Wind Chime Point

20



After his conversation with Gabi, Wade practically held his breath for a couple of days waiting for her to make a decision. He had to force himself not to call and pester her. If he understood nothing else, he knew she was a woman who liked to look at things from every angle and make an informed decision. Hadn’t that been exactly how she’d guided her career in PR straight to the top?

He knew that the process involved research, plus pages and pages of lists, plus conversations with people she relied on, such as Cora Jane. He imagined she’d go to Sally, perhaps Meg, maybe even her sisters. Eventually, though, she would come back to him with more questions, if not a final decision. Waiting for that moment, though, was getting to him. He’d wanted to pick up the phone and call her at least a dozen times, but he’d held back.

Hanging back, being patient—it was what he’d always done. In the end, he’d wound up with Kayla because of it. And though that had ended in terrible loss, for a time he’d had exactly the life he’d envisioned with her. He didn’t doubt that the same strategy would work with Gabi.

But the stakes were bigger this time, his feelings even deeper. What if he waited too long, sat on the sidelines and, in the end, had to watch her walk away? With that fear at the back of his mind, it was getting harder and harder to be patient, even though he knew she was not a woman to be rushed.

When his cell phone rang and he finally saw her name in the caller ID, he dragged in a deep breath before answering.

“Hey,” he said, proud of the casual tone he’d managed.

“Hey, yourself. Want to meet me at Castle’s this afternoon? I’d like to talk some more about this idea of yours.”

“I’ll be there,” he said at once. “What time?”

“Whenever you’re free.”

“I’m on my way now,” he said at once, then laughed. “Not that I’m anxious or anything.” It was downright pitiful how badly he wanted this, wanted her.

“You do realize we’re going to talk about the artists’ studio, not anything else,” she cautioned.

“Yes, ma’am. I haven’t asked any other questions yet,” he reminded her. “One thing at a time, Gabi. One thing at a time.”

And getting her to say yes to staying here on the coast was the first step to getting everything he wanted.

* * *



As Wade walked into Castle’s by the Sea, Cora Jane stopped him.

“Thank you,” she said, her expression solemn. “You’ve put the light back in my girl’s eyes.”

“She told you about the project I have in mind?”

“Every last detail, and believe you me, there are pages of them,” she said, laughing. “Gabriella doesn’t leave much to chance once she gets invested in something. She’s a whirlwind, sweeping up information and sorting through it till it makes sense to her.”

“What do you think of the idea?” he asked, curious to know her reaction. Cora Jane had her finger on the pulse of this community, probably more so than he did.

“I’d love it on its own merits,” she said candidly, “but if it will keep Gabriella and my great-grandbaby close to me, then I’m a thousand percent behind it. Now get on over there before she wonders what sort of meddling I’m doing. I’ll bring your pie in a minute. It’s Mississippi mud pie today. Haven’t tried that one in a while, but Jerry had a hankering for it, so I decided to indulge him.”

“When do you intend to make an honest man of that old Cajun?” Wade teased. “Put the poor man out of his misery and marry him.”

“We’re doing just fine the way things are,” Cora Jane said.

Wade couldn’t seem to stop himself from asking, “Is that what Jerry thinks?”

“Well, no,” she admitted. “But Jeremiah can’t get his way about everything. It sets a bad precedent.”

As anxious as Wade was to speak to Gabi, he hesitated. “If you don’t mind me meddling...” he began.

She smiled at that. “Turnabout’s fair, I suppose,” she said with unmistakable reluctance.

“The man sat quietly on the sidelines for a lot of years out of respect for your marriage to Caleb. Maybe it’s time to give a little thought to what he needs and not just what suits you.” He held up his hands when Cora Jane opened her mouth, clearly intending to protest. “I’m just telling you how I see it. You’re perfectly free to ignore me.”

“I suppose that’s more latitude than I give you,” Cora Jane grumbled. “I’ll think about it.”

