Page 39 of An Alaskan Twin Surprise (Home to Owl Creek 2)

When Pops asked him to bring a box over to Tea Time, he quickly agreed. As he drove past the Snowy Owl diner, he made a mental note to avoid the place this week. He didn’t want to run the risk of having to face Connor and Hank. After they’d been so supportive it would be humiliating to tell them what had happened between him and Rachel.

He pushed through the doors of Tea Time, focused on delivering the supplies to his mother. Her establishment didn’t open until eleven so it was empty when he entered. The scent of an assortment of teas wafted in the air along with the sweet smell of baked goods. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to improve his mood. All he could think about was how foolish he’d been to even think he had a second chance with Rachel.

She’d never fought for them. He needed to keep reminding himself of that until it sank in.

Gabriel had always been the one pushing for the relationship through the hard times. Rachel had always been the one to emotionally shut down and run. Even though she hadn’t physically left Owl Creek this time, she’d still bailed on him.

“Hey, Mama,” he said, greeting his mother as she came into view. “Where should I put this?”

She nodded toward a storage room in the back of the kitchen. “Stash it back there, will you?” When he came back through the kitchen, his mother looked him up and down, assessing him with a critical eye.

“Pick your chin up off the ground, son. You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just having one of those days,” he said, trying to shrug off his mood. He didn’t want to tell Iris about Rachel. In many ways they’d ended before they started. Gabriel sighed. Maybe he just wasn’t very good at relationships. Perhaps he would be one of those people who lived alone for the rest of his days with a dozen cats for company. He wasn’t sure Scooby would like that very much though.

“Stay for a while. I’ll make you a cup of tea,” she offered. “That always makes things better.”

Gabriel didn’t have the heart to tell his mother this was one situation that wouldn’t be solved over chamomile tea and scones. He gamely agreed to the tea, knowing it would make her feel better, but there really wasn’t anything that could change his mood. There was a little ball of anger sitting inside his chest and chiding him for daring to risk his heart again.

A few minutes later Iris returned with a tea tray filled with a teapot

, cups, saucers and pots of milk and sugar. She set it down on the table and motioned for him to take a seat. Gabriel planted himself down across from her and watched as she set the teacup and saucer in front of him, then poured tea into his cup. He didn’t need to even ask about the type of tea she was serving. He’d become a little bit of an expert ever since Iris had opened the tea shop.

“Citron ginger. Am I right?” he asked. It was a game he’d been playing with his mother ever since he could remember. She would bring out a tea and he would have to guess the particular flavor. It had been a very long time since he’d failed to guess correctly. Mama had taught him well.

“Yes,” she answered with a smile. “You have a keen sense of smell. Well done.”

He took a long sip of the hot tea. If he hadn’t been so on edge, the perfectly made brew probably would have lifted his mood.

“So what is it? Did you and Rachel have a fight?” Iris asked gently. “There’s been a lot of talk around town about the two of you. I asked you before, but I’m not sure I got a straight answer. Are you reuniting?”

“No, we’re not getting back together. It wasn’t very realistic in the first place.” He needed to stop being such a dreamer. That way he could avoid crushing disappointments like this one. He didn’t want to believe in happily-ever-afters, not when he wasn’t destined for one.

“You’ve been so content lately. It’s been a relief to see you so happy. You love her, don’t you?” she asked. “Don’t worry, son. You can tell me. I won’t judge you.”

“Yes. I’m in love with her, but it doesn’t change anything,” he answered, ducking his head so she wouldn’t see his hurt. “What kind of fool am I?” He blurted out the question. “I thought we were both on the same page regarding the future. I even dug up the engagement ring I gave her. It’s been buried at the bottom of my cedar chest ever since she left.” He patted his jacket pocket where the ring had been sitting ever since he’d located it. “But she’s running away again, telling me she can’t bear the risks involved in my being a bush pilot. But I think she doesn’t want me flying at all. She hasn’t moved past Lance’s accident. So you see, I’m pretty much back where I started, which makes me the world’s biggest sucker.”

“Oh no. I’m so sorry.” She reached out and touched his wrist, her gesture one of support and comfort. “Surely you can understand her fears. Her father’s death was so life altering and tragic. It’s bound to mess with her mentally and emotionally.”

“I do empathize, but I can’t give up my life’s dream when it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. For me, it just feels as if she’s trying to clip my wings. Not being a pilot would be like not breathing. And if she truly loved me, she wouldn’t even ask that of me. I was willing to trust her again, yet she doesn’t have much faith in me.”

Iris’s hand was shaking, and she placed her teacup down with a slight bang.

“Don’t give up hope. Talk things through. She loves you, son. I think despite everything that happened between the two of you, she’s fallen for you all over again. I could see it in her eyes at the town celebration.”

More than anything else in this world, Gabriel wanted to believe what his mother was saying. But he refused to give in to romantic notions rather than deal with the crushing reality. He and Rachel weren’t getting a second chance. Those dreams had withered and died.

“Even if we did find our way back to one another, how can I trust her? She walked out on me before without so much as a word of goodbye. She never fought for us. It still hurts. That’s not the type of love I want or need in my life.”

“That’s not true. She did fight for you.” She began to wring her hands in a fitful gesture. “Gabriel. There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.” Her lips quivered. “Rachel came back to Owl Creek a few weeks after she left.”

“What? What do you mean she came back?” Confusion washed over him. His mother wasn’t making any sense. Surely he would have known if Rachel had returned weeks after she’d left. In a town like Owl Creek it would have been headline news.

“She took the ferry over. I ran into her at the docks by accident. She was looking for you, Gabriel. I was so angry about how much she’d hurt you and the way she left you in the lurch mere days before your wedding.” Iris wiped away tears with the back of her hand. “I laid into her pretty harshly.” She let out an agonizing sob. “I told her you didn’t want to see her and that you’d already started dating other women here in town. She turned right around and got back on the ferry. Please forgive me. I stood in the way of your happiness because I was afraid of her breaking your heart again.”

Gabriel was speechless. Shock roared through him at his mother’s confession. Never had he imagined his beloved mother would be capable of such deception. Up to this point she’d been the most trustworthy, upstanding person in his life. She’d kept this information from him for three long years. Had he known any of this it would have been a game changer for him and Rachel.

When he got his breathing under control, he finally spoke. “How? How could you have withheld this from me for all this time? You said nothing when my heart was breaking and I could barely breathe without feeling as if someone had kicked me in the gut. Are you telling me that you knew Rachel had regrets and wanted to fix things between us?”

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