Page 27 of An Alaskan Twin Surprise (Home to Owl Creek 2)

Thank You, Lord, for traveling mercies and for giving Mama a dose of courage. We don’t know what lies ahead but I know You will be watching over all of us, including Gabriel. I’m not sure I would have been able to pull this off without him.

* * *

The next morning—after undergoing a battery of presurgical tests—Helene was wheeled into surgery at Anchorage Regional Hospital. Gabriel had shown up at the hospital not only to support Helene but to watch over Rachel, as well. No matter how conflicted he felt about her confession, he still wanted to be a pillar of strength for the family. Neil hadn’t yet arrived due to a flight delay, but he was expected within the hour.

Gabriel had just taken a trip to the cafeteria and brought back sustenance for himself and Rachel. He had purchased coffees for both of them, a selection of Danishes and a few pieces of fruit. When he entered the family waiting room, she was sitting with her legs curled up under her on a love seat, her ear pressed to her cell phone. He went over and sat down on the adjacent couch, placing the items down in front of him on the table and trying not to eavesdrop on her conversation.

A few moments later he heard her say, “Thanks for the update, Sydney. I’ll see you later this evening.”

“Coffee?” he asked, holding out a cup to her. “I have no idea if it’s any good, but it’s warm and full of caffeine.”

“Thanks, Gabriel. This is just what I needed.” She eagerly reached for the coffee and took a lengthy sip, letting out a satisfied sound. “Mmm. This is wonderful.”

“Were you checking up on the girls?” he asked. He didn’t want to pry but he was curious as to how they’d fared with the new sitter. Rachel hadn’t said a word about it, but he suspected last night was the first time since they’d been born that she’d been separated from them overnight.

Although she was trying to hold it together, he could see the look of distress stamped on her face. “They had a rough night, according to Sydney. She said they woke up a few times crying for me. I almost lost it until I heard them giggling in the background.”

Gabriel took a swig of his coffee. “Like music to your ears.”

“Indeed. I have enough to worry about with Mama.” Rachel looked fragile at the moment. She had a tendency to wear all her worries on the outside. Although she and Helene had always had tension in their relationship, he knew how much Rachel loved her mother.

“She’s going to be all right.”

Rachel’s eyes were brimming with tears. “How do you know that?”

“Because I believe all of this was meant to be. Your return to Owl Creek wasn’t an accident. You’re the only one who could have inspired and encouraged Helene to come here for the surgery. You and the twins. Sometimes God is in the details.”

“You had a part to play in all of this too. You brought us here. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for such a blessing. I know you had to reschedule some flights to accommodate us. If I haven’t adequately put it into words, I’m very grateful.”

He smiled at her. “I was happy to do it. It’ll give Seamus an opportunity to flex his muscles a little bit and take on some of the local charter flights.” Seamus O’Dowd was a new pilot he had hired a few months ago. Although a little bit rough around the edges, Seamus was showing great potential. Frankly, he just needed someone to have faith in him. Gabriel was willing to be that person, much as Lance Marshall had believed in him.

Rachel fiddled with the coffee cup in her hands. Rather than indulging in the hot brew, she was twirling the stirrer around.

“Gabriel, I didn’t like the way we left things the other night. My intention was to clear the air, not put up a wall between us. I was so wrong to leave Owl Creek without telling you the reasons why. The bottom line is, I can’t ever make it right. All I can do is be truthful about how I was feeling back then.”

“

I’m not sure I’ll ever truly understand where your head was at,” Gabriel confessed. “But at least now I don’t have to wonder if I simply wasn’t good enough.”

She let out a distressed sound. “I’m so sorry I ever made you feel that way. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. No matter what else you think of me, Gabriel, I really did love you and I wanted to marry you.”

“I guess it still stings that you didn’t stick around to tell me in person. Why did you have to run away?” He blurted out the question. He still felt mixed-up inside and full of frustration. “All you left behind was a brief note and your engagement ring. And a host of unanswered questions.”

“I thought you might convince me to stay, and I didn’t want to live under the constant fear of losing you. For a long time, my stomach had been tied up in knots and it was constantly gnawing at me. As I told you last week, I was having nightmares and panic attacks stemming from the loss of my father. I never properly grieved his death. I’m not blaming Mama, but she encouraged us to stuff those feelings down as some sort of survival mechanism.” She let out a ragged sigh. “Trust me—it didn’t work. Even when you bury something it’s still there.”

A small part of him understood what she was saying while another piece of him rioted against the notion that they couldn’t have worked their way through the darkest of moments. If only Rachel had allowed him to try to fix things.

“I knew being a pilot was the most important thing in your world,” she said in a quiet voice.

“You’re wrong,” he said, his voice sounding raspy with emotion. “You mattered to me more than anything else. I can’t believe you never knew that.”

“I didn’t,” she confessed, twisting her fingers around in a nervous gesture. “Somehow it got all tangled up with everything else and I lost sight of it.”

“Well then, I guess I failed in that regard,” he said. “I should have let you know you were my everything—the sun rising in the morning and the stars twinkling in the evening sky.”

She reached out and touched his arm, raising goose bumps on the back of his neck in the process. Despite the crackling tension between them, her touch felt comforting.

“It’s not your fault that I allowed doubts to creep in. You always made me feel loved.” She released a quavering breath. “I’ve never felt so cherished, not before or since then.”

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