“All I’m suggesting,” Wade said.

He crossed the restaurant and found Gabi watching him curiously.

“What were you and Grandmother talking about? Were you forming a strategy about me?”

He laughed. “Nope. I was just putting in a good word for Jerry. Cora Jane seems inclined to stick with the status quo. I think her cook wants a lot more.”

“We all think that, but she’s stubborn as an old mule about changing things,” Gabi said, her frustration plain. “I think it’s less about loyalty to our grandfather than it is about wanting to experience a little independence after all those years of marriage. I suppose I can’t really blame her for that.”

“An interesting perspective,” Wade admitted. “I hadn’t really thought about that. I guess I was just identifying with Jerry hiding his feelings for so long, hoping for a relationship that might never happen.”

A frown crossed Gabi’s face. “Identifying with him? Are you talking about waiting for me?”

“You...and Kayla,” he admitted. “I’ve done a lot of waiting in my life.” He held her gaze. “I’m thinking I need to start being more proactive.”

“Wade—”

He cut her off before she could utter whatever protest was about to form on her lips. “Just fair warning, sweetheart, not some kind of ultimatum you need to get all worked up about.”

She stared at him for a long time. “You scare the daylights out of me sometimes.”

“How so?”

“You’re still reading my mind,” she grumbled.

“The way I hear it, most women would be thrilled by that.”

“Well, I find it annoying.”

“Only because you’re used to keeping your emotions under tight wraps.”

A storm cloud rolled across her face. “I most certainly do not,” she said, then sighed. “Oh, whatever. Of course I do. Emotions are messy.”

“They are,” he agreed. “But in the end, they’re pretty much all that matters.”

“I suppose I can’t argue with that,” she said with unmistakable reluctance. “Wade, I wish I could get past the idea that you’ve got Kayla and me all twisted up in your mind, that you’re looking for a situation that mirrors that one.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that the two of you are nothing alike? To Kayla, well, much as I wanted to believe she had real feelings for me, I was nothing more than a safety net. I’d be a fool not to have recognized that. It was enough at the time.” He leveled an unrelenting gaze into her eyes. “I want more from you, a whole lot more. I knew it the first time I laid eyes on you. You left me speechless.”

“Speechless?” she asked, looking intrigued.

He could recall the exact moment when Emily had been ogling him in a futile attempt to make Boone jealous and Gabi had walked into the dining room at Castle’s, a bit of an ice-princess demeanor about her.

“You took my breath away,” he confirmed, a smile on his lips. “And if you recall, both Emily and Samantha were in the room and neither one of them fazed me. It was all about you from that first instant. If this thing happens between us, Gabi, it’s going to be powerful and lasting. I won’t accept anything less.”

She looked shaken by his declaration. “I guess that’s clear enough, then.”

“Scared?”

“Terrified,” she admitted.

He smiled. “You shouldn’t be. Once you let down that well-honed guard of yours, I think you’ll see what I see. Until then, maybe we need to focus on something else.”

“The artists’ workshop,” she murmured, as if she’d just remembered why she’d called him.

Wade nodded. Because he couldn’t resist, though, he leaned closer and captured her mouth with a kiss meant to chase away every last reservation. When he sat back, his pulse racing, Gabi looked dazed.

“There are just so many complications,” she said with regret.

“There don’t have to be.” He kissed her again, taking his time, enjoying this long-delayed journey of discovery. “Still complicated?” he asked eventually.

She nodded, but she looked a lot less sure of herself. It was that expression that gave him more hope than he’d felt in a long time.

* * *



Gabi hadn’t been anticipating the kisses. Even more, she hadn’t been anticipating yet another bone-melting, breath-stealing response to it. The man had skills, she’d give him that. Add in his willingness to play a waiting game, and she was probably doomed.

Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing, she realized as she studied him while he pored over the spreadsheets she’d organized in her attempt to answer every conceivable question about the artists’ studio she was starting to envision.

