Take Me On

  “Who ever told you that you had to give it up, baby?”

  “No one’s told me. I’ve been weighing my options. It did occur to me to go back to nursing, get a job here and forget med school.”

  “I don’t think you should do that. No way, Gabby. You can’t want to do that, can you?”

  “No. But you said it yourself, my support system is here.”

  “I know. I was kinda in shock when you first told me. Sorry about that. I had this mental image of you completely cutting me out of your life except for visitation rights and child support or something. I’m not worried about that now.”

  “No. I wouldn’t do that to you.” She drew a circle on his shoulder, weighing her next words. “I don’t expect to you drop everything and run to Dallas for me. Take your time and decide if it’s what you want.”

  “I just want to be with you. But I’d rather not leave until Brian has someone else lined up to take my place—if he doesn’t fire me first, anyway.”

  “And in the meantime…we both go nuts.”

  “We can work out some visits, I’m sure.”

  “What, weekends when I’m already tired and sleep deprived, and when we both know Brian needs you to work?”

  He chuckled. “You’re a little pessimistic, aren’t you?”

  She looked at him gravely. “I usually consider it realistic.”

  Sighing, he rolled onto his back, bending his arm back behind his head, and gazed at the ceiling. Gabby rested her chin on his chest, her own gaze as far away as her thoughts. “What is it you want me to do, then?” he finally asked.

  “I couldn’t expect you to do anything more, Ian, I promise. But it sucks. You have to admit.”

  “All we can do is roll with it. I wouldn’t expect you to do anything other than what you’re doing, either.”

  “Are you sure if you had things the exact way you wanted, I’d be staying here?”

  “Hell, no,” he said, lifting his head to look at her. It was a relief to see the vehemence at such an idea in his eyes. “If I thought you were staying here for me, it would drive me nuts. I’d pack you up and take you to Dallas myself. Are we clear on that?”

  “Okay, then,” she said simply. “All right. We’ll roll with it. We’ll do what we can.”

  The smile he gave her—how would she make it without seeing it every day? Even for a little while? He stroked her hair. “It’s all gonna be okay, baby. I’ll make it okay.”

  It was everything she’d ever wanted to hear from him. In fact, she thought it was even better than hearing those three little overrated words that people tossed around every day without really meaning them.

  God, to think she’d been dreading to go back to Dallas before she saw that little plus sign on her test strip. Now, excitement fluttered in her stomach. She hadn’t really known then how much she wanted to reclaim her world. And she missed Tina and her Dallas friends fiercely.

  Ian snuggled her close, and Gabby closed her eyes. It was the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long time.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ian dreaded going in to work only slightly less than he had yesterday when he knew Brian was pissed. He’d expected a confrontation but hadn’t gotten it, and he hadn’t provoked it because he figured Brian was too mad to discuss the situation. Today, he had absolutely no idea what to expect. Brian hadn’t exactly said all was forgiven last night, but he was probably ready to talk.

  Ian wished he could’ve convinced Gabby not to make a scene, but once that woman got an idea in her head…

  Sighing, he let himself in the side door and inwardly cringed as he walked past Brian’s office. Sure enough, his boss’s voice called to him.

  “Hey. You got a second?”

  Now his cringe wasn’t so inward, but he turned and stuck his head in the doorway. It was weird seeing Brian in here without Candace, but she still wasn’t feeling well in the mornings and had been coming in later in the day. “Sure, man.”

  “Shut the door.”

  Damn. Maybe he should try to get an explanation in first…but no. He just shut the door and dropped into the chair across from Brian, meeting his gaze directly but not defensively.

  “Look,” Brian began, granting him the same favor. “I really want to apologize for yesterday. It was nothing against you, all right?”

  He figured it was against him, but whatever, he’d go along. For one thing, he didn’t think he’d ever heard Brian Ross apologize to anyone before. “Okay.”

  “But that’s my sister, and she’s been through a lot of shit. When that guy dumped her, I wanted to break his fucking neck. Now she’s being put through a lot more shit. She drives me nuts sometimes, but she deserves a break.”

  “The last thing I want to do is hurt her, man. It goes without saying that we didn’t expect this. Now that it’s happened, though, I’m there for her. I’ll be there for her as long as she’ll let me.”

  “Good. That’s all I can ask. I’ve known you for a long time, and I know you’re a solid guy. So I shouldn’t have gone off the way I did. I’d much rather see her with you than her usual type.”

  Wow. “It’s okay. I know when I told you, it was the last thing you were expecting to hear come out of my mouth. Thanks for not knocking me the fuck out.” He punctuated the words with a smirk. “How’s Candace?”

  “It was fried pickles with ranch dressing and macadamia nut cookies last night. But she made those herself. I didn’t have to go anywhere.”

  “Hey, I’m with her on those. I don’t know about together, but yeah.”

  “If Gab has any weird cravings, tell her to come over. Given our stash, we can probably take care of it. They can share notes.”

  “I’ll do that. She hasn’t had any that she’s told me about, though.”

  “What has she decided about school?”

