Page 103 of Pure Abandon

“Pink. But I bet you I can make them turn red.” His Robert Redford grin crept across his face.

“You’re gonna try and get me mad?”

“I hope not.”

“Well, then, go ahead.”

Gabe brushed a piece of hair behind my ear and slowly stroked it with his thumb. His eyes looked straight into my soul.

“I love you. From the second I saw you on the steps, I knew you were my forever.”

His words were like poetry in my ears. The beautiful blue-eyed boy with dark wavy hair loved me.

“Your ears are very red, Kat.” Gabe’s eyes searched mine for a response. His brows furrowed and he took a cautious stance, waiting for a reaction.

“They’re also very hot,” I replied.

“What does that mean?”

“It means I love you too.” And I told him so, over and over again, in the confines of a small bed in the galley below.

Sailing in that little boat became a part of our romance. Gabriel even brought it to New York when he started law school. We took a few trips with it on the Long Island Sound, but as his career blossomed, Breaking Wind got neglected. He sold the boat shortly after we were married, and he hasn’t been sailing since.

God, I wish my dad were still alive. I wish I could talk to him just this once and ask him for advice. I want to know if he was as good a man as I thought he was. I want to know if he would have forgiven Gwen for her indiscretions. I want to know how I can right my wrongs.

The problem is I didn’t just wrong Gabriel. I hurt Asher. He trusted me to be his confidant while I held back from him. I let him bare his soul, yet I only gave him a facade of myself. I never let him into my world.

Unfortunately, I let other people into my world. I let Malory in, and look what she did. I don’t know what to do next, but I can’t stand still. I hate running but, for some reason, I feel compelled to move. My feet lift off the ground and I run the perimeter of the harbor until my heels hurt more than my heart, and I head home.

Gabriel’s car is gone when I return. I’m half relieved and half disappointed. I open the door to Gwen holding her finger over her mouth.

“Gabriel put Jackson to sleep before he left.” She places the baby monitor on the counter. I look at the black-and-white screen to see Jackson sleeping with his butt in the air. It’s the sweetest little position.

“Did you tell him he took his first steps?” Gabriel is probably devastated he missed it.

“I did, but I didn’t embellish. Jackson put on a little show for him. He took a few more steps with Gabriel than he has with us. I think he was holding out for his dad.” Gwen stalls for a second to make sure her words don’t hurt me too much.

“He is a daddy’s boy; that’s for sure. I hope he stays that way.” My words assure her. I walk to the fridge and sigh as I open the door.

“Tired, honey?” Gwen asks, still standing by the counter.

“No.” I scan the refrigerator. It’s freshly stocked, yet there’s nothing I want. “The opposite actually. I feel restless. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Gwen walks beside me and closes the refrigerator door. “Why don’t you go to the batting cage? Take a few swings,” she suggests. “It will help get a little aggression out.”

She’s right. I felt good after my run, but I still have more energy in me to burn. I kiss Gwen on the cheek and head to the batting cage.

Imagine my shock to see I’m not the only one who had that idea.

I haven’t seen him look this free in a long time. Black T-shirt, jeans, and an old pair of Jordans. He looks a lot like this guy I once kissed at McCloon’s.

Crack!

I assume he’s picturing that to be my head. I walk toward the fence and stop just behind him. I’m safer behind the fence for more reasons than one.

His back is to me as he keeps his stance for the next ball to be launched. “I take it Gwen had the same great idea for more than one of us,” he says, bracing for his next swing.

Crack!