Page 59 of Gabriel's Angel

“That’s big of you.” Spinning away, he dragged a hand through his hair. Above him, her portrait smiled gently down. As he stood between them, he felt as though he were caught between two women, between two needs. “What in the hell brought this on? Do you think you can kiss me good-bye at the door, then talk about lawyers a few hours later? If you haven’t been happy, why haven’t you said so?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gabe. We knew this would probably happen eventually. You were the one who told me there’d come a time when I’d have to face it. Now I’m ready to. I just want to give you the option of backing off before it’s too late to turn back.”

He started to snap at her, then stopped himself. It occurred to him that what he had thought they were talking about, and what was actually being discussed were two different things. “Why do you need to see a lawyer in the morning?”

“Lorraine Eagleton came to the house this afternoon. She wants Michael.”

No relief came at the realization that they weren’t speaking of divorce. There was no room for it. He recognized a flash of panic before fury replaced it. “She may as well want the moon, because she won’t have that, either.” He reached out to touch a hand to her cheek. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t, but I am now. She’s threatening a custody suit.”

“On what grounds?”

She pressed her lips together, but her gaze didn’t waver. “On the grounds that I’m not fit to care for him. She told me she’ll prove that I was... that there were other men before and during my marriage to Tony.”

“How can she prove what isn’t true?”

So he believed in her. It was just that easy. Laura reached for his hand. “You can get people to do or say a great many things if you pay them enough. I’ve seen the Eagletons do that kind of thing before.”

“Did she tell you where she was staying?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s time I talked with her.”

“No.” She had his hand before he could stride from the room. “Please, I don’t want you to see her yet. I need to talk with a lawyer first, make certain what can and can’t be done. We can’t afford the luxury of making a mistake in anger.”

“I don’t need a lawyer to tell me she can’t walk into my house and threaten to take Michael.”

“Gabe, please.” Again she had to stop him. When her fingers curled around his arms, she felt the fury vibrating in him. “Listen to me. You’re angry. So was I, and frightened, too. My first impulse was to run again. I’d even started to pack.”

He thought of what it would have done to him to have come home to find the house empty. The score he had to settle with the Eagletons was getting bigger. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because it wouldn’t have been right, not for Michael, not for you or for me. Because I love both of you too much.”

He stopped and cupped her face in his hands, trying to read what was behind her eyes. “You wouldn’t have gotten very far.”

The smile came slowly as she wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “I hope not. Gabe, I know what I have to do, and I also know that I can do it.”

He paused, taking it in. She spoke of love one moment, then of what she would do, not of what they would do. “Alone?”

“If necessary. I know you’ve taken Michael as your own, but I want you to understand that if she pursues the suit it’s going to get ugly, and what’s said about me will affect you and your family.” There was a moment’s hesitation as she worked up the courage to give him a choice. “If you’d rather not be involved in what’s going to happen now, I understand.”

His choices had narrowed from the moment he’d seen her. They’d disappeared completely when she’d first put Michael in his arms. Because he didn’t know how to explain, he cut through to the bottom line.

“Where’s Michael?”

Relief made her giddy. “He’s with your mother.”

“Then let’s pick him up and take him home.”

Chapter 11

She couldn’t sleep. Both memory and imagination worked against Laura as her mind insisted on racing over what had happened, and what might happen the next day. It was almost a year since she had fled Boston. Now, thousands of miles away, she had chosen to take her stand. But she was no longer alone.

Gabe hadn’t waited to make an appointment with his lawyer during regular business hours. He had made a phone call and requested—demanded—a meeting that evening.

Her life, her child, her marriage and her future had been discussed over coffee and crumb cake in the parlor while a low, wispy fog had rolled in from the bay. Her initial embarrassment about speaking with a stranger about her life, her first marriage and her mistakes had sharpened painfully, then vanished. It had seemed as though they were talking about someone else’s experiences. The more openly it was discussed, with details meticulously examined and noted, the less shame she’d felt.

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