Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Good,” I yell back at him. “Don’t forgive yourself because you did nothing wrong. This was all on your dad.”
Shoulders sagging, he shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter… it was still a Mardraggon and babe… I’m still a Mardraggon. Some things just run too deep to be overcome.”
“Bullshit.” I point my finger back at the house. “Why was Ethan with you?”
He blinks in surprise at the question and I think he’s so off guard, he doesn’t seem to consider sheltering the truth. “Because they deserved to know what had happened to you. They had a right to help decide the best course of action.”
“Which meant you had to tell them about us,” I surmise.
“Yes,” he clips out. “I had to tell them and I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want me to.”
“No, I wasn’t ready, but guess what… cat’s out of the bag now, and you and I are still standing here talking without my brothers or dad trying to kill you. We did it. We made it past that horrible hump of telling my family that a Mardraggon and a Blackburn are going to try to make a go of it.”
“None of that matters, Kat. We aren’t good together. Our families aren’t good together.”
“Historically, yes… our families are oil and water. But you and I… we are good together.”
Gabe’s eyes shutter and I can see him refusing to accept that. Just as I see the resolve filtering in and a glint of Mardraggon ruthlessness sparking. “We’re good together in bed and that’s it. That’s not enough to overcome all that’s bad.”
“You’re wrong,” I assert.
“I’m not and you know it.”
“Gabe,” I murmur, reaching out for him, but he turns his back on me. I stand my ground, refusing to beg. It reminds me of the way he hurt me back in college, the abandonment of a different sort, but no less stinging.
He pauses a moment and twists his neck to look at me over his shoulder. “I’m going to remove myself as co-trustee for Sylvie. I think Ethan is capable enough with your help to manage the winery issues.”
“And that cuts our only tie to each other,” I say bitterly.
Gabe doesn’t say anything, just stares at me with pain-filled eyes a long moment before stepping into his vehicle.
Before he shuts the door, though, I get the last word in. “So you’re abandoning Sylvie too? Just going to cut her out? You forget… she’s also a Mardraggon.”
Gabe visibly flinches and I can see that hadn’t crossed his mind when he was making such grandiose statements that our families can’t mix. He doesn’t reply because I don’t give him a chance to. I let him chew on that as I spin on my foot and head to the house.
I hear his car slip into gear and he drives off.
In the foyer, my mother awaits me. She takes my hand and pulls me toward the kitchen. “Come on, luv. Let’s get ice on your face and a nice cup of tea, shall we?”
I tug back but not overly hard. “Sounds heavenly but honestly, I just want to crawl into my own bed and sleep.”
My mother ignores my reticence. “You can sleep in one of the guest rooms here. I’ll stay with you,” she insists, her Irish field eyes sparkling with unshed tears of worry. I can’t disappoint her need to care for me.
“Okay, Mom. That sounds good.”
I let my mother fuss over me as everyone settles into the kitchen to listen as Ethan explains how the entire thing went down. Marcie sits beside me, patting my leg periodically. I downplay what happened to me to keep further worry to a minimum, but the entire time, I’m fretting on the inside about Gabe. He had the guts to tell my family we were together when he didn’t have to include any of them in this. He could have brought the bourbon, secured my release and it would’ve been our secret. But he told my family. They had the right to weigh in on how the entire situation would be handled and I appreciate that more than he’ll ever know.
Without a doubt, he’s at least secured Ethan’s complete respect. My brother told me as much as I sipped my tea and held a bag of frozen peas to my cheek.
But Gabe left without giving any credence to what we’ve rebuilt together. The stubborn part of me says I’ll fight to keep Gabe and I’ll hound him until he relents.
However, the part of me that still remembers the first time he hurt me feels very tired and unsure. That part is telling me to let this go and move on.
It’s telling me to remember that Mardraggons and Blackburns do not mix.
CHAPTER 23
Gabe
Dragging the back of my hand across my forehead, I grimace at the gritty dust and sweat that comes off. A shower can’t come soon enough but I’m bound and determined to finish this last set of shelves.