“You’ve done a lot of work on this,” Wade commented when he looked up.

She smiled. “You know me and my planning.” She waved at the papers she’d brought. “That’s the tip of the iceberg. Back at the house I have lists of my lists. Every time I think of some new angle, I jot it on a piece of paper.”

“And then research the daylights out of it?” he asked, clearly amused and maybe even a little impressed.

“Well, of course. This won’t be cheap to get started. And if we’re going to do it, we want to do it right.”

His brow rose. “We?”

“Well, it was your idea, and you suggested a partnership, so I’m running with that concept.” She frowned. “Unless you weren’t serious about that part.”

“Hey, I’m all in,” he told her readily. “I have some cash to invest, and I’ll do the sweat equity and handle any renovations we need to do. Have you started looking around for a place that can accommodate what you’re envisioning?”

“I found some space in a couple of the strip malls, but most of it’s too small and I think the atmosphere’s all wrong.”

“I agree,” he said at once. “How about an old house in an area that’s been zoned for commercial use?”

“Much better, but I haven’t had time to look around at those properties yet. Have you seen anything that could work?”

“Not really, but I’ll definitely start keeping my eyes open now that I know you’re interested in pursuing this. How do you see this working? Are you hoping to find other artists to invest?”

Gabi shook her head and explained Meg’s theory about that. “Is she right?”

“She’s right,” Wade agreed. “I think it would be much smarter to make this your business—or ours, if that’s your preference.”

“I’m inclined to agree. I still think we should have a certain number of artists committed up front, though, say with reasonable two-year leases, so we know there’s time to get this off the ground without a lot of turnover. Stability’s going to be important, especially at the beginning. If we’re successful, something tells me we’ll have a waiting list of artists wanting spaces.”

“How many were you thinking?”

“At least five to ten with workshop spaces and maybe double that selling their works in the gallery. I’d want at least one artist working in there at any given time, so we’d want a commitment of one day a week from each participating artist. The more days, of course, the better,” she suggested. She frowned at the expression on his face. “What’s wrong? Too ambitious?”

“No, I just love that you’ve put so much thought into this already. I knew you were the perfect person to pull this together.”

“Hey, we’re a long way from pulling anything off,” she warned him. “I only have one artist so far, you.”

“Sally’s in,” he reminded her.

“Okay, two. Do you know enough local artists to round out my list of contacts?”

“Between Sally and me we can come up with most of the artists in eastern North Carolina. Meg has some contacts, too. Maybe you could consider having a guest studio space for an artist from out of the area to come in for a month at a time,” he said.

Gabi beamed at him. “What a great idea! It’s an ongoing angle for promotion.” She raised her hand for a high five. “What a team!”

Wade captured her hand and held it. “Keep thinking that way, darlin’. Keep thinking that way.”

As it turned out, she was starting to think that way more and more often.

* * *



Wade was startled when he glanced around and realized it was dusk outside. He and Gabi had been talking most of the afternoon, tossing around ideas, which she frantically scribbled down on one of her lists. He loved seeing this side of her, working at full stride, her mind engaged, right along with her enthusiasm. It made him even happier that he was at least in part responsible for having planted the idea that she was running with.

“Hey,” he said, nudging her in the side. “Have you noticed that it’s getting dark? I think Cora Jane and Jerry are long gone. We probably need to think about getting you and the little one some dinner.”

Just then her tummy rumbled, emphasizing his point. She smiled. “I think you’re right. Let’s grab takeout and head back to Cora Jane’s.”

“You have your car?”

“Actually, no. Cora Jane picked me up so she could go with me to my doctor’s appointment. If she’s gone, I’m stuck.”

“You’re never stuck if I’m around,” Wade said. “Let’s go. Where would you like to stop for some food?”

“I’m dying for a hamburger,” she admitted. “I got that into my head when I was with Meg a couple of days ago, but we ended up at a vegetarian place, and I still haven’t had one.”

