Page 14 of A Little More Forgiveness

“Are you okay?”

He waved me off. “Yeah, yeah. It was more of a dent to my pride than anything else.”

The front door of the cabin opening caught my eye, the light spilling out into the night. I wiped the window with my palm to get a better view, the condensation dripping down my hand. I’d have to clean the driver’s side window anyway, so why not add one more? I watched as Mitch, muffled up against the cold in his thick jacket, hat, gloves, and boots, made his way over to the stables on the far side of the property.

Whatever was going on with him all alone out here every day with no interaction from anyone? Why would he create such a bleak and lonely existence for himself? Probably around Gabe’s age, maybe a couple of years older. Ruggedly handsome, tall and broad, muscular, funny when he wanted to be, he had everything going for him, so why hide himself away on a property gradually falling to pieces around him, taking him down along with it.

Sure, he was a grump and pricklier than a porcupine. But talking with him today, seeing the glimpses of the man underneath the hard outer shell, I failed to understand how he’d gotten himself in this mess. It didn’t make any sense.

“What happens now?” Gabe asked. “Are we getting out of this place or what? Because, frankly, I need a long hot soak in the tub to try to wash off the crap today has turned out to be.”

Ah.

“Why don’t we go inside first.”

“What the hell for? So I can immediately get thrown out again? Thanks, but no thanks.”

“He won’t throw you out.”

His look told me otherwise.

“Honest. Plus, I’ll be there keeping you two apart.”

His amused snort made me smile. He stared out of the side window for a few moments, and I almost heard the gears churning in his brain as he made up his mind. “Ah, screw it. Come on.” He turned the keys in the ignition and cut the engine. Then, flicking off the interior light, he went to open his door. I rested my hand on his arm to stop him and, while unable to see much in the dark, knew he’d turned to face me.

“I told Mitch the same thing I’m saying to you. Please promise me you’ll try and be civil, okay? And don’t rise to anything he says.”

“Fine,” he replied. “But I’m saying to you, my patience only goes so far. I’ll do as you asked and try to keep a lid on my temper and a zip on my sarcastic mouth, but if he pushes me to my limit…” He paused. “I will retaliate. Got it?”

It was as good a promise as I’d get from him. “Got it.”

“Okay. Let’s go. I’m starving, so the sooner we eat, sleep, and get out of here, the better.”

Which left me being stuck in the middle, because as soon as Gabe found out we weren’t going anywhere for the next few days, or more, whatever ceasefire I’d managed to broker would go right out the window.

Chapter Six

Mitch

Standing in the shadows, I watched them both exit the car and walk toward the house, Leo’s flashlight showing their way. The moon’s reappearance made them easier to see. One light, one dark—they were a complete contrast.

Leo Taylor.

There was something about him that consistently drew me in. I found him so easy to talk to, which came as quite a surprise, considering how I’d not wanted to talk to anyone since Katie had died. I wanted to get to know him better, find out why he’d returned to Melrose Bay, which was also another first for me. Normally, I didn’t give a rat’s ass about people or their opinion, but him… I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what made him different, and I purposely refused to look too deeply into why.

Then, of course, there was Gabriel Sanchez, such a total opposite in every conceivable way. Brash, and so damn arrogant, all I wanted to do half the time was punch him in the face. And I’d been so close today, when he’d smugly advised me he owned as much of the house as I did, my anger had scared me. Forcing myself to go for his stomach, instead, to make my point and not cause any real damage in the process.

My grip tightened on the shovel I’d been using to clear out the horse stalls, the wooden handle creaking under the pressure I exerted. No fucking way would the cabin ever be his. Ever. It’s ours, Katie’s and mine.

Bit by bit, I managed to calm down. No one got under my skin the way Sanchez did. One smart comment out of his mouth and the full, sensuous lips I repeatedly stared at, and the red mist descended. I needed to stop letting him get to me, or I’d blow wide open and never recover. Him, I definitely didn’t want to get to know.

Wait a second…full and sensuous lips?

What on earth? Perhaps, being alone so long had finally turned my brain to mush if I was thinking anything positive about the guy. And yet, I continued to watch them both as they walked in the snow.

Not one, both.

They disappeared into the cabin, leaving me in the kind of eerie silence only heavy snowfall brought. Usually, I found the quiet settling, a comforting heavy blanket enveloping me, but not tonight. The peacefulness I craved wasn’t happening and deep down I recognized my restlessness had to do with the two men taking off their coats and about to relax on my couch.

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