Page 21 of A Little More Forgiveness

“Fine.” The irritability and tetchiness in his reply made me smile. He and Mitch were more alike than anyone would think. I’d never tell either one of them, of course. I preferred to keep my head attached to my body, thank you very much.

Gabe’s arm came up and he placed it behind his head for support, his toned bicep stretching the fabric of his T-shirt. “I’d hoped we’d resolved our issues, or at least come to some sort of agreement, a truce maybe, but on the way back, I slipped, and he caught me, and…”

“And?” I prompted when he didn’t continue.

He shrugged. “He got all grouchy again. Next thing I know I’m pushed away, and he stomped off, leaving me to fend for myself.”

While I’m not sure I got the entire story, it coincided with what I saw happen as I’d looked out the window at them, relieved to see they’d made peace, and Gabe was making his way toward the cabin. I saw the moment he slipped, like he’d said, and Mitch had held him to prevent him from falling to the ground. They’d been frozen in a position I’d only ever seen in old black-and-white movies—with the heroine draped in the hero’s arms while they stared longingly at each other, right before he kissed her.

I’d witnessed firsthand the way Gabe and Mitch interacted, and despite their supposed dislike for each other, they had a tangible chemistry between them that could easily spill over into something sexual, given the right circumstances. Assuming Mitch was into men, of course, which, after spending some time with him, I had an inkling he may well be, or at the very least open to the possibility.

The thought of them getting together made me irrationally sad and more than a little envious as, typically, I never got to be the heroine. No, as usual, I was the awkward best friend watching the drama unfold from the sidelines.

When I lived in Boston, my friends were the ones who generally got the guy. I’d tried my best to not feel jealous of their success, but sometimes was unable to prevent myself, especially when I went home alone after they’d gone to their date’s place for the night. Being totally honest, hearing Gabe’s explanation and instinctively sensing he deliberately withheld something, gave me the exact same feeling.

“What do you think happened?” I asked, wondering if he’d say any more.

He took his hand support away and dropped his head on the pillow, getting comfortable. “No idea, and to be honest, I’m not sure I want to know. We’ll be here for a few more days until we’re rescued; then our lives will return to normal, and personally, I can’t wait.”

“What about the sale?”

“What about it? Mitch doesn’t want to sell. He’s made his view on the topic crystal clear. I may push now and again, see if I can get him to change his mind, but in truth, I don’t think it’ll make any difference, so what can I do except move on to the next opportunity?”

Shit. This didn’t bode well for me at all.

“How will that work if you already own fifty percent?”

He mulled over my question. “We could keep our percentage, I suppose. It’s still an asset, just a longer term one than I expected. There’s always a profit to be made in the future, but realistically, Mitch is gonna run out of money sooner rather than later, so he’ll be forced to sell whether he wants to or not and, in all likelihood, for a knockdown price. Until he does, I can wait.”

“You’re serious? You’re just going to give up?”

He turned to me. “I thought you’d be happy. Isn’t this what your client wants—for me to back off?”

I lay back, too, mirroring Gabe’s position. He was right; it should be what I wanted, especially with Mitch’s adamant rejection of the sale. However, I still had to contend with my stepfather, and more to the point, consider my sister’s future. Invested in my client’s needs is what I should have been, but Malcolm needed the sale to go through. He’d already done his own investigation into Skyscraper Construction and heard they liked to use local companies whenever they built anything to help the local economy and communities. With his connections at the county planning office, he was a shoo-in to get the contract. If I fucked up and the sale fell through… I shivered, not wanting to think of what would happen to Caitlin if I didn’t succeed. Add in the layoffs he’d undoubtedly make to his staff if I didn’t secure this deal, and I was screwed every which way.

“I am happy, and keeping the property is what Mitch wants, yet…”

“Yet?”

Mitch appeared desperately lonely pining away out here, distancing himself from everyone, wasting his life trying to build something without the funds or time to do it. His reasoning had something to do with his late wife, but I wasn’t sure why. Why stay here and run himself into the ground when she’d never be around to see the fruits of his labor? Why not sell instead, take the huge amount of money he’d get for the place and do whatever he liked? Surely his wife would have wanted him to move on with his life after her death and start over? He could go wherever he pleased, meet someone new, though the idea of him with another partner made me unjustifiably irritable for some reason. He’d have no money worries for the rest of his life and would finally be able to enjoy himself, so why would I endorse him staying here, eventually fading away to a shadow, when in the short time since we’d met, I’d caught glimpses of the handsome, funny, honest man beneath the angry exterior when not weighed down with the millstone currently tied around his neck.

Should I tell Gabe this? He said he’s going to give up trying to convince Mitch to sell, so theoretically, telling him wouldn’t matter. But if I do, and he uses the information to persuade Mitch otherwise, didn’t I achieve the outcome I needed in the first place?

Around and around, my head wouldn’t stop spinning, trying to figure out the best option. In the end I decided to tell him, because if nothing else, deep down, Mitch needed help to break whatever cycle he’d gotten himself into, and with Gabe’s help, we’d be silly not to try, wouldn’t we?

“Interesting story,” he said after I’d finished speaking. “But what if he’s happy doing what he’s doing, and the reason he’s so angry with us, with his brother, is we’re trying to take away the life he wants?”

“Hmmm, okay. I see your point.” I let out a long breath. “But what if I’m right, and my story is what’s real? How do we persuade him to see his situation from our angle?”

He remained silent for a while. “Okay, here’s the deal. We’re stuck here for the next few days whether we want to be or not, so why not try and get to know him better, see if there’s a way for him to see our side of things?” He chuckled lightly. “He won’t make the task easy for us, but why not give it a shot anyway?

“In the end, if we both think he’s better off staying here alone, we’ll leave him be. But, and it’s a big but.” Gabe snickered and I rolled my eyes at him. For a grown man, he could be such a child. “But, if we both think he needs our help, even though he may not initially thank us for our efforts, we can try again to persuade him to sell. For his own sanity, if nothing else.”

My heart raced at his response, while uncertainty settled heavily on my chest. Mainly because I wondered if we should be attempting to do this at all. Manipulating somebody’s life, Mitch’s life, thinking we know what’s best for him after knowing him such a short amount of time? I recalled the anger he constantly carried around, the pain radiating off him palpable, the emotion so strong, I knew we had to at least give persuading him a try.

“Deal.” I offered him my hand, which Gabe had to stretch across my chest to take, accidentally scraping his fingers over one of my nipples as he did so. The nub hardened immediately at his touch, and I barely managed to suppress my shudder and the small moan of pleasure creeping up my throat.

“Deal,” he replied, low and smooth, and this time I did shiver in response. He must have noticed. I was positive he had, but he didn’t say anything as he released his hand from mine. I wanted to say the contact had been mere chance, but when his fingers retreated across my chest over the same erect nipple, his light, fluttering touch sent sparks across my skin, making my pulse rocket and my cock fill, I wasn’t so sure.

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