Page 38 of Tempting Fate
“Nah, I’ll come.” He started to lead her away.
“You afraid I’ll make another scene?” All she wanted to do was flee the party and be by herself. It was one thing to know the people she grew up with despised her. But it was entirely different to feel that hatred emanate from their every pore. Even now, she could see them pointing at her, talking behind their hands, telling their friends she was garbage.
“Yeah, I am.” He pulled her away from the crowd and pushed her inside a dark alcove. “Don’t expect me to believe that was just a shitty coincidence. Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world… One night, just one fucking night, and you can’t go without being the center of attention. Haven’t you done enough to Lucky and his family? At least have the decency to show your brother a little respect… Give us all a break.”
“Okay, I will.” She turned and nearly tripped over her own two feet in her rush to get away.
Gabe was right behind her. “Don’t do this. Pretty soon it’ll be time for the toasts and Logan will be looking for you.”
She spun around. “You shouldn’t have left me alone.” It was a ridiculous thing to say, not to mention pathetic. As if it was his responsibility to keep her from walking into people, but she couldn’t help herself. Just like everyone else, he thought the worst of her. “If I hadn’t been searching the room for you, I would’ve seen where I was going.”
He lifted one sardonic brow. “Missed me that much, huh?”
Her eyes were starting to well and she was a hair away from losing it. “Is everything a joke to you?”
He maneuvered her out of the way so a waiter carrying a tray of hors d’oeuvres could get by. She brushed by him and found refuge in the stock room, which the caterers had been using as a staging area. It was empty, and she took advantage of the quiet to catch her breath. She found a napkin and blew her nose, dabbed at her eyes, and tried to gather her courage to go out again.
Tawny, Cecilia, Lucky, the whole town could hate her all they wanted, but she wouldn’t let them run her off. Not on her brother’s wedding night. She remembered all the times she’d been kicked at or thrown by a horse. Yet she’d always gotten right back in the saddle. She’d survived Ray and Butch and AA.Ninety days sober. She could make it a few more hours.
Raylene searched through her clutch for a mirror and lipstick. There was nothing she could do about the town’s hostility toward her. What was done was done. But she could at least put on a good face.
Gabe walked in.
“Will you leave me alone.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, and shoved her cosmetics back inside her purse. “Tonight, I’m your handler, and it’s time for the toasts.”
“I don’t need you to handle me.” She tried to squeeze by him. Ordinarily, she liked brushing against his big, hard body, but he’d hurt her by believing the worst. Maybe they hadn’t known each other long, but she’d been fooled into thinking that he got her. “Move.”
The big lug finally stepped aside, but just as she started to leave, he grabbed her arm and forced her chin up. “Please play nice.”
“Please unhand me.” She jerked her arm away and walked out of the stock room on her own.
Chapter 11
Gabe spent the rest of the night watching Raylene from a safe distance. He didn’t know what to make of her run-in with the Rodriguezes. Her reaction to seeing Lucky and Tawny on those two occasions at the Ponderosa didn’t jibe with someone who would intentionally look for a confrontation, especially at her brother’s wedding.
The one sure thing he could say about Raylene was that she cared for Logan and Annie and wouldn’t deliberately try to mess up their party. He propped his hip against the wall and observed her talking to Harper Matthews, Emily’s little girl. They were over by the dessert table, eating wedding cake. Gabe was too far away to hear what they were saying but it looked animated. Raylene smiled at something the kid said and her whole face lit up. Even from the wall, he could see those baby blues of hers sparkle like the Pacific Ocean. Despite her reputation as a viper, she was a knockout. This morning, as she’d snooped through his bedroom, he’d been sorely tempted to go for another kiss. And when her sweater and jacket kept hiking up as they hung the ranch gate together, he’d had a powerful urge to touch all that creamy skin.
Soon, she’d be leaving. Until then, he better check those urges. Tomorrow, they’d hunt for her stupid gold, and when they came up empty she’d see the search for what it was: an exercise in futility. It’s not like she needed the money. Her father had left her a pile of cash, and Gabe assumed Colorado was a community property state and she’d gotten her share in the divorce. In any event, he’d go along with the treasure hunt but wouldn’t feel too bad when her gold didn’t pan out. Then he’d find a place to tuck her horse and she’d be on her way out of here. The town would likely throw a ticker-tape parade when she was gone.
Jake joined him on the wall with a drink in his hand and flicked his gaze at Raylene. “She’s a real piece of work.”
Gabe simply shrugged, because his allegiance was to Logan and that was his sister Jake was talking about. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think she deliberately did it. I’ll admit, I did at first, but on closer examination not so much anymore.”
Jake leaned his head back and laughed. “She’s bewitched you, too, huh?”
If Gabe hadn’t respected the hell out of Jake, he would’ve told him to take a swan dive off the Golden Gate Bridge. But Gabe was man enough to know when he’d heard the truth, and the truth was Raylene had bewitched him. Not to the point where he was blind to her faults, just enough to occasionally close his eyes to them.
“It’s happened to the best of us, buddy.” Jake slapped him on the back. “I’m a career homicide detective and have heard every lie under the sun. Yet a beautiful woman still has the power to make me question my instincts. Take some advice from a man who’s been married four times.” He nudged his head at Raylene. “That woman is toxic. She’ll burn a hole through your heart faster than a cigarette lighter.” With that, he pushed off the wall and headed for the bar for a refill.
Gabe waved across the room to one of Annie’s friends and went back to watching Raylene. She was still talking to Harper, which was interesting. Raylene didn’t strike him as the maternal type. Then again, the kid was probably the only person in the place who would give Raylene the time of day. Still, she seemed pretty invested in whatever they were talking about, nodding her head and gesturing with her hands and giving Harper, who even from a distance appeared to be talking a mile a minute, her full attention.
Gabe thought about joining them, but they had a good thing going and he didn’t want to interrupt. Besides, Raylene had made it crystal clear she was pissed at him. He couldn’t exactly blame her. He’d rushed to judgment. But, like his mom liked to say, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” And her collision with Lucky certainly had looked like a duck to him.
He took a visual lap around the room. The party was winding down, and there was no sign of Lucky and Tawny. He suspected they’d left shortly after the incident. Out of his side vision, he saw Clay approach Raylene and Harper. Gabe’s ability to read body language was above average, saving his ass in the field more times than he wanted to remember, and Clay’s was sending off all kinds of warning signals.
His assessment was proven correct when a few seconds later Clay grabbed Harper’s hand and led her away, leaving Raylene standing alone. Apparently, he didn’t want his kid picking up any bad habits from the wicked witch of Nugget, even if their only crime was eating cake and laughing. It wasn’t as if Raylene was teaching Harper how to build a nuclear bomb. Cold, man. Gabe thought Clay was cold.
