Page 39 of Tangled in His Embrace

Jax stayed for breakfast, polishing off the breakfast casserole he’d made the day before, and then gave her a long kiss goodbye before walking out the door, promising to call her later. Because he hadn’t known he was going to be stuck at Gabby’s, he hadn’t brought his laptop with him, which meant he couldn’t work. From some of the emails he was telling her about, he was going to be very busy for the next day or so trying to catch up.

Once he was gone, she spent the rest of her morning doing laundry and tidying up. She made sure to empty the trash can in her bedroom. The last thing she wanted was her daughter discovering the used condoms Jax had discarded. That was a conversation she was hoping to put off for several more years.

They’d talked a little more about Christmas before he left. He wanted them to spend the holiday together, and even though they’d agreed to give things between them another shot, she wasn’t ready to commit to anything else quite yet. A weekend fling was one thing. Spending Christmas together felt like a much bigger step.

Putting that out of her mind, Gabby concentrated on what she needed to do today. She was due at her mom’s house at one for dinner, but until then she planned to do some writing. Not only did she have a book to finish, but she needed to work out some of her emotions. There was no better way to do that than to sit down and write. Writing had helped her through her pregnancy, being a first-time mom, heartbreak, and everything else life threw at her... even a bad day at work.

Gabby booted up her computer and opened the story she’d been working on. The first thing she did was read over what she’d written in the early hours of Saturday morning. She’d been afraid her anger would have colored her words so much that it would be out of sync with the rest of the narrative, but the exact opposite was true. The scene was full of drama and action, and when she read it, it was almost as if she could see the entire thing happening in her mind.

Her fingers flew against the keyboard as she picked up the story where she’d left off. It was almost finished. All that was left was the aftermath of the battle and the reunion of the two main characters. It would be emotional and passionate.

The sound of her cell ringing drew her attention away from the computer. She picked up her phone and answered it. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Grace asked.

“Home.” She didn’t understand why her sister sounded panicked.

She heard a loud breath being released on the other end of the phone. “You’re okay?”

“Of course I’m okay. Why? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? It’s two o’clock and you were supposed to be here at one.”

For the first time since sitting down at her computer, Gabby looked at the clock. It was in fact two o’clock. She’d been writing for almost three hours. “I’m sorry. I was working on something and lost track of time. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Gabby saved her story and rushed out the door as quickly as possible. Luckily, the roads weren’t too bad. She had to take her time at intersections, but for the most part the salt crews had gotten rid of the ice.

When she arrived at her mom’s house, the door was unlocked. She stepped inside, removed her coat, and went in search of her sister. On the drive over, Gabby had had time to think about her sister’s phone call. She’d hated the uncertainty and pain in Grace’s voice and she wanted to apologize in person for scaring her.

“Hey, everyone,” Gabby said when she strolled into the living room a few seconds later. Her mother was sitting on the couch, while Alexander and Grace were on the smaller love seat.

Caroline Lewis stood to greet her oldest daughter. “There you are. We were getting worried.”

“I know.” Gabby frowned. “I lost track of time. I’m sorry I worried you.”

In an instant, her mother shifted gears, putting Gabby’s absence behind them. “Are you hungry? I made a plate for you before we put everything away.”

“Starving.” And she was. The breakfast she’d had with Jax had been hours ago.

Her mom smiled and patted Gabby’s forearms. “I’ll go get it warmed up for you.”

“Mom, I can get it.”

But it was too late. Caroline was already walking away.

Gabby turned to face her sister and Alexander. His face was unreadable, but Grace’s was not. It was a mixture of curiosity and concern. Crossing the room, Gabby lowered herself down onto the edge of the couch, closest to Grace. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Between the storm and...” Grace glanced at the doorway leading to the kitchen, and then back to Gabby. “Jax, I didn’t know if something had happened.”

The lead-in was there and for once Gabby did want to talk about it, but this wasn’t the time. Their mother could walk in at any minute and she wasn’t ready to open that can of worms. Sure enough, Caroline popped her head into the living room. “Food’s ready. Did you want to eat at the table, or would you rather me bring it in here?”

Pushing herself off the couch, Gabby headed toward her mom. “I’ll eat at the table.” She looked over her shoulder at her sister.

No words were spoken, but Grace seemed to get the message. She turned to Alexander. “Mom said she needed help fixing that rod in her closet.”

Luckily, Alexander quickly picked up what was going on. “That sounds like a great idea.” He stood. “Caroline, why don’t we see if we can get your closet situation taken care of while Gabby eats her lunch?”

Caroline looked at both her daughters and nodded. “Sure. It’s in the spare bedroom.”

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