

Then she went home, ate five of Gabe’s mom’s cookies and waited by her phone all night.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“DAD, COME ON,” Gabe groaned. “I don’t want to talk about the restaurants right now. Every time you start getting into it, your blood pressure goes up. I can see it right there!” Gabe pointed at the machine that tracked his dad’s life in impersonal lines and numbers.

Could die any moment, it all seemed to say, no matter what the numbers read. Could die, could die, could die, over and over. Gabe had thought it would be less scary in the morning, but it wasn’t.

“But you haven’t even seen the new location in Brooklyn! It’s two stories! Amazing place. If your mom would bring my iPad like I asked her to—”

“Mom doesn’t want you talking about the business any more than I do. You’re retiring now, anyway.”

“I never agreed to that!”

Gabe watched the numbers rise. “Fine. We’ll talk about it later. But I’m moving back regardless. The details can wait.”

His dad grinned. “Good. I like seeing that face every day. Especially now that I can see it.” He smacked Gabe’s naked cheek, then pulled him in for a brutal hug, not paying any attention to the wires and lines that tangled every time he made a sudden movement.

Gabe just shook his head at how normal his dad seemed. As if nothing had ever happened. Until he had to get up to use the bathroom. Then he looked like a man who’d aged twenty years overnight.

His dad patted his cheek again. “You look good, son. I’m glad your mom got you to shave the beard.”

Gabe rolled his eyes. “She guilted me into it this morning. Told me it would make you happy.”

“Did you buy that?”

“No, but I wanted to make her happy, too.” He rubbed a hand over his bare jaw. After three years, it felt like someone else’s face. It was for the best, though. He damn sure wasn’t going to wear one of those beard nets in the kitchens.

He winced at the thought of spending his days—and nights—in MacKenzie’s, but he didn’t let his mind shy away from it now. If he returned to Jackson at all, it would be only to pack up his stuff. Maybe it was easier this way. If he’d settled into his life there, if he’d settled into his feelings for Veronica...

Shit. Too late for that.

“Naomi says you have a girl out there in Wyoming,” his dad said as if he’d read Gabe’s mind. His elbow hit Gabe’s ribs. “Says she’s famous.”

He laughed, thinking he’d tell Veronica that the next time he talked to her. If she was willing to talk. “She’s kind of famous. Writes an advice column for the local paper.”

“You serious about this girl?”

“Dad, I just met her.”

His father shrugged. “I knew as soon as I met your mom. Asked her to marry me a month later.”

“Sure, but she was smart enough to say no.”

“Only the first time! So is it serious?”

Gabe forced a smile. Fuck yes, it was serious. “No,” he said, rubbing at the strange ache that had popped up in his chest. “We were dating. No big deal.”

His mom came in just in time to save Gabe from what felt like his own heart attack starting. He’d already fucked with Veronica’s emotions, and now he felt as if he was betraying her in different ways.

“Did you bring my iPad?” his dad yelled.

“Oh, my God, calm down, James. I’ve got your stupid iPad right here. Why don’t you get right back to working on your next heart attack? What could possibly go wrong?”

“She’s never going to let this go,” his dad muttered.