Page 53 of Justified Lies

As Gabe listened, he couldn’t help but feel his frustration level rising.Maybe because she’s right.

“How can I feel so close to you and so far away at the same time?” Her voice was distant as if she were merely thinking out loud.

“I do trust you. There are things in my life that I’m still working out. Maybe it was unfair to start something with you, but I couldn’t stay away anymore.” At least that was the truth.

“Physically.”

Instead of admitting all that was in his heart he left it at, “It’s better this way for now.” It was better for him, better for Jacob, and probably best for Lianna if she didn’t get in too deep when it came to him, at least not yet.

“Right.”

“Do you want to stop at school and grab your car?”

“No, I’ll walk to school and pick it up at dismissal.” Lianna just wanted out of the car as soon as possible.

The rest of the rainy drive was conversation free. Gabe’s windshield wipers provided a sort of comforting white noise. As he pulled into her driveway, the vehicle was barely in “park” before she undid her seatbelt and started to open the door. When he mimicked her, getting out of his side, she spoke firmly.

“No need to get out, I can grab everything.”

Gabe got out anyway. She couldn’t even carry the cake she got for the marching band that was apparently coming to Annie’s party tonight, let alone everything else.

“I’ll help.”

Instead of arguing, Lianna walked over to the garage and punched in the door code. Gabe walked to the back of his SUV, opened the trunk, and grabbed the ginormous cake first. Ignoring her earlier words, he asked, “Where do you want it?”

“Kitchen island, if you don’t mind.”

If he didn’t mind. Well, this sucked. He didn’t want to go back to tiptoeing around each other. When he had planned this day in his head, the whole point was to spend it comforting her, getting closer to her, and keeping her safe. Every step of the way he had screwed things up with Lianna and he saw his chances quickly slipping through his fingertips.

As he headed back through the garage to get the next load, he saw her coming towards him, balancing everything remaining in the car. Hustling towards her, he quickly took most of the items.

“I had it.”

“Poor Ren and Stimpy almost met their maker before they got to meet the kids.”

In the pet store he had decided on the quirky name for the two fish, telling her it was his favorite TV show in college. And if that didn’t speak volumes about his mental acuity, he didn’t know what did. It earned him a laugh from Lianna, in the store. The idea of her knowing things about him felt good, butapparently that only applied to arbitrary details. This time the joke fell flat, as she exhaled loudly.

Gabe entered the kitchen then took his time situating the loot on the island. He was panicking about having to leave her with this Grand Canyon-sized void between them. There had to be something he could say to pacify things. He searched for the magic words to conjure up, other than the truth of course.

“Lianna…”

“What will happen to him?”

“To whom?”

“Tim. I know it’s just a temporary restraining order, but since he resides within the restricted area, where will he go?”

Swallowing, Gabe chose his words wisely. “He has gone. I planned to tell you this morning. They finished with questioning, and he was formally charged with a simple assault. This is his first arrest. Other than a few speeding tickets, he has a clean record. His wife posted bail. I’m not privy to where they went, but it’s within province and it’s not next door, so…”

He shrugged his broad shoulders, implying what she must already know—he could be anywhere.

“I’ve been thinking about yesterday non-stop. I wish I could talk to him, try to understand where all that anger came from.”

Gabe had to clamp his jaw shut and mentally count to ten to keep from screaming.

“Do not attempt to contact him,” he warned through clenched teeth.

She gaped at him as if he told her, do not attempt to kidnap the President.

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