  A pang hit him in the chest. More than anything, he wanted her to go back to Dallas if that was what she wanted. Knowing he wouldn’t be seeing her every day, watching her belly grow… “She’s not giving up, so…we’ll work it out. I’ll do everything I can for her.”

  Brian tilted his head back in contemplation for a moment. “Are you planning on going back?”

  He’d thought he might have some time before he had to get into this part of things with Brian, but that had been wishful thinking. It stood to reason his boss would wonder about his plans. Quitting a job you hated was one thing. Quitting a job you liked… That sucked. Sighing, he rubbed a hand over his hair. “Not in the very near future,” he said carefully, “but eventually, yes. Sorry, man. Again, I never thought anything like this could happen.”

  “Yeah. I hear you. Well, we love having you, but you know…long distance will be tough. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go through it.” Ian cast his gaze downward and reserved comment. Brian went on. “Don’t feel like you have to stay if you don’t want to. It was pretty rough before you got here, but we survived. I’m sure we’ll survive again.”

  Why couldn’t Ian have had a family like this growing up? Brian was willing to sacrifice a little of his sanity at work for his sister’s happiness. He would almost think the guy was up to something, but no. That was only his suspicious mind at work. He’d had to grow up that way—questioning whether every nice gesture from someone was going to end with a fist upside his head. If not from his stepfather, then the kids on his street or the kids at his school. He’d grown up fighting. He still was wary and mistrustful of a world where it appeared he didn’t have to.

  It was sad, and he was fucking tired of it.

  “I’m cool with being here awhile longer. I keep thinking she’ll get to Dallas and decide she doesn’t want me there after all.” Yeah, who was the pessimist now?

  “One thing about Gabriella,” Brian said, and Ian thought it was the first time he’d ever heard him say her full name. “If she doesn’t think you’re worth her time, you’ll know it. But if you are, then she’ll do anything for you. I’ve never known her to screw anyone over. Sh
e’s usually the one who gets screwed. Which is another reason for the way I acted yesterday.”

  “I’m not out to do that,” Ian said, thinking he had that in common with her. “I couldn’t imagine hurting her.”

  “Well, whatever you decide to do, keep me in the loop.” Brian fiddled with a pen he picked up from the desktop, then finally sighed and tapped it against the polished wood a couple of times with finality. “All right. As long as we’re cool.”

  “We’re cool.” Both of them stood and shook on it.

  Thank God that was done.

  Walking up to her parents’ front door that afternoon, Gabby wondered if she should knock. Now, with the light of day hitting her between the eyes, she regretted her words to her mother last night and wondered if she was even welcome any longer. Gabby would be a mother herself in a few months, and she damn sure didn’t want karma coming around to bite her in the ass once her kids were grown and making their own (sometimes idiotic) choices.

  But that was crazy. She’d never knocked to enter her parents’ house before, even when she came in for visits. She’d always just barged in and announced her presence.

  Before she could reach for the knob, though, the door swung open, and her mother stood there with purse in hand and determination on her face. “How do you feel?”

  “Fine?” Gabby said tentatively, so confused right now that it came out a question.

  “Good. You and I are going shopping,” Gianna declared.

  Gabby glanced down at her budding pregnancy uniform—cami and yoga pants. Her hair was still in its unkempt bun. “Okaaay.”

  “You look fine. Let’s go.”

  “Mom—”

  “Shh. I’m not letting you go back to Dallas without a few things for when you start to show.”

  “But I’ll get all that when—”

  “No, because then I won’t be a part of all this. And no matter what you think, I want to be.”

  Breathing a sigh of absolute relief, Gabby followed her to the car. A little retail therapy never hurt anything, and thank God her mother was on board with this. Because it was happening, whether any of them liked it or not.

  “You didn’t call Evan,” her mom said conversationally as she turned out of the driveway and headed for downtown.

  “And you know this because…?”

  “I did.”

  “Oh. Great. What did he say?”

  “What’s there to say? He’s like the rest of us, hoping the best for you.”

  Gabby snickered, wondering how Kelsey played it off when Evan told her about the pregnancy. Did she fess up that she’d already known? Or had she played dumb? Knowing Kelsey, she hadn’t been able to lie to him, and besides, with the way she and Gabby had run off to the beach for a few days, he would probably figure it out on his own.

  Their first stop was a maternity store, where Gabriella walked around mostly with her upper lip curled. “It’s really way too early for this,” she said, holding out a top that looked like it would swallow her twice. “I mean, I can’t even…”

  “If you’re already two months, you’ll be showing before you know it.”

  “Wonderful.” She picked out a few things she could live with to placate her mother, and their next stop was a children’s clothing store.

  “Okay, now it’s way too early for this,” Gabby said, looking around at the wonderland of frilly dresses, onesies, cribs and toys.

  “It’s been a long time since I was able to do this. Humor me.”

  She’d already been doing that. Looking around, it all seemed so surreal. Gabby had loved shopping for baby Alex, but the thought of shopping for her own…

  “We don’t even know yet if it’s a boy or a girl.”

  “So you buy neutral colors. Really, you can never have enough. Best to start now so you’ll be ready later.”

  “Mom…” She stopped at a rack of adorable little-boy outfits and leafed absently through them. “I’m sorry about last night.”