“Want to stop and pick up the meat? I know a place that only sells the organic stuff with none of that pink slime filler. We can cook them ourselves. I make a halfway decent burger.”

“Go for it,” she said at once. “Just make sure you get all the fixings. I want tomatoes, cheese, onion, the works.”

“A woman after my own heart,” Wade said. “You can sit in the car and catch a quick catnap.”

An hour later they were pulling into the driveway at Cora Jane’s, where Wade spotted an unfamiliar car parked just behind Cora Jane’s and the truck he thought to be Jerry’s. “Looks like Cora Jane has company,” he said. “Unless Jerry’s gone out and bought himself a fancy BMW.”

At his words, Gabi’s eyes snapped open. She sat up straight, then muttered a curse.

“What?” he asked.

“Paul,” she said succinctly.

Wade regarded her incredulously, a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. “The baby’s father? That Paul?”

“That’s the one,” she said.

“What’s he doing here? Did you have any idea he was coming?”

“Are you kidding me? He’s the last person I want to see,” she replied, though resignation was already settling on her face.

“It’s not too late for me to pull right back out of the driveway,” he offered, worried by the sudden pallor in her cheeks. “We can go to my place.”

She sighed heavily. “Much as I would love to do exactly that, I can’t stick Cora Jane with handling him.”

“I’m sure she’s probably delighted to give him an earful,” Wade said. “Come to think of it, I have a few choice words for the man myself.”

Gabi gave him a worried look. “But you won’t say anything, right? I’m not up to a scene.”

“No scene,” Wade promised. Unless the jerk started it, he added mentally.

Inside, they found Paul seated at the kitchen table, his shoulders stiff, his expression uncomfortable. Wade studied him intently, trying to see what Gabi had once seen in him. He was handsome, he supposed, in the slick, polished way that some successful men worked hard to achieve. He was dressed impeccably in a suit that had probably cost a month’s salary, French cuffs with eighteen-carat-gold cuff links and a Rolex on his wrist. A lot overdressed for a visit to the beach or to an ex-lover, in Wade’s opinion.

Across from him, Cora Jane was eyeing him as if she’d found a particularly nasty poisonous snake in her garden. The silence was deafening.

When Wade opened the back door and Gabi stepped inside, Paul bounced up looking relieved, at least until he spotted Wade right on Gabi’s heels.

“Well,” he said with a little huff that spoke volumes about his reaction to finding Gabi with another man.

“Hello, Paul,” Gabi said mildly, her head high. “This is a surprise.”

“I thought we should talk,” he said, his gaze riveted on her rounded belly. “About the baby.”

“The baby’s no concern of yours,” she reminded him. “I have the paper you signed proving that.”

“It’s still my child,” he insisted.

“No, she’s mine,” Gabi replied firmly.

Paul regarded her with a startled expression. “It’s a girl?”

“Yes.”

He glanced around at Cora Jane, and then at Wade. “Gabriella, could we speak privately?”

“I see no point in that,” she told him, taking a step closer to Wade as if seeking his unspoken support. Wade put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Paul clearly got the message and just as evidently didn’t like it. “So, that’s the way it is? You’ve already hopped into another man’s bed? Or was it his baby to begin with, one you just tried to pawn off on me?”

Wade’s temper flared. “Hold on, pal,” he said, taking a step forward.

Gabi interceded. “It’s okay, Wade. Let him rant. He has no idea what he’s talking about.”

Cora Jane frowned at that. Though she’d remained quiet since Gabi and Wade had walked in, she spoke up now, her furious gaze directed at Paul. “Young man, if you dare to speak to or about my granddaughter that way again, I will have you thrown out of here.”

Paul actually looked flustered by the threat, but he still put on a show of pure bravado. “By whom? Him?” he asked with a disdainful glance at Wade.

Jerry walked into the kitchen then, standing close enough to intimidate. “By the two of us, if need be,” he said in his soft, Cajun-accented voice. “Though there’s not a doubt in my mind that Wade could handle the job. He’s very protective of Gabriella.”

For the first time, Paul looked genuinely flustered by the united front he was facing.

“I’ll speak to him privately,” Gabi said, interceding. She stalked past him and headed for the living room. “Five minutes, Paul. Not a second longer.”

Wade reluctantly watched her go. “I don’t like this.”

“I’m not exactly crazy about it, either,” Cora Jane said. “But Gabi knows him better than we do. She obviously thinks she can handle him.”

“And Wade and I are right here for backup if she needs it,” Jerry added.

Cora Jane gave him a tender look. “It won’t be the first time you’ve stood up for one of my girls,” she said. “You were always quick to take on any customer who seemed to be bothering them.”

“Of course,” Jerry said. “Family looks out for family.”

Wade gave Cora Jane a knowing look at Jerry’s words and saw the tears in her eyes. She glanced his way.

“Oh, I know what you’re thinking,” she grumbled. “Just because the man is sweet doesn’t mean I have to rush into anything.”

Jerry obviously guessed exactly what she meant because his booming laugh filled the kitchen.

“But one of these days you’ll give in,” he said with conviction. “After all, I’ve been told I’m irresistible.”

“If you’re so irresistible, why didn’t you marry years ago?” Cora Jane retorted.

“Because I’ve only had eyes for one woman and she was out of reach,” Jerry said.

Wade had the distinct impression, though, that those days might be coming to an end.

* * *



When Gabi was alone with Paul, she noticed that his face was more haggard than she could ever recall seeing it.

“What’s going on with you?” she asked, knowing that her concern was an old habit she hadn’t quite broken.

“Second thoughts,” he said tersely. “At least until I saw how easily you’ve moved on.”

“I haven’t moved on, not the way you mean. Wade and I are friends. He’s been a real rock for me. I needed that after you bailed.”

“Seriously?” he asked, obviously not believing it was possible for men and women to be friends. “You’re not sleeping with him?”

“Paul, I’m carrying your child. It’s not exactly the best time to think about being intimate with another man.” Even if that man was so appealing it sometimes hurt to force herself to keep resisting him.

“Makes sense, I suppose. He’s not really your type, is he? What’s he do? Farm tobacco? Maybe knock back a couple of beers on Friday night?”

She regarded him with disgust. “You are such an incredible snob. How did I miss that?”

“Because I was exactly the kind of man you wanted, one with ambition and big bucks.”

She shook her head. “Well, obviously that was a huge mistake. I must have missed the part about those things only mattering if the person has character. I think Grandmother and Jerry were right. You should go.”

“Not until we’ve talked this through,” he said stubbornly. “I want you to come back to Raleigh. Now that I’ve had time to get used to the idea of a baby, I think we could make it work.”

She shook her head. “Sorry. Too late.”

Her matter-of-fact dismissal clearly stunned him.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do,” she said with conviction.

She realized that the past few weeks had changed her, made her stronger in ways she’d never imagined. She’d always known she excelled at her job, now she’d started to believe in herself as a person. She knew she could raise this child on her own, surrounded by a family who would fill her daughter’s life with love.

And, irony of ironies, seeing Paul had accomplished something else. He was such a stark contrast to Wade, who’d never had a moment’s uncertainty about being a part of her life or the baby’s. It made her realize how lucky she truly was to have found him. Though she was a very long way from taking the blind leap of faith she knew Wade was hoping for, she knew that when she did, he was the man she wanted in her life.

She leveled a long look now at the man who’d turned her life upside down, but in a twist of fate, given her far more than she’d lost.

“Go, Paul. There is absolutely nothing I want or need from you.”

He must have heard the certainty in her voice or perhaps she’d only said what he’d been hoping to hear, because he turned and left, without even looking back.

Good riddance, she thought, and went back to the man who understood the real meaning of character and commitment.