  “It’s all right.” Gianna didn’t look at her.

  “You’re still mad, which is why we’re shopping right now.”

  “I only hope you’ll think things through before you do anything rash.”

  “Like what? The only rash thing I could do at this point is get married. After the last fiasco, you’d better believe there’s no hope of that happening.”

  Her mom looked at her in surprise. “Really? Never?”

  Gabby had to stop and reassess her own feelings. She’d sworn it so many times that it was almost a reflex answer. “I don’t know.”

  “Thought he might’ve changed your mind.”

  If anyone could persuade her, she decided, it was Ian. Never could she imagine him doing to her what Mark had. Never could she imagine him even asking her to go through it again if he wasn’t 100 percent sure of his own feelings. She could try to pretend she’d known Mark all she liked—he still had left her with niggling doubts at times. She’d admitted it to herself many, many times.

  “Maybe he will,” she said. “Someday. I really think you’d like him if you’d get to know him.”

  “Honey, you don’t know him.”

  So. Here it came. Her mother had gotten her to a place where Gabby couldn’t run away from her, cornered her, and now she was going to hear her exact thoughts on the matter. Great. Gabby sighed. “Say what you gotta.”

  “Gabriella, you’re beautiful, you’re successful, you’re from a wealthy family. A few more years, and you’ll be a doctor—”

  “Are you about to suggest that he’s after me for a free ride? That he somehow planned for this? Poked a needle through the condom? Come on.”

  “I’m only saying that it’s worked out quite well for him, hasn’t it? Now he’s in the picture for good, and you’re obviously taken with him. Why wouldn’t he take advantage of the situation?”

  “It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!”

  “Lower your voice,” Gianna all but hissed, casting a glance around the store.

  “You started this.”

  “I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

  “You think I do? Please have at least a little respect for my judgment. I know it hasn’t been the best in the past, but—”

  “Oh stop. Quit blaming yourself for what happened at your wedding. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Funny that’s coming from you, who not so secretly wishes I’d take Mark back. Whose judgment isn’t good here?”

  “Gabriella—”

  She couldn’t stop the words once they’d started. “But at least there’s no way Mark might be after my money, since he has his own. Because that would be a far, far worse thing than being a cowardly, indecisive asshole. Apparently.”

  Gianna crossed her arms and glared icily at her. “If you move Ian into your apartment, consider yourself on your own.”

  “Are you cutting me off?”

  “I’m protecting you from yourself. You want to have this baby, and I support that. I will not support a…parasite living off our family.”

  “But he’s not—!”

  “If you want him, you’re more than welcome to have him, but you’ll have to quit med school and go back to nursing. We won’t support it. I’m sorry to draw the line this way with you, but I’m only thinking about what’s best for you. Forget about men right now, Gabriella. Focus on school and the baby.”

  “So it’s med school or Ian. Yeah, forcing me into this situation when I’m already an emotional mess sure is what’s best for me and the baby.”

  “Actually, I think we’re making the decision pretty easy for you, aren’t we?”

  “Mother—”

  She got the long-nailed finger in the face, punctuating each of Gianna’s words. “End. Of. Discussion.”

  Momentarily robbed of speech—rare for her—Gabby stepped back in absolute astonishment, feeling her shoulders deflate in the subarctic temperatures of Gianna Ross’s dark stare. “I wasn’t planning on moving him in, Mother,
” she said, finding her voice at last. “And it’s not like he doesn’t have a job. He works for your son. If he moves back to Dallas to be close to me, he’ll probably go back to work for his old bosses.”

  “Well, good for him. He’ll make his own way. You can do what you want, but he won’t live under any roof that we pay for. You have a path set under your feet, and I want you to stay on it. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

  “It’s your attitude toward him that’s unreasonable. Spending too much time with Sylvia Andrews, are we? Why don’t you just keep in mind how she really feels about Brian?” Gabby scoffed. “Though I get the feeling you’re about to find out in a big way.”

  Her mother didn’t take the bait, and Gabby was glad, because the second she cast it out there, she regretted it. “This doesn’t have anything to do with her or Brian. It has to do with you.”

  “I suppose Dad agrees with you on this. Was this his idea or yours?”

  “He has the same concerns I do, yes.”

  “Ian is the father of your grandchild. You could at least afford him that much respect. If you can’t, you’re going to lose a lot of mine. Both of you.” Doing her best to keep her composure, Gabby turned and left the store, even though going outside felt like walking into an oven and her mother apparently still meant to buy a few things. She wanted to tell her she didn’t want a damn thing from her—but she couldn’t, could she?

  The car had remote start, so when Gianna had mercy on her and it fired to life beside her, Gabby got in the passenger side and put her head between her knees, deep-breathing.

  Did she even want to subject Ian to this bullshit? Did she want to burden him with the knowledge of what her family—with the exception of Brian—thought of him? He’d had so much hurt to deal with all his life. She wanted to protect him from any future pain that might be coming his way—either from her family…or from herself.

  It was the same feeling she’d had standing on the beach in Florida. Forces beyond her control washing away the sand beneath her feet, leaving her unsteady and